General Notices. . 233 



perfection, to be looked at only. The dead appearance, caused by rough 

 usage, can never be removed. 



Fancy Dahlias are becoming very popular, and deservedly so. The pre- 

 judice is fast wearing away, that these party-colored flowers could never be 

 produced of good shape. Every succeeding season has tended to remove 

 this impression ; and many, in the accompanying list of fancy Dahlias, 

 would grace a stand of the ordinary varieties. 



I should recommend the sam.e treatment for these as the other varieties. 

 Perhaps they should not be grown quite so strong ; and those known to be 

 too long in the petal (the prevailing fault at present), should not be disbud- 

 ded so early as the others ; this will improve the outline of the flower but 

 reduce it in size, a point, however, of much less importance. 



Fancy Dahlias, in a ievf years, will, no doubt, be as extensively culti- 

 vated as the ordinary varieties, being more showy in the borders, and, with, 

 improved shape, will be more attractive in stands. 



Raising Seedlings is, perhaps, attended with more interest and pleasure 

 than any other part of the culture of this beautiful flower. Daily watching 

 the expansion and development of each promising bud is attended with no 

 little excitement. 



Much has been said and written respecting which sorts are best to save 

 seed from. I will not attempt to instruct, further than give the system 

 practised by me ; which is, to remove all thin, or otherwise inferior blos- 

 soms, as they appear ; for the fewer petals there are, the greater the quan- 

 tity of seed, with little or no chance of its producing a good double flower. 

 By this, it will be seen, much ultimate trouble will be saved. In small 

 select collections, there will not be so much to do on this point ; but, in 

 large collections, there will be many varieties from which it is not desirable 

 to save seed. This accounts for the number of fine seedlings that have been 

 produced by amateurs, from small collections ; when many, who annually, 

 raise thousands, do not produce a good one. It is worthy of remark, that 

 those seedlings that take the lead and bloom first, seldom, if ever, produce 

 a flower worth preserving ; these are from the finest seeds and thinnest 

 blooms ; they vegetate first, and keep ahead all through the season, and 

 can easily be distinguished by their tall habit, without side-branches ; 

 whereas the late, small plants, that require nursing to make them bloom 

 before the frost arrives, generally produce the best flowers; as it is well 

 known that very few of our best seedlings are ever shown the first season 

 of their blooming. These are from the smallest seeds, and very double 

 flowers. 



Concluding Remarks. — I am an advocate for changing tlie stock of good 

 old varieties. Growing them year after year, in the same garden, without 

 even partly changing the soil, produces the result which may be anticipated : 

 the flowers degenerate ; and a change becomes necessary. 



Keeping the roots and propagating from them being so simple, and now 



so generally understood, it would be a waste of time and space to enlarge 



on this part here ; but I recommend that pot plants should be preserved of 



those varieties as are known to rise badly from the ground, such as the 



22* 



