Mat, 4, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



11 



recharged only at certain points, while 

 gasoline can be secured anywhere. 



All the foregoing considerations and 

 some others are important when con- 

 templating the purchase of a delivery 

 car, but bear this in mind: An honest, 

 practical, careful man can get good re- 

 sults from any fairly well constructed 

 ■ auto, while a shiftless, reckless driver 

 will make the best auto that ever was 

 built so costly to operate that, even if 

 we sold carnations at $5 per dozen, we 

 would still find it hard to meet our 

 bills for repairs, and perhaps damage 

 suits. Hugo Schroeter. 



THE VACANT CHAIE. 



Everyone now recognizes the value 

 of the modern sweet pea as a corsage 

 flower and for such high class work as 

 wedding bouquets. That it also has its 

 place in design work is shown by the 

 accompanying illustration, which is re- 

 produced from a photograph of a va- 

 cant chair made by Charles L. Baum, 

 Knoxville, Tenn. The principal flowers 

 used are sweet peas and the quantity 

 required will be evident when it is 

 stated that the design was five feet 

 high and a full-sized armchair in every 

 way. The design was made with the 

 usual wire frame, whereas some other 

 large vacant chairs recently illustrated 

 have been made on an ordinary willow 

 porch chair, which had been covered 

 with moss, the same as the wire frame 

 is stuffed. 



THE DAHTJA. 



Its Eecent Popularity. 



I think everybody will agree with 

 me when I say that the dahlia has be- 

 come quite a factor in the cut flower 

 trade. The recent interest taken in 

 the dahlia for cut flower purposes, and 

 its adaptability as a flowering plant for 

 amateurs, make information regarding 

 its culture at this time desirable. 



The increabing popularity of this 

 plant is largely due to the advent of 

 new forms and the wonderful increase 

 in the demand for flowers. The dahlia 

 comes at a season when the summer 

 rush is over and prior to the appear- 

 ance of glass-grown flowers. It thrives 

 well in almost any soil, requires no glass 

 treatment and covers a wide range of 

 forms and colors. Standard varieties 

 are cheap and are easily kept during 

 the dormant season. 



Development in a Decade. 



The dahlia's development has nearly 

 all taken place within the last decade, 

 which is an extremely short time com- 

 pared with the record of the green- 

 house-grown stock. It was removed, in 

 its wild form, from Mexico to Europe 

 about 1790, but it was not until about 

 twenty years later that any double 

 forms were seen. From this time on 

 development was exceedingly rapid. 

 Both the large flowering and pompon 

 classes were of the globular form, being 

 as round as a sphere. 



These globular forms filled the lists 

 until about 1875. At this time a mer- 

 chant from Holland offered a new form 

 of dahlia, the parent of the now popular 

 clasa called cactus. This first new form, 

 with its long, twisted petals, had a 

 peculiar reddish hue, associated with 

 the cactus; hence the name of this 

 class. From it we are getting many 

 varieties. The advent of the cactus 



The Vacant Chair. 



form, with its grace and beauty, makes 

 it valuable for decorative purposes. 

 With the improvement in keeping quali- 

 ties and a more general knowledge of its 

 usefulness as a cut flower, the dahlia 

 is bound to become increasingly popu- 

 lar. 



Methods of Propagation. 



There are three methods of propaga- 

 tion — by seed, cuttings and root di- 

 vision. Seeds germitiate quickly in mod- 

 erate heat and . thK young plants are 

 easily handled. Seeds sown in March, 

 and transplanted out of flats into the 

 open after danger of frost, can be de- 

 pended on to bloom in September in 

 endless quantities. 



Through many inquiries T have found 

 that propagation by root division is the 

 most common. The eyes will begin to 

 show at the base of the old stock, as 

 a rule, during the first part of April. 

 By dividing these eyes with a knife, 

 the varieties luay be largely multiplied. 

 If glass room can be spared, the clumps 

 may be set in earth in full light toward 

 the end of February; they soon spring 

 into growth. The young shoots can be 

 taken off and rooted in sand in the same 

 way as any other soft-wooded plants. 

 As far as I can find out, there is no 

 difference between the plants made by 

 cuttings and those made by divisions. 



The dahlia does well in any fertile 



soil, but it shows a preference for a 

 rich, moist, sandy loam. It should be 

 planted toward the end of May. It 

 requires warmth to start it into growth; 

 consequently tliere is no advantage in 

 planting it out early. Midsummer is 

 not a desirable time to bring dahlias 

 into bloom. The first part of September 

 is early enough to bring in the first 

 blooms, and this can be done easily by 

 planting out in the first part of May. 



Planting and Cultivation. 



Now as to planting. Dahlias should 

 be planted at least two feet apart in 

 the row, and, if there are several rows, 

 set the rows at least five feet apart. 

 This is necessary because the plants are 

 so brittle^that even a light touch will 

 often cause large branches to break 

 down. The planting depth should be 

 from four to six inches below the soil 

 surface. Frequent and light cultivation 

 is essential to its growth. When tubers 

 are planted, it is a good idea to reduce 

 the shoots to two or three to a hill. 

 When the plants get their second pair 

 of leaves it is a good practice to pinch 

 out the leaders, and the laterals can be 

 treated in the same way after receiv- 

 ing the second pair of leaves. This tends 

 to make the plants branch out and be- 

 come bushy, lessening the necessity for 

 staking. 



The only requirement that a dahlia 



