532 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



are brittle and break under little wind- 

 pressure. Earwigs are great enemies to 

 Dahlias, but can be trapped in small 

 round troughs which may be got from 

 any pottery. They may also be caught 

 on pieces of Hemlock stem, 6 in. long, 

 by leaving a joint at one end, and stick- 

 ing the pieces here and there through 

 the Dahlias. Small pots, with a little bit 

 of dry Sphagnum Moss inside, inverted 

 on the tops of stakes, also form good 

 traps. 



Increase. — The usual practice is to 

 take up the roots and store them in a dry 

 frost-proof cellar in winter. Dahlias may 

 be propagated by cuttings, root-division, 

 and seed, the last way being used only 

 where new kinds are sought. Cuttings are 

 the best means of propagating Dahlias, 

 though division of the roots is usually 

 practised. If started in February or 

 March in a temperature of 60^ to 'jo' F., 

 each crown will produce three or four 

 cuttings every two or three days. These 

 may be taken off even as early as 

 March, close to the crown, without how- 

 ever injuring it, as others will come up 

 at the base of those removed. The cut- 

 tings must not be too long before they 

 are taken from the tubers, as then they 

 flag. When the crowns have supplied 

 all the cuttings that can be got from 

 them they may be divided, and therefore 

 nothing is lost. Cuttings may be success- 

 fully struck during the summer months ; 

 but this is unusual except in the case of 

 choice varieties. Three-inch pots are 

 best for putting the cuttings into, six 

 cuttings being put in each pot. They 

 should be plunged in a brisk bottom-heat, 

 covered with hand-glasses, and shaded 

 from bright sunshine. In less than a 

 fortnight they will be all rooted, and may 

 be potted off singly into large 3-in. 

 pots. Harden them off gradually until 

 planted out in May. 



To raise seedlings sow the seed in heat 

 in February, and treat the young plants 

 in the same way as cuttings. To propa- 

 gate from layers the lowest branches of 

 the plant should be pegged down. If 

 the soil be sandy they will root freely, but 

 in the absence of sandy soil a quantity 

 of leaf-mould with a mixture of sand 

 may be laid down for them to root into. 

 Pure white sand alone is best suited for 

 striking them in, and a mixture of leaf- 

 mould and sand is very good to start the 

 crowns in. 



Wintering. — As long as the weather 

 keeps mild Dahlia roots are best in the 

 soil, and need not be taken up till the end 

 of November ; but should sharp frosts 



be followed by heavy rain they should 

 be promptly removed from the ground. 

 Lift the roots on a dry day and cut off 

 the stems to within 2 or 3 in. of the 

 crown. Remove the greater portion of 

 the soil from the tubers and lay the 

 latter out in the sun to dry before storing. 

 The floor of a greenhouse where frost 

 can be excluded, or a dry cellar, is a 

 good place to store the roots in. A little 

 ventilation is necessary to keep them 

 from getting mouldy ; but a hot dry 

 atmosphere must also be avoided, as the 

 tubers might shrivel in it. By lifting the 

 roots with some soil adhering to them, 

 they are kept plump during the winter, 

 which is best when they are required for 

 early forcing. They will generally keep 

 well on the floor of a greenhouse, as it 

 is light and airy, and during mid-winter 

 much water should not, as a rule, be 

 given. The tubers of some sorts are 

 more difficult of preservation than others, 

 and choice varieties are frequently bad 

 keepers. 



The species of Dahlia are natives of Mexico 

 and adjacent regions : i, arborea ; 2, astrantiee- 

 flora ; 3, coccinea ; 4, excelsa ; 5, gracilis ; 

 6, imperialis ; 7, Maximiliana ; 8, Mercki ; 

 9, platylepis ; 10, pubescens ; li, scapigera ; 

 12, variabilis ; 13, Juarezi. 



DAPHNE {Garla7id i^/^tt'r;-).— Alpine 

 and mountain shrubs, beautiful, fragrant, 

 and of high value for the garden. They 

 are chiefly natives of Europe, and in 

 cultivation do best when shaded in sum- 

 mer from the mid-day sun, and in winter 

 screened from cold winds. If nurtured 

 by the fallen leaves of trees, they will 

 grow with a vigour that we can scarcely 

 hope to see in ordinary soil. They have 

 but few roots, and are best transplanted 

 when young. The best soil is a mixture 

 of free loam and decayed leaf-mould, 

 with some old road sand added. None 

 of them require a rich soil, and some of 

 them even prefer old road sand to any 

 other ; this is especially the case with the 

 Mezcreon. 



D. alpina {Moimiai?i Mezereon). — A 

 dwarf summer-leafing and distinct rock 

 shrub, about 2 feet high, the flowers 

 yellowish-white, silky outside, fragrant, in 

 clusters of five from the sides of the 

 branches. It is a low, branching shrub, 

 flowering from April to June, and bearing 

 red berries in September. Central and 

 S. Europe. 



D. Blagayana (77/^ King's Garland 

 Flower).— A dwarf alpine shrub, 3 inches 

 to 8 inches high, of straggling growth, 

 the leaves forming rosette-like tufts at 



