48 The Dahlia 



advanced beyond the end of October. The opera- 

 tion of lifting is best performed on a dry day. Begin 

 early eight or nine o'clock ; go over and cut away the 

 tops about six inches above the ground. Next, with 

 a spade or digging fork raise the roots, leaving them 

 lying at the bottom of their respective stakes. If 

 it is a fine drying day by early afternoon the soil 

 attached to the roots will have dried considerably. 

 With a piece of stick the most of it will be easily 

 knocked off. Then tie the labels firmly to the roots 

 with tar-twine or wire, and reduce the stalk to about 

 an inch long. They will then be ready to remove 

 indoors. The best and only perfectly safe place for 

 them is one where frost, heat, or damp can never 

 enter, but such an ideal place few can obtain. Still, 

 these are the conditions under which the roots will 

 keep best, and every grower must exert his ingenuity 

 to secure them as nearly as possible whether in his 

 dwelling-house, his potting -shed, his stable, or his 

 greenhouse. If only a few roots are kept they do 

 well upright in a shallow box surrounded with sand 

 or cocoa-fibre. If in a position where there is risk of 

 frost, some straw and a sack can be placed over them. 

 Having put the roots away in October the wise 

 man will examine them frequently during the winter 

 once every two or three weeks to see that none 

 of them are being affected with damp or rot. A root 

 can often be saved by a decaying portion being cut 

 away, and the wound dressed with dry lime. What 

 is of more importance, timely attention to this will 

 prevent the damage spreading to others. 



