116 WESTERN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



flower to the stem. This is the largest Dahlia grown, I 

 believe, and strange to say it flowered very early, about the 

 4th or 5th of July, too early for last year's show, and sad to 

 relate died young, and I think from too rich feeding or too 

 strong manure at the root. 



This short paper has been prepared more for the purpose 

 of starting a discussion on the subject from which we may 

 have benefit, than for any practical information it may give, 

 as a person with only two years' experience can hardly be 

 called an authority on Dahlias. 



, DISCUSSION. 



Question. Do you advise keeping- the roots in the cellar ? 



MR. ANGUS. I have succeeded best when I kept them in the cellar 

 without heat. They must be absolutely dry. Dry them in the garden 

 in the sun or in a shed well ventilated. 



PROF. BAIRD. My difficulty in the matter of growing- Dahlias has 

 been in the winter time when they do not grow at all. The only place 

 I have which is at all suitable is a cellar in which there is a furnace. 

 I have no trouble with dampness, but it is too warm. Perhaps the 

 mistake has been in putting them away in the autumn. Is it not 

 advisable to look after them three or four times in the course of the 

 winter and moisten them in the box in which they are packed ? 



MR. ALSTON. I find it better not to pack them. Packing heats 

 them and they are apt to be shrivelled up in the Spring. Take them 

 out of the garden in the fall and put them in a box and keep them in a 

 shed from fifty to sixty degrees and they will be all right neither too 

 dry nor too wet. 



MR. WHEI,I,AMS. We put away about half a bushel ; took them up, 

 shook off the earth and put them in the root house. About two months 

 afterwards they were the consistency of thick porridge. The reason 

 probably was that they were not dry enough. Temperature does not 

 seem to make as much difference as the condition in which they are 

 put awa)'. Recently we manage better ; we put them in a roothouse 

 with a lot of potatoes. The conditions that are suitable for potatoes 

 seem to suit the dahlias. 



MR. ANGUS. A good deal depends upon whether they are ripe 

 enough when they are taken up. If a potato is not thoroughly ripe it 

 is not fit to keep. It is better to leave the dahlias in the ground from 

 the time when they freeze down in September or the beginning of 



