The Dahlia loves an open, sunny situation, and a rich, mellow 
soil is preferable. However, it possesses an easy-going, happy dis- 
position and will grow anywhere, except in dense shade or in wet, 
sour soil. 
The thing to remember is that cultivation is first in importance 
and location second. The location chosen should be prepared for 
planting by digging deep — the deeper the better — and, if possible, in 
the fall. If the soil is poor, a little well-rotted manure should be 
worked in. Too heavy fertiUzation produces a rank, sappy growth of 
foliage and gives the plant no time to think of flowers. Another evil 
follows — the thick foliage is much too comfortable a home for insect 
pests, which harbor and breed there. 
If the soil is capable of producing a rank growth of weeds, little, 
if any, fertilizer is needed. For a heavy or medium soil, I would use 
rather coarse manure with wood ashes or a light dressing of coarse 
bone meal. Soils that are low and inclined to be wet must have lime. 
An excellent plan on all soils is to spread a mulching of barnyard 
manure over the surface and around the plants after the last hoeing 
and cultivating. This will prevent the soil baking, and permit the 
small fibrous roots to come to the surface. 
In planting tubers, lay the tuber in a horizontal position. This 
permits the new growth to begin at once the formation of new roots, 
which are, in turn, to become the tubers of next year. As you know, 
each Dahlia root produces from three to five new tubers each year, so 
that your original stock is enormously increased. If the tuber is 
planted perpendicularly, the new stalk will draw its strength through 
the old tuber, which will seriously handicap the plant. 
Plant about five inches deep and cover firmly with soil. Dahlias 
can be planted as soon as the ground is dry — as early as May 15th 
and as late as June 20th — with good results. I generally do three 
plantings: Ma)' 15th, June ist, and June 15th. 
The most important thing to remember in Dahlia cultivation is the 
use of the hoe. As soon as the sprouts appear above the surface of 
the earth, the soil must be kept loose and mellow — never allowed to 
form a crust. This should be kept up until the first bloom appears, at 
which time, if tools have been properly used, there should be a slight 
hillock around each plant, or a slight ridge along each row, so that 
water will not lie around the plants. Water can be used sparingly, 
except in case of a long dry spell. Too much water produces rank foli- 
age and small flowers. 
When I first became interested in Dahlia-culture, I motored one 
day in September from Philadelphia to Berlin, N. J., south of Camden, 
to see Mr. Peacock's Dahlia Farm. The Dahlias were then in their 
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