326 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 24, 1891. 
Mediterranean, for stakes, fence making, and other 
purposes. He made his beds 9 ft. long and 3 ft. wide, 
planting the bulbs at 5 ins. apart each way, so that a 
bed of the above size held 144. About the middle of 
April, the beds were dug out to a depth of 2^ ft. to 
3 ft., and these were then filled with stable manure, 
which had been fermented for a fortnight previously in 
a heap. It was filled in evenly and trodden down 
firmly as the work proceeded. On the top of all was 
placed about 18 ins. of compost facing south, so as to 
throw off excessive rain, and catch the rays of the sun. 
The compost consisted of light sandy earth, mixed 
with about one-thirdofold hot-bedmanuie well decayed. 
The soil consisted of material obtained from a pasture, 
and laid in a heap for a year and turned several times during 
that period. Sea sand or fine shelly gravel was added, 
provided the soil was not naturally sandy. 
The bulbs were planted a day or two after the soil 
was put over the dung. Ho water was given after 
planting, and the beds were covered at night with 
mats, if there was any appearance of frost. When the 
leaves were about 1 in. long a little more of the com¬ 
post was added. During June and July large quantities 
of water were given, particularly if the summer was a 
droughty one, in order to make them grow as vigor¬ 
ously as possible. In autumn the beds were covered 
with frames to throw off the wet, while admitting all 
the sunlight possible. By the beginning of December 
the beds were thatched over with straw, making it a 
foot thick at the sides to throw off the wet. About 
the middle of February, if severe frost did not prevail, 
the bulbs were lifted, preserving the fleshy roots as 
intact as possible, and stored in dry sand till April, the 
planting time. This annual relifting was considered 
essential to produce complete rest, and assist in the 
development of the flower-stem. With the exception of 
two or three of the strongest, the offsets were removed 
at lifcing time in February, and those appearing during 
the summer were also rigorously kept down when the 
object was to get bulbs sufficiently strong to flower. 
Of course all offsets removed in February could be 
kept to increase stock ; but generally the increase was 
so great that only the stronger were required. 
During the second year of growth the same method 
of culture was pursued, and some of the stronger bulbs 
flowered, after which they had to be grown cn again 
for another couple of years to get the offsets to the 
proper size, as the old bulbs never flowered a second 
time. At the February lifting all the strong bulbs 
were fit for sale or forcing purposes, according to the 
requirements. The small ones were again planted in 
April. The chief points to be observed were to keep 
the plants growing vigorously from May to October, 
and at rest and dry for the remainder of the year. 
--- 
THE CARNATION AS A BORDER 
FLOWER.* 
By Mr. Eichard Dean, F.R.H.S. 
I HAVE been asked to treat of the Carnation as a border 
flower, as everybody’s flower in fact—the floral pet of 
all who love the sweet-smelling blossoms of the old 
Gillyflower of our English gardens. It can appeal to 
our patriotism with a kind of pride of race, and it 
compels the homage of the heart and senses to a degree 
perhaps shared only by the Rose. Let the rosarian 
extol his favourite flower, as he doffs his cap and shouts 
Floreat regina florum! It is worthy of his highest 
devotion and service. "We who love the Carnation 
maintain that if any flower can be said to be the idol 
of the masses it is the Carnation—in whose honour we 
are holding high festival to-day. And it can boast of 
aristocratic admirers also, for did not Sarah, Duchess of 
Marlborough, display great partiality for the Carnation ? 
The gossip in the society papers of her day declared 
that she had every year two hundred pots of them, 
esteeming them as hen successor at Blenheim does in 
these days his Orchids ; and she is reported as fre¬ 
quently saying that nothing gave her so much pleasure 
as the sight of Carnations in full bloom, and which she 
preferred to all the greenhouse plants in her possession. 
And in our day the Malmaison and other Carnations 
repose as button-holes upon the breast of many a one 
who can prefer the claim of long descent, and whose 
blood is as blue as the most regal Delphinium. We 
who are to-day attending the levee the Carnation holds 
in the historic gardens at Chiswick justify our laudation 
of it on the grounds that it is popular with all classes, 
that it is easily cultivated, that it abundantly repays 
good culture, that to beauty of form and expression it 
adds a delightful variation -in character, that it com¬ 
*A paper read at the Carnation Conference at Chiswick in 
July, 1890, 
bines brilliant hues with delicate tints, and, as of 
supreme importance, it perfumes the air with grateful 
fragrance, which rises up through the fine pores of its 
scented petals. Let me guard against any possible 
assumption that, in pleading for the recognition of the 
Carnation as a border plant, I am in any way opposing 
the practice or manifesting hostility to the methods of 
the florist, who grows his plants in pots in order to 
secure fine exhibition flowers. Nothing of the kind. 
The florist—meaning thereby the cultivator for exhi¬ 
bition—is as much an advocate of border culture for the 
Carnation as I am, or anyone else. I state this much 
because it has been made to appear that the florist 
cultivates a number of 
Varieties in Pots 
that need to be so treated, making them—so his critics 
say—greenhouse plants, because these are weakly and 
delicate, and unless so treated would surely die. In 
such strain of playful banter some writers are found 
gently tickling the susceptibilities of our floricultural 
brethren who make up our Carnation shows. Nothing 
can be further from the truth, except it is this type of 
writer. Many of the best varieties of bizarre and 
flaked Carnations and edged Picotees are so robust and 
so full of constitutional vigour that they make excellent 
border plants, as can be seen in the beds Mr. Barron 
has planted with Carnations received from so many 
parts of the country. I do not think I ever knew a 
grower of Carnations in pots who did not have his beds 
and borders of Carnations in the open. If he is a 
raiser of improved varieties from seed, he plants them 
out in the open and proves them there, and if anything 
of promise rewards his efforts he will lift the plant and 
place it in a pot for security, as also for the convenience 
of layering the grass, and so obtaining increase. Do 
we not all adopt the practice of specially caring for 
those possessions to which we attach the greatest value ? 
though I have known a florist to think much more 
highly of a seedling flower than of his reputation. I 
confess that when I visit Mr. Dodwell’s Carnation 
garden at Oxford, during the blooming-time, I always 
take more interest In the open than in the named 
varieties he cultivates in pots. They overflow in beds, 
in borders, and at all points ; it is a kind of Carnation 
inundation that for a time almost hides from view 
every other floral aspect. And there is scarcely an 
exhibitor of Carnations of whose garden this could not 
be said. The real fact is, it is the florist who raises 
superior varieties of the Carnation who does so much to 
enrich our borders with new and valuable flowers. He 
is limited by the rules governing exhibitions in his 
selection of types to grow. Outside these are hundreds 
full of grace and tenderness—winsome and delightful 
floral morsels—that become the occupants of the 
borders, gilding and enlivening them with touches of 
beauty of which the Carnation is so prodigal. There 
is nothing too good to go into the open border ; the 
most valuable Carnation ever raised would not be out 
of place there. There is excellent common sense in 
the remark made by old Luke Ashmole, of Tulip 
renown, some years ago : “Thou knowest that a good 
thing takes up no more room in a garden than a bad 
one, and what’s the use of growing a bad one ? ” Let 
some organs ofthegardening Press rage ever so furiously, 
and ambitious and not always well-informed writers 
imagine a vain thing, to-day in our Carnation parliament 
we gratefully acknowledge the valuable help of the florist 
in enriching our borders with lovely Carnations. 
The Grower a Raiser of Seedlings. 
I would have every grower of border Carnations be 
also a raiser of seedlings. It is a hackneyed saying, 
but I do not think any cultivator of flowers has rightly 
comprehended the poetry of the subject until he has 
raised and bloomed seedlings. There is romance in 
it as well as poetry ; the evolution of seedling flowers is 
so full of surprises as to come near to the miraculous. 
Let anyone who to-day has found in the Carnation 
a' goddess worthy of his worship and a life’s devotion 
make a note of some of the varieties exhibited which 
strike him as being worthy of possession, or that are 
in the Carnation beds yonder. Let him obtain young 
plants of these in the autumn, and plant them out in a 
well-prepared bed, tend them as objects of almost price¬ 
less value, bloom them well, and then, if Nature is in 
a consenting mood, save some seed, and commence the 
fascinating and all-engrossing pastime of raising seed¬ 
lings. Or, to save time, he may prefer to obtain seed 
from a reliable source. Let him sow it—not in the 
autumn, for that is risky without due convenience for 
wintering the plants, but in the opening spring-time— 
early in March to April, when the storm of heat rolls 
hitherward— 
Enveloping heat, enchanted robe, 
"Wraps the Daisy and the globe. 
Transforming what it doth unfold, 
Life out of death, new out of old. 
Sow the seeds carefully in pots, pans, or a shallow box, 
in a suitable and somewhat gritty compost, place them 
in a cold frame, keep them cool and moist, and in a 
short time the tiny plants will appear. As soon as 
they are large enough to bear it, let him prick them 
off into shallow boxes or deep pans, protecting them 
from withering winds and drying sunshine, and grow 
them on until they become large enough for trans¬ 
planting to beds in the open ground. The older 
florists in the north used to make a point of sowing 
seed at midsummer, doing it in the open air on a 
northern aspect ; and they always advocated deep 
sowing. Nowadays a quicker return is sought for ; 
hence the plan of sowing I have suggested. The 
position of the bed is a matter of moment—-the Car¬ 
nation likes an open and breezy aspect, revelling in 
pure air and bright sunshine. Important also is the 
matter of soil. I think the soil of the Chiswick 
Gardens too light generally for the Carnation. It does 
best in a fairly firm one, and if a suitable compost 
has to be prepared, let it be of good fibry yellow 
loam, with the addition of plenty of thoroughly rotted 
manure from any old Cucumber bed, as far as possible 
free from grubs and any noxious insects ; add some 
leaf-soil and the ashes from burnt vegetable refuse, 
or, failing that, some grit from a gravelled, but not a 
granite, road. The bed should be deeply dug, and the 
manure and other materials forked into it to the depth 
of a foot or so. If the soil of the garden be a light and 
friable one, it should be strengthened and made firmer 
by the addition of some stiff yellow loam, and then 
a good Carnation bed is secured ; and at the time of 
planting let the plants be removed with as much soil as 
possible adhering to the roots, so that the check in 
development shall be a slight one—placing a little fine 
compost about the roots to encourage a quick root 
action, and pressing the soil firmly about the plants. 
Carnations, whether in pots or in borders, may be said 
to like a firm bottom ; if the soil be light and loose 
the plants suffer severely at a time of drought. 
Whether a bed be made specially for the plants 
(which is not always convenient), or the plants be 
placed in the mixed border, let there be good cultivation. 
He who would have good flowers must cultivate well 
—that is a golden rule in plant culture for all time. 
Other points in the cultural process are to give a 
support to any plants at the time of planting that may 
need it, and maintain this until blooming time ; let 
the surface be stirred occasionally, and be kept clear of 
weeds, and let the soil be kept firm about the roots of 
the plants, and some top-dressing of a rich character be 
occasionally given. 
Success in Carnation Culture. 
When planting out in beds, the plants should be 18 ins. 
apart, and even wider in the case of strong-growiDg 
varieties, so that they may be conveniently layered. A 
keen look-out must be kept for vermin—for wireworm 
and grubs in the soil, for green-fly and cuckoo-spit on 
the foliage, and that marauder by night, the snail— 
and no quarter be given. By means of a large camel’s- 
hair brush, green-fly can be swept away into infinite 
space ; frequent brushings are advantageous. The 
green-fly is a small and insignificant insect, but it 
can tax the resources and exhaust the patience of the 
biggest man. Do not trouble about plants that have 
bloomed two years in succession ; their tenure of 
existence is uncertain, and their flowers small. It is 
better to renew annually by seedlings or by layers. 
Let the work of layering bo performed by the end of 
July or early in August, so that the layers may root 
well by the autumn. No winter will destroy a healthy 
well-rooted layer ; but the winter will often destroy 
the pith of old plants, and death ensues. Success in 
Carnation culture lies through a round of daily 
attentions constantly given. It is the small services 
rendered to the plants which help to make up the sum 
of success. Remember the story of the sculptor 
Michael Angelo. A friend called on him as he had just 
finished a bust. He called a month afterwards, and 
there was still the bust—apparently untouched during 
the intervening period. Accusing the sculptor of 
idleness, Angelo replied by instancing the execution of 
several small details which had improved his work. 
“But these are trifles,” said the visitor. “True,’’ 
said the sculptor, “ but trifles make perfection, and 
perfection is no trifle.” So it is with the successful 
culture of Carnations and other plants. The critics of 
the florist in the gardening papers are sometimes 
imaginary painters ; they picture an ideal plant of a 
