94 



On the different Species of Dahlia. 



They were now all removed from the hot-bed frame, having 

 been exposed to the open air both night and day during 

 the last month ; the two largest into a border of rich earth, 

 and the rest plunged as they stood in the pots, in various parts 

 of the garden, near the walls, but only in west and east aspects, 

 that to the south being entirely filled with other plants. Their 

 stems and branches, as they advanced, were carefully secured 

 from being broken by the winds, and they were supplied 

 with water, whenever their leaves flagged. They all grew 

 rapidly in August and September, but I despaired of seeing 

 any flowers, till the middle of the latter month, when almost 

 every branch terminated in a flower, the first of which 

 opened the 7th of October. Soon after others came out ; 

 but what is well worthy of attention, the two largest plants 

 which had been nourished the most luxuriously, though 

 placed in the warmest corner, were the latest in showing 

 flowers. One of these, which had attained to twelve feet 

 in height, did not expand its first flower till the 29th of 

 October, producing however, a plentiful succession till the 

 beginning of December ; in the first week of which a violent 

 storm of wind and rain, nearly put a stop to its vegetation. 

 All the plants ripened seeds more or less, and were suffered 

 to remain in the ground with their decaying stems uncut, 

 till a frost came, which was severe enough to freeze the 

 borders, an inch deep : the morning after, those which had 

 been plunged in their pots, were taken up and removed into 

 the greenhouse, behind other plants : the two in the ground, 

 after cutting down their stems to about a foot and a half 

 in length, and removing the frozen crust of earth, were pro- 

 tected with a covering of moss and fern about six inches 

 thick. In 1807, the greenhouse plants were removed into 



