THE DAHJJA 187 



TOM THUMB (for bedding) 



Name Colour Height 



Canary Deep yellow 12 in. 



Fairy White shading to pale mauve 18 in. 



Gem Bright yellow 18 in. 



Socialist Rose 18 in. 



Swagger Scarlet-crimson 18 in. 



Pretty Dear Ivory, edged pink 12 in. 



Girlhood Pure white 18 in. 



Hermoine White 12 in. 



Lilliput Light scarlet, lined orange 14 in. 



Tom Tit Orange-scarlet 18 in. 



There are three principal methods of propagating the dahlia, 

 as follows : 



(1) By seed sowing, 



(2) By cuttings. 



(3) By division. 



If the gardener has artificial heat at his command in February 

 and March, the raising of a small batch of dahlia seedlings is a 

 fairly easy matter. Seed of the various classes of dahlias either 

 decorative, cactus, pompon or single can be obtained cheaply, 

 and if it be sown in sandy soil in pots or boxes placed in genial 

 warmth it will germinate with astonishing rapidity. 



As soon as the seedlings are an inch or so high and have formed 

 a pair of leaves, they should be pricked off singly into a thumb pot 

 which has previously been filled with soil composed of loam, leaf 

 mould and sand. The pots should be placed in an airy position 

 on the greenhouse shelf, and be kept moderately moist. When 

 the roots have permeated the soil and are touching the sides of the 

 pots, the young plants must be potted on into five-inch pots and 

 be inserted in soil that has been enriched by the incorporation 

 of some old and well-decayed manure. Towards the middle of 

 April, when the atmospheric conditions ought to be becoming 

 more genial, the plants can be placed in a cold frame, and gradually 

 hardened off preparatory to planting out during the opening days 

 of June. 



