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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
April, 1914 
Dahlias for the Amateur’s Garden 
By Wray Wilder 
Photographs by T. C. Turner 
rn I the arrival of the Spring catalogues 
and special Dahlia lists, the question of 
which Dahlia varieties to select from them 
is invariably a problem. I'o those who have 
grown Dahlias previously and have some of 
their favorite plants stored away for pur- 
poses of propagation it is merely a question of selecting a 
few to add to their collections, while to those making up 
their first lists it is no easy matter to choose from the dif- 
ferent types, which will not only prove inexpensive but free 
flowering. 
Many of the newer varieties, while having flowers of 
great size, produce so few blossoms before the plants 
are cut down by frost, that they are practically in the nov- 
elty class, while others will give a wealth of bloom contin- 
uously from mid-August until frost puts an end to their 
season, and a quick turn to a most forlorn appearance. 
I'he purpose of this article is to place before those of 
its readers who have only small gardens a collection of 
Dahlias that will stand the growth test of what may be 
termed “everyday” Dahlias, or types that have met the re- 
quirements of the writer in his search for varieties that 
are early, free flowering and long extended, carrying their 
flowers so that their beauty can be seen, without having to 
turn them up, or in other words, plants having flowers that 
have the strength of stem to carry the blossoms without 
other support. 
VARIOUS DAHLIA TYPES 
There are seven types or classes of Dahlias, all of which 
have their admirers, so to mention either one of the types 
as the best would be an inexcusable error. There is no 
doubt but that the Cactus and decorative varieties 
are the favorites, with the Peony flowers becoming more 
popular each year, owing to the length of stem with which 
A specimen Uahiia root: 1 wo tubers separated Irom the parent plant, and an old root properly separated, making ten plants 
