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' "I 



180 *" *. FLOWER-GARDENDAHLIAS. [APRIL, 



DAHLIAS. 



Dahlia superflua, or what is now called Georgiana va- 

 ridbilis, is one of the most fashionable and popular 

 hardy herbaceous plants of the present day. The va- 

 rieties of the present species are almost endless. The 

 double kinds only are cultivated, the single varieties 

 having been thrown aside. Several collections in Eu- 

 rope contain upwards of three hundred double varieties, 

 of every colour and taste, occupying more than two acres 

 of ground. It will be difficult to specify the finest ; but 

 in this country the dwarf-growing sorts are preferred. 

 To make them flower freely, they should be planted in 

 poor heavy soil. From the end of this month to the 

 middle of May, take the roots from their winter quar- 

 ters to the garden, and with a spade make a hole suffi- 

 ciently wide and deep to receive the crowns of the 

 roots one inch deeper than the surface of the ground, 

 cutting off with a sharp knife the old stumps close to 

 the eyes. They have the finest effect in rows ; plant 

 them four feet apart in the row, and the rows six feet 

 asunder. Individual plants of a dwarf nature look ex- 

 tremely well. The best one for this is the Dwarf Globe 

 Crimson, and is perhaps the finest that is known, being 

 prolific, compact, beautiful, and very dwarf, never ex- 

 ceeding three feet: if properly grown, Pulla electa, Fa- 

 maza, and Zend, are also fine dwarf sorts; as tall 

 growing kinds Etna ; Imperibsa ; Cicero ; Cocade ; Cam- 

 bridge Surprise ; Dutchess of Wellington ; Countess of Li- 

 verpool; Barrefs William Fourth; True Mountain of Snow; 



