UP-TO-DATE DAHLIAS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



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CACTUS DAHLIA "COMET." 



twelve inches away from the stem 

 of the plant. This application should 

 be repeated every three days. 



The first specimen flower appearing" 

 on this plant will be the largest that 

 can ever be produced. During the 

 progress of plants there are a few in- 

 sects which attack it and no matter 

 what they are the following prepara- 

 tion will destroy and keep them off : a 

 weak solution of Paris green dissolved 

 in cool water. Apply it with a fine 

 syringe or whisk-broom to the foliage 

 and buds of the plants after sun-down 

 in the evening. 



It is highly important that the plants 

 are never watered during the sunny 

 hours. Wherever the conditions are 

 such that wind is a great factor to 

 contend with the tying of the plants 

 should receive a great deal of atten- 

 tion. In order to make them as secure 

 as possible I advise having cross bars 

 connect a line of stakes as many as 

 desired and tie the branches to these 

 cross bars. By doing this no wind 

 can uproot a plant. 



The dahlias will not produce the 

 best specimen until August, and if 

 buds should appear previous to that 

 time, it is not advisable to allow them 

 to open. Many varieties have a ten- 

 dency to produce imperfect flowers in 

 the beginning, and if this is noticeable 

 all succeeding buds should be re- 

 moved for at least a week or two so as to 

 enable the plants to gain sufficient 



strength to produce perfect blossoms. 



Where a dahlia garden takes up but 

 a limited space the flowering season 

 can be prolonged way into November 

 but while I admit that early frost 

 often appearing as earl}- as September 

 will kill enough of the plant to stop 

 them from further blooming this can 

 easily be prevented by building a pro- 

 visional tent over this garden. Drive 

 your stakes to fully two feet above the 

 highest plant and use in covering such 

 as muslin or a light canvas but have 

 this cover come right down to the 

 ground. 



Once this first frost is away we 

 usually have splendid flowering wea- 

 ther until almost Thanksgiving". The 

 dahlia thrives especially well in loca- 

 tions near the seashore, for it receives 

 the moist, cool nights which seems to 

 be its greatest stimulant. 



A word about cutting flowers and 

 keeping them. Flowers are best cut 

 extremely earl}' in the morning", while 

 the dew is still on them and placed 

 immediately in cool water and kept 

 in a cool place for at least two hours. 



Such dahlias will easily keep from 



PECULIAR TWISTS OF PETALS OF 

 CACTUS DAHLIA "LOYALTY." 



