4 ON THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA, 



practice for insertion in your proposed (for I see the notice of it by ad- 

 vertisement) Florist's Magazine ; and as the season is approaching for 

 commencing operations in gardening, if you judge my method will 1)6 

 of service to your readers who maj be cultivators of Dahlias, I should 

 suggest its appearance in the first number. 



About the fust week in February I make up a slight hot bed of already 

 fermented horse dung, immediately placing upon it a three-light frame, 

 and keep the glass closed for three or four days ; by this time the bed is 

 usually settled. J then spread over the surface of the bed about two 

 inches deep of sandy soil, upon this I place my Dahlia roots as closely as 

 possible, and sprinkle amongst them as much soil as covers the tipu of 

 the roots about one inch. Thus covered, allows the tips to strike a little 

 of new fibres, but not so many as to give the roots any injurious check 

 when removed out of the frame, but it assists to push shoots earlier than 

 if none was sprinkled among them. I then keep the lights regularly 

 closed, unless a burning heat by accident arises, in which case I give a 

 little air day and night for a short time. When the shoots have pushed 

 about six inches long, I cut off close to the old root all excepting one to 

 each division of the old root. I find when the root is excited, it more 

 easily divides than previous to it. The shoots I take off I insert in a 

 very sandy soil in pots, placing them closely together and close to tho 

 sides of the pots. In about a week or ten days at farthest they have 

 generally struck root. I then put each plant into a separate pot using 

 small pots. I then place them again in the frame or green-house, but I 

 prefer the frame when I can appropriate it for the purpose. I have seve- 

 ral times taken off shoots when they have been about two inches long^ 

 but I generally found them to perish. If one casually did strike root, it 

 did not grow any thing near so well as those shoots did which were al- 

 lowed to grow to about six inches long before taken off. When the 

 shoots are taken off the old roots, I then divide and pot them, placing 

 ihem in a green house, taking care not to have them upon any fire flue 

 ■which is heated, as 1 have found when I did so many of the roots per- 

 ished. If more than the single shoot left to each portion of old root 

 slioaid afterwards push, I take all such off, and only allow the first 

 slioot to remain. As the shoots advance, I take care to have them se. 

 curely tied up to a stick, as they are very liable to break off at their 

 origin. 



When I judge that there is no longer any reason to apprehend frost, 

 1 turn out my general stock into the open ground. 



The soil of my garden is, as before stated, a very sandy loam eighteen 

 inches deep. I select an open situation, for when planted near a hedge 

 nr wall the Dahlias are drawn up weakly ; but in an airy part of my 



1 



I 



