22 THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



Training, Thinning, and Supporting. 

 When the side branches issue from the main stem, drive in four stakes slanting 

 outwards, and select four shoots nearest the soil for securing to them. Thinning and 

 disbudding must be left to the discretion of the grower. A small-flowered and weak- 

 growing variety must have the growths well thinned out and also several buds removed, 

 but with strong growers like Arthur Ocock, and Eeverend J. B. M. Camm, only slight 

 disbudding will be required. If the weather is at all dry, water must be given regu- 

 larly and copiously, both over the leaves and to 

 the roots. 



Protecting the Blooms. 

 When the buds show colour, it is advisable 

 to place them in muslin bags, 7 inches by 5 

 inches, tied round the stem. This prevents ear- 

 wigs and caterpillars injuring the blooms. The 

 bags require moving every few days to see how 

 the blooms are progressing. Many devices have 

 been adopted for protecting the blooms from the 

 sun and rain. An easy method is to nail a flat 

 board 1 foot square on the top of a stout stake, 

 and place it firmly in the ground in a slanting 

 position. Bound tin shades can also be bought 

 with glass tops, that slide up and down a square 

 stake, which allows of their being altered to suit 

 the height of the flower. In a similar way wooden stands are provided with a slit for 

 the flower-stem, and the bloom covered with a pot, see Fig. 11. The tipped fancy 

 dahlias and light show varieties are improved by being placed under a 6 -inch pot for 

 a few days previous to the show. Small pots, containing a little dry hay or moss, 

 inverted on the stake, form excellent traps for earwigs. 



The foregoing remarks apply to the show and fancy section, when grown for exhi- 

 bition ; if the plants are required for garden decoration, they should be treated similarly 

 to the cactus varieties. 



Cactus, Pompon, and single dahlias require to be planted in the same way as the 

 Shows, but not on suck rich ground. They should be mulched, watered, and well 



Fig. 10. Dahlia Plant. 

 The result of a, Fig. 9. 



