74 ON THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA. 



pointed camel's hair pencil, I take the farina from one flower to 

 another. If I have a handsome compact flower that I wish to 

 improve in colour or size, I have recourse for farina from one of 

 the colour or form 1 desire ; as it is very nearly to be calculated 

 what a mixture of any two sorts will produce. The flower I in- 

 tend to impregnate upon, I cover with a fine gauze bag, a day 

 or two before the florets expand. When the first and second tier 

 of florets are fully opened, I then impregnate them, and retain the 

 gauze-bag over them for a week longer, and I then mark the flower 

 which I have operated upon. In collecting the seed in autumn, 

 I only gather the two tiers ; the seeds from the outside tiers are 

 always the finest, and ripen the best. The use of the bag is to 

 prevent impregnation from bees. When any flower is semi- 

 double, I uniformly take them away ; so that I neither take farina 

 from them, or save them for seed. 



The seed is sown about the first of February, and placed in a 

 hot-bed frame ; when sufficiently strong for transplanting, the 

 plants are removed into small pots, one in each pot, and kept in 

 a green house or cool frame. At the end of May, they are turned 

 out entire, into a deep and rich soil. They then flower freely 

 by the end of July, and being forwarded as stated, the roots be- 

 come perfected by the autumn, so as to keep plump through 

 the winter. 



The method I pursue with old roots, is to place them upon a 

 moderate hot-bed, or in a mushroom- house, that has a little heat. 

 I just cover the roots with some fine sifted rotten tanners bark, in 

 this way they speedily push roots. I usually do this in the first 

 week in February, which I consider quite early enough, as my 

 plants get to two or three feet high, by the period of planting in 

 the open border. I have known some persons push the roots 

 as early as the beginning of January, but in consequence of those 

 being deprived of sufficient air, which is dangerous at this season 

 to be given, they were generally drawn up weakly, and seldom 

 bloom well. 



When the roots have pushed shoots about four or six inches, 

 I take them out of the bark ; such roots as can be divided, now 

 most readily do so. If any of the roots push more shoots than 

 one, and I wish to increase the sort, I cut off each shoot close to the 

 old root : these I insert in pots, filled with fine light sandy soil, 

 placing them round the sides of the pots, and putting them into a 

 hot-bed frame, or if it is more convenient, I set them off upon a 



