THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA. 



20' 



raenced in the first row, and dropped one 

 in every other cross, and in the second the 

 same way, alternating the crosses so as to 

 make the tree in one row opposite the va- 

 cancy in the other, and so on through the 

 patch. A brisk hand will set out from S00 

 tc 1000 in a day, with another to dig and 

 drop them. All that is necessary, is to 

 draw on dirt enough to cover the roots, 

 tramp it down, .and then draw on a little 

 more, so that the surface shall be loose. I 

 consider it decidedly preferable, in trans- 

 planting young Locusts, to cut the tops off 

 at the ground. They are easier set, more 

 likely to live, and, at the end of two years, 

 are larger than if the entire tree had been 

 planted. I don't think there are a dozen 

 missing out of the 3000, and they will ave- 



rage five feet in height, and are still grow- 

 ing rapidly. After setting the Locusts I 

 planted the vacancies with pumpkins, po- 

 tatoes, &c, and cultivated all together with 

 the plough and hoe. I am getting tired of 

 drawing rails six miles ; and am in hopes, 

 that by the time my fences rot down that 

 I now have, I shall be able to renew them 

 nearer home. I want to plant a few bush- 

 els of Black Walnuts next fall ; and shall 

 try the Osage Orange next spring, if I can 

 procure the seed. K< spectfully yours, 

 J. R. Hammond. 



Shandy Halt, Cooper eo., Mi., Aug. 6, 1849. 



[We are glad to hear of such enter- 

 prising planters on the Missouri prairies. 

 Ed.] 



THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA. 



BY WILLIAM CHORLTON, STATEN ISLAND. 



Sir — Having seen in a late number a re- 

 quest for information on florists' flowers, 

 and not having seen it answered, perhaps 

 my humble suggestions, which are founded 

 on experience and sound practices, may be 

 of use to your subscribers. If so, I shall 

 be glad to transmit, from time to time, no- 

 tices of other favorites of the florist. 



In penning the following remarks upon 

 the propagation and cultivation of that most 

 showy and symmetrical of flowers — the 

 Dahlia — it is not my purpose to write an 

 elaborate essay, but to state simply and 

 plainly the proper method of bringing that 

 flower to the greatest perfection ; not merely 

 for the purposes of exhibition, but as an 

 ornament in the flower garden, which, if 

 carefully followed, is sure to lead to ulti- 

 mate success and satisfaction. 



The Dahlia is named in honor of An- 

 drew Dahl, a Swedish botanist, and a 

 pupil of Linnjeus. It belongs to the class 

 Syngenesia, and order Superfiua, of the 

 sexual, and to the order Composite, and 

 sub-order Helianthea?, of the natural sys- 

 tem of botany, and is a native of Mexico, — 

 growing wild in shady grounds. It was 

 sent to Madrid in 1789, and thence to Eng- 

 land in the same year; but the plants 

 being lost were reintroduced by Lady Hol- 

 land, in 1S04. Some botanical authors 

 enumerate several species, as D. super' 

 fl.uas, D. frustranca, D. segregata, &c, 

 which have now become so intermixed bv 

 cross breeding that, in a cultivated form, 

 all traces of a specific distinction are de- 

 stroyed. I very much doubt if' they were 

 ever anything more than accidental varie- 



