i886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



87 



The Single Dahlia. 



The Single Dahlia is not a new flower; it 

 is older than the well-known double ones. 

 The fact is, the doubles sprang from the single 

 ones. The Single Dahlia is a Mexican plant. 

 For a long time previous to a few years 

 ago, as everj' one knows, there was a great 

 rage for double flowers 

 of all kinds. It .seemed 

 as if single flowers 

 were almost despised 

 by florists. It was a 

 great thing in favor of 

 any flower during that 

 time, if it tended to- 

 wards doubling. 



The Dahlia was ac- 

 commodating. In the 

 hands of ambitious 

 florists, it doubled and 

 doubled, until it be- 

 came as full, formal, 

 still and gigantic as 

 possible. Then the 

 Dahlia was thought 

 to be a great flower. 

 For a long time every- 

 body tried to believe it 

 was very handsome and 

 very desirable; how- 

 beit some persons with 

 notions of their own 

 about such things 

 would talk about stiff- 

 ness, and unloveliness. 

 But later on, a 

 change occurred in the 

 popular taste. The 

 double flowers began 

 to be pronounced 

 against, and the more simple forms 

 of these were sought out again. 

 Fashion, very sensible, for once at 

 least, declared in favor of the Single 

 Daisies, Asters, Dogwood, and 

 many like flowers. The reform 

 was taken up in all directions; even 

 the long-despised Single Dahlia was 

 given due notice. Now the atten- 

 tion of florists was devoted to raising 

 beautiful single forms of these, and 

 with results really astonishing. 



To-day the Single Dahlias, the 

 Mexican Butterfly Flowers, are in 

 their improved forms among the 

 most popular of flowers. But they 

 are even less so than they would be, 

 were it not for the pre,judice against 

 them because of the present distaste 

 for "Dahlias." To .show their ap- 

 pearance, as near as it is possible 

 to do in black and white, we pre- 

 sent herewith a very fine engraving 

 of these flowers. This it is our 

 privilege to do through the kindness 

 of Mr. F. R. Pierson, Tarrytown, 

 N. Y., who loaned us the engrav- 

 ing for this use. Mr. Pierson, we 

 may add, has paid a great deal of 

 attenti&n to procuring fine varieties of the 

 Single Dahlias, and in his beautiful and 

 valuable catalogue, " Garden Supplies of all 

 Kinds for Country Homes," he describes his 

 fine collection. This catalogue should be 

 in every gardener's hands. 



The advantages of tlie Single over the 

 Double Dahlias are very obvious. They 

 are much more suitable for cutting. They 

 are light, elegant, brilliant, entitling them 

 well to be called Butterflv Flowers, and I 



are wholl.y unlike the double sorts in ap- 

 pearance. They flower earlier, and the 

 blooms are not .so readily injured liy dull 

 or wet weather as the double sorts. Lastly, 

 they are just as easily grown as the old sorts, 

 with the one advantage that they may readily 

 be raised from .seed, treated as annuals. We 



are free to say that no flower garden should 

 be without some of these very charming and 

 easily grown flowers. JIany florists now 

 furnish the started plants at a low price. 



Tuberous- 



Rooted Begonias. 



In England these plants have reached a great 



j degi-ee of popularity, both as bedding plants 



j and in pot culture. From here an<I there, in 



this country, favorable reports have been 



heard in late j'ears, as to their well-doing. 



WTierever Tuberous Begonias do suc<ee<J, there 

 are good reasons why they are umch thought 

 of, l)eing of excellent habit, profuse in flower- 

 ing; ranging as to color, from delicate yellow to 

 a brilliant scarlet, and they are of lonipara- 

 tively easy culture. To be sure, dilferent 

 varieties i-equire different treatment, some 

 standing the sun almost a.s well as the Gerani- 

 uin.s, which they rival 

 in brilliancy. Others 

 do best in partial shade, 

 and many are une- 

 qualed for culture in pots. 

 For planting out in 

 beds, some varieties 

 prove very satisfactory. 

 However, let me fore- 

 warn those who under- 

 take the culture of Be- 

 gonias, that failure often 

 results friim neglect of 

 having free drainage, 

 both in beds and in 

 pots. Thev delight in a 

 light, rich, loamy soil, 

 through which water 

 percolates freely, pre- 

 \enting stagnation, as 

 the plant detests this. 

 •Shelter from strong 

 winds is also desirable, 

 or they may sutler from 

 being broken off at the 

 ^;round. 



As for procuring stock 

 of the Tuberous Be,go- 

 iiias, many of our most 

 skillful florists favor 

 raising from seed. Good 

 strains of seed can be 

 obtained from most all 

 reliable seedsmen. As 

 the seed is very small, 

 much care needs to be 

 taken in sowing. Place 

 in a pan or box con- 

 taining several inches 

 of potsherds, on top of 

 w h i c h place a thin 

 layer of moss. Then fill 

 with light, fine soil to 

 within 1-4 inch of the 

 top. After sowing, 

 scatter over enough fine 

 sand to keep the seeds 

 in place, (.'over with 

 glass, and on this papei', 

 and kee)) in a tem- 

 perature of li."> to TO 

 till the plants are up. 

 Gradually harden t« 

 the air, transplanting 

 when they have roots 

 1-1 inch long. As the 

 plants are very deUcate, 

 the.v nmst be handled 

 geutlv at all times. 

 Keep shaded for several 

 days, after which place 

 near the light, pro- 

 tected from the direct 

 rays of the sun. Keep 

 shifted and grt)wing till 

 safe to jilant out. Those 

 to be grown in pots 

 should finally reach the 

 T and 8 inch size. It is dvu'ing the growing 

 season that the bulbs are formed. 



-•is to keeijing over the bulbs, allow tho.se in 

 pots to remain over winter in a warm place 

 and quite dry. though not dry enough to 

 wither. The soil should be renewed after start- 

 ing, each spring. 



Those bedded out shovdd Ije lifted at the same 

 time as Dahlias, dried and then kept in a tem- 

 perature of .50 to OU , covered with chai-coal 

 dust. Start up early in the spring and later 

 plant out into good soil. E E S 



