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STATE POJIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



sorts. There are three pretty distinct kinds of Dahlias, — tlie Show Dahlia, the 

 Bedding, and the Bouquet or Pompon. Tlie Show Dahlia is the one best fitted 

 for exhibition, hence the name. The plant grows from three to four feet or 

 more in height, with flowers from two and a half to four inches in diameter. 

 Those belonging to this class that are spotted, or striped, or tipped, are called 

 fancy. The Bedding Dahlia, sometimes called the dwarf, usually attains a 

 height of about fourteen inches, and makes a spreading, compact bush, cover- 

 ing a good deal of ground, and consequently making a good bed or mass, cover- 

 ing the entire ground if planted within reasonable distance. The flowers are 

 not usually as varied in color nor as perfect as the Show Dahlia. The Pompon, 

 or Bouquet Dahlia, grows about thirty inches in height, the plant is compact, 

 the leaves small, and the flowers usually less than two inches in diameter, and 

 quite perfect in form. They are useful for large bouquets, hence the name. 



Everyone knows perhaps, that the Dahlia forms underground tubers, 

 and in a strong rich soil these tubers become very large. These tubers are 

 taken up before hard frosts, dried in a litter for a day or so, and are then stored 

 away in the cellar out of the reach of frosts until spring. If the tubers are 

 large and not well ripened in consequence of a wet fall or early frost, they will 

 be apt to decay, and will need watching and assorting. Any place that will 

 keep potatoes well will be found good for Dahlias. If good flowers are desired, — • 

 and of course we grow Dahlias for nothing else, — it is best to confine each plant 

 to a single stem. Usually a tuber will throw up half a dozen shoots, but all 

 may be removed but the strongest. If one of these shoots is placed in a pot 

 of light soil and the pot is sunk in a hot-bed, the cutting will form roots and 

 make a good plant. Those who have grown Dahlias from tubers for several 

 years, and begin to think their Dahlias " run out," will find a great improve- 

 ment by growing entirely from " slips " one year at least. Large, ill-shaped 

 tubers are apt to produce poor flowers, and if we use tubers at all for our own 

 flowering, we always select the smallest, as all that is wanted is one eye at the 

 neck of the tuber. There are so many varieties that we cannot attempt to 

 describe them, but a dozen or two will give a good assortment of colors. 



PHLOX DRUMMOKDII. 



The Annual Phlox, or Phlox Drummondii, as it is called, because first sent 



