238 Account of the Genus Dahlia. 



New varieties are to be obtained from seeds, which should 

 be gathered from those plants, whose colours and character 

 are most likely to please, always taking from the dwarfer ones, 

 where no preference exists on other accounts ; many of the 

 seedlings will follow their parent, therefore all that are raised 

 will not be new varieties. Double flowering plants are more 

 likely to spring from the seeds of semi-double flowers, than 

 from those of quite single ones ; and it is possible, though the 

 experiment has not yet been tried, that seeds obtained from 

 those particular florets of the disc, which have altered their 

 from, may have a greater tendency than others, to produce 

 plants with double flowers. 



The seeds are to be sown in March, or earlier, on heat, 

 the young plants, if necessary, to be pricked out into pots 

 or boxes, and kept under cover in warmth until the end of 

 April, when they may be planted out where they are to 

 remain, covering each plant for some time, with an empty 

 pot at night, to avoid injury from spring frosts. Where 

 Dahlias have been planted the preceding year, many young 

 plants will arise from self-sown seeds ; these may remain in 

 their original place, or be removed. The seedlings should 

 be planted in rows three feet apart, and two feet distant 

 from each other, in the row ; this will allow sufficient space 

 for a person to walk between them to examine the different 

 varieties. They thrive best in rich loam, and require a clear 

 open space to grow in ; the shelter of trees or of walls being 

 injurious to them. They seem to suffer in some gardens, if 

 planted often in the same place, therefore, where there is 

 not space to enable the grower to move their quarters in 

 successive years, it will be advisable to add some fresh 



