Cultivating the Dahlia, 83 



Mr. Plumb said the proper time to sow seeds and set out 

 plants varied a good deal with the localiiy. At the time of the 

 late meeting at La Crosse, on the 24th of June, they had found 

 vegetation at least three weeks in advance of what it was in Rock 

 county. All through the Lemonweir valley, barley was heading 

 out, and the season was much in advance of that in the southern 

 part of the state. The same was true of much of Minnesota. 

 The season opened earlier there, though much f".rthei north, than 

 with us, not only in sheltered places, with a warm and sandy soil, 

 but even the winter wheat on the tops of the bluffs was in advance 



of UB. 



President Smith had some fears, before the June meeting at La 

 Crosse, that the date fixed upon would be too early for ths straw- 

 berry crop, but found when the time came that the season for them 

 was virtually gone, while at Green Bay it was but just com- 

 mencing. There was at least two weeks' difference in the season 

 in the two places. 



July 14, 2 P. M. 



At the opening of the afternoon session, Mrs. Huntley, of Ap- 

 pleton, was called upon to give her method of cultivating the 

 dahlia. In response, she said that of late years she had kept the 

 tubers through the winter in a dry, dark room, where they would 

 be secure from the frost. All the dirt was removed from the 

 bulb, letting them dry a number of days; then she placed them 

 in a barrel or box, without sand or any covering whatever. They 

 had always kept safely in this way, and would sprout a number 

 of weeks earlier than those kept in the cellar. When the sprouts 

 had started out well, she set the tubers out in boxes filled 

 with earth, or, if the weather permitted, in the open ground. She 

 had the best success in very rich soil, and where there was con- 

 siderable moisture. The best place she had found for them was 

 near the house, just outside the drip of the eaves. Here they 

 would grow from six to nine feet high. She did not practice 

 pruning much, but took off a few of the lower leaves and stalks 

 when the growth was excessive or unshapely. There should be 

 but one stalk to a tuber. Sometimes more buds would start out 

 early in the season than the plant could grow to perfection, 



