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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  2,  1903 
The  Carnation. 
Just  300  years  ago  a  little  book  was  published,  called  “  The  Countrie 
Housewife’s  Garden.”  The  writer,  in  addition  to  being  a  first-class 
gardener,  was  a  gentleman  of  culture,  and  this  is  part  of  what  he 
writes  about  Carnations “  July  flowres  commonly  called  Gilly 
flowres  or  Cloue-Jully-flowres  (I  call  them  so  because  they  flowre  in 
July)Ithey  have  the  name  of  Oloues  of  their  sent.  I  may  well  call  them 
the  King  of  Flowres  (except  the  Rose),  and  the  best  sort  of  them  are 
called  Queene-July-flowres  ....  some  of  them  as  bigge  as 
Roses . Their  use  is  much  in  ornament,  and  comforting 
the  spirites,  by  the  sence  of  smelling.” 
The  estimate  of  this  old  writer  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  generally 
accepted  at  the  present  day.  The  Rose  is  still  the  Queen  of  Flowers, 
but  next  to  it  we  place  the  Carnation.  Nor  do  we  seem  to  have  gained 
much  in  the  size  of  the  flower,  and  certainly  nothing  in  fragrance. 
The  Carnation  has  at  least  one  advantage  over  the  Rose,  inasmuch  as 
while  it  is  cultivated  in  its  thousands  in  the  gardens  of  the  wealthy, 
it  can  be,  and  in  very  many  instances  is,  grown  to  perfection  in  the 
little  flower  plot  of  the  cottager.  Carnations  are  absolutely  hardy,  and 
though  a  vast  extent  of  glass  is  at  the  present  day  devoted  to  their 
culture  its  use  is  only  a  necessary  evil,  and  in  the  case  of  plants  grown 
to  flower  out  of  doors  it  is  not  required  at  all. 
It  is  not  my  intention  at  this  time  to  write  exhaustively  of  Carna¬ 
tions,  but  as  the  period  for  progagating  by  layers  has  fully  arrived 
I  shall  confine  these  remarks  to  layering,  and  planting  out  the  layers 
after  they  have  become  plants.  The  “  grass,”  as  the  young  growths 
round  the  collar  of  the  plants  are  technically  called,  is  this  year 
somewhat  later  than  usual.  This  has  arisen  in  great  part  on  account 
of  the  number  of  flower  stems  that  this  season  have  been  pro¬ 
duced,  this  a  result  most  probably  of  the  abnormally  fine  season  last 
year.  In  some  instances  I  have  had  a  difficulty  in  getting  sufficient 
stock  of  some  varieties,  and  in  such  cases  I  shall  most  likely  fall 
back  on  cuttings  to  be  rooted  in  cold  frames  in  the  same  manner  as 
Calceolarias. 
The  selection  of  good  layers  is  an  important  point.  They  should  be 
strong,  vigorous,  healthy  shoots,  as  from  these,  almost  without  exception, 
free-flowering,  robust  plants  are  alone  produced.  The  layers  must  not 
be  too  close  together.  Abundance  of  room  is  a  golden  rule  in  gardening, 
and  in  Carnation  culture  it  applies  with  much  force.  In  making  the 
layer  a  slit  is  made  with  a  sharp  knife,  beginning  the  cut  in 
an  upward  sloping  direction  under  a  leaf,  and  continuing  upwards 
for  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  and  never  more  than  half  an  inch.  It 
IS  commonly  recommended  that  a  few  leaves  should  be  removed 
before  cutting  the  shoot,  and  the  slit  to  be  made  sufficiently  lengthy 
to  produce  a  tongue  an  inch  in  length.  The  carrying  out  of 
the  first  of  these  recommendations  is  unnecessary ;  the  other  is 
harmful,  as  a  short  tongue  emits  roots  quicker,  and  a  better  plant  is 
the  result. 
The  depth  to  which  the  tongue  ought  to  be  buried  is  also  of  some 
importance.  I  never  allow  them  to  be  buried  further  than  is  necessary 
to  bury  the  slit.  Deep  layering  like  deep  planting  is  hurtful.  A 
little  sandy  soil,  or  even  a  little  pure  sand,  mixed  with  the  natural  soil 
is  generally  beneficial.  Damp,  cloudy  weather  should  be  chosen  as 
most  suitable  for  layering.  If  done  in  sunny  weather  slight  watering 
will  be  of  advantage  for  the  first  few  days.  After  roots  have  been 
produced  I  look  over  the  collection,  and  out  the  connection  betwixt  the 
parent  plant  and  the  layer,  the  cut  being  close  to  the  latter.  In  a  short 
time  roots  are  also  emitted  from  the  cut  part,  and  a  good  ball  of  roots 
results. 
One  of  the  secrets  of  successful  Carnation  culture  is  early  planting. 
If  the  plants  are  well  established  before  winter  they  go  naturally  to 
rest,  and  grow  away  with  increased  vigour  with  returning  warmth  in 
spring.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  late  planting,  or  even  planting  in 
spring,  is  necessarily  bad,  but  I  am  perfectly  sure  there  is  always  a 
risk  attending  late  and  spring  planting,  and  in  any  case  early  autumn 
planting,  other  things  being  equal,  yield  superior  results.  Carnations 
do  not  mind  intense  cold,  but  they  resent  damp.  A  dry  position  should, 
therefore,  be  chosen  for  the  beds,  and  if  there  is  any  risk  of  dampness 
then  I  advise  raising  the  beds  above  the  general  level.  In  planting 
a  little  light  soil  may  be  placed  round  the  roots  to  the  advantage  of 
the  plants. 
On  no  account  bury  the  stems  to  a  greater  depth  than  they  were 
sunk  as  layers.  Eschew  a  rich  soil,  any  manure  that  the  plants  require, 
and  they  do  not  object  to  manure  being  applied  to  the  surface.  With 
plants  set  out  early  and  having  good  balls  of  soil  and  roots,  there  is 
no  danger  of  frosts  throwing  them  out  of  the  ground,  as  is  the  case 
with  badly  rooted  late  planted  specimens.  In  the  spring  when  the 
ground  has  become  sufficiently  dry,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  slightly  firm  the 
soil  of  the  beds,  thereafter  hoeing  the  ground  and  applying  some  manorial 
agent.  Soot  is  cheap  and  very  good  for  this  purpose.  Of  late  years 
Carnation  and  Picotee  flowers  have  been  accorded  a  large  share  of  popu¬ 
larity  for  the  purposes  of  buttonhole  bouquets  for  gentlemen  and 
shoulder  sprays  for  ladies  (fig.  30).  For  the  former  purpose  I  find  that 
one  bloom  of  a  favoured  colour  arranged  with  natural  foliage  meets 
with  most  general  approbation.  For  ladies,  however,  two  or  even  three 
flowers  are  used,  and  in  addition  to  Carnation  foliage  we  usually  add 
some  sprays  of  Asparagus. — N.  B. 
— ‘  <.»♦» - 
Carnations  at  Chelsea. 
During  a  long  series  of  years  one  of  the  July  attractions  at  the 
Royal  Exotic  Nursery  of  Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  has  been  the 
collection  of  Carnations  grown  in  the  square  at  the  Fulham  Road  end 
of  the  Long  Walk.  There  the  firm  has  year  by  year  exemplified  the 
value  of  Carnations  and  Picotees  for  culture  in  London  gardens,  and 
demonstrated  the  fact  that  some  varieties  are  more  suitable  thau  others 
for  this  particular  purpose.  At  the  moment  of  writing  the  flowers  are 
passing  their  best,  but  sufficient  remain  to  show  the  excellence  of  many 
of  the  varieties  that  are  grown,  as  well  from  the  question  of  quality  of 
flowers  as  from  the  point  of  view  of  strength  or  otherwise  of  consti¬ 
tution,  as  judged  by  the  production  of  “grass ’’for  layering — an  all- 
important  point  in  Carnation  and  Picotee  culture. 
The  whole  of  the  oblong  beds  are  completely  stocked  with  Carnations, 
representing  bizarres,  flakes,  fancies,  and  self  coloured,  with  yellow 
and  white  ground  Picotees.  The  visitor  will  observe  that  in  the  case 
of  very  popular  standard  varieties  a  bed  is  wholly  devoted  to  them,  the 
less  favoured  sorts  having  a  certain  number  of  rows,  while  the 
novelties  are  allowed  one  row  apiece  in  the  beds,  and  duplicate  plants 
are  grown  in  pots  in  an  adjacent  greenhouse.  One  has  scarcely  been 
five  minutes  amongst  the  plants  ere  one  realises  the  completeness  and 
the  up-to-dateness  of  the  collection,  for  practically  every  novelty  of  any 
merit  is  in  evidence ;  some  are  distinct  from  better  known  forms, 
but  others  might  well  be  classed  under  the  heading  of  “  too  much 
alike.”  Heie,  as  in  every  place  where  Carnations  and  Picotees  are 
made  a  specialty,  the  great  work  that  has  been  done  by  Mr.  Martin 
R.  Smith  of  Hayes  is  conspicuous  in  the  names  of  the  many  that 
have  emanated  from  this  fertile  source.  There  are,  of  course,  novelties 
from  other  raisers,  but  these  are  few  in  comparison  with  those  from 
Hayes. 
The  point  that  will  strike  the  practical  cultivator  with  the  greatest 
force  is  the  difference  in  the  progress  made  by  the  several  varieties. 
Here  will  be  found  one  that  is  puny  in  growth,  and  is  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  destitute  of  those  growths  so  essential  to  propagation ;  while 
yonder  may  be  seen  a  plant  that  is  at  once  robust  and  attractive,  and 
which  is  producing  splendid  layers.  These  are  the  type  of  plants  that 
the  town  cultivator  should  strive  to  secure,  as  they  go  a  long  way 
towards  insuring  success  ;  for  those  of  weak  constitution  little  can  be 
said,  save  that  under  the  most  favourable  conditions  of  climate  and  of 
soil  many  of  them  produce  flowers  of  exquisite  beauty  and  of  perfect 
quality.  But  it  is  almost  useless  growing  these  if  they  only  produce 
one  or  two  good  flowers  to  each  half  dozen  or  more  of  plants.  It  seems, 
by  the  way,  to  be  somewhat  of  a  characteristic  of  certain  of  the  newer 
sorts  that  they  only  produce  first-class  flowers  when  one  is  allowed  to 
develop  j  this  is  a  regrettable  trait,  as  the  Carnation  should  be  the 
producer  of  several  flowers  from  every  properly  grown  plant.  Then, 
too,  in  some  of  the  more  modern  types  we  are  losing  that  delicious 
fragrance  for  which  the  Carnation  has  ever  been  renowned.  Let  us 
hope  our  novelty  producers  will  keep  in  mind  that  to  the  general 
cultivator  fragrance  is  a  necessity,  though  the  florist  is  apparently 
content  with  perfection  of  form  and  colour. 
Prominent  amongst  the  older  sorts  may  be  noted  the  pure  white 
Mrs.  Frank  Walls,  the  purple  Cara  Roma,  the  brilliant  scarlets  Joe 
Willet,  Cantab  and  Hayes  Scarlet,  and  the  deep  crimsons  Mephisto  and 
Uncle  Tom  ;  while  rather  more  recent,  but  from  their  excellence 
already  comparatively  well  known  ,  are  the  darkscarlet  Amy  Robsart, 
