102 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



As the summer advances they will require a liberal amount 

 of watering on an average twice a week if the weather is hot 

 and dry. Each plant should be given not less than a gallon 

 at each time. Dahlias are very gross feeders, and almost any 

 animal manure is suitable. It may either be dissolved in a 

 tank loosely or placed in a sack and allowed to escape gradu- 

 ally. The feeding with manure-water should always follow 

 after the usual watering. Each plant should be give about 

 one gallon. It is never necessary to feed as much in rainy as 

 in dry weather. 



As the blooms begin to open, a sharp look-out must be 

 kept for earwigs and caterpillars. The best plan is to place a 

 2|-inch pot partly filled with greasy paper on the top of each 

 stake. The pots should be examined every morning and the 

 earwigs and other insects found in them destroyed. The best 

 time to catch these pests is after dusk. The blooms should 

 be carefully looked over with the aid of a lantern. The 

 Pompon varieties do not require thinning out, disbudding, or 

 feeding, and they do not grow so tall as the other varieties. 



Dahlias should never be planted in a shady position or 

 allowed to be crowded by other plants or shrubs. 



The following is a first-rate dozen of both the Cactus and 

 show sections : Cactus Ajax, orange buff ; Advance, scarlet 

 terra-cotta ; Debutante, peach pink, creamy centre ; Dorothy, 

 silvery pink ; Dreadnought, dark crimson maroon ; Glory of 

 Wilts, pure yellow; H. H. Thomas, scarlet crimson; Mrs. 

 Macmillan, pink, with white centre ; Nellie Riding, crimson, 

 with white tips ; Rev. T. W. Jamieson, coral pink, with creamy 

 centre ; Snowstorm, pure white ; and William Marshall, 

 bronzy yellow. Show A. M. Burnie, orange, with yellow 

 edge ; Blush Gem, white, tipped with mauve ; Countess, blush 

 white, shaded rosy purple ; Goldfinder, yellow, tipped with 

 red ; Harry Keith, rosy purple ; J. T. West, yellow, tipped 

 purple ; Mrs. Gladstone, soft blush ; Mrs. Langtry, cream, 

 edged with crimson ; Nugget, orange, tipped scarlet ; Sul- 

 phurea, sulphur yellow; Tom Jones, creamy yellow, edged 

 with rose ; and William Rawlings, crimson purple. 



Dahlias for Garden Decoration. There is no autumn flower 

 that can vie with the Dahlia for brilliancy. As a rule, all 

 others appear dull in comparison. For massing we have 

 scarlet, crimson, yellow, purple, orange, white, and pink in 

 self colours. These lend themselves readily to almost any 

 garden colour-scheme if only the right varieties are grown ; 

 while they can be utilised anywhere, as they vary in height 

 from 2 feet to 5 feet. Should the plants be required to flower 



