flat on the ground. It suits me better than any other 

 way that I know about, only that it throws the 

 water a little too fast for the ground to take up 

 readily. 



It occurred to me to have some of the small holes 

 in the sprinkler stopped up, shall try it this season, 

 feeling sure that the defect will be eliminated. 



Overhead sprinkling in a warm dry climate is a 

 positive necessity to overcome and eliminate dry 

 weather pests, such as Aphis, Thrips and Red Spider, 

 that if left unchecked will ruin the plants. I use a 

 sprinkler on the end of my hose that is of copper 

 or brass about four inches in diameter, the shape 

 is similar to those on watering cans, and as soon as 

 the plants get to growing nicely, they get a nice 

 little sprinkling every other day in the evening. Just 

 enough to thoroughly wet the plants and moisten 

 the surface of the ground a little. This is in addi- 

 tion to the regular waterings. 



As to how often to give regular waterings, the 

 nature of your soil, climatic conditions and the size 

 of the plants will govern, for the larger the plant 

 the more moisture it draws from the ground. It 

 may be necessary to water every five days, it may be 

 two weeks or more. Whenever you see the petals 

 of the bloom wilting or the soft stems with buds 

 on drooping or hanging down, water is wanted 

 right away. On hot sultry days the foliage may 

 wilt a little, which does not signify they are in need 

 of moisture. 



In procuring dahlias from another section of the 

 country, I try as much as possible to get two of 

 each variety, as one of them may for some reason 



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