248 



NEW ENGLAND FARI^IER. 



May 



mend you to Washburn & Co., J. Breck, or 

 Hovey & Co., of this city, Avho will charge you 

 from $1.50 to $6.00 a dozen for strong, thrifty 

 plants that Avill give you an abundance of blos- 

 soms, if properly cared for. The expense of 

 getting the plants, properly packed, would not 

 be very great if you are near the railroad, or 

 have an express running to your town. | 



"With regard to the culture of the dahlia. 

 Rand says it thrives best in a rich, deep, pli- 

 able soil, which should be well manured with 

 thoroughly decomposed manure, and well 

 drained. Plants should be set the latter part 

 of May, five feet apart, and tied to tall stakes. 

 A correspondent of the Germantoion Telegraph 

 says : — 



I plant the bulbs in hot beds, just as I would 

 sweet potatoes ; when the plants get up lour 

 or five inches, I cut them olf down close to the 

 tuber or bulb ; these sprouts I cut up into little 

 pieces, making the lower cut just below an eye. 

 These cuttings I put out in sand, and they soon 

 strike roots and grow. The tuber will send up 

 other sprouts, which, when of sufficient size, are 

 cut off and treated in the same manner. A 

 large number of plants are thus made from a 

 single tuber or root. By this method the finest 

 flowers can be produced. If you plant the 

 whole bulb, with one eye on it, the plant will 

 grow very rapidly and strong, but it will all go 

 to stalk and leaves, and the flowers will be in- 

 different. Most people plant out dahlias too 



early ; the first of June is plenty early enough. 

 The" best flowers are those which are produced 

 late in the season. The treatment of the plants, 

 after they start, requires no special skill. 



If you have not already tried the gladiolus, 

 as a garden flower, you cannot do better than 

 to add it to your collection. It is easy of cul- 

 ture, easily kept through the winter, and the 

 common kinds increase quite rapidly. It is a 

 thrifty, clean plant, and its long spikes of flow- 

 ers are very handsome. The flowers will keep 

 several days in water, and a spike thus treated, 

 when just commencing to open, will continue 

 blossoming till all the buds have opened. As 

 with the hyacinth, you can get the bulbs quite 

 cheap, or you can pay as high as $i.00 for a 

 single one. Ordinary kinds will cost you from 

 10 cts. to 30 cts. each; very good ones 25 cts. 

 to 75 cts. each ; and mixed varieties, in which 

 you will stand a good chance of very fine 

 flowers, $2.00 to $2.50 a dozen, prepaid by 

 mail. 



But our remarks are encroaching upon our 

 space. A quarter of a dollar to Washburn or 

 Hovey, will secure you by return of mail a 

 pamphlet giving full lists and prices of plants 

 and seeds, with directions for culture. We 

 hope you may have "good luck" with your 

 plants, and that our response to your inquiry 

 may prove satisfactory. Ed. 





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