strong stream of water on from the garden hose and 

 wash the dirt out. It will be well to procure a key- 

 hole saw. The blade is very narrow, and have it filed 

 for a cut-off saw. The hardware dealer will explain. 

 Saw off the old stock close down to the tubers, not 

 below any buds. Then saw down through the center 

 of the stock, which is in the center of the tubers. If 

 there are a large number of tubers attached to the 

 stock, you are going to lose some of them for there 

 will not be enough of the stock to go around. After 

 you have sawed through, then you can finish the job 

 with a sharp, thin bladed knife, something a little bit 

 stronger than a potato knife, though a potato knife 

 does very well. Make a clean cut right straight 

 through with either saw or knife. Under no circum- 

 stances do any prying for that bruises the wood and 

 causes it to decay. 



The key-hole saw that I have referred to you will 

 find to be one of the best instruments you ever had 

 for a general purpose tool for getting into narrow 

 places for pruning out shrubs, trees and vines. It far 

 surpasses the best pruning saw I know of. 



Notes : The best time to put stakes at your Dahlias 

 is when you plant the tubers. Drive so they will be 

 on the east side of the plant. As the stock grow up 

 tie them with a soft, but strong twine (sacking twine 

 is extra good). As the prevailing winds come from 

 the West, it is more desirable to have the stakes on 

 the East side, so that if the string for any reason should 

 come apart, the plant will rest against the stake, as 

 it would not do if the stake had been on the West 

 side. I use the ordinary lath, sharpening off one end, 

 they are inexpensive and satisfactory. 



The best time to cut the bloom is in the cool of the 

 morning, followed at once by boiling the tip ends of 

 the stems for about three minutes, which greatly aids 



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