THE CARNATION.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 27, 14 January 1875, Page 3

THE CARNATION.

The Carnation is essentially a "florist's flower." It is one, too, which is perhaps perferred by all people above any other species of plant coming under that denomination. Its perfume is as exquisite as its flowers are beautiful, and its culture to perfection, is within the means of the most humble classes in the community. It is a popular flower with all classes in England, and it is to be found almost wherever a flower is cultivated. It is also one of the very few florists' flowers that thrive in this colony better than in the old country. Pinks, Picotees, and Carnations are all florists' flowers, and may be considered together, ns they are near relations, and require similar culture, and they all comply with the conditions which we have endeavored to explain should belong to every plant admitted to the dignity of the class of which, we have said, the Carnation is a distinguished member, namely, that the prince and the peasant may compete with each other, in their culture, on terms of equality. But as the Carnation is generally allowed to- be the chief of the tribe, we shall confine our remarks more particularly lo it, the same treatment and' management suiting for all, though perhaps more attention is usually bestowed on the culture of the more prized plant, -when perfection is aimed at, than upon its relations. The Carnation, in common with its confreres, is derived originally from Dianthus caryophyllus of Linnaeus, which, though found in a wild condition in fCiigiand, is generally thought to hnve been originally introduced from Italy. It must have been cultivated in England at an early period in her history, for Chaucer, who wrote in the 14th century, mentions it under the name of the " clove carnation," or girofler, as it was then called. Thisname, derived from the French girofiier ((dove), was doubtless given to it in consequence of the powerful spicy aroma of the flowers, and it afterwards became corrupted into gilliflower, or July-flower; though the latter appellation may have been given in consequence of the time the plant blooms It must have early become a great, favorite, for frequent mention of the flower is made iv many works of old date, under the names above mentioned, which «dso are still returned in some of the rural districts of England, nnd the clove, or clove pink, is still applied to a particular strain of the tribe, and well known to all flower-growers, for its extra fine perfume. So long back as 1676, Rea gave the names of 300 distinct varieties of all classes. There are perhaps fewer named varieties in cultivation now than there were when Ilea wrote.. The establishing of a criterion of perfection has tended to restrict the number of named sorts, because names were only given to new seedling varieties when they came near to the required standard. Florists do not recognise what are called " selfs," i c , flowers having but one color, as in the clove strain. The recognised flowers are divided into three classes, if we include picotees, which, however, rre generally looked upon by florists as a separate flower, namely, Ist. Bizarres, — .Those producing flowers in which the white ground color (in speaking of flowers, white is a colour — green is not a colour when speaking of plants or flowers) is striped with two colors, one of which is darker than the other. Snd. FlaJies. — Those which' produce flowers whose ground color of the petals is striped with only one color — purple, scarlet, or rose. 3,rd. Picotees. — Instead of being stiiped, have the petals edged with various shades of red, purple, rose, or scarlet, the band of color being more or less dense, and of greater' or less breadth, in different varieties. It is possible that each of these three classes .may be raised from the seed of the same flower and a single seed-pod, though, as we have said, florists insist upon speaking of the pico.tee as a distinct flower, and at their flower shows picotees always compete as separately, as do pinks, from carnations. The seed is produced pretty freely here, even on the choicest kinds, but it is seldom either saved or sown ; and most generally it is lost for .lack of a little attention The present and the past months may be looked upon as the best for saying the seed. But unless the flowers be shaded from the sun very little seed will reach maturity. The best flowers should be marked, and the beds should be. shaded, while, also, the withering peials should be withdrawn from the cup, or calyx-tube, carefully one by one, to enable tlie seed-pods to develop, and to prevent them from being destroyed . by mildew, caused by the decaying' petals and the moisture .which they would retain within the cup, if not taken from it. The best plan to obtamngood seeds is to cultivate the finest sorts in ten or twelve-inph. pots, and while in bloomlthey can be removed to a dry, shadeq\situatipn, and properly attended t0.,. .They, will- rarely seed in the .uncovered garden-beds, |or in a damp atmosphere. Dew" 4 on"the decaying flower would he quite'sufecient to prevent the development of ' seed.

To Dry Cherries with iSugar — To every four pounds of fruit stoned, weigh one pound of powdered lump sugarput the fruit ana sugar into a preserv-ing-pan • boil very. gently for threequarters of an hour, then put them by in a basinwith.their own liquor till cold; drain them s from the syrum, and lay them sihuly id dry on dishes moderately heated ; let them remain in the oven till they look dry at the top, then take them out, atid in a week turn them on to clean dishes, and put them once more into the oven as above. Take them out and put them into ajar, which must be kept covered as for other preserves. To Dry Gooseberries. — To 7 lbs. of red gooseberries add a pound and a half of powdered sugar, which must be strewed over them in the preserving pan. Let them remain at a good height over a slow fire till they begin to break, then remove them, ttepeat this process for two or three days, then take the gooseberries from the syrup and spread them out on sieves near the fire to dry. This syrup may be used for other preserves. When the gooseberries are quite dry, store them in tin boxes or layers of paper. Strawberry, Raspberry, Red Currant, or Currant and Raspberry Jelly . — Put the fruit into an earthen pan, spueeze them well with a new wooden spoon ; mix an equal weight of sugar in large lumps, with the fruit, and let them infuse for an hour, that the sugar may draw out the juice ; next pour on a little water. If the strawberries are too ripe, squeeze in the juice of two lemons ; put all this in'o a jelly-bag nearly new; mix some melted isinglass with the juice, but the whole must be very cold. The proportion of isinglass before melting should be at the rate of an ounce to four pounds of fruit. Black Currant Jelly — Boil the fruit till the juice flows, then strain it through a jelly-bag, and set it again over the fire for twenty minutes ; after which add half a pound of sugar for each pound of juice, and boil the whole ten minutes longer. Gooseberry Jelly — Take fine gooseberries, not too ripe, of any color* wash and drain them, and add a pint and a half of cold water to every quart of gooseberries. Place them over the fire and boil, till the whole becomes a jam, then strain it well through a jelly-bag. Make a rich syrup, in the proportion of a' pound of loaf sugar to a pint of the liquor, with a little water in which tbe remains of the strained fruit have been boiled. When the syrup is sufficiently boiled, add to it the juice, and boil them together for a quarter of an hour, then pour off Plum Jelly. — Take only those plums which are perfectly sound ; remove the stalks, and put them into large stone jars ; if damsons, make an incision in each ; cover the jars with bladder, put them into deep pans of water over the fire, aua let the water boil gently for three or four hours, till all the juice has come from the fruit; then strain through a jelly-bag, after which add baif a pound of sugar for each pound of juice, and boil tbe whole ten minutes longer, taking care to stir it constantly. Gooseberry Jam — For common red jam, put twelve pounds of red b-drv gooseberries, gathered dry and ripe, aud picked clean, into a preserving pan, with a piDt of currant juice. Let them boil, and beat them with a wooden spoon till they break ; then add six pounds of lump sugar, and simmer slowly twenty or thirty minutes. Gooseberries requires long boiling, but make a good and cheap jam, which generally keep well, and answers f>r children's use. — In making* green goo°,eber y jam, it is usual to add a little spinach juice instead of the currant juice, and to use a double portion of white sugar. (Excellent for puddings at all times.) — In ivhite gooseberry jam, the finestripe white gooseberries must be gathered and picked, the fruit put into a jar, in a pan of water over the fire till they break, and then transferred to the preserving pan, with three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of gooseberries ; they will require half an hour's boilingbefore the sugar is added, to reduce them to jam llefl or White Currant Jam. — Let the fruit be very ripe, pick it clean from the stalks, bruise it, and to every pound put three-quarters of a pound or' loaf sugar ; stir it well, pnd boil half, an hour, then add the sugar, boil nnd skim. Black Currant Jam. — To every pound of black currants add the proportion of a pound and a quarter of sugar, made into a syrup with, half a pint of water ; boil the fruit half an hour before adding the syrup, amd a quarter of an hour after. This is one of the must useful, wholesome, and delicious jams that can be made.— Or, the preserve may be improved by adding" -to "four pounds of black currants one pound of white and one pound of red currants, and then" proceeding to boil, without water, and adding the sugar in the proportion fixed above. Carrot Jam — Boil some carrots till quite tender, and: rub them through) a sieve. To one pound of" the pulp add three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar^ boil it to a jam,, and when nearly cold add^the juice an.d .grated ; rind of tvyo lemons, and half a teaspoon ful of essence o£:cloves or nutmegs. Thi3. jamis not so good as compared with fruit jams, but for children it- is better-than nothing . and very wholesome. . . „ - •