130 HARDY PERENNIALS 
moist they will in due time throw out roots, when 
the growths can be severed from the main plant 
and potted. By the following Spring, vigorous 
young plants will be ready for planting out. 
Dianthus. — Under this generic name there are 
grouped a number of the most popular favourites 
among florists' flowers, and a great many lovely 
species that are highly prized as Rock-garden 
subjects. 
The border carnation, botanically named D. 
caryophyllus, has been the subject of much literature, 
and naturally so for it has long occupied a foremost 
position among the exhibition flowers of the orthodox 
florist. 
The flakes, bizarres, picotees, and yellow-ground 
fancies which grace the exhibition table are gener- 
ally grown in pots and given the protection of a 
glass roof to preserve their blossoms from damage 
by rain or dust, this method of culture demanding 
much care and considerable skill ; but treated as 
ordinary garden perennials the requirements of the 
Carnation are perfectly simple, and the plants are 
not only perfectly hardy, but are among the very 
best of subjects for the town garden, being exception- 
ally capable of withstanding the evil effects of a 
smoke-laden atmosphere. A loamy soil, with plenty 
of sand and lime, best meets their requirements, firm 
planting, judicious staking to support their weighty 
flower stems, and a moderate amount of feeding 
and disbudding constituting the main principles 
