Plate 166 . 
PINKS, THE KEY. GEOEGE JEANS AND 
LOED HEEBEET. 
Scant indeed is the encouragement given to exhibitors of 
Pinks in the neighbourhood of London, the only prizes offered 
being, we believe, at the Eoyal Botanic Society. They are some¬ 
times, indeed, brought forward by Mr. Charles Turner and 
others, at the Eoyal Horticultural Society's exhibition, and 
perhaps awarded an extra prize in the miscellaneous class, but 
no regular entries of them are made, and yet they are surely 
deserving of a little more attention than they have received. It 
is indeed true that they do not exhibit that diversity of colour¬ 
ing which is so conspicuous in other florists’ flowers; but then 
the beautiful build of the flower, and its exquisite perfume, 
compensate for the defect, if defect it be. 
It is almost impossible for those who have not seen the 
wonderful stands of blooms brought forward by Mr. Turner, to 
imagine the perfection to which this flower is brought under 
his care and management, for not only must the blooms be 
large, clean, and well-coloured, but they require to be carefully 
manipulated, or “ dressed,” as it is technically called, afterwards ; 
and hence it is not to be expected that under ordinary culture, 
blooms such as those which Mr. Andrews has so faithfully re¬ 
presented are to be obtained, and this often leads people igno¬ 
rantly to say that the drawings are exaggerated. 
The present time is the most favourable one for obtaining 
plants of Pinks, for when planted out early, they are much 
more certain to produce flowers well and evenly laced, than 
when the planting is deferred; they like a rich, open, and 
friable soil, and require to be watched carefully for some time, 
as worms are very apt to throw them out of the soil, or drag 
