STORING THE ROOTS 103 



will become sufficiently dry by the afternoon to admit of 

 much of the soil about them being removed. Should it 

 not be possible to wait for a fine day, lift the roots and 

 place them on the floor of a dry shed or glass house, and 

 leave them until the soil has become dry enough to be 

 removed, taking care that the tubers are not exposed to 

 frost. 



In selecting a place of storage, it is essential to bear in 

 mind that they must not be subjected to frost, damp, or a 

 high temperature. A dry cellar is as good a place as any 

 in which to keep Dahlia roots, but any shed or spare room 

 in which they can be kept safe from frost, damp, or ex- 

 cessive warmth may be utilised. In sheds and rooms, and 

 indeed in cellars that are not frost-proof, they can be kept 

 perfectly safe by covering them with a layer of dry straw 

 from twelve to fifteen inches in thickness. As some of the 

 tubers may, owing to injury during the process of lifting, or 

 from some other cause, show signs of decay after they are 

 stored, it will be prudent to examine the roots at intervals 

 of three or four weeks during the winter. If evidence of 

 decay is seen, the decayed tubers or portions of tubers 

 should be cut away, and the cut surfaces dressed with 

 dry, powdery lime. Unless this precaution is taken, all 

 the tubers of a root may rot, and the decay spread even 

 to sound tubers belonging to other roots placed near those 

 showing decay. 



