TtSEi FMENT. 93 



than six feet apart each way. Due regard must be had to the respec- 

 tive heights of the plants and the colors of their flowers ; if on a bed 

 where they are to be viewed from all sides, the tallest-growing kinds 

 should be placed in the centre ; if to be seen only from the front, the 

 loftiest must be set at the back; and, in reference to colors, so arranged 

 that they will produce a harmonious effect as a mass. Tour plants, 

 if well grown, will be from eighteen inches to twenty-four in height, 

 when planted, and should be supported by stakes immediately ; when 

 they are fuU two feet high, the top of the leading shoots, or upright 

 stem, should be cut off to induce the plant to throw out laterals. 



It is a very common error to keep the Dahlia in pots too small for 

 the quantity of roots the plant has formed, and the evil consequences 

 of this are increased in seasons when it is most desirable they should 

 be avoided ; for if the weather be so unfavorable as to put off the 

 period of planting out, the roots have been meanwhile increasing, and 

 fiUing up the ^ot, so that when the plant is taken out to be set in the 

 open ground, the ball of earth cannot be removed without breaking 

 some of the fibres ; and, fearful of doing this, many persons plant them 

 without disturbing it, and the result generally is, that the plant does 

 not begin to grow vigorously untU near the time when it ought to be 

 in flower. It is better, indeed, to break some of the fibres, and get 

 away the dried and baked earth from around the roots ; for though it 

 seems to give a violent check to the growth of the plant, it will, when 

 it has recovered, thrive far better than those planted with the ball 

 entire ;- it is, however, preferable to avoid the necessity for the latter 

 plan, or the alternative of breaking the roots, by planting them in pots 

 of a larger size than those commonly used. The crown of the tuber 

 should be placed at least three inches below the surface of the soil in 

 planting out. 



Mulching and Watering. 



When the plants are two feet high, remove the earth from around 

 the base of the stems to the depth of three or four inches ; supplying 

 its place with well-decomposed manure, which must be sUghtly cov- 

 ered with earth; in dry weather, the plants must be watered through 

 this mulching twice a week at least, or every other day, according to 

 the state of the weather ; and this should be done in the evening. The 



