C ARNATION CO X F E R E X C E . 



491 



any cultivator of flowers has rightly comprehended the poetry of 

 the subject until he has raised and bloomed seedlings. There is 

 romance in it as well as poetry ; the evolution of seedling flowers 

 is S3 full of surprises as to come near to the miraculous. Let 

 anyone who to-day has found in the Carnation a goddess worthy 

 of his worship and a life's devotion make a note of some of the 

 varieties exhibited which strike him as being worthy of posses- 

 sion, or that are in the Carnation beds yonder. Let him obtain 

 young plants of these in the autumn, and plant them out in a 

 well-prepared bed, tend them as objects of almost priceless 

 value, bloom them well, and then, if Nature is in a consenting 

 mood, save some seed, and commence the fascinating and all- 

 engrossing pastime of raising seedlings. Or, to save time, he 

 may prefer to obtain seed from a reliable source. Let him sow 

 it — not in the autumn, for that is risky without due convenience 

 for wintering the plants, but in the opening spring-time -early 

 in March to April, when the storm of heat rolls hither ward : — 



Enveloping heat, enchanted robe, 

 Wraps the daisy and the globe, 

 Transforming what it doth unfold, 

 Life out of death, new out of old. 



Sow the seed carefully in pots, pans, or a shallow box of a 

 suitable and somewhat gritty compost, place them in a cold 

 frame, keep them cool and moist, and in a short time the tiny 

 plants will appear. As soon as they are large enough to bear 

 it, let him prick them off into shallow boxes or deep pans, pro- 

 tecting them from withering winds and drying sunshine, and 

 grow them on until they become large enough for transplanting 

 to beds in the open ground. The older florists in the North 

 used to make a point of sowing seed at midsummer, doing it in 

 the open air on a northern aspect ; and they always advocated 

 deep sowing. Nowadays a quicker return is sought for ; hence 

 the plan of sowing I have suggested. The position of the bed is 

 a matter of moment — the Carnation likes an open and breezy 

 aspect, revelling in pure air and bright sunshine. Important 

 also is the matter of soil. I think the soil of the Chiswick 

 Gardens too light generally for the Carnation. It does best in 

 a fairly firm one, and, if a suitable compost has to be prepared, 

 let it be of good fibry yellow loam, with the addition of plenty 

 of thoroughly rotten manure from any old cucumber bed, as 



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