34 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 



different qualities of coal. Coal ashes has done 

 so much harm to my dahlias that it is forbidden 

 in the garden now. Perhaps a little test I made 

 five or six years ago may show my reason for 

 this. 



Two beds were made side by side, about nine 

 feet square. The original soil was the same New 

 Jersey red clay, sour, stony, and with but little 

 life. Trenching was done, as I shall describe 

 later, and one was lightened with sand while the 

 other received the same amount of sifted coal 

 ashes. Both were enriched with the same quan- 

 tities of leaf mould and bonemeal. Into both the 

 beds I planted three tubers each of three varieties 

 of dahlias — ^the same varieties in each, all of strong 

 growing habit. Then I waited. 



Dahlias in the ash bed grew slowly. The 

 plants were stunted, the stems were short, the 

 flowers small — their toes seemed to hurt! The 

 roots when dug were much smaller than the 

 other bed, and covered with the limey substance 

 of the ash as though they had segregated it from 

 the rest of the soil. 



The other bed grew dahlias as I like to see 

 them: tall plants, luscious foliage and flowers, 

 with enormous roots to dig. 



Lime is not necessary in the ordinary garden 

 soil for dahlias. There may be a case when. 



