18 



// o use & G a r d e n ' s 



DAHLIAS— PERENNIAL and PERMANENTLY POPULAR 



J Short Course in Culture: Ihcluding Preparation of the Soil, Planting, Care of the Plants 

 Througj^ the Growing Season, Storing for Jf^inter, etc. 



YEAR after year the dahlia j)l()ds 

 along, adding new friends and 

 holding the old. New and better in- 

 troductions each season keep interest 

 at a high pitch among dahlia devotees 

 and create inspiration for more recent 

 admirers. 



One thing that make.^^ the dahlia so 

 popular with the masses is its abso- 

 lute dependal)ilily. A mechanical e.\- 

 pert once said aljout the engine of a 

 popular automobile, "You can over- 

 lieat it, boil it over, flood it with oil 

 or neglect to oil it, and it will still 

 run." Paraphrased, the 

 same is true of dahlias. 

 You are always certain 

 of returns, no matter hf)W 

 neglectful or abusive \ou 

 may be in your treatment 

 of the plants. Of course, 

 the results are always 

 commensurate with the 

 treatment accorded, but 

 this one trait of yielding 

 .dividends in spite of all 

 obstacles or neglect is 

 this flower's greatest as- 

 set for most of us. 



We may thank Mexico 

 for the dahlia. The 

 flowers when first intro- 

 duced were all single, but 

 after a few years under 

 cultivation in European 

 gardens a double variety 

 unexpectedly appeared. 



Since that time various types have 

 been introduced, and there are now 

 forms to suit the most critical, rang- 

 ing from the little pompoms or buttons 

 to the large, loose, peony flowered 

 types and the cactus sorts. 



There are three distinct methods of 

 starting dahlias: from roots, cutting; 

 and seeds. The first is the most com- 

 mon method employed because it i '• 

 by far the easiest; cuttings are used 

 extensively in increasing the stock of 

 new and desirable varieties, and are 

 for commercial purjioses; 

 seeds are used in the 

 fascinating work of de- 

 veloping new varieties. 

 This last is extremely in- 

 teresting work. The 

 flowers can be cross-fer- 

 t i 1 i z e d by artificial 

 means, though the great 

 majority of dahlia grow- 

 ers allow the bees to per- 

 form this task for them. 

 In this case, flowers that 

 are to be crossed are 

 planted in close pro.xim- 

 ity to each other. The 

 results, of course, are 

 problematical, as we do 

 not actually know which 

 or how many kinds of 

 pollen have been de- 

 posited by the bees. But 

 one may be sure of in- 

 teresting developments. 



Cross-)ert!lizmg, with its 



resultant development of 



new varieties, is extremely 



interesting work 



Divide the roots in 



t h e spring rather 



than in the jail — 



jor best results 



Small quantities of dahlia 



roots (an he stored in a 



barrel for the winter, with 



dry sand or sawdust 



