Every Spring it is advisable to lime our dahlia plantations^ 

 putting on euongli lime to suggest a light fall of suoav. The sur- 

 face soil should be kept cultivated, and give the plants each at 

 least three feet of space, planting them in rows with four feet 

 between the rows, and please do not fail to place a stake where 

 vou plant each bulb, and tie the plants to the stakes Avhen they are 

 about thirty inches tall, with three-quarter inch green cotton tape 

 (the tape is so easily dyed). This broad tape makes the best pos- 

 sible "tie" material, as it never squeezes, and it never comes un- 

 tied as raffia so often does. When the plants have developed 

 slioots six inches tall, pinch away the tips, as this Avill induce 

 bushiness. 



After cutting your first heavy "crop" of blooms then the 

 liour of bone and Scotch soot should be used again to renourish 

 the j)lants, and at the same time it will keep the wire and cut 

 worms out of the soil, besides supplying every food need of our 

 dahlias. I have found that Scotch soot is an indispensable factor 

 in growing these splendid flowers, for it naturally intensifies their 

 color and it is as well a true soil antiseptic. 



A Avord about disbudding. You know that the buds usually 

 appear in groups Of three, but -we must not hesitate to pinch away 

 the two side buds, leaving only the central bud, which naturally 

 will absorb all the vigor that would have been shared by the 

 others. Should aphis, green or black fly infest your plants, a 

 sulpho-tobacco soap spray will soon put them to rout. 



If possible cut dahlias in the early morning. Keep the sur- 

 face soil cultivated. Trench water when there is not sufficient 

 rain, and let me advise you never to apply liquid manure to them. 



I believe you know that a piece of charcoal in the dahlia jars 

 and vases will keep the water sweet. Not being partial to the 

 dahlia foliage, I never use it, but in its stead I grow a great deal 

 of Lespedeza pendula, which, as you know, only comes into perfec- 

 tion in late Summer, and assembling its long, slender, arching 

 sprays with the dahlia blooms produces an effect that is the very 

 essence of grace- The shining, dainty leaves of Lespedeza pendula 

 are not unlike those of the rarest Cotoneasters and they are 

 infinitely lovelier than the foliage of the dahlia. Frequently I 



