440 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 2, 1881. 
upon all lovers and cultivators of Orchids. Mr. Dominy has now 
retired definitively from the service of Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons 
after being with them more than thirty-five years, carrying with him 
the esteem of his employers and of all who have had to do with 
him. I need not enlarge on Mr. Dominy’s high personal character, on 
his industry and integrity, or on his courteous civility and attention 
to all. His special knowledge and skill are well known, and have 
been a great help, to nearly every Orchid grower in the kingdom. 
Mr. Dominy was the pioneer of the hybridisation of Orchids, and his 
skill has enriched our houses with many beautiful hybrids, such as 
Calanthe Yeitchii, Cattleya exoniensis, C. Devoniensis, C. Dominiana, 
Ladia Yeitchiana, Ac. 
“ It is not desired to do more than give Mr. Dominy a well-earned 
mark of the gratitude and esteem Orchid growers feel for him. 
Several subscriptions have already been promised, varying from £5 5s. 
(the maximum fixed) to 10s. 6 d .; and the following gentlemen, to 
whom alone I have as yet applied, have promised me their co-opera¬ 
tion—Rt. Hon. J. Chamberlain, M.P.; W. E. Brymer, Esq., M.P.; Sir 
Henry Peek, Bart., M.P.; Lord Rendlesham, M.P.; F. A. Philbrick, 
Esq., Q.C. ; J. S. Bockett, Esq.; S. Lea, Esq. 
'• I add a list of Mr. Dominy’s principal hybrid Orchids—Calanthe 
Dominii, Pbaius irroratus, Calanthe Yeitchii, Cattleya Brabantise, 
C. Manglesii, C. quinquecolor, C. Pilcheri, C. Pilcheri alba, C. Domini¬ 
ana, C. Devoniensis, C. exoniensis, C. telix, Lselia Veitchiana, Den¬ 
droid um Dominii, Cypripedium vexillarium, C. Harrisianum, and 
many others.” 
The other hybrids alluded to will be found on the page quoted. 
We trust that the proposition now submitted to the horticultural 
public will be widely responded to, and will be conducted to a 
successful issue. 
Subscriptions will be received by Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., 
or at the London Joint Stock Bank, Pall Mall, S.W. 
THE CARNATION. 
Although the Carnation is one of the most beautiful and 
fragrant of florists’ flowers, and may rank with the Rose, it 
does not appear to attract the attention of florists, for exhibitions 
of the flowers are not numerous, and in some degree this may be 
attributed to the attention the blooms require during the period 
that they become nearly in a state for staging. Daily do they need 
looking at, and many also require the pods being tied to prevent 
bursting, which would disqualify them for exhibition ; and again, 
dressing the flowers and carding them is what few can do properly, 
and where there is a large number of pots much time must be 
spent in dome all that is requisite to procure fine blooms. 
The Carnation is generally supposed to be a native of this 
country, and was no doubt raised from the red Clove Pink, which is 
found growing upon Rochester Castle, as well as on rocks and 
old walls where the soil is dry. According to Chaucer the Clove 
Gilliflower was cultivated as early as the reign of Edward III., 
and at that time was employed to give a spicy flavour to ale or 
wine. In the time of Queen Elizabeth it was in great estimation, 
and often celebrated by the poets of the day. Gerarde enume¬ 
rates forty-nine varieties that were cultivated in the time of 
Charles I., whose consort was extremely fond of flowers ; and 
although many varieties were procured from France and other 
parts of the continent, yet the largest and principal kind of Car¬ 
nation was called the old English Carnation by way of distinction. 
Mr. John Ray remarks in the “ Flora,” which he published in the 
year 16G5, that the Dutch florists at that period had more than 
one hundred distinct varieties by name, all of them fair large 
double flowers. In a late edition of his work 360 good Carnations 
were enumerated by him. 
In the year 1828, the period I commenced growing Carnations, 
the flowers were little behind what they are at the present time ; 
but the Picotees of that time would scarcely find a place in any 
cottage garden now. There was not any that were edged, or 
rather laced, but many irregular stripes, and they continued with¬ 
out any improvement for many years. A variety called John’s 
Prince Albert was the ringleader of our present varieties. It was 
free at seeding ; and Ely, one of our greatest growers and raiser 
of seedlings, took advantage of it, and from it raised Field Marshal, 
and several small growers raised some which were an advance 
of those then generally grown. Nulli Secundus was raised in 
Yorkshire, which was the leading place in England for growers 
and raisers. This variety for some time took most of the first 
prizes, and sold at upwards of 30.?. the pair. The improvement 
from that time became rapid, and those growers who lived when 
such indifferent varieties were then grown would at the present 
time be astonished. Mr. Charles Turner has improved the Pico¬ 
tees, and Mr. E. S. Dodwell has also done much in the same direc¬ 
tion, and Mr. Simonite of Sheffield has assisted and shown some 
extremely fine novelties. Rose Picotees were discarded for many 
years, and now they have become very attractive. 
Carnations are divided into three classes—Bizarres, Flakes, and 
Picotees. The bizarres are so named from the French word, 
which signifies odd or fantastical. The flowers in this class have 
not less than three colours arranged in irregular stripes, termed 
by florists ribboning. Scarlet, purple, and pink are the three 
colours most predominant. The two first are seldom met with in 
the same flower, but the two last more frequently. When the 
scarlet predominates and is united with a paler colour, or, as it 
sometimes happens, upon a white ground, it is called a scarlet 
bizarre, of which there are many shades and varieties ; when the 
pink or crimson abounds it is termed a pink or crimson bizarre ; 
and purple bizarre when the purple abounds. The crimson 
bizarre is so called when the pink or crimson is high and rich 
in colour. The flakes are distinguished as follows—Rose, scarlet, 
and purple flakes. Rose or pink flakes are called from the deep¬ 
ness or paleness of the colour ; the scarlet from the stripes being 
a bright scarlet; and the purple from the purple stripes. 
The Picotees are so called from a French word signifying 
pricked or spotted ; but this style of marking is now superseded 
by a solid edging of red, purple, and rose colour instead of 
stripes. The rose and yellow Picotee have been much admired, 
and consequently have met with admirers who have devoted 
muck time to improve them. The yellow ground ought to be 
much higher in colour than it generally is, and if attention is 
paid to it no doubt it will rank very high in the esteem of florists. 
—John Slater. 
CARPET BEDDING. 
Having been requested by some of our correspondents to sub¬ 
mit diagrams for planting round beds on the carpeting system 
we publish the following, which have been supplied by Mr. 
Graham, who has also suggested modes of planting them effec¬ 
tively. It is, however, not at all necessary that the proposed 
Fig. 100. 
1. Leucophyton Brownii and a dark centre plant. 
2. Alternanthera of any kind. 
3. Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum. 
4. Herniaria glabra. 
5. Alternanthera amoena. 
6. Eckeveria or Seduni (as previously directed). 
method of planting be adhered to, as this point can best be deter¬ 
mined by individual taste and the plants that are most readily 
obtainable. The present is the precise time for furnishing the 
beds ; if done earlier such tender plants as Alternantheras are 
often injured, and are long in recovering from the check they 
receive at the outset. In planting the beds it is important that 
the plants in lines and panels be all of the same size, as the 
effectiveness of the beds depends to a very great extent on the 
care that is exercised in this respect and on accuracy in planting. 
Close planting is advisable for immediate effect, and thinning-out 
