114 



EVERY WOMAN HER OWN FLOWER GARDENER. 



of them, and use it as a handle by which to lift them. All the flowering 

 stems of another season are situated on or near the point of junction 

 between the tubers and the stem. When they are so dried that the soil 

 will all shake off, pack them in barrels or boxes and fill up with sand 

 that has been dried in the sun especially for them. If you put them in 

 damp sand they will decay. After they are carefully packed, put them 

 in a dry cellar — frost-proof, and they will come out in March and April 

 fresh and vigorous. In planting them, it is considered best to set out 

 the cluster of tubers, and after the shoots have sprouted two or three 

 inches, to separate them, leaving two shoots to a tuber. When planted 

 out into the border, put the root at least three inches under ground, 

 and w^atex carefully, shading from the sun for two or three days. A 

 stake must be inserted close by the stem when the tuber is planted, and 

 as the shoots advance, tie them to it. If placed there after the plant is 

 growing, you may injure the roots. 



It is from seeds alone that new varieties spring. They should be 

 sown early in the spring, in shallow boxes in a window or hot-bed, in a 

 rich, light soil, with a good sprinkling of sand ; as soon as the third and 

 fourth leaves are well developed, plant them in two-inch pots, or in boxes 

 three inches apart ; shade them from the light for two days or so, as the 

 seedlings are very tender. They can be planted into the border when all 

 danger of frost is past ; and if the soil is enriched with well- rotted cow- 

 manure, the blooms will be finer. Until the buds show their coloring, 

 there is no way of ascertaining it with certainty, though plants with 

 pure green stems will usually produce white flowers, those with reddish- 

 brown stems the darkest colored flowers, and those with light brown 

 stems, pale or blush-colored flowers. Such plants as are not handsome 

 should be pulled up, as soon as the flowers have fully shown their char- 

 acter ; and give more room for the beautiful ones to grow in. 



If the finest blooms are desired, the side branches should all be 

 pinched off, and only the three or four strongest shoots allowed to grow, 

 and on these the buds must be thinned out, leaving only three or four 

 to come to perfection. The hot sun is injurious to the more delicate 

 shades, and careful cultivators suspend an oiled paper, to protect their 

 rare plants from it, also from heavy, drenching rains. 



Soapsuds make an excellent fertilizer, and it is well to give the roots 

 a thorough drenching with it, at least once a week. Much of the suc- 

 cess in growing fine Dahlias depends upon training them carefully, and 



