DAH 



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DAI 



stout, and six or seven feet long, at 

 least. As the plants grow, if the 

 weather is hot and dry, abundance of 

 water should he supplied. 



Protecting the Flowers. This will he 

 necessary if intended for exhibition. 

 Caps of oiled canvass stretched upon a 

 wire frame are very good for the pur- 

 pose ; even a common garden pot turned 

 upside down is no bad shelter. They 

 may easily be suspended over each 

 flower by being fastened to a stake, and 

 the flower gently brought down and 

 tied to the stake under them. The 

 best shade, however, is a square box 

 with a glass front, and a slit at the 

 bottom to allow the stem of the flower 

 to slide into it, and thus bring the 

 flower within the box. The flower 

 then has the advantage of light and 

 air, and is still protected from the sun, 

 wind, and rain. 



Winter Culture. As soon as the 

 autumn frosts have destroyed the tops 

 of the plants, cut down the stems and 

 take up the roots immediately. If the 

 roots come up clean out of the ground, 

 they will only require gently drying, 

 and may be stored at once in some 

 place where they will be safe from 

 frost. If the soil clings much to the 

 tubers, these should be washed and 

 dried, and then stowed away. The 

 place should not only be free from 

 frost, but from damp also, yet not so 

 dry as to cause them to shrivel up too 

 much. It is a good plan to have two 

 or three of each kind struck late and 

 kept in pots through the winter, but 

 the soil must be perfectly dry before 

 they are put to rest, and no wet or 

 frost allowed to reach them. A good 

 place for them is to lay the pots on one 

 side under the stage of a greenhouse. 

 In these winter quarters they must be 

 frequently examined, and all decaying 

 roots or stems removed. 



Insects. In the early stages of 

 growth, the great pest to the dahlia is 

 the slug. Watering with clear lime- 

 water, is the best article to destroy 

 them, or a dusting of quick-lime in 

 dewy mornings will be useful ; a circle 

 of lime round each plant will be a good 

 preventive, and also a carefully gather- 

 ing up very early in the morning of 



these vermin will greatly reduce their 

 numbers. When the plants are in 

 flower, the earwig is almost sure to 

 attack them, and frequently in one 

 night will disfigure the finest and most 

 perfect bloom, and render it unfit for 

 exhibition. Traps must be set to catch 

 them. Small garden-pots with a little 

 hay or moss put in them, and then 

 turned upside down upon the stakes, 

 is a good trap for them. They should 

 be examined every morning, and the 

 insects in them destroyed. Dried bean- 

 stalks are also a good trap ; place them 

 among the branches, and the insects 

 will creep into them as a hiding place. 

 Also, as they feed chiefly in the night, 

 take a lantern at that time, and ex- 

 amine every flower. 



Preparing for exhibition. Cut the 

 flowers the night before, and if they 

 are to be conveyed a considerable dis- 

 tance, have a box or boxes made with 

 water-tight tin tubes securely fixed in 

 the bottom, to hold water; pass the 

 stem of each flower through a plug of 

 wood with a hole in the centre, just 

 wide enough to allow the stem to pass 

 through it, and just thick enough to fit 

 like a cork into the tin tube. Make the 

 flower quite firm in the wooden plug, 

 and let the lid of the box be so elevated 

 as not to touch the flower. 



DA'IS. (From dnio, to heat ; re- 

 ferring to the causticity of the bark. 

 Nat. ord., Daphnads [Thymelacete]. 

 Linn., 10-Decndria \-Monogynia. Al- 

 lied to Mezereon.) 



Greenhouse evergreen. Seeds sown in slight 

 hot-bed in March; cuttings of half-ripened 

 shoots, or of the roots, in April, in sand, under a 

 glass, and with a little heat; peat and loam. 

 Summer temp., 55 to /5; winter, 40 to 45. 

 D. cotinifo'lia (Cotinus-leaved). 10. White, 

 green. June. Cape of Good Hope. 

 1776. 



DAISY (Bellis perennis). There are 

 many double varieties of this hardy 

 perennial ; some white, others crimson, 

 and many variegated. A more curious 

 variety is the proliferous or Hen and 

 Chicken Daisy. They all will flourish 

 in any moist soil, and almost in any 

 situation. They bloom from April to 

 June. Propagated by divisions, the 

 smallest fragment of root, almost, en- 

 ables them to grow. To keep them 



