118 The Amateur's Booh of the Dahlia 



sometimes every clump in the immediate vicin- 

 ity, will be dead. 



For this reason it is important at digging time 

 to drain the water out of the hollow stem. Any 

 left there has a tendency to start decay in the 

 neck of the plant — ^the very heart of what is to 

 come next year. 



The second important factor in the keeping 

 of roots is a cold, dry room — a room where there 

 is no danger of freezing and where no artificial 

 heat can reach it. A temperature of from 40° 

 to 50° Fahrenheit is ideal, and it is important to 

 maintain this temperature during the spring if 

 possible: there is less liability of their sprouting 

 at the time we want to divide them. 



There are a number of ways to protect the 

 roots from drying out. If the tubers are plump 

 and the soil has been left upon them, they can 

 merely be stacked in the corner of this cool, dry 

 room, and forgotten. The chances are they 

 will come through all right. Some people use 

 ashes from the furnace or kitchen stove to cover 

 them. This is all right if the soil covers the 

 tubers and protects them from the ashes, but I 

 never advise placing the ashes directly upon the 

 tubers, for the alkaline is liable to be destructive 

 to the tissues. 



Many people pack their roots into barrels, 



