76 FLOWERS AND THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



shrivelled. The chief points in a fine dahlia are the 

 shape and form of the flowers ; they are globe-shaped, 

 quilled, dwarf, &c., and must never on any account 

 show green or yellow in the centre. The flowers, of 

 whatever kind, mnst be perfectly circular in shape, and 

 each circle of petals should be as nearly as possible a 

 perfect circle too. 



When the flowers are intended for exhibition, they 

 must be protected with caps of oiled canvas, stretched 

 on wire frames, or with garden pots turned upside down 

 on the top of a stake, to which the flower is carefully 

 tied. Boxes made on purpose are sometimes used, For 

 sending the flowers to an exhibition cut them overnight, 

 and arrange them in boxes which are made on purpose, 

 with a watertight tube to receive each stalk. Fill the 

 little tubes with water, pass the stalk of each flower 

 through a plug of wood made to fit the tin tube like a 

 cork, and having a hole through the centre just large 

 enough to admit the stalk and hold it firmly. Place a 

 lid on the box, with room for it to avoid touching the 

 flowers. 



Dahlias may be propagated from cuttings of the young 

 shoots which first spring from the roots, or young tops 

 taken off at a joint, any time from February to August. 

 This is especially valuable for the early increase of new 

 sorts. If there are plenty of shoots from the roots some 

 can be spared, when three inches long, taken close down 

 to the bulb ; but if there are none to spare well, cut them 

 off so as to leave two buds at the base of the shoot to 

 grow again. Plant the cuttings in pots filled with light 

 earth and a layer of silver sand on the top, and place 

 them on a gentle hot-bed ; if the pots can be plunged in 

 coal ashes, or such like, they will strike the sooner 

 Water them carefully and moderately, and shade them 

 from the sun. They ought to strike in a fortnight or 

 three weeks, and may then be potted in 3^-inch pots, 

 and kept close for several days to make more root. Then 

 they may be put in a cool frame, shaded from the sun, 

 and kept safe from frost and wet. Before the roots get 

 matted, pot again into 4-J--inch pots, and then begin to 



