46 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
more apparent from a distance of 10 feet than when held close to the 
nose. The bloom, however, was small and the calyx was burst, yet 
there was the glorious scent and the strange, fascinating, wine-like 
colour. I thought of the lady's challenge, and there and then 
resolved to raise a Clove to beat it. That was ten years ago. The 
road was paved with many difficulties and disappointments, yet at 
last, after many failures, ' Bookham Clove ' appeared on the seedling 
bed, its colour the precise shade of the genuine ' Old Clove,' but what 
an advance in every other respect ! Its blooms were held erect on 
wire-like stems, its calyx was absolutely sound, and, I almost hesitate 
to assert, the flower was more powerfully perfumed. Yet that was the 
verdict of several members of the Floral Committee who gave this 
variety an Award of Merit in July 1914. 
The third and last characteristic essential is a full flowering period, 
and I would here observe that the term perpetual, as applied to 
Border Carnation, is quite misleading. The meaning of the word, 
as there is no need to point out, is continuing for ever, or without 
ceasing. That always seems absurd to me, especially when one recalls 
the English spring, autumn, and winter. Of course, the blooming 
period in the south is longer than in the midlands and the north, 
but under the most favourable conditions the months in which bloom 
can be obtained from Carnations outdoors are June, July, August, and, 
in some years, part of September. Of course, all sorts of cases can 
be cited when bloom can be cut earlier or later, but, strictly speaking, 
the three months mentioned are the extent of the blooming period. 
Ten years ago I made some very thorough and expensive experiments, 
crossing the best Border Carnations with the best Tree Carnations and 
vice versa, in some years blooming as many as 5,000 seedlings. These, 
of course, were wintered in beds outside, and one particular bed I 
remember in the winter of 1909 consisted of 2,000 plants, and splendid 
bushy youngsters they were. Although we had a mild winter we 
had a lot of rain, and every plant collapsed after a sharp spring frost. 
I have never seen a bed of Hardy Border Carnations affected in this 
way. The following winter being dry, more than half survived of 
a bed of 3,000 plants, one only, ' Hercules,' being considered worthy 
of notice, a fine bold maroon self, lacking the incomparable form and 
petal of a good Border Carnation, yet a strong hardy and tried variety 
in the border. ' Hercules ' was awarded a unanimous Award of 
Merit by the Floral Committee of this Society in June 1911. Its 
habit is as perpetual as the English seasons will allow, and I have 
seen blooms of this variety in May and in September. It winters 
well as far north as Aberdeen. However, regarding the matter from 
all points, it was considered advisable to discontinue the cross-fertiliza- 
tion of the two types, especially as the Tree or Perpetual Carnation 
imparted to the hybrids a far greater height than is desirable in a 
Border Carnation, and as a rule the clear-cut edge and incomparable 
form of the Border Carnation were entirely destroyed. 
We had noticed that amongst the standard varieties of Border 
