THE AUTHOR 
PREFACE 
jWENTY-FIVE years ago 
I began my life study 
with the Dahlia as my 
subject. 1 entertained 
but little thought, how- 
ever, at that time, that I would ever be known among the 
commercial growers of the land and still less thought that I 
would ever become the author of a modest little book. As 
a boy I fell a captive to the wiles of the Dahlia while 
innocently looking over a fence at some fine blooms in a 
neighboring yard — a simple act, yet a life work grew out 
of it. ^The past twenty years my work has been that of a 
commercial grower and originator of new varieties. ^ In 
the following pages my aim will be to present such informa- 
tion as is most commonly needed in successful Dahlia culture. 
This work is in no sense an advertising medium; neither will 
1 attempt to fully cover all the field in minute detail. Con- 
ditions are almost as varied as locality and any attempt to 
formulate rules and instructions that will apply under all 
these varied conditions is beyond human reach. It will there- 
fore be obvious to the reader that specific information is to be 
operative only so far as chmatic and other conditions may 
render them of practical use. 
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