derfiood by fuch as have never fee'n them, I fliall J 
defcribe a very Ample one, which I have ufed for fe- 
deral years, which anfwers the purpofe full as well as 
the belt and moft expenfive one can do : firft, pre- 
pare fome common flat pans, about fourteen or fixteen 
inches over, and three inches deep ; place thefe two 
and two oppofite to each other, at about two feet 
diftance, and at every eight feet lengthways, two of 
thefe pans •, in each of thefe whelm a flower-pot, 
which fhould be about fix inches over at the top, 
upfide-down, and lay a flat piece of timber, about 
two feet and a half long, and three inches thick, 
crofs from pot to pot, till you have finifhed the whole 
length of your ftage ; then lay your planks length- 
ways upon thefe timbers, which will hold two rows 
of planks for the fize pots which were ordered for the 
Carnations •, and when you have fet yoiir pots upon 
the ftage, fill the fiat pans with water, always ob- 
ferving, as it decreafes in the pans, to replenifh it, 
which will effectually guard your flowers againft in- 
fers •, for they do not care to fwim over water, fo 
that if by this, or any other contrivance, the paffage 
from the ground to the ftage, on which the pots are 
placed, is defended by a furface of water three or 
four inches broad, and as much in depth, it will ef- 
fectually prevent thefe vermin from getting to the 
flowers. 
This ftage Ihould be placed in a fituation open to the 
fouth-eaft, but defended from the weft winds, to 
which thefe ftages muft not be expofed, left the pots 
Ihould be blown down by the violence of that wind, 
which is often very troublefome at the feafon when 
thefe flowers blow ; indeed they Ihould be defended 
by trees at fome diftance, from the winds of every 
point ; but thefe trees fliould not be too near the 
ftage, nor by any means place them near walls, or 
tall buildings, for in fuch fituation s the ftems of the 
flowers will draw up too weak. About this time, viz. 
the middle of April, • your layers will begin to fhoot 
up for flower •, you muft therefore be provided with 
fome fquare deal fticks, about four feet and a half 
long, which Ihould be thicker toward the bottom, 
and planed off taper at the top ; thefe fticks Ihould 
be carefully ftuck into the pots as near as poffible to 
the plant, without injuring it; then with a (lender 
piece of bafs mat, fallen the lpindle to the ftick to 
prevent its being broken ; this you muft often repeat, 
as the lpindle advances in height, and alfo oblerve 
to pull off all fide fpindles as they are produced, and 
never let more than two fpindles remain upon one 
root, nor above one, if you intend to blow exceeding 
large. Toward the beginning of June your flowers 
will have attained their greateft height, and their pods 
will begin to fwell, and fome of the earlieft begin to 
open on one fide; you muft therefore obferve to let 
it open in two other places at equal angles ; this muft 
be done fo foon as you perceive the pod break, other- 
wife your flower will run out on one fide, and be in 
a fhort time paft recovering, fo as to make a com- 
plete flower, and in a few days after the flowers begin 
to open, you muft cover them with glaffes which are 
made for that purpofe, in the following manner : 
Upon the top of the glafs, exa&ly in the center, is 
a tin collar, or focket, about three fourths of an inch 
fquare, for the flower-ftick to come through ; to this 
focket are foldered eight flips of lead at equal dis- 
tances, which are about fix inches and a half long, 
and fpread open at the bottom about four inches 
aftmder ; into thefe flips of lead are fattened flips of 
glafs, cut according to the diftances of the lead, 
which, when they are fixed in, are bordered round 
the bottom with another flip of lead quite round, fo 
that the glafs hath eight angles, with the focket in 
the middle, and fpread open at the bottom about 
eleven inches wide. 
When your flowers are open enough to cover with 
thefe glaffes, you muft make a hole through your 
flower-ftick, exaftly to the height of the under part 
of the pod, through which you fliould put a piece of 
fmall wire about fix inches long, making a ring at 
one end of the wire to contain the pod, into which 
ring you fhould fix the ftem of the flower ; then cut 
off ail the tyings of bafs, and thruft the ftem of the 
flower fo far from the ftick, as may give convenient 
room for the flower to expand without preffing ■againft 
the flick ; to which diftance you may fix it, by turn- 
ing' your wire fo as not to draw back through the 
hole ; then make another hole through the ftick, at 
a convenient diftance above the flower, through which 
you fhould put a piece of wire, an inch and a half 
long, which is to fupport the glaffes from Aiding 
down upon the flowers ; and be fare to obferve, that 
the glaffes are net placed fo high as to admit the fun 
and rain under them to the flowers, nor fo low as to 
fcorch their leaves with the heat. At this time alfo, 
or a few days after, as you fliall judge necefiary, 
you fhould cut fome ftiff paper, cards, or fome fuch 
thing, into collars about four inches over, and ex- 
aftly round, cutting a hole in the middle of it about 
three fourths of an inch diameter,, for the bottom of 
the flower to be let through ; then place thefe collars 
about them, to fupport the petals of the flower from 
hanging down ; this collar fhould be placed with in- 
flde the calyx of the flower, and fhould be iupported 
thereby ; then obferve from day to day what progrefs 
your flowers make ; and if one fide comes out fafter 
than the other, you fhould turn the pot about, and 
fhift the other fide towards the fun ; and alfo if the 
weather proves very hot, you fhould fhade the glaffes 
in the heat of the day with Cabbage leaves, &c. to 
prevent their being fcorched, or forced out too foon ; 
and when the middle pod begins to rife, you fliould 
take out the calyx thereof with a pair of nippers 
made for that purpofe ; but this fhould not be done 
too loon, left the middle part of the flower fliould 
advance too high above the Tides, which will greatly 
diminifh the beauty of it : and you fliould alfo ob- 
ferve whether there are more leaves in the flower, 
than can properly be expanded for want of room ; in 
which cafe you fhould put out fome of the lowermoft 
or moft unlikely leaves to fpread, drawing out and 
expanding the others at the fame time : and when 
your flowers are fully blown, if you cut them off, 
you fliould put on a freflh collar of ftiff paper, which 
fhould be cut exadlly to the fize of the flower, that 
it may fupport the petals to their full width, but not 
to be feen wider than the flower in any part : when 
this is put on, you muft draw out the wideft leaves 
to form the outfide of the flower, which although 
they fliould be in the middle (as it often happens,) 
yet by removing the other leaves they may be drawn 
down, and fo the next longdft leaves upon them 
again, that the whole flower may appear equally glo- 
bular without any hollow parts. In the doing of this, 
fome florifts are fo curious as to render an indifferent 
flower very handfome ; and on this depends, in a 
great meafure, the (kill of the artift to produce large 
fine flowers. 
During the flowering feafon, particular care fhould 
be taken not to let them fuffer for want of water, 
which fliould by no means be raw fpring water ; nor 
do I approve of compound waters, fuch as are en- 
riched with various forts of dung ; but the beft arid 
moft natural water is that of a fine foft river ; next 
to that is pond water, or ftanding water ; but if you 
have no other than fpring water, it fliould be expofed 
to the fun and air two days before it is ufed, other- 
wife it will give the flowers the canker and fpoil 
them. 
The direfrions here given are chiefly for the ma- 
nagement of thofe large Carnations, which require the 
greateft drill of the florifts, to have them in perfec- 
tion ; but as of late years thefe have not been fo muck 
in efteem as formerly, and thofe flowers which do 
not break their pods, and are termed whole Blowers, 
have now the preference. Thefe are generally planted 
in pots, and treated in the fame way as the large 
flowers, but do not require fo much trouble to blow 
them : all that is necefiary to be done for thefe, is to 
fatten their ftems up to fiower-ftkks to prevent their 
being 
