72 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 5, 1889. 
Carnation Notes. 
However much we may be disposed to demur at the 
“Man of Kent’s” picture of Carnations as they were 
fifty years ago and as we have them to-day, he is at 
least to be congratulated on having induced the Nestor 
of floriculture to draw for our benefit on the rich stores 
of his memory and experience in the cultivation of his 
favourite flower, and I hope the promise from him of 
more on the same pleasant and never-wearying theme 
may not be long in its fulfilment. The “Man of 
Kent’s” estimate of the flowers of fifty years back 
relatively to those lately seen at the Drill Hall reminds 
one of Thackeray’s story of the superlative cakes of his 
youth, and his sad disillusionment when revisiting the 
scene of once delightful repasts at a more mature period 
of life. “ 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the 
view,” and were it possible to bring those “fine 
blooms ” of bygone days under the eyes of the “ Man 
of Kent ” now, and place them beside such flowers as 
were shown at the Drill Hall last July, he would only 
experience another of those disillusionings which come 
in some shape to all of us as]time goes on. But even if 
we had not, happily, contemporary testimony like that 
of our friend Mr. Dodwell to enlighten us, the facts as 
we know them would be sufficiently corrective of the 
“Man of Kent’s ” impressions. Certainly, if by “fine 
blooms ” he is thinking mainly of size—and uncon¬ 
sciously, perhaps, he is—then I should not question 
his position ; but it is quality which, in this connection, 
would be wholly in a florists’ mind. 
I write away from any opportunity of reference, 
hut out of the long lists of Carnations and Pieotees 
given by Hogg, in his Supplement, published in 1S33, 
very few, I think, if any, will be found mentioned in 
floricultural publications of twenty years later. Of 
Carnations originating in the forties even, how many are 
there which yet hold first rank ? The still dauntless 
old Admiral and the unwitherable Sarah seems to 
exhaust the list. Granting the more or less early decline 
from high estate of so many, and the total extinction of 
others, we may still believe that had quality worthy 
of perpetuation existed in such abundance, we should 
have had more of it preserved to us, as we have had it 
in the cases of Admiral Curzon and Sarah Payne. 
As to the Picotee of the old days, it does not seem to 
say much for the status of the flower when we find so 
severe a censor as Glenny laying down the law so 
gently for her, that though he must have her “ feather ” 
continuous he will not insist that it shall be of uniform 
breadth throughout. These would have been fine 
things to have brought to the Drill Hall, where they 
would have evoked, I imagine, much the same feeling as 
the re-appearance of the coal-scuttle bonnets of our 
great grandmothers. At the great show at Slough six 
years ago a gentlemen handed round, shortly after the 
luncheon, a Bronze Medal which he had won at an ex¬ 
hibition of Carnations just fifty years before. I took 
the opportunity of asking him whether the flowers of 
those times were as good as we had seen that day. 
His “ Oh, dear no ! ” in reply was as candid as it was 
decisive. It would, indeed, have been strange had it 
been otherwise. The contrary view would have meant 
that all the devotion and skill of two generations of 
florists had been in vain.— M. Rowan. 
Auriculas in October. 
Auriculas are now falling away to their winter’s rest, 
the older leaves are turning yellow, and the plants in 
consequence appear to become smaller ; but there is 
no real cause for anxiety. There are forces in the 
plant that will strengthen and solidify during the 
winter, that in the spring-time will become active, and 
produce leaf, bud, and blossom. The loss of the outer 
leaves in the autumn need cause the grower no 
apprehension, if the plants have good sound filbert-like 
centres. But little water will now be needed, and none 
need be given until the plants plainly ask for it, by a 
slight flagging of the leaves. Auriculas are much safer 
during the winter months through being kept a little 
dry, than from being wet ; so long as the soil is moist 
enough to keep the plant alive and healthy, that is 
sufficient. But there are several little attentions 
necessary : the occasional stirring of the surface-soil, 
the removal of all decaying foliage likely to cause rot, 
the maintenance of a free circulation of air, and a sharp 
look out for any plants that appear to be falling back 
in condition. As soon as this is noticeable, the plant 
should be turned out of the soil, and the root examined. 
It may be taken for granted there is something the 
matter at the roots, and if rot has set in, the afflicted 
parts should be cut away, and the plant re-potted, 
placing it at the side of a small pot, and treating it to 
a little coco fibre and sand mixed together, to induce 
root action. It must not be supposed that the Auricula 
is not an interesting plant during the winter. It is 
interesting, at all times to those who tend it, from the 
attachment they hear this genus.— R. D. 
Antirrhinums. 
I think the beauty of the old-fashioned homely Snap¬ 
dragon is scarcely so much appreciated as it deserves to 
be. I was in a garden not long since where there were, 
growing in a border, plants that had attained to a large 
size, and had formed remarkable heads of bloom, and 
the owner of this garden was justifiably proud of his 
plants, for he had selected seed, sown it, raised the 
seedlings, and saw them bloom—all to his great joy. 
Though classed among the hardy perennials, the 
Antirrhinum will flower the first year from seed, there¬ 
fore seed should be sown as early as possible in a gentle 
heat, the young plants pricked off into boxes or pans, 
grown on into size in a cold frame, and planted out in 
the open when large enough. The advantage of getting 
the plants on quickly is that the raiser can get them 
into bloom by the month of September, if not earlier ; 
he can then select the best among his seedlings and take 
cuttings from them, because, like other perennials, as 
soon as the Antirrhinum has gone out of flower it 
throws up young growths from around the base of the 
main stem, and if these are made into cuttings, put 
round the sides of pots of sandy soil, and kept 
close for a time, they soon make roots, and then they 
can be grown on, making very fine plants to put out to 
flower the summer following. 
I am at the present time putting in cuttings of two or 
three beautiful striped varieties raised from seed sown 
in March last. It may be said that the strains of seeds 
of the present day are so fine that anyone who sows 
them is certain to get a fine lot of flowers ; but anyone 
who has raised few good things is naturally anxious to 
preserve them if possible, and the best way to do this 
is by means of cuttings. One cannot be quite sure 
that any particular variety can be reproduced exactly 
from seed, hence the wisdom of perpetuating it 
in a way that will ensure its reproduction. Our fore¬ 
fathers used to adopt the practice of sowing seeds of the 
Snapdragon in July, so that their plants could bloom 
early the following summer. A different process is 
now adopted, as I have pointed out above, and there 
is no necessity for throwing away the plants after they 
have flowered. A large number, if not all of them, 
will be certain to stand through the winter, and they 
will bloom before the spring-sown seedlings. 
One decided advantage has come from the improve¬ 
ments made in the Antirrhinum during the last few 
years. We have reduced considerably the height to 
which they once grew. I am not treating of what is 
known as the Tom Thumb Antirrhinum, but the 
ordinary garden strain. Forty years or so ago there 
lived at Huddersfield a Mr. John Riley, who took the 
Antirrhinum in hand when it was but little thought of, 
and made considerable improvements in it Jand pro¬ 
duced varieties that were named and distributed as we 
now do new Dahlias. But he used to grow individual 
plants to a large size, 6 ft. and 7 ft. in height, and as 
many as 4 ft. through. It would, perhaps, not be 
impossible to produce such giants in these days, but 
the plants would need to be three or four years old, 
and be highly cultivated. — R. D. 
Carnations. 
Judging from the appearance of my own layers, I 
should say this is a very much more favourable season 
for their quick rooting than last year. In 1888, many 
layers not laid down until late in the season, owing to 
the difficulty experienced in getting the shoots suffi¬ 
ciently hardened for the purpose, did not root until the 
spring, and then the plants were weak and of but little 
practical value. Such as were of service rushed off into 
bloom, and left the grower destitute of grass out of 
which to make layers. This season things are different. 
I was a little late in putting down layers, but the grass 
was in good condition, and the layers look as promising 
as possible, as if they were rooting fast, and they 
promise to make strong plants for potting off. The 
pots containing the layers are all in the open, raised a 
little above the ground level to prevent worms getting 
into them, but exposed to all weathers and protected 
from none. There is not the slightest pretence of 
coddling. What is needed is to examine the pots occa¬ 
sionally, in order to see if the rain has washed away 
the soil from the layers where they are pegged down 
into it, replacing it with more, and to keep the 
surface free from the growth of weeds. Worms should 
be excluded from the pots as far as possible, as they 
disturb the layers by working among them. 
Potting off will be done as soon as the rooting process 
is sufficiently completed. I put two rooted layers in a 
5-in. pot, or one in a 31-in or 4-in., using a compost 
made up of yellow loam, leaf-soil, and some silver sand. 
The pots are well drained, the plants have the soil 
pressed firmly about them, and they are stood in a cold 
frame with the lights drawn off, exposed to all weathers, 
except drenching rains. In time of severe frost the 
lights are closed. During winter the soil is kept just 
sufficiently moist to keep the plants in giod condition, 
and then when hard frost comes, the danger of pots 
becoming broken through expansion by frost is reduced 
to a minimum. Keeping the foliage dry is one means 
of preventing “spot.” This is a fungoid growth on 
the leaves, which takes the form of blotches, and which, 
unless arrested will extend to the stem, causing 
destruction to the plant. Spot is mainly caused by 
a stagnant, damp atmosphere. The Carnation is a 
breeze-loving plant, thriving in a free circulation of 
air, and to all appearance impatient of confinement 
when moisture pervades the atmosphere. Mr. Dodwell 
recommends that when the plants are attacked by 
spot, the affected leaves should be cut away, the plant 
and surface of the soil cleaned by means of a brush, 
and the latter stirred to make it fresh and sweet. 
Then the plant should be exposed to the full influence 
of light and air, when its recovery is only a question of 
time. 
The soil which comes from the layered pots I find very 
useful for top-dressing Carnations in the open ground. I 
generally lift and re-plant my open-air plants, placing 
some fresh soil about the roots, treading the soil firmly 
about them ; I then peg down securely any shoots that 
are likely to be injured by the wind, adding a good 
surface-dressing of old Carnation soil. I have a 
peculiar soil, not well adapted for wintering Carnations 
in, and I find that I have fewer losses by lifting and 
re-planting them than by leaving the plants untouched 
in the open ground. 
Such plants as are layered in the open ground are 
benefited by top-dressing the layers with some soil. 
The tendency of heavy rains is to wash the soil away, 
leaving the layers bare, hence the advantage of the 
surface-dressing. But it is always the safest to lift 
anything of promise from the open ground for layering 
in pots, though not a few lovers of the Carnation may 
think this entirely a work of supererogation.— R. D. 
Dressing Carnations. 
What does your correspondent “ W. W.” (p. 56) mean 
when he says that it requires “ some amount of artistic 
skill to produce such monstrous exaggerations of an 
exquisitely beautiful flower ” ? I should have thought 
such fiascos would have shown the utter want of all 
artistic skill or taste in the matter. I see “ W. W.” 
advises the reduction of single blooms at Oxford, so 
that new seedlings of merit may be displayed. Have 
then the latter hitherto been disregarded or excluded ? 
However this may be at Oxford, it is not so in London, 
and yet I do not remember to have seen there, exhibited 
by your correspondent, any of those “flowers of ex¬ 
quisite beauty in size, form, and colour,” which he 
raises annually by thousands. It is a duty “ W. W.” 
owes to his fellow lovers of Carnations to exhibit these 
fine flowers of his, and not to tantalise us by mere 
description of them.— B. 
The Carnation Maggot. 
The Carnation Maggot referred to in your issue for 
May 18th last, p. 596, is doubtless the one which is so 
frequently found in the hearts of the plants, and into 
which it seems to work its way, destroying the shoots 
or centres of the plants by eating all the pith of the 
stems. This maggot is about twice the size of the one 
which is found so mysteriously nested in the interior of 
the Carnation and Pink leaves (referred to on p. 612, 
25th May), the eggs producing the latter being de¬ 
posited there by the ovipositor of the female fly ; the 
eggs producing the maggot of the former are, no doubt, 
deposited in the hearts of the plants, and there remain 
until hatched. 
Enclosed I send you the heads of two young plants 
that bear a similar appearance to those in which the 
maggots are hatched. I have not one at the present 
time containing the maggot or chrysalis. I also 
enclose you several Carnation and Pink leaves, some 
with maggots in, and others which the maggots have 
