CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA. 



547 



not surpassed by any pear witli which I am 

 acquainted. 



Gray Doyennt. — Tree rather less hardy 

 than the foregoing. 



Forelle. — Has fruited and proved fine in 

 this neighborhood ; but the tree is since 

 dead with the blight. 



Fred'k of Wurtemberg. — Well known ; 

 very handsome and popular here. 



Marie Louise. — Excellent ; but in order 

 to obtain standard trees, must be grafted 

 high on strong stocks. 



Napoleoti. — Very prolific and healthy ; not 

 equal in flavor to some other sorts. 



Stevens^ Genesee. — Promises to be first rate. 



Beurre d'^remberg. — Equals the highest 

 anticipations. 



Easter Beurre. — Does not always ma- 

 ture sufficiently in autumn here ; occasion- 



ally excellent ; but will not rank with the 

 foregoing. 



Ucedale's St. German. — Valuable for cook- 

 ing ; very prolific. 



Firgouleusc. — I obtained this sort from 

 N. J. in 1824; the tree is still standing in 

 Trumbull county, but never yet produced a 

 perfect fruit. 



Wi7iter Nelis. — Is my favorite for an ear- 

 ly winter pear. 



Oranges — p. 543. May be budded either 

 in Ju?ie or in Atigust. At the former sea- 

 son, employ last years buds; at the latter 

 buds of the first growth of the present year. 

 Those of the June insertion may make a 

 growth of a foot or more in August. 



Duration of Varieties — p. 555. The old 

 White Doyenne pear is as healthy and pro- 

 ductive here as any new seedling. 



REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA. 



BY AN AMATEUR, NEW- YORK. 



I HAVE observed that very little has been 

 said in your columns of the Dahlia or its 

 culture. In the last number, I see allusion 

 made to the new class of Dahlias, which 

 has been originated within a few years. I 

 mean the " fancy flowers." 



These deserve all the praise that you ac- 

 cord them ; as, with the sole exception of 

 ihe autumnal roses, it appears to me that 

 the Dahlia, in its more modern form, is the 

 pride and glory of the garden from midsum- 

 mer to autumn. Many of the new varie- 

 ties are as perfect as the double white ca- 

 mellia, and as exquisitely striped as a car- 

 nation ; and the continual succession of 

 bloom which they furnish makes them in- 

 dispensable in every garden where there is 

 room enough for a Dahlia parterre. 



Without going into any systematic detail 



of the routine of Dahlia culture, I propose 

 to offer a few hints, founded on some ten or 

 twelve years practical experience. The 

 English works abound with numerous di- 

 rections for cultivating this plant ; but our 

 climate is so different from theirs, that very 

 large departures from their rules are neces- 

 sary. 



It should be premised, then, that the 

 great point in cultivating the Dahlia in the 

 United States is to have a deep soil. With- 

 out this, it is almost five to one that vou 

 will fail to get a good succession of flowers. 

 If the season is a moist one, the Dahlia will 

 bloom profusely in almost any soil ; but as 

 the majority of our summers are hot and 

 dry, the plants almost always get stinted 

 and feeble, and produce few flowers in a 

 thin or dry soil. 



