THE DAHLIA. 113 



result from the carelessness of unscrupulous nurserymen 

 being- anxious to secure more roots than his stock of cuttings 

 will allow. Instead of making- the base of his cutting- the 

 portion of the stem from which the branches shoot, he cuts 

 his sprig- half way between the branching- parts. This will 

 strike all rig-ht and produce a plant, but will invariably pro- 

 duce a blind tuber, which any amateur and most professionals 

 would not recognize as such. 



To obtain the best results and have the longest season of 

 Dahlias, it is necessary to get, about the end of April or the 

 beginning of May, wiry, small-stemmed plants, or the small 

 tubers, I have just described, plant them firmly in four inch 

 pots in specially prepared soil of one part loam or decayed 

 sod, one part sand and one part well decayed manure; the re- 

 mains of the former years hot beds, is the best, as the manure 

 does not do to be too strong. Plunge the pots in an active 

 hot bed, with sides rather higher then the ordinary frame to 

 allow the plant to grow to a good size without pressing 

 against the glass. The frame should be kept open during 

 the day time as much as possible even on cold days when 

 there is sunshine and no frost, and closed at night, having a 

 covering of canvass or old carpet handy to protect it from our 

 cold frosty nights, in April and May. When the four inch 

 pots are filled with roots I find it best to change to six inch, 

 keeping the plants in the frame till they are well developed, 

 and even showing buds freely. They should be watered care- 

 fully every day in bright weather, and -when 'the buds begin 

 to show, given their first feeding of liquid manure, not too 

 strongly at first. About the first or second week in June you 

 may prepare for transplanting to your border. To grow 

 Dahlias properly, they should have a border to themselves, on 

 the south side of a wall or fence, protected also on the west 

 by a hedge or by hardy shrubs, as the plants are very easily 

 knocked about by our stong winds. The ordinary Mani- 

 toba soil is too heavy for the Dahlias, so if the location 

 is not a sandy one, I would recommend placing prepared soil 

 around the roots when planting out. I dig a hole for each 

 plant about a foot or a foot and a half square, placing in this 



