DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF FLOWERS. 183 
such as we rarely have in this country. It frequently be- 
gins to flower, and promises well in July, but on the last 
of that month and in August our scorching sun and arid at- 
mosphere, together with the insects that prey upon it, op- 
erate so unfavorably that it hardly recovers before it is 
overtaken by frost. While I resided in Lancaster, my 
garden was situated on the banks of a branch of the 
Nashua River. In hot weather, a damp or mist rose from 
the river every night, and gave my Dahlia plants a good 
wetting. I did not have any difficulty then with the Dah- 
lia; it flowered in great profusion, and I have had nearly one 
hundred blooms upon a plant at one time. The mode of 
cultivation then was: first, a hole excavated two or three 
feet across, and about fifteen inches deep, the poor soil 
taken out, and its place supplied with the adjoining surface 
soil, then about two shovelfuls of strong manure, partly 
decomposed, from the stable, thrown in and well incorporat- 
ed with the soil; the stake for the support of the plant 
firmly fixed in the ground; after which the surface level- 
led, and all was ready for planting. If tubers are used 
without being forced, they may be planted any time after 
the middle of May, covering the crown of the tuber about 
two inches, slanting the other end downwards. Plants, 
raised in pots or cuttings, may be turned into the ground 
any time in June. I have succeeded in producing fine 
flowers from dry tubers planted the first of July. Asa 
general rule, let the soil be rith and deep; let the plants 
be well attended to by tying up to the stake,—which 
should be strong, and from five to six feet above the sur- 
face. As the plants advance, syringe the foliage every 
night in dry weather; sift over the plants fine air-slacked 
lime to kill the insects, if you can; mulch the ground 
about them; give them guano-water twice a week in Au- 
gust; and, it you are rewarded for your pains, it is more 
than I have been in most seasons. 
