[Illustration: No 38]
We scarcely recollect a plant whose blossoms are so hardy as those of
the Laurustinus, they brave the inclemency of our winters, and are not
destroyed but in very severe seasons.
The beauties of this most charming shrub can be enjoyed by those only
who cultivate it at some little distance from town, the smoke of London
being highly detrimental to its growth.
It is a native of Portugal, Spain, and Italy.
Botanists enumerate many varieties of the Laurustinus, and so
considerably do some of these differ, that MILLER has been
induced to make two species of them, which he distinguishes by the names
of _Virburnum Tinus_ and _V. lucidum_; the last of these is the most
ornamental, and at the same time the most tender; there are some other
trifling varieties, besides those, with variegated leaves, or the gold
and silver-striped.
It is only in very favourable situations that these shrubs ripen their
seeds in England, hence they are most commonly propagated by layers,
which readily strike root: MILLER says, that the plants raised
from seeds are hardier than those produced from layers.
It thrives best in sheltered situations and a dry soil.
[39]
~Franklin's Tartar.~
_A Scarlet Bizarre Carnation._
[Illustration: No 39]
The Carnation here exhibited is a seedling raised by Mr.
FRANKLIN, of Lambeth-Marsh, an ingenious cultivator of these
flowers, whose name it bears: we have not figured it as the most perfect
flower of the kind, either in form or size, but as being a very fine
specimen of the sort, and one whose form and colours it is in the power
of the artist pretty exactly to imitate.
The _Dianthus Caryophyllus_ or _wild Clove_ is generally considered as
the parent of the Carnation, and may be found, if not in its wild state,
at least single, on the walls of Rochester Castle, where it has been
long known to flourish, and where it produces two varieties in point of
colour, the pale and deep red.
Flowers which are cultivated from age to age are continually producing
new varieties, hence there is no standard as to _name_, _beauty_, or
_perfection_, amongst them, but what is perpetually fluctuating; thus
the _red Hulo_, the _blue Hulo_, the _greatest Granado_, with several
others celebrated in the time of PARKINSON, have long since
been consigned to oblivion; and it is probable, that the variety now
exhibited, may, in a few years, share a similar fate; for it would be
vanity in us to suppose, that the Carnation, by assiduous culture, may
not, in the eye of the Florist, be yet considerably improved.
To succeed in the culture of the Carnation, we must advert to the
situation in which it is found wild, and this is observed to be dry and
elevated; hence excessive moisture is found to be one of the greatest
enemies this plant has to encounter; and, on this account, it is found
to succeed better, when planted in a pot, than in the open border;
because in the former, any superfluous moisture readily drains off; but,
in guarding against too much wet, we must be careful to avoid the
opposite extreme.
To keep any plant in a state of great luxuriance, it is necessary that
the soil in which it grows be rich; hence a mixture of light-loam, and
perfectly rotten horse or cow dung, in equal proportions, is found to
be a proper compost for the Carnation. Care should be taken that no
worms, grubs, or other insects, be introduced with the dung; to prevent
this, the dung, when sifted fine, should be exposed to the rays of the
sun, on a hot summer's day, till perfectly dry, and then put by in a box
for use; still more to increase the luxuriance of the plants, water it
in the spring and summer with an infusion of sheep's dung.
The Carnation is propagated by seeds, layers, and pipings; new varieties
can only be raised from seed, which, however, is sparingly produced from
good flowers, because the petals are so multiplied, as nearly to exclude
the parts of the fructification essential to their production.
"The seed must be sown in April, in pots or boxes, very thin, and placed
upon an East border.
"In July, transplant them upon a bed in an open situation, at about four
inches asunder; at the end of August transplant them again upon another
bed, at about ten inches asunder, and there let them remain till they
flower: shade them till they have taken root, and in very severe weather
in winter, cover the bed with mats over some hoops.
"The following summer they will flower, when you must mark such as you
like, make layers from, and pot them." _Ellis's Gardener's Pocket
Calendar._
The means of increasing these plants by layers and pipings, are known to
every Gardener.
Such as wish for more minute information concerning the culture,
properties, divisions, or varieties, of this flower, than the limits of
our Work will admit, may consult _Miller's Gard. Dict._ or the _Florists
Catalogues_.
[40]
~Trillium Sessile. Sessile Trillium.~
_Class and Order._
~Hexandria Trigynia.~
_Generic Character._
_Cal._ 3-phyllus. _Cor._ 3-petala. _Bacca_ 3-locularis.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._