for the most part is the natural position in which 

 they grow, and lessens the liability of digging into 

 them when cultivating the ground if you should 

 happen to get too close. The depth of the soil over 

 the tuber when planted should be four inches from 

 the bud to the top of the ground. 



See that the soil is worked well around the tuber 

 and pressed down with the hands. 



Strong stakes should be driven in the holes before 

 planting in such a way that the bud will be close to 

 the stake. Do so in a uniform manner so that if 

 any of the tubers should fail to come up you will 

 know where to dig down and ascertain the cause 

 without running any risk of injuring the tuber, that 

 is almost sure to occur if you have to dig around in 

 a haphazard way to locate it. 



Here, I am able to procure fence pickets the shape 

 of lath but much stronger. I use three foot lengths 

 for low growing varieties and four foot ones for tall 

 growing varieties. Dahlias do not require tall stakes, 

 only something to keep them from falling over or 

 breaking off at the base, when the ground has be- 

 come soft from moisture or there are high winds. 



I sharpen one end of the stake and dip that por- 

 tion going into the ground in Creosote which pre- 

 serves the stake and acts as a preventative against 

 fungus growth which may appear and spread to the 

 plants, doing them much injury. If the prevailing 

 winds 'are from the west, drive your stakes so they 

 will be on the East side of the plant, frequently they 

 become untied or the string fails to hold, and would 

 blow over but the stakes being on the opposite side 

 hold them up. 



