No. 5. 



Advantages of Travel. — TJie Dahlia. 



157 



leisure, to which they look for remuneration, 

 and I find that this principle works quite as 

 well upon the farm ; for the more it costs 

 me for labour, the greater are my profits, and 

 also my pleasures — for I love to see fat mea- 

 dows and fat cattle, and have lon^ been con- 

 vinced of the truth of that beautiful passage 

 of scripture, where it is said, ' there is, that 

 Ecattereth and yet increaseth.' I always 

 debit my fields with the labour bestowed upon 

 them, and they never yet have deceived me 

 in the 'promise to pay,' that 1 receive from 

 them at the time, with compound interest for 

 years after. A middling crop never yet paid 

 & profit; if it pa.ys expenses it is well — and 

 then the farmer enjoys the satisfaction of 

 having ' spent his strength for nought,' thank- 

 ful that it is no worse ; it is the addilionnl 

 bushel which constitutes the profit — and if 

 that be sufficient, I have carried my labour 

 to a good market ; and what can, what ought 

 I to expect more ■? But this doctrine is 

 Greek to most of my neighbours." 



I vi'as amused to hear one of his neigh- 

 bours describe his activity and circumspec- 

 tion during the hay and grain harvest; he 

 seemed to be everywhere, urging the men to 

 cut low, observing, his profit consisted in the 

 last half inch of the grass-crop, and telling 

 them he did not care if they left the top 

 standing, provided they cut the last half inch ! 

 remarking of him, that whatever he took in 

 hand was seen to prosper, he was such a. for- 

 tunate man; and then he related what took 

 place at the last sale of sheep in that county, 

 where the drovers demanded a higher price 

 than what was generally supposed to be their 

 value: My friend thought otherwise, and 

 after asking if the neighbours had made up 

 their minus not to purchase? and received 

 for answer, " Yes," bought the whole ; telling 

 them he would be glad to sell them as many 

 as they wished for, the next morning, at his 

 fiirm, and at the price which he had given, 

 running them nut — that is, not permitting a 

 selection of them; and by daylight the next 

 morning, they had all been taken off his 

 hands, not, however, before he had selected 

 as many as he rfquired for his stock, which 

 happened to he just the best sheep in the lot! 



During this season of activity with my 

 friend, but of leisure with many of the rest 

 of us, his other teams were busily employed 

 turning every acre of unoccupied land for 

 winter-fallow, ploughing an extra depth, and 

 laying an inch or two of the sub-soil to the 

 influence of the frosts, to be returned to its 

 bed in the spring, by running back the fur- 

 rows, preparatory for crossing and working 

 for crops. But I must conclude for the pre- 

 sent, and after having practised some of my 

 friend's precepts, 1 may preach again. 



Nov. 1st, 1841. Subscriber. 



The Dahlia. 



The dahlia is subject to vary so much in 

 different situations and seasons, that great 

 difficulty exists in gaining an accurate know- 

 ledge of the merits of each kind, especially 

 of those which have been only seen for one 

 season. The circumstances under which it 

 is grown are also so various, that unless you 

 see the plant, you cannot fairly judge the 

 value of the flower. Much attention is re- 

 quisite in order, if possible, to find out what 

 particular culture a given plant has been sub- 

 jected to; for example, whether the shoots 

 have been much thinned, the flower shaded, 

 a great deal of manure given, or none at all, 

 &c. All these circumstances should be in- 

 quired into, or how can we expect to get fine 

 flowers from new kinds'! The following facts 

 with regard to new kinds of dahlia.s should 

 always be borne in mind, before condemning 

 them the second year : 



1st. That the seedling plant is much debi- 

 litated by propagation, and therefore the 

 flowers are rarely as good the second season 

 as they are the first and third. This circum- 

 stance alone accounts in a great measure for 

 the dissatisfaction expressed of late years 

 concerning the merits of new dahlias. 



2d. That the best flowers are obtained 

 from those plants struck from the first cut- 

 tings produced by the mother plant, notwith- 

 standing that they are seldom as strong as 

 the cuttings that are afterwards produced. 



3d. That exciting the roots by a strong 

 heat, early in the spring, and striking the 

 young plants on a strong dung bed, tend to 

 weaken the plants so treated, to such a de- 

 gree, that they frequently require two or three 

 seasons to recover and reg[ain their original 

 character. Thus it is found, that good flow- 

 ers are obtained with the least trouble, from 

 those plants kept in pots the first season after 

 striking, planted out the following season, 

 and allowed to start of their own accord. 



4th. That in wet seasons manure is fre- 

 quently very injurious, from its causing the 

 plant to grow too luxuriantly, and thus to 

 produce but few flowers, while in very dry 

 seasons, it is equally beneficial. Much more 

 depends upon a change of soil than upon its 

 composition and quality ; — with moderate at- 

 tention good flowers may be obtained from 

 plants growing in brick rubbish. 



5th. That water is a point which cannot 

 be too much attended to, A great difference 

 exists between hard and soft water; but still 

 more depends on the manner in which it is 

 applied — for one or two good waterings are 

 much better than a small quantity given 

 three or four times a week. 



6th. That taking up the roots immediately 

 after a frost has destroyed the top, is the 



