204 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  30,  1900. 
Parkinson  and  the  Carnation, 
John  Parkinson  on  gardening,  like  Izaac  Walton  on  the  gentle 
art  of  fishing,  is  admittedly  princeps ;  and  he  or  she  to  whom  has 
come  the  privilege  of  being  admitted  to  the  charming  conversation  of 
this  lovable  man,  whose  grim-like  portrait  adorns  “The  Garden  of 
Pleasant  Flowers,”  receives  one  added  zest  to  the  pursuit  of  his 
pleasurable  craft.  John  was  a  general  flower  lover,  but  it  was  the 
Carnation,  “  the  Queene  of  delight  and  of  flowers,”  that  called  forth 
his  deepest  affection;  and  so  it  is  natural  that  he  recurs  to  the  plant 
again  and  again,  and  to  its  cultivation  devotes  a  long  chapter  full  of 
informative  details,  and  gathers  together  in  one  treatise  all  that  was 
to  be  told  about  the  early  history  of  this  ever-pleasing  flower,  with 
hints  on  its  culture  that  are  not  yet  out  of  date,  and  possibly  never 
will  be.  There  were  “  best  Gardiners”  in  those  days,  and  doubtless 
our  author  was  fully  conversant  with  all  their  practices ;  and  though 
gardening  is  one  of  the  arts  that  unfolds  itself,  and  is  constantly 
exhibiting  something  novel  to  its  pursuers,  it  is  well  to  remember  the 
same  thing  has  occurred  to  others  in  bypast  times,  and  what  is 
entirely  new  to  us  may  nevertheless  be  very  old  indeed. 
Cultivators  in  Parkinson’s  days  grew  Carnations  on  very  much  the 
same  lines  as  we  do  now.  The  plants  were  increased  by  three 
methods — by  slips,  which  was  becoming  an  old-fashioned  way ;  “  by 
in -layers  or  laying  downe  the  branches  of  them,”  “  a  way  of  later 
invention,”  but  quite  as  common  as  the  other ;  and  by  seeds,  which 
was  less  common,  because  seeds  were  only  sparingly  produced.  They 
were  exceedingly  particular  in  the  preparations  of  composts  and 
manures,  and  though  “  stable  soyle  of  horse,  beast  or  kine,  of  sheepe, 
and  pigeons  ”  was  added  to  the  soil,  it  was  only  when  “  thoroughly 
turned  to  mould  ”  that  it  was  .mixed  with  the  “  other  earth.”  Bark 
reduced  to  mould,  as  well  as  that  found  in  decayed  Willows,  was  also 
used  to  improve  the  natural  soil. 
Plants  were  cultivated  not  only  in  beds,  of  what  at  a  later  period 
came  to  be  called  the  parterre,  but  they  were  very  largely  grown 
also  as  pot  plants;  and  as  a  proof  that  ingenuity  was  not  unknown 
long  ago,  it  must  be  noted  that  special  pots  were  manufactured  for 
Carnations,  with  rims  to  hold  water,  which  served  as  a  barrier 
to  the  “  Earwickes,”  that  all  along  seem  to  have  had  a  liking  for 
the  sweet  petals  of  the  Gilloflower.  The  lack  of  glass  frames  was 
to  some  extent  compensated  for  by  means  of  “Beehives  or  else 
with  small  Willow  stickes,  prickt  crossewise  into  the  ground  over 
your  flowers,  and  bowed  archwise,  and  with  litter  laid  thereon  to 
cover  the  Gilloflowers  quite  over.”  March  winds  seem  to  have  been 
equally  feared  with  the  cold  of  winter,  and  in  that  month  the 
plants  were  covered  with  pots  inverted  over  them,  or  by  means  of 
“  pales  ”  were  afforded  shelter  from  its  withering  blasts.  The  various 
methods  of  propagation  and  the  treatment  of  the  plants  generally  are 
detailed  with  great  minuteness,  and  with  that  peculiar  hon  camaraderie 
of  tone  which  marks  the  “  Paradisus  ”  so  delightfully.  In  the  chapter 
on  Carnations,  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  book,  much  quaint  and 
original  information  is  also  stored  up. 
Parkinson  classified  the  plant  differently  from  any'  other  writer 
either  before  or  after.  Not  a  few  of  his  predecessors  distinguish  two 
classes,  one  with  large  flowers  another  with  small,  but.  to  these  he 
added  a  third,  “The  Yellow  or  Orenge-Tawny,”  of  which  he  appears 
to  have  been  especially  enamoured,  and  says  ti.ey  included  “  many 
varieties  of  that  excellent  worth  and  respect  that  it  can  hardly  be 
expressed  or  beleeved.”  They  varied  in  size  of  flower,  some  being 
as  voluminous  as  the  largest  of  the  “Maximus”  section,  others 
being  quite  small,  and  the  blooms  were  marked  with  spots,  flakes, 
and  stripes  in  much  the  same  way  as  in  these  sections ;  but 
they  were  distinguished  from  both  by  more  dense  habit  of  growth,  a 
freedom  in  the  production  of  seed,  and  a  greater  difldculty  in  their 
cultivation. 
What  appears  a  somewhat  incongruous  mixture  is  the  classing 
of  scarlets  with  yellows,  “John  Wittie  his  great  Tawny  Gillo¬ 
flower,”  for  example,  being  not  only  of  the  largest  size,  but  also  of 
a  “  laire  deepe  scarlet  colour.”  “The  Feathered  Tawny”  also  was 
scarlet  with  white  feathered  markings.  “  Tne  Flaked  Tawny  ”  seems 
to  have  been  a  deep  buff,  and  this  was  curiously  flaked  not  only  in 
the  usual  manner,  longitudinally,  “  but  often  thwarc  the  leaves.” 
“  Master  Tuggie’s  Princesse”  bore  the  palm  among  all  Carnations,  “a 
flower  exceeding  delightsome,  the  most  beautifull  that  ever  I  did  see;” 
and  “  Master  Tuggie  his  Bose  Gilloflower”  though  raised  from  seed  of 
a  yellow  flower  was  a  red  self,  with  smooth  edged  petals,  perhaps  the 
first  of  its  kind,  for  all  the  old  Carnations  were  with  the  exception  of 
this  composed  of  petals  with  deeply  indented  serratures.  Not  only  so, 
but  the  “great  Harwich,”  which  Parkinson  calls  also  the  “old” 
English  Carnation,  had  the  centre  of  its  large  flower  composed  of  small 
petals  with  deep  and  very  fine  “jagges,”  this  variety  having  the 
further  peculiarity  of  foliage  broader  than  in  other  sorts,  “  turning  or 
winding  two  or  three  times  round.”  It  was,  moreover,  difficult  to  grow, 
slow  of  increase,  shy  to  bloom,  and  bearing  m  irks  which  are  found 
now  only  in  the  old  Malmaisons. 
Another  old  variety,  which,  however,  belonged  to  the  Gilloflower 
section,  with  small  blooms  was  the  Pageant,  mentioned  thirty 
years  earlier  by  Gerarde.  The  Pageant  was  purple  coloured,  thickly 
powdered  with  white,  and  was  one  of  the  commonest  varieties.  “  The 
Fragrant”  belonged  to  the  same  class,  and  was  a  rose  coloured  flower 
spotted  with  white.  “  Master  Bradshawe  his  Dainty  Lady  ”  has 
repeatedly  been  mentioned  as  the  forerunner  of  the  now  almost  lost 
“  Painted  Lady  ”  section.  It,  however,  differed  in  essential  particulars 
from  the  latter,  because  its  distinguishing  characteristic  was  not  a 
petal  white  on  the  under  side  and  dark  on  the  upper,  but  the  upper 
edges  of  the  petals  were  broadly  marked  with  white,  as  also  the  lower 
portion  of  the  same,  the  red  being,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Auricula-eyed 
Sweet  William,  confined  to  the  portion  of  the  petal  between  the  edge 
and  the  middle.  It  is  apparent  from  the  engraving  of  the  variety 
that  a  very  small  portion  of  the  flower  was  coloured.  It  is  further 
remarkable  for  its  small  size,  measuring  only  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
across ;  we  may  therefore  safely  infer  that  this  type  has  been  entirely 
lost,  the  Latin  rendering  of  the  name,  “Elegans  heroina  Bradshawi”^ 
showing  that  “  Dainty  ”  was  not  an  appellative  that  had  slipped  in 
by  mistake  for  “painted,”  because  “  elegans”  is  also  employed  as  the 
Latin  equivalent  for  “The  Daintie”  Gillyflower. 
Parkinson  is  also  one  of  the  few  writers  who  note  the  fact  of  the 
flowers  of  the  Clove  Gillyflower  having  been  eaten  in  winter  as  a 
salad.  The  petals  were  in  summer  placed  in  jars  in  layers,  alternating 
with  sugar,  and  when  nearly  full  vinegar  was  added  as  a  preservative. 
The  method,  with  the  wavs  of  using  the  flowers,  is  given  very  fully 
in  “  The  English  Housewife.” — B. 
- - 
Earthing  Celery. 
(  Concluded  from  page  170.  ) 
Many  writers  uniformly  recommend,  in  earthing  up  Celery,  to  give 
only  a  few  inches  at  a  time.  Now,  I  have  no  objection  to  this  plan 
late  in  autumu,  when  the  sun’s  force  is  declining ;  but  I  have  na 
hesitation  in  stating  that  bit-by-bit  earthing-up  in  July  and  August, 
and  even  the  first  part  of  a  sunny  September,  is  the  chief  cause  why, 
when  early  Celery  is  taken  up,  there  are  so  many  bolted  heads,  of  no 
use  for  the  salad  bowl,  or  as  an  accompaniment  to  cheese.  Our 
practice  rests  on  the  simple  fact  that  the  Celery  is  a  ditch-side  plant  ; 
that  to  keep  growing  freely  it  must  have  moisture  to  meet  the  free 
evapora  ion  from  its  foliage  on  a  sunny  day  ;  that  to  make  it  throw  up 
its  flower-stem  freely,  the  best  mode  to  adopt  is  to  keep  it  dry  at  the 
root'",  and  this  is  what  is  constantly  done  by  the  bit-by-bit  earthing- 
up  system,  as  supposing  you  give  a  good  watering  at  first  when  you 
add  2  inches  of  soil,  and  3  more  inches  over  it  at  earthing-up,  no 
rain  will  reach  the  roots,  and  the  evaporation  from  the  foliage  still 
goes  on ;  so  that  in  lifting  the  Celery  it  will  not  be  uncommon  to  find 
the  bulk  of  the  roots  surrounded  by  soil  which  is  as  dry  as  dust.  Can 
we  wonder  that  the  plants  throw  up  their  flower-stems  ? 
Before  leaving  the  subject  I  would  advert  to  a  few  correlative 
matters.  Our  tying  acts  as  a  slight  earthing  would  do,  but  it 
leaves  the  roots  open  to  natural  or  artificial  moisture.  Again,  we  have 
grown  early  Celery  to  an  immense  size ;  but  except  for  a  particular 
purpose,  I  now  look  on  all  such  huge  heads  as  labour  misapplied,  or 
even  worse  ;  first,  because  from  these  huge  plants  the  head  that  was 
obtained  for  table  was  not  at  all  proportionate  in  size  to  that  obtained 
from  our  compact  moderate-sized  plants  in  a  bed ;  and  secondly, 
because  these  huge  plants,  if  not  protected  from  wet,  were  a  great 
loss  and  disappointment,  as  in  rainy  wentlier  the  wet  found  its  way 
down  to  the  heart  of  the  plant,  and,  unable  to  find  its  way  out,  it 
remained  there  as  in  a  cup,  became  foul  like  other  stagnant  water, 
and  finally  scarred  or  caused  the  valuable  part  of  the  Celery  to  decay. 
We  have  taken  up  in  September  the  large  heads  referred  to,  and 
found  fully  one-half  only  fit  for  the  rubbish-heap.  For  economy  in 
every  way,  middle-sized  heads  are  best,  and  they  will  be  the  sweetest 
when  the  manure  used  is  sweet  and  well-decomposed. 
In  earthing  Celery  for  early  use,  as  on  our  plan  it  will  never 
stand  long,  nothing  is  better  than  the  common  soil.  For  late  Celery 
and  that  which  is  to  remain  through  the  winter,  and  especially  in 
heavy  soils,  the  Celery  will  keep  better  if  surrounded  with  ashes, 
sand,  moss,  or  anything  that  will  keep  slugs  and  worms  away,  and 
allow  superfluous  moisture  to  pass  off.  A.n  inch  of  coal  or  furnace 
ashes  round  the  plants  will  be  of  gieat  advantage  in  keeping  them 
sound. — Z. 
