OBSERVATIONS ON PRIZE DAHLIAS. 247 



South of France, and that I knew a plant which blossomed annually 

 against a wall on a gravelly soil, and that I also knew an instance of 

 an unusually large bush on a cold and stiff soil, which had never been 

 known to flower. I have also ascertained that another plant in my 

 own immediate neighbourhood, on a warm and loose soil, bloomed 

 regularly, till it was ignorantly destroyed last year. I would recom- 

 mend Elizabeth, however, to shade her Yellow Rose when in flower, 

 from the mid-day sun, and in dry weather to give it at that time a 

 little water. She need not despair of procuring plants by budding, if 

 the operation be performed by an experienced person. This Article 

 may doubtless be of use to some of your readers, whilst to others it 

 will be uninviting ; I therefore request the Editor will throw it aside, 

 or make use of it at his discretion. 



I forgot to observe that in the spring of this year, my gardener 

 walked round a garden a few miles off, where he observed the Rosa 

 Sulphurea in bloom, and on inquiry I ascertained that the soil was 

 also light and friable. 



[We feel greatly obliged by the above communication, and hope the 

 readers of the Cabinet may be favoured with others from our corres- 

 pondent. — Conductor.] 



ARTICLE IV. 



OBSERVATIONS ON PRIZE DAHLIAS. 



BY E. 



(Concluded from No. 104, p. 222.) 

 The " watering the plants with a strong solution of manure and 

 blood " is a nostrum of which I have never been recommended the use. 

 A better and a less troublesome plan is the following : — about the 

 end of July or the beginning of August, when the plants have attained 

 their full growth, I place a quantity of manure round the roots of 

 each plant and cover it slightly with soil, and the watering upon this 

 supersedes the watering with the solution of manure, and removes 

 the unpleasantness occasioned to the olfactory nerves, which Mr. 

 Pearson complains of. Nitrate of soda, in the proportion of twelve 

 gallons of water to one pound of nitrate, has been strongly recom- 

 mended, and I have observed the benefit accruing where judiciously 

 applied round the roots in the early stages of the plant. As the plant 

 increases in size, I thin the lower lateral shoots, lest the natural luxu- 



