558 
THE DAHLIA. 
posed of petals pointed upwards, or those 
which are round the centre are confused — if the 
petals are too deep and funnel-like — if the 
petals are too narrow, or exhibit too much of 
their length — or if they show any of the green 
scale at the bottoms of the petals — if the eye 
is sunk — if the shoulder is too high, the face 
flat, or the sides too upright — if the petals 
show an indenture, as if heart-shaped — if the 
petals are too large and coarse, or are flimsy, 
or do not hold their form — in any or all these 
cases the flowers are objectionable; and if 
there be one or two of these faults conspicuous, 
the flower is second or third rate. 
If flowers are exhibited which show the 
disc, or a green scale, or have been eaten by 
vermin, or damaged by carriage, or are evi- 
dently decayed, the censors should reject them 
at once. 
BUYING PLANTS. 
These you may select according to the 
number you want, and give your orders early 
that there may be no excuse for disappointing 
you of any scarce sorts. The Garden Almanac 
will guide you well for a small collection, and 
you should be cautious how you add any with- 
out knowing something about them. It is 
better to increase the number of those particular 
sorts which it is desirable to make sure of in 
the stands : as a general rule, it is better to 
double or even treble the mottled or edged 
varieties; for there is a less choice than there 
is among selfs, and there is often a great 
scarcity. 
PREPARING THE GROUND. 
The ground should be dug, and if it will 
bear it, trenched as low as the soil is good, 
turning the bottom to the top. Procure your 
principal stakes, which should be six feet long, 
and drive them into the ground at their proper 
places, which should be six feet apart in the 
rows, and the rows six feet from each other, 
the second row being however driven half way 
between the opening of the first, so that they 
do not look so formal as if they were exactly 
behind each other, and besides which it gives 
them more room in the same space of ground : 
these stakes should be driven a foot and a half 
into the ground. If the ground has been well 
dressed, or is newly turned up — or has, in 
fact, good heart in it, plant without dung; if it 
has been impoverished, put a good spade-full 
of well rotted dung to each stake, and fork it 
into the ground to mix it well, in about a foot 
circle in front of the stake, and leave a hole 
in the centre, which must not be disturbed : 
place all the pots with their plants at their 
several stakes, and then go round with a 
trowel and plant the balls of earth six inches 
from the stake, sloping towards it, and the 
plant may be covered up to the depth of four 
inches, if necessary, without the least injury; 
and if the plants be lankey, they are the better 
for being covered up a little, and shortening the 
plant above ground. "Water freely after plant- 
ing, not merely at the plant, but a good way 
round it. Here a single loose tie, to protect 
them from the wind, is necessary, and any 
bandage or stick on the plant at the time of 
planting must be removed, for these ties will, 
if not removed, cut completely through the 
plant. 
TRAINING THE PLANTS. 
With good growth the Dahlia requii'es three 
more stakes driven down in angular form, as 
soon as the side branches make much growth, 
but the main stem is to be fastened to the centre 
stake. The branches ought not to be in each 
other's way, therefore, if this is likely to occur, 
remove the intruding shoot or branch; but 
never thin a plant for the mere sake of thin- 
ning. When the buds appear they may be 
and often are more numerous than ought to 
be permitted to bloom, but they should not be 
much thinned in their incipient state; as soon 
as they indicate whether there is a chance of 
their making a flower 1 , the most promising may 
be kept for blooming, the least promising may 
be removed ; any branch too beyond the 
flower should be taken away, and the end of 
the shoot on which there is a flower may 
be taken off: all small weakly branches may 
be cut out, so also may all branches that are 
in the way of more important ones. The 
flowers as they advance, according to modern 
practice, are fixed in a sort of table, made with 
a square board of half inch thickness, with 
a slit just wide enough to pass the stem 
through, and holes at the corners to fix upon 
a leg or legs. The board, or table, is generally 
nine inches square, and made thus — 
and when fixed on 
would be thus — 
its legs, the appearance 
