70 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 



florets will open and should be promptly polli- 

 nated, and the bag replaced. 



Nature abhors self-pollination, and provides 

 against it to a certain extent where Nature's 

 methods are used. But Nature is not prepared 

 against the interference of human beings in her 

 private affairs ! Our big clumsy hands and the 

 clumsy instruments we use are just as liable to 

 tumble the pollen from the anthers of one of 

 the florets upon its own pistil or the pistil of its 

 twin sister. The resulting seedlings give nonde- 

 script blooms, usually single and of bad colour. 



To obviate this, all pollen must be removed 

 from the florets of the mother flower before com- 

 mencing operations. 



The best method is to throw a fine jet of water 

 directly upon the florets, which will wash all 

 pollen away from the opened anthers and from 

 the pistils on which any undesirable pollen may 

 have fallen. It has been proven that pollen 

 may lie upon the stigma for half an hour or more 

 without taking effect. 



Examine the florets carefully with a magnify- 

 ing glass to make sure that every grain is washed 

 away, and then touch the surfaces with shreds 

 of very absorbent blotting paper. This will 

 take up all the superfluous moisture, and the 

 stigma is ready for its application of pollen. 



