VO I,. XXXI. No. 13 .1 
WHOLE No. 1313. ! 
NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N. Y„ 11 ARCH 27, 1875, 
PRICE SIX CENTS. 
PER YEAR. 
---[Entered^ accor d i ng to Act of Con^e,,. to tile TW Ifflg. Dr the Rura» Publlshin, ^p, ny , .n Uh> ottjjf the Jbr.r,.n of ,u 
extraordinary; from the time his layers are | as the flower stems appear suitable stalks 
‘ U ’. UU1 i al * *“L ■» a rewarded with U» I are provided, to which the stem, are tied „ m “± to 
THE CARNATION. 
~ 
Dianthus Uuryophyllus, the old Clove pink, 
is said to be the parent of the choice carna¬ 
tions, Cloves andPicotees, now so extensively 
cultivated and so universally admired. These 
plants are referred to in general and popular 
terms as Clove Pinks, Carnation 
Pinks, and Clpve Carnations, names 
which answer very well for ordinary 
purposes, but not sufficiently definite 
for the use of the florist, who distin¬ 
guishes them as Cloves, Carnations, 
and Picotees. The Carnations are 
known as Bizarres and Flakes. The 
Bizzarre varieties are irregularly va¬ 
riegated with spots and stripes of 
three colors, and these again are 
called Crimson Bazarrn* or Scarlet 
Bazarres, according as one or the 
other color predominates, and eaoh 
kind is known by its own name. 
The varieties are very numerous. 
The Flake varieties are also sub-di 
vided, as Scarlet Flakes, Purple / 
Flakes, Pink, Rose and Yellow Jj 
Flakes ; but the Flake varieties con- W 
slst only of two colors, and it is the 4iS 
proportion and distinctness of the 
colors, combined with the perfect [ p 
form of the flowers, which deter- 
miue the value of the variety. The \\f'| 
Picotees differ from the Carnations 
in having a pure white or yellow if 
ground, while the extreme edges of 
the petals are distinctly marked \YMkc 
with a delicate tracery of pink, pur- 
pie, scarlet, rose or crimson. The VV.iV: 
Cloves ure mostly self-colored, and 
are pure white, pink, rose, yellow, 
scarlet and deep, rich crimson. The /S'* gH 
old, large-flowered Crimson Clove is 1 v; 
now very scarce. All of the Clove “ Vj 
varieties are most remarkable for Qa 
the peculiar spicy fragrance of the ' V 
flowers, which rendered the plant V 
conspicuous even in its primitive and \' 
uncultivated forms. ''O 
The Carnation has been found in a v 
wild State in several countries of 
Europe, but most frequently along 
the Mediterranean shores of France, 
where it delights in warm, sunny 
bunks apd dry, sheltered locations. 
AY hen Dianthus Caryophyllua was 
first brought into cul* ivatiun is not 
known with any degree of certainty, 
neither is it known when it first as¬ 
sumed the double form ; bub it has 
been cultivated in Europe from time 
immemorial, and has always been 
held in the highest favor, not only 
by florists, but by all classes of soci¬ 
ety. In Italy and Germany it is 
cultivated very extensively, and so 
much care is bestowed on the saving 
of the seeds of these plants that they 
are celebrated all over the world 
The Carnation has also long been 
cultivated with much care in En¬ 
gland. It is recorded that at the 
beginning of the eighteenth century 
there were as many as 400 named 
varieties in cultivation ; and for 
many years Carnation societies have 
existed, where the culture and ex¬ 
hibition of these flowers have been & 
specialty, to the exclusion of all other 
flowers. The way a Carnation en¬ 
thusiast rides his hobby is something 
extraordinary ; from the time his layers are 
first rooted uutil he is rewarded with the 
fully-developed flowers his attention is un¬ 
remitting ; he works on apd watches them 
so closely by day that it is unsafe for the 
smallest insects to approach the premises, 
and every phase of development is carefully 
noted. He dreams about them at night ; in 
short, his Carnations are his all in all. Un¬ 
der these circumstances, the Carnations are 
generally grown in large; pots, and as soon 
as tlie flower stems appear suitable stalks 
are provided, to which the stems are tied as 
they advance ; when the buds appear they 
are guarded with the strictest care, and, 
when sufficiently advanced, all defective 
buds are removed, leaving none but such as 
give promise of perfect flowers ; later, when 
the buds show signs of bursting, a circular 
piece of card board, with a hole in the cen¬ 
ter, is passed over the bud to about the 
center ; on this the flower expands and the 
llPir 
LA. BELLE CARNATION. 
pefals are made to lay with the most perfect 
l egularity. When in bloom they are care¬ 
fully protected from sun and rain by a can¬ 
vas awning, and when Exhibition day ar¬ 
rives the flowers are gathered and placed in 
a box, in which is a receptacle for each 
flower. Tlis florist generally carries them, 
arranges them on the exhibition table, and 
stands convenient so as to watch his flowers 
the whole of the time. Very rarely indeed 
is it that a deputy is intrusted with any of 
these important delails. If he is suc¬ 
cessful and carries off flint prize, he 
is amply rewarded for all his care 
and anxiety; jf unsuccessful, he 
gathers himself for a more deter¬ 
mined effort next season. 
In England the choice florist Car¬ 
nations are generally grown in large 
pots, filled with rich earth, and when 
the shoots are of sufficient length the 
surface soil of the pots is stirred up, 
a little fresh, line soil added, and the 
shoots layered and fastened down to 
root ; when well rooted they are 
taken up and potted in small pots to 
keep over winter. The Carnations 
and Picotees ore also propagated by 
cuttings or pipings, as they are 
called; but they are generally win- 
// ^ } a * toa11 fl° ts to frames, and 
7 shifted into larger pots for flowering 
jy as the season advances. 
( The only drawback to the culture 
i7, of fuese florist varieties is the short 
PE'/ dur «Won of the flowering season, 
i fly Jtowh is in sumraer or early fall, and 
f %/ Y* r their highly-colored, richly-tinted 
Jf flowers to attain perfection under an 
■// American suushine muchcare would 
H // be ^eessary in shading, as the fierce 
■if/ Sll 7 5 m y s would soon extract the 
W co ors ; fortunately we have a 
-is- splendid substitute in the tree or 
perpetual varieties. These are now 
almost as rich and varied in color as 
the florist varieties, embracing near¬ 
ly every shade of color from the 
purest white to the deepest crimson, 
and combining the most delightful 
fragrance with such a free growth 
and continuous ilowering habit as 
gives them great value, especially 
for winter flowering. The perpetual 
Carnations, too, are much more 
readily propagated than the other 
sorts and much easier to grow during 
our hot summers, as we have only to 
plant them out and Jet them grow all 
summer and lift them in September, 
they are soon ready to flower all 
winter, when their flowers are in¬ 
valuable. 
In addition to the usual type of 
the tree or perpetual Carnation, we 
now have a climbing, or semi-climb¬ 
ing, sort. The variety called La 
Belle , as represented by the cut, 
may, on account of this peculiarity 
of growth, be made to assume any 
desired form ; it may be flowered as 
a bush at 12 or 20 inches high, or it 
may be trained to a pillar of the 
conservatory, or to a trellis against 
the back of the greenhouse, or around 
a balloon-shaped trellis fastened to 
the pot, or any other form. We in¬ 
troduced this plant two years ago. 
We find its character is, if left un¬ 
touched, to grow straight up and 
commence to flower when from 12 
to 18 inches high, and to continue to 
grow and flower as long as it is sup¬ 
plied with proper soil to grow in and 
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