properly grown and comes to the blooming period and is well set with buds and bloom, 
will require twice the amount of water that it did previously. In fact, there is little dan- 
ger from this source when a plant is full of bloom. Water is best applied in the evening 
or early morning. 
If the grower is in doubt, as to the progress the plants are making, it would be ad- 
visable to call upon some successful grower and make comparisons. 
TIME OF BLOOMING. 
As a rule. Dahlias should show buds when eighteen to twenty inches high. (Green 
plants a little earher), and be in bloom at thirty inches high. 
The time usually required to produce bloom from the date of planting is from sixty- 
five to seventy-five days, but this time will vary considerably, according to altitude and 
weather conditions. The figures given hold good at an altitude of one raile above sea 
level. 
CULTURE. 
As soon as the sprouts appear above the surface, start the hoe and cultivator. 
There must be no neglect of this important factor in Dahlia Culture, for Dahlias, like 
people, show their early training. 
For private gardens and parks, the hoe and rake are all that are necessary, but for 
commercial growers, the horse cultivator with small teeth, is the proper tool to use. The 
cultivation need not be deep, but should be thorough and the soil kept loose and mellow. 
The fact should always be kept in mind that the hoe and cultivator are the very best 
stimulants that can be applied to the growing Dahlia. 
This work should be kept up until the first blooms appear, at which time, if the 
tools have been properly handled, there should be a slight hillock around each plant, or 
a slight ridge along the row, so that water will not lay around the plants. All tuberous 
rooted plants thrive best where the soil is mellow and yielding about their roots. 
PROPAGATION. 
There are three methods of propagation in general use. Divisions of the roots, 
rooted cuttings and by seed. 
BY DIVISION. 
If propagated in this way, the work should be done in the early spring, several weeks 
before planting time, and unless the person doing the work is skilled in the art, it would 
be better to place the clumps that are to be divided in some damp material such as moss 
or soil and keep them in a warm place for a week or ten days, that the eyes may appear 
to better advantage. It will then be much easier to make the divisions. A sharp knife 
and a pair of pruning shears are the proper tools to use in the work. 
First remove all decayed tubers and those that are broken at the neck and throw them 
away. Then split through the stalk with the shears and work with shears and knife until 
the whole is reduced as far as possible to single tubers, being careful however, that each 
piece has an eye. Persons familiar with the work often divide to the extent of dividing 
an eye in the center, when there is but one eye to two tubers. Such heroic work however, 
had better be left to the expert. After dividing the tubers, they should be again packed 
in some damp material and placed in a warm place for a few days to heal the wounds 
made by dividing. After this, they should be kept cool and damp until planted. 
II 
