114 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 



in the hospital, or some other unfortunate city 

 dwellers — and the plants seem to know this and 

 redouble their efforts to give more and more of 

 their wealth of beauty ! 



As the month wears on and the nights grow 

 cooler, down in our hearts we are thinking of and 

 fearing the dahlias' worst enemy — Jack Frost. 

 When the afternoons are still and clear, and the 

 temperature has been dropping steadily, we have 

 good reason for such fears, and it is well to cut 

 all the blooms possible — even those not fully 

 developed — ^to be brought into the house. 



Provided that the previous day has not been 

 hot or windy or rainy, dahlias wiU stand a tem- 

 perature of 32° for two or three nights in succes- 

 sion. In fact, in my garden they have endured 

 without harm a temperature registered at 28°. 

 Heat and wind tire the plants, and when the 

 chill comes they cannot withstand it. If the 

 plants are wet, they will freeze, and thus are 

 done for. 



We have built smudge fires with some success, 

 which protect against a light frost. It is not the 

 warmth of such a fire that keeps Jack Frost at 

 bay. The smoke rises and forms a sort of 

 umbrella over the plants, protecting against the 

 dew that might otherwise freeze upon them. 



Sometimes frost steals upon us unawares, or 



