38 



tinguish the good from the bad when gathering the 

 seed. And more, the thin blooms possess so much 

 fertilizing matter, from which the bees would injure 

 the whole. 



For the production of seed the plants should be 

 devoted to the purpose. All but a few of the upper- 

 most shoots should be pruned away as they appear, 

 and from these, the first flowers, which are rarely 

 good, should be removed. Mr. Paxton adds, that 

 about twenty or thirty flowers should be left, and of 

 these only the finest and best formed be bred from. 

 As soon as each reserved disk begins to expand, it 

 should be covered with thin muslin or gauze to prevent 

 any fecundation by the wind or by bees, from other 

 and undesired varieties. As soon as the florets open, 

 the pollen from the wished-for male parent may be 

 introduced to them during two or three successive 

 da} T s, by the aid of a camel' s-hair pencil ; this opera- 

 tion to be repeated to each floret as it expands ; and 

 the flowers to be kept covered as before directed, until 

 the danger of casual fertilization is passed. 



In collecting the seeds, Mr. Paxton recommendsthat 

 the outer circle of them, and those in the very centre 

 of the disc, should be discarded, the first usually pro- 

 ducing single flowers, and the others being imperfectly 

 formed. {Paxton on the Dahlia, 68.) 



Glory of Plymouth has, to the great astonishment 

 of all who possessed the slightest knowledge of the 



