APRIL 1, 1903. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
9 
+ CARNATIONS. * 
-  8® 
Carnation Gardening at Neutral 
Bay, Sydney Harbour. 
By J. STAVENHAGEN. 
Wo have heard a great deal about Syd- 
ney and its surroundings, coupled, of 
course, with laudatory comments on “Our 
Harbour,” but even the casual observer 
must have been struck by the great same- 
ness of foliage, ‘and the remarkable ab- 
sence of any attempt on anything like a 
large scale to remedy this great defect. 
The cause is not far to seek, and it may be 
summed up in very few words—the want 
of good soil. 
Freestone and sandstone are practically 
everywhere, and with the exception of a 
little good soil gathered here and there in 
« gully the soil available is but more or 
less barren sand, and any attempt to pro- 
mote vegetation is naturally accompanied 
by great expense, as in many instances 
good soil would have to be brought great 
distances. 
Were it not for this the otherwise ex- 
tremely favorable position of Sydney Har- 
bor would make it one of the most beau- 
tiful spots on the face of the earth. 
This want of good soil naturally throws 
any attempt at beautifying upon the indi- 
vidual, and it follows of necessity that when 
seeking to cultivate his garden the owner 
will naturally consider what he can grow 
to the best advantage. Frequently a few 
miles back from the actual water line of 
the Harbor there are belts of clay, and 
the gardener will at once take advantage of 
such a circumstance to cultivate roses ; but 
it will be freely admitted that the possi- 
bilities of cultivating beautiful flowers in 
sandy soil with the aid of manures is 
nearly always overlooked. 
Annuals of all kinds can be grown in 
light soil, but of all plants the Carnation 
demands soil of this character. It is al- 
most impossible to grow the Carnation in 
stiff soil, or, at any rate, there is no com- 
parison between the success attendant 
upon the cultivation of this plant in stiff 
soil as compared with light sandy soil. 
Very few flowers repay cultivation bet- 
ter than the Carnation, but, like all 
flowers that are brought to perfection, 
_ they need a certain amount of trouble and 
care. Often the amateur gardener will 
take an enormous amount of trouble in his 
garden, with poor results, simply because 
his efforts are misdirected. One-tenth of 
the same amount of energy properly diret- 
ted would bring its own reward by the 
ample attainment of the object he is seek- 
ing. Without any attempt,to use scien- 
tific terms or theories, but.giving my own 
experience in such a way as even the most 
unlearned amateur may grasp my mean- 
ing, I will endeavor shortly to explain 
the methods which I have adopted to cul- 
tivate the Carnation under perhaps the 
most unfavorable conditions possible. 
My garden is situated in Neutral Bay, 
about half a mile from the water’s edge. 
Apart from the intrusion of rocky boul- 
ders, which had to be cut up and removed, 
the soil consisted mainly of ironstone, 
gravel, and sand, about as hungry and as 
poor a soil as anybody could attempt to 
turn into a garden. Laborious sifting left 
2 yellowish sand, very apt to cake after 
exposure to the sun. Out of this crude 
material a fairly successful garden has 
been built up. The one undoubtedly 
favorable circumstance was the absolutely 
perfect trenching which took place. Many 
hundreds of loads of cow manure were 
used. Whenever it was possible to obtain 
vegetable matter, such as weeds, &c., these 
were buried in as large a quantity as. it 
was possible to obtain them. The settling 
of the ground which took place almost 
after every shower of rain was made up 
by digging in cow manure, and when the 
usual crop of weeds, which cow manure 
nearly always produces, followed, these, 
too, were dug in. So much for the soil. 
Favorable spots were then chosen for the 
Carnation beds, which, after frequent fork- 
taken not to go too near to the roots of the 
young plants, which should be left to for- 
age for themselves. Frequently after a 
shower of rain in the warm weather a jper- 
fect carpet of weeds will be produced. 
Fork them in while they are but a few 
inches high ; the Carnations will take very 
kindly to them. With such neavy manu- 
ring it is quite possible that the soil may 
become a little rank, particularly if there 
aro no heavy showers of rain. Many gar- 
deners use lime in the cultivation of Car- 
nations. ‘This may be very well in the 
naturally rich soil, but with such soil as I 
am describing I would much prefer to use 
soot; and for convenience it is just as well 
to mix the soot in with the preparation. 
If the plants have been lying dormant for 
some time, and blooms are wanted for any 
particular period, an application of this 
preparation applied five to six weeks 
beforehand will undoubtedly produce the 
blooms, renewing the application in mil- 
der form as may be deemed advisable. At 
any rate, this is my experience in the soil 
referred to, whether or not it will be suc- 
cessful in stiffer soils I am unable to say. 
Experience will soon prove the quantity of 
liquid manure which should be used. 
Should the soil become soured by repeated 
manuring a little lime will always correct 
any such condition. Soot can be relied 
upon. as a great deterrent to any fungoid 
growths. 
ing, became very suitable for the purpose 
for which they were designed. Young 
plants were secured from one of the able 
nurserymen, of whom there are many in 
Sydney, and it now became the question 
of rearing these to the best possible advan- 
tage. This was done by continually feed- 
‘ing the plants with liquid manure, of 
which raw cow manure was the body. <A 
large tub, holding about a hundred gallons 
of water, was used. In this the following 
preparation was mixed: Four buckets of 
raw cow manure, one bucket of élay or 
black soil as procurable, half a bucket of 
bonedust and blood. Sufficient water 
added to make the mixture really fluid. 
Whilst the beds were comparatively new 
this mixture was used about once a fort- 
night, then about once a month, care being 
Types of Dr. Weissmantel’s 
Carnation System. 
(Illustration from “Otto Froebel.’’) 
1. Edged Picotee: Short stripes from 
edge inwards; quite even. 
2. Old German Picotee: A succession of. 
short stripes from the edge to the middle 
of petals. 
3. New German Picotee: Stripes as in 
No. 2; however, reaching further towards 
the centre, being here and there bent, 
broken, or prolonged. 
4, Pyramidal Picotee: 
Stripes forming 
a wedge; most beautiful. Dy 
