wetting of the ground is of no use. The plants are benefited by having 
the foUage washed with the hose occasionally. If the plants are of 
slow growth they will be aided by an application of liquid manure or 
nitrate of soda, either used sparingly in crystals on the ground, or the 
ground sprayed with a solution of one tablespoonful of crystals to a 
gallon of water. As the plants are coming into bud, I recommend a 
mulch of fine, well rotted manure three or four inches deep. This will 
supply the stimulant needed for blooming, and at the same time keep 
the ground cool and moist. 
There are two principal methods of training: the staking and the 
branching. The first is practiced by eliminating all but one stalk and 
securely fastening it to a well planted stake. The dahlia stalk is hollow 
and tender when mature and is easily broken by the wind or its own 
weight. Show flowers may be developed from such a stock by nipping 
ofT some of the flower buds. In the second method, the plant is nipped 
back so as to give it a low branching habit. This delays the flowering 
slightly (probably two weeks), but renders staking unnecessary and 
decreases the danger of losing a whole plant by the breaking of one 
main stem. This "nipping" process is done when the first two sets of 
leaves are formed by cutting out the stem down to these leaves. 
This results in four flower stocks, one at the base of each leaf, each 
capable of producing as much bloom as the one staUc of the staking 
method. A third method is the massing system, where the tubers are 
planted in rows a foot or two apart. The plants being close together 
are supposed to be self-supporting. By trying out these methods one 
can soon find which to adopt. Personally I prefer the branching 
method. 
Propagation is by tubers, slips or seed. It is quite easy to raise 
Dahlias from slips. The tuber is placed in the hot bed in the spring 
and when the sprouts from it are three inches high, they are cut off 
and planted singly in small pots with fine, sandy soil and placed in 
moderate heat. They root quickly. Transfer to large pots of light, 
rich soil. These slips, of course, come true to the mother plant. By 
this method one can, with moderate expense, secure a number of 
plants of the new and rare productions of each year, or of some 
favorite variety. Frequently the slip plants bloom more quickly and 
better than those raised from the tubers. 
Seed should be sown early in spring in the hot-bed or boxes in the 
house, and the plants transferred into pots in the manner of handling 
slips. The flowers seldom come true, but the chance of developing 
something new adds to the charm of this method. 
When the tubers are lifted in the fall, six or eight inches of the 
stalk should be left on and the tubers prDperly dried and packed in a 
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