804 



OPEN FLOWER-GARDEN. 



the seeds are ripe, they should be gathered, 

 cleaned, and, when sufficiently dry, packed in 

 paper bags, and kept in a dry cool place till 

 spring. The middle of February is a good time 

 to sow the seed, which should be sprinkled 

 thinly on the surface of light rich soil, placed 

 in well-drained shallow pots or seed-pans, and 

 these placed in a mild bottom-heat, in a frame 

 or pit kept at from 55° to 60° of temperature. 

 Water slightly at sowing, and when the seeds 

 germinate, place them pretty near to the glass, 

 to prevent the plants drawing up weakly. 

 When about 2 or 3 inches high, transplant 

 them into 4 -inch pots, one plant in each, 

 using rich lightish loamy soil. Maintain a 

 steady temperature of 55° or 60°, still keeping 

 the plants as near to the glass as possible, so 

 that they may become stout and stocky be- 

 fore the beginning of May, at which time they 

 may be planted out in the ground where they 

 are to flower; but till the end of May they 

 should be protected in cold weather and during 

 night with bell or hand glasses, so that they 

 may experience as little check as possible. They 

 will, if staked up as they advance in growth, 

 flower in July or August, when their compara- 

 tive merits will be developed. As some, if not 

 many seedlings, will not be worth keeping, the 

 plants may be set at the distance of a foot and 

 a half apart, in rich deep soil, and as they flower, 

 the worthless should be pulled up, which will 

 give room to those that are considered worthy 

 of being retained. Such as show bright colours 

 and well-formed petals, if even not very double, 

 may be retained, and have another year's trial. 

 But all such as produce good flowers the first 

 year should be propagated as soon as possible 

 by cuttings, lest the roots perish during winter. 



Propagation by cuttings. — To this end the old 

 roots are potted or planted in a bed of soil or 

 decayed leaves in any spare pit, and stimulated 

 into growth in December or J anuary. When the 

 young shoots, which will abundantly spring from 

 the crown of the old roots if kept sufficiently 

 moist, are about 3 inches long, they are in 

 a fit state for taking off for cuttings, and should 

 be taken off close to the old root, and planted in 

 sand singly in 60-sized pots, and placed on a 

 gentle bottom-heat. Some set them in light 

 sandy soil, and lay a little sand only over the 

 surface ; in either way they strike freely. Water 

 moderately and shade from the sun, keeping 

 the pit rather close till the roots begin to form. 

 After this they should be shifted into 3|-inch 

 pots and kept still close, as well as near to 

 the glass, until the roots are well advanced, 

 after which they should be shifted into 4^-inch 

 pots, and placed in a cool frame, but protected 

 from frost or wet. On all favourable occasions 

 give air through the day, and stimulate them 

 into growth, to fit them for final planting where 

 they are to flower. Cuttings may also be made 

 of the young side- shoots during the summer 

 until the beginning of August, after which it 

 would be too late to expect them to form tubers 

 sufficiently strong to withstand the winter. In 

 making cuttings of this plant, it must be ob- 

 served to cut immediately under a joint. Late- 

 struck cuttings, which form nice firm small 



tubers," if kept in the pots during winter in a 

 state of repose, will often, when started into 

 growth in spring, and forwarded by shifting, 

 make better plants than either the cuttings 

 struck the same spring or the fragments of the 

 old roots. In this state they are very conve- 

 nient for transport, being less liable to sustain 

 injury during a long journey, and far less expen- 

 sive in carriage than young plants in pots in a 

 growing state. 



Propagation by division of the roots. — Every 

 tuber removed from the mass of roots, having 

 so much of the crown with it as contains one or 

 more eyes or buds, makes a separate plant. This 

 mode, however, is seldom practised, except 

 among amateurs, who have not the convenience 

 for striking cuttings. The roots under these 

 circumstances, when divided, may be potted in 

 pots capable of containing them, and placed 

 under a greenhouse stage, where they will begin 

 to form roots, and be fit for planting out by the 

 time the weather is suitable for the purpose. 

 They have one advantage when thus slightly 

 stimulated, — the root, having been called into 

 action, will immediately push its fibres into the 

 soil. Some amateurs divide their old roots and 

 plant them out about the middle of April, cover- 

 ing them for a time with inverted flower-pots. 



Soil and situation. — The soil can scarcely be 

 too deep, rich, and friable. It should be trenched 

 over in autumn to the depth of 3 feet, and heavily 

 manured at the same time. If laid up in ridges, 

 so as to expose as large a surface as possible to 

 the action of the weather during winter, so much 

 the better. When levelled down at the time of 

 planting, a slight enrichment should be added 

 by digging in some well-decomposed cow or 

 stable dung. In regard to situation in the 

 flower-garden, much depends on taste and cir- 

 cumstances. When the object is growing for 

 exhibition of the cut flowers, then any warm 

 sheltered spot, well exposed to the sun, may be 

 chosen; and when such is the object, any place 

 other than the flower-garden should be selected. 

 The manipulations thought necessary by florists, 

 of shading, cutting off all the flowers except two 

 or three, mulching the ground over with rich 

 manure, &c, are all affairs which would be far 

 better carried on in the reserve garden than in 

 one having any pretension to high keeping and 

 neatness. In the flower-garden much will de- 

 pend on its size and style. In large ones, 

 clumps or banks of dahlias have an imposing 

 effect, although xmfortunately of a very transi- 

 tory duration. They never produce effect when 

 planted singly, unless when in a shrubbery, and 

 when well backed with masses of foliage. There 

 are some dwarf varieties, such as Zelinda, 

 about 18 inches in height, and flowering pro- 

 fusely above their foliage, which have a pretty 

 good effect ; but their flowers for the most part 

 want either that brilliancy of colour or symme- 

 try of form which taller varieties possess. Upon 

 the first appearance of frost the glory of the 

 dahlia is gone, and the blank in the garden, 

 which is in general not a small one, cannot be 

 made up again. The late period also of the 

 season before they come to be effective, particu- 

 larly in many places, strengthens the opinion en- 



