The Cultivation of Flowers 191 
Thymus micans. — A dense green cushion with small 
pink flowers. 
Veronica pectinata. — A very pretty rock plant which 
produces spikes of azure-blue flowers during May and June. 
Viola. — Some of these are well suited for growth on 
the rockery, if placed at the base, where they are not ex- 
posed to too much sun. 
The above is only a very small selection of rock plants. 
A larger selection will be found in some of the larger books 
on gardening. 
CARNATIONS AND ROSES 
These are of such importance in the garden that it 
is proposed to take them singly. They are considered 
to be the finest of all our garden flowers, and the culti- 
vation of these beautiful plants is not so well understood 
as it should be. 
The Carnation 
This is not often met with in our cottage gardens, 
partly because of a want of knowledge of the proper 
method of its cultivation and partly because of the terrible 
disease which carries off so many of our plants. Another 
cause may be that those who raise the new varieties of 
this class of plants lay more stress on the fine blooms than 
on the robust constitution of the plants, which would 
enable them to resist better the ravages of the disease. 
The seeds may be sown thinly in pots or pans, well 
drained and filled to within i in. of the top with soil. 
The seed should then be covered with ^ in. of soil and 
placed on a gentle hotbed or in the greenhouse. The 
pots or pans should be afterwards covered with a piece 
