Dahlias. 



Ill 



Little Rifleman, Little Vale7iti7ie and Little Wag are names of 

 some pompons and there are many testimonies to their child- like 

 grace and beauty. These pompons have been brought to a high 

 degree of perfection. Their evolution is practically complete. 

 They have a beauty and a place of their own, and no one v^^ould wish 

 them any different. As a 

 class, they offer the cheap- 

 est method I know of for 

 producing great quantities 

 of flowers two inches in 

 diameter. A variety that 

 does not have from ten to 

 sixt}^ flowers at a time from 

 the 4th of July until the 

 September or October frost 

 is not worth keeping. 

 They are the very thing for 

 small yards and for certain 

 city conditions, especially 

 where people are likely to 

 steal flowers. Anyone 

 who enjoys giving away 

 flowers should have some 

 pompons. They grow up 

 quickly and hide bare, ugly 

 places and are the ideal for 

 those people who delight 

 in having things trim, neat 

 and tidy. The peculiar 

 merits of the pompon dah- 27.—^ single dahlia 



lias, then, are their profusion, their wide range of color, and 

 their cheapness. 



The single dahlias (Fig. 27) will probably be enjoyed as long 

 as the star-like beauty of the daisies and marguerites is appreci- 

 ated. They, too, are quite perfect in their way, and they are 

 largely for quantity. Of late years the plants have been made 

 dwarf and compact. There is now a whole race called "Tom 

 Thumb Single Dahlias." I hate to talk about "improving" 



