392 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



will give a fair idea what a wonderful 

 showing can be made in an ordinary 

 back yard and if I can awake sufficient 

 interest in the proprietor of a deserted 

 back yard to transform it into a para- 

 dise of bloom I am willing to write an 

 article on dahlias every day. 



The proprietor of the garden which 

 is illustrated was the recipient of an 

 award by the Improvement Society of 

 his city. No other plants but dahlias 

 were used in the decoration of this 

 place and the showing made during 

 September and ( )ctober was gorgeous 

 to say the least. 



During any time of the year the place 

 looked neat and clean and with his ex- 

 ample he will have instilled sufficient 

 love for this flower that deserted back 

 yards in his neighborhood will be few 

 to be seen. 



In the culture of dahlias the first 

 important step to make is to select a 

 spot for growing them. The poorer 

 the soil and the lighter, the better they 

 will grow. Dahlias will grow as well 

 in a sunny position as in a shady, with 

 one difference. In a bright sunny spot 

 they will grow more dwarf, flower 

 earlier and more profuse. In a shady 

 place they will grow tall and flower 

 late and the flowers will be fewer. 



With the spot selected it is now es- 

 sential to have the land carefully culti- 

 vated and turned over. If this can be 

 done in the fall previous, it is advis- 

 able but if only done in the spring, no 

 manure of any kind should be added 

 to the soil. 



Rich or manured soil has a tendency 

 to produce a most luxuriant foliage 

 but hardly any flowers at all, there- 

 fore if the soil on the place is rather 

 rich, I would advise dressing same 

 with a heavy layer of fine coal ashes 

 and have same carefully spaded into 

 the surface. 



The dahlias themselves should not 

 be planted before May 15th, no matter 

 how far south the garden may be situ- 

 ated and even by planting as late as 

 the first of July splendid results can 

 be obtained. 



During the last season my own ex- 

 perience has been with dahlias that 

 those planted July 10th produced a 

 finer plant and a greater quantity of 



blooms than those set in the ground 

 May 5th. 



For the ordinary garden where space 

 is limited 2 feet of room between the 

 plants is all that is required. A better 

 appearance can be made with 3 feet of 

 room. It is here necessary to give a 

 little explanation in regard to what to 

 plant, either a field-grown root, a pot 

 root or a young plant. As a rule field 

 roots are the ones which are carried 

 over. The clump which had formed 

 the year previous should be carefully 

 split into as many parts as there are 

 sprouts, provided the spout is not de- 

 tached from the tuber. 



Sometimes it is impossible to sepa- 

 rate every sprout and in such a case 

 it is well to remove with a knife all 

 sprouts but one. The essential point 

 is that never should there be more 

 than one distinct main stem growing. 



Pot roots are roots grown from slips 

 during the previous season and my ex- 

 perience personally has been that these 

 roots are every particle as good as field 

 roots. They are nicer to handle per- 

 haps and easier to plant. No matter 

 how small the root, if a sprout has 

 formed the size of root has absolutely 

 nothing to do with the future progress 

 1 >f the plant. 



The old root which is planted is of 

 no account. As soon as it is placed 

 in the ground it decays and the new 

 roots form right above it. 



It does not feed the plant as a great 

 many growers believe. Last season 

 wdiile I experienced an extreme drouth. 

 the growth of the plants proved exclu- 

 sively the above statement. 



Until the little fibre roots could form 

 and grow, the plants stood still with- 

 out moving one inch, which showed 

 that the large roots which were placed 

 in the ground could not feed the new- 

 growth made before the drouth set in. 

 Green plants which are often obtain- 

 able only, particularly with newer va- 

 rieties where the quantity is limited 

 are desirable but should be given a care- 

 ful treatment. 



Most dahlia growers object to green 

 plants, for the reason that they are sub- 

 ject to destruction by the cutworm, 

 and if this is once done the plant is 



