96 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



have reached to the top of the two first stakes, they 

 should have three others fixed around them, and these 

 should be of a height proportionate to that of the re- 

 spective varieties. 



Thinning of the branches is an important detail in the 

 cultivation of the cactus, show, fancy, paeony-flowered, and 

 giant decorative varieties for exhibition. The cactus 

 varieties of rather dense growth should have their branches 

 thinned to five, six, or seven to each plant, and this should 

 be accomplished by the removal of the weaker shoots. 

 The show, fancy, paeony-flowered, and giant decorative 

 varieties will require thinning in a somewhat similar manner, 

 but the removal of the side branches must be regulated by 

 the character of the varieties. An excess of growth is 

 generally a hindrance to the flowers attaining to a high 

 state of development, but some varieties have a tendency 

 to produce large, coarse blooms, and if the growths of these 

 are severely thinned this defect will be more or less accen- 

 tuated. On the contrary, varieties producing relatively 

 small blooms will need a more severe thinning, that there 

 may be concentration of energy on the part of the plants. 

 All the foregoing sections when grown for garden decora- 

 tion should have their strong growths tied out and those 

 produced rather late in the season removed, for they are of 

 but little use for bloom production, moreover they deprive 

 the others of much light and air. 



WATERING AND MULCHING 



All Dahlias derive much benefit from a liberal amount 

 of moisture in the soil, and in the case of those grown for 



