THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



183 



purpose we use small fruit baskets measuriiii^ about 

 10 X 5 X 3 inches deep, placing the tubers cross-corner- 

 wise, the tip of the tuber close up to the corner to assure 

 close planting to the stake. Ordinary potting soil is used, 

 with the addition of a small quantity of sifted coal ashes, 

 about 1 part ashes to 5 or 6 soil ; this forms a good porous 

 mixture to which the roots will cling when removed from 

 the basket. These started, plants grow right along with- 

 out a check. Cultivating nnist be done regularly to keep 

 down the weeds, this cultivating gradually fills up the de- 

 pressions in which the dahlias have been planted and in 

 the meantime some of the tubers have developed two or 

 more shoots; the most promising one being selected, 

 while the others are carefully twisted off instead of being 

 cut. A single stem plant is preferred, branches are not 

 allowed to form nearer than 12 or 15 inches from the 

 ground. This allows free circulation of air, freedom in 

 cultivating, and enables one to see the slickers as they 

 appear. Buds will sometimes appear early in July ; these 

 should be removed at once, as the blooms are usually in- 

 ferior and if allowed to remain the plants generally be- 

 come stunted afterwards and never fully recover until too 

 late — the idea is to keep the ])lants growing. We use 

 siieep manure alternately, with any other kind of fer- 

 tilizer that promotes rapid growth ; an ap])lication of po- 

 tato fertilizer is very Iieneficial. a' sprinkling of "Bon 

 Arbor" is applied anjund the plants about every ten days, 

 until about August 1. Ten days later a good dressing of 

 air-slaked lime is applied and raked in. This corrects any 

 acidity in the soil and also releases the latent properties 

 in the fertilizers that have been used ; in the latter part of 

 .\ugust a sprinkling of bone meal is scattered around. 

 This is pointed in with a spading fork, thereby breaking 

 up the surface feeding roots, checking the rampant 

 growth and inducing the plants to set buds. For long 

 stems and large flowers disbudding is resorted to, remov- 

 ing all side growths from the branches excepting the two 

 most promising ones next the main stem ; these are al- 

 lowed to remain for future blooms. When the buds are 

 well set. an ap])lication of soot or wood ashes is applied 

 to the ground : this keeps the foliage green and lustrous 

 and intensifies the colors ; in very dry weather the plants 

 are watered, giving enough for a thorough soaking each 

 time. Spraying the plants overhead at sundown after a 

 very hot day is very beneficial. Insecticides are used as a 

 precautionary measure throughout the growing season. 

 Aphine is a sterling remedy for thrips and ^^'hite I'lv is 

 used with regularity and applied to the underside of the 

 leaves. Gishurst's compound and sul])ho tobacco soap 

 may also be used to good advantage. If the garden is 

 equipped with hydrants and a force of water is available, 

 a quick and convenient method of applying these hard 

 substances is to use a cmitrivance termed the Universal 

 soap mixer, consisting of a brass cylinder with a screw 

 cap, fitted with a coupling attachment to fit a ')4-inch tap. 

 The chamber is filled with the soap or comijound, the cap 

 screwed on and the hose attached to the lower end of the 

 "mixer." In cutting blooms stems are cut just above a 

 joint, the ends of the cut stems are then split through the 

 first joint and placed in cold water in a cool place free 

 from draughts. \Mien it is desired to hold the blooms for 

 several days it is best to place the freshly cut stems an 

 inch of their length in hot water and allowed to remain 

 imtil the water has cooled and are then placed in cold 

 water. A lump of charcoal added to the water keeps the 

 water ])ure, but the use of iced water is to be discouraged 

 as the flowers quickly droop wlicn reni(i\cd to a warm 

 room. The exquisite colors and beautiful forms found 

 among the newer types of dahlias are well worth all the 

 care and attention that we can bestow nn them, coming 



in at their best when nearly everything in the garden is 

 sere and yellow. The accompanying photograph was 

 taken October 1, 1914; over 1,500 dahlia blooms were cut 

 during the 10 days before that date, 5 to 10 inch blooms, 

 according to variety, on stems 2 to 5 feet long. In the 

 immediate foreground is a block of the new Giant New- 

 port Singles ; between the center and extreme right hand 

 corner may be seen a group of the (iiant German Cactus 

 Dahlia, "\'ater Rhein." These were all 11 feet high and 

 profusely covered with 7-inch Jjlooms on stems 3X' to 5 

 feet long. 



A PLEA FOR ROCK GARDENS. 



Bv Luke O'Reilly, Xkw Jkusev. 



While visiting the recent show held at the Grand Cen- 

 tral Palace, New York, the Rock Garden exhibit attracted 

 my special attention and 1 observed that it also attracted 

 the attention of many other visitors. Rockery plantings 

 are suited to our climatic conditions hereabouts and we 

 should see more of them. For many years I was con- 

 nected with some of the large estates in Ireland where 

 immense rockeries are to be found on nearly all estates, . 

 some probably a hundred years old. While serving for 

 some years on the engineer corps the opportunity came 

 to me to visit the principal sections of England, Ireland 

 and Scotland, and having been born on a nursery I always 

 had the inclination to visit the herbaceous gardens and 

 rockeries of note during my traveling. It seems to me 

 that this is a branch of gardening that has been sadly 

 neglected in this country and which should receive more 

 consideration as rockeries furnish one of the most pleas- 

 ing phases of a garden, large or small. 



It is no difficult task to construct a rockery. The old 

 stumps about the place can be utilized together with the 

 small boulders for foundation work. Some of the most 

 attractive rockeries are formed after miniature mountain 

 ranges flanked by shrubbery. Water is essential in a 

 dry climate to ])roduce an effective rockery and should 

 be tirovided for and freely applied in drv season. 



Native ferns in shaded spots of the rock garden are 

 most attractive. Some of the most effective rockery 

 plantings are found among the following-named alpine 

 plants: Abronia: Campanula carpatica; Dianthus Del- 

 toides, Dentosus, superbus ; Eschscholtzia caespitosa ; 

 Gentiana acaluis ; Gypsophila muralis, repens ; Lep- 

 tosiphon auraus; Linaria alpina ; Mesembryanthemum 

 album; l'a])aver alpinum : I'rinmla Rosea: Saponaria 

 ocvnioides; Saxifraga; Sedum : N'eronica. 



FAVORITE PLANTS FOR ROCKERIES. 



b"ew genera of plants provide a larger number of 

 species adapted for the decoration of the Rock (Jarden 

 than the Harebells, or Campanulas, .\mong these we 

 have great diversity of character and wide distinctions as 

 regards height, for while some species trail so closely to 

 the ground as scarcely to lay claim to height, there are 

 others with flower spikes which rise to 6 or 7 feet. 



Wherever rock gardens are planned alpine Campanu- 

 las have become indispensable. Campanulas are easily 

 managed, and thrive best in a rather light and fairly 

 rich soil. 



It is a boon to the lover of aljjine flowers to be able to 

 maintain the beauty of his rock garden or simple rockery 

 after the gems of the early spring have passed away, and, 

 now that rock gardening is .so popular, there is more 

 need than ever to urge the claims of the later flowering 

 subjects. One of these is Gypsophila repens, a valuable 

 plant, which for months at a time gives an abundance of 

 small flowers reminding one of those of its ever-po;)ular 



