190 DAHLIAS. [NOV. 



vel of Peru and Commelina cczlestis. If, how- 

 ever, the soil be dry, the roots of dahlias may 

 be left in the ground all the winter, taking care 

 to put a shovel full of rotten leaves, or very rotten 

 dung, over the crown of each root. This is not, 

 however, quite safe, as the frost or wet some- 

 times destroys them. 



The few plants that continue to flower are 

 very shabby, though (till my dahlias were de- 

 stroyed) I could gather a handsome nosegay 

 for the library twice a week ; I have now only 

 an Jlrgemone grandiflora, Dianthus superbus, 

 the white tobacco, double white chamomile, 

 yellow fumaria, a few asters, and some stocks, 

 to boast of; and the flowers of these are so 

 pale, and the plants have grown so tall and 

 straggling, that they are scarcely ornamental: 

 yet, as I feel that till the chrysanthemums blow, 

 they are all I am to have this year, I cannot 

 make up my mind to pull them up. 



