128 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
from seed sown in gentle heat in March, or in a cold frame in 
April. The former is the best plan to adopt for rearing the 
Marguerite Carnation and the latter for the Selfs, Fancies, 
etc. The Marguerite seedlings will flower in July or August. 
Those that do not bloom till later can be lifted, potted and 
placed in a greenhouse to flower in autumn. The other Car- 
nation seedlings will not flower till the following year. In 
the case of all seedlings pull up and destroy those with single 
flowers, retaining only those that bear double ones. Carna- 
tions may also be increased by pipings as advised for Pinks, 
but layering is a better method. 
Picotees are merely a distinct type of Carnation, with a 
groundwork of one colour, white or yellow, edged with rose, 
red or purple. They are very dainty flowers and come in most 
useful for cutting. Those with a yellow ground are the 
prettiest. They require the same culture as Carnations, which 
see. 
Sweet Williams,, are varieties of D. barbatus, and have been 
grown in English gardens for ages. There are several strains, 
such as the Auricula-eyed, with flowers of a red or other rich 
colour, and with a clear white eye ; grandiflorus, a large- 
flowered strain ; nigricans, foliage a dark purple and flowers 
dark red ; and a double-flowered strain, flore pleno. Some, 
too, have self-coloured and others spotted flowers. All are 
excellent border flowers, thriving in any good, ordinary 
soil. They are best treated as biennials — i.e., raised from 
seeds sown outdoors in April, transplanting the seedlings when 
large enough to handle, 3 to 4in. apart in a nursery bed, and 
finally planting in borders in September to flower the following 
year. Choice kinds may be increased by cuttings in a cold 
frame in autumn. 
Chinese or Indian Pinks are very showy garcfen flowers. 
There are numerous varieties in cultivation which have origi- 
nated from D. chinensis, a Chinese biennial species. The 
plants grow from 6 to i2in. high, and bear single or double 
flowers with notched petals. Although biennials they may 
be treated as annuals, i.e., reared from seed sown on a hot-bed, 
or in a heated greenhouse in February, the seedlings being 
afterwards transplanted into boxes, grown in gentle heat till 
May, then hardened off and planted out a foot apart in June. 
Treated thus they will flower the same season., 'If sown out- 
doors the plants cannot be relied upon to flower the same 
season. Seeds may be sown in a cold frame in August or 
September, and the seedlings grown therein till April or May, 
then planted out,' /These Pinks require a sunny position and 
a well-drained, rich soil. The chief varieties are Heddewigii 
diadematus, double, various colours ; Crimson Belle, single, 
