July  30,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
101 
Raising  Seedling  Carnations. 
1  — _ 
The  raising  of  seedling  Carnations  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating 
pastimes  the  experimenter  can  engage  in.  It  is  fraught  with  hopes, 
fears,  and  disappointments,  and  frefpiently,  to  the  severely  practical 
man,  apparently  unjustifiable 
elations.  There  is  a  num¬ 
ber  of  practical  florists,  and 
some  amateurs,  engaged  in 
the  raising  of  seedling  Car¬ 
nations  with  a  view  to  their 
improvement,  and  there  are 
many  others  who  would  take 
up  this  laudable  undertaking 
if  they  knew  just  where  to 
begin.  It  is  for  the  latter 
class  that  this  article  is  pre¬ 
pared  . 
It  is  interesting  to  know 
the  origin  of  meritorious  varieties,  not  for  the  purpose  of  repeating 
the  experiment,  for  it  is  ten  thousand  chances  to  one  that  the  results 
would  be  the  same,  for  there  are  rarely  or 
never  two  varieties  that  might  be  pronounced 
'  identical,  even  from  the  same  seed  pod.  But 
it  is  so  much  knowledge  to  our  credit,  and  it 
may  act  as  a  guide  for  future  operations. 
Though  he  who  thinks  he  rvill  electrify  the 
florieultural  world  by  his  achievements  after 
he  has  learned  the  pedigi’ees  of  the  best  sorts 
by  heart  may  be  disappointed,  yet  such  is 
among  the  possibilities, 
A  novice  might  effect  a  cross  betw’een  two 
varieties  without  any  idea  as  to  what  the  effect 
would  be,  and  the  result  might  be  greater  than 
that  of  a  person  who  has  been  experimenting 
with  a  definite  object  in  view  for  years.  This 
is  where  that  element  which  is  known  as  luck 
comes  in.  Yet  there  are  very  few,  we  venture 
to  say,  who  have  ever  indulged  in  this  mild 
form  of  excitement  who  would  throw  aside  system,  no  matter  how 
fortunate  someone  else  may  have  been  in  a  haphazard  way,  and 
depend  entirely  on  luck.  We  believe  in 
pedigrees,  for  by  careful  records,  with  close 
observation,  we  may  note  the  influence  of 
varieties  as  breeders  ;  some  may  be  much 
more  potent  than  others. 
In  explanation  of  the  illustrations,  fig.  1  is 
a  Carnation  flower  showing  the  pistils  pro¬ 
minently,  which  may  be  called  the  pistillate, 
seed  or  female  parent,  all  of  which  are  synony¬ 
mous  terms.  Fig.  2  is  a  flower  which  shows 
the  stamens  conspicuously ;  these  furnish  the 
pollen  with  which  to  fertilise  the  pistillate 
flower.  Generally  speaking,  a  Carnation  flower  may  be  made  either 
the  pollen  or  the  seed  parent,  as  the  operator  may  determine,  though 
there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule. 
We  found  this  out  some  years  ago 
when  hunting  among  some  flowers 
of  the  variety  Duke  of  Orange  for 
pollen,  but  not  a  grain  could  we 
find.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have 
operated  upon  varieties  which  did 
not  produce  perfect  seeds. 
In  fig.  3  we  find  a  representation 
of  a  flower  ready  to  be  operated 
upon.  The  petals  have  been  care¬ 
fully  removed  with  the  finger  and 
thumb,  part  of  the  calyx  has  been 
cut  away  by  a  sharp  pair  of 
scissors,  showing  the  ovary  with 
the  pistils  standing  out  above. 
Fig.  4  gives  the  stamens  and 
pistils.  The  stamens  are  the  more 
apparent,  and  shows  the  pistils 
before  they  have  developed  far  enough  to  be  fertilised.  Fig.  5  is 
similar  to  the  last.  On  close  examination  it  will  be  seen  that  some 
of  the  pollen  cases  have  burst,  thus  freeing  the  meal-like  pollen 
which  may  be  carried  by 
a  camel’s-hair  brush,  to 
which  it  readily  adheres, 
and  applied  as  seen  at 
fig.  6,  Avherc  the  operator  is 
in  the  act  of  applying 
the  pollen. 
Camel’s  -  hair  brushes 
may  be  obtained  at  a  very 
trifling  cost.  Where  there 
is  any  choice  it  is  best  to 
select  the  darkest  brushes, 
as  the  pollen  grains  are 
more  readily  seen  on  this 
material  than  when  it  is 
of  a  greyish  colour,  thus 
giving  the  practitioner  a 
better  idea  what  he  is  doing.  In  all  our  operations  there  is  always 
a  danger  present  and  a  possibility  of  self-fertilisation.  To  avert  this 
it  is  better  to  remove  all  the  petals  and  stamens 
at  an  early  stage  of  the  flower’s  development, 
before  the  stamens  have  had  time  to  ripen  its 
fructifying  grains,  thus  destroying  a  possibility 
of  frustrating  our  plans. 
Fig.  7  gives  an  idea  how  the  seed  pod  should 
look  when  it  has  advanced  somewhat,  although 
this  illustration  is  more  to  show  the  manner  of 
keeping  a  record  of  the  cross  made.  Some 
prefer  to  mark  the  tag  only  rvith  a  number  and 
to  keep  in  a  note-book  the  full  particulars,  but 
if  the  note-book  happens  to  get  lost  the  num¬ 
bers  are  vei'y  little  value.  A  full  record  on  the 
tags  is  best,  then  there  is  little  or  no  danger  of 
losing  it. 
It  is  cheaper  to  buy  the  little  tags  than  to 
make  them.  They  are  sold  with  strings  already 
attached,  which  renders  them  easily  adjusted,^ 
and  gives  t!ie  whole  operation  a  neat  and  workmanlike  appearance 
In  recording  the  cross,  the  name  of  the  seed  parent  comes  first 
Whether  it  is  correct  to  make  a  plus  mark  or  a 
multiplication  mark  ( x  )  we  have  not  been  able 
to  determine.  We  may  multiply  varieties  withf 
out  adding  to  their  quality.  Each  one  may 
make  the  mark  which  suits  him  best. 
Carnations  from  Milburn. 
Writing  from  Milburn  Gardens,  Esher,  Mr 
G.  H.  Cook  says  :  “  1  am  sending  you  Carnations. 
Princess  of  Wales,  Cecilia,  and  a  red  one  as  yet  unnamed.  They  have 
been  grown  precisely  under  the  conditions  described  by  me  in  my 
article  on  page  3  (last  vol.) 
of  your  journal.  My  method 
of  wnring  may  be  of  interest 
to  some  of  your  readers.  I 
find  it  very  satisfactory, 
and  much  better  than  the 
rings  or  tying  them.” 
[Mr.  Cook’s  wiring  is 
simple.  He  uses  pliable 
wire,  this  being  looped 
under  the  petals  about 
the  top  of  the  calyx,  the 
rest  of  the  wdre  being 
twisted  round  the  flower 
stems.  They  can  be 
fastened  to  a  stout  stake 
down  amongst  the  foliage. 
His  flowers  were  very  good 
samples. — Eu.] 
