22 CULTIVATION 
center about cultivation. Cultivation is the secret of 
dahlia growing. This world is governed by laws that 
make no allowance for good intentions. Geraniums and 
dahlias almost seem exceptions to laws that have no 
exceptions. The truth is these two popular plants are 
longsuffering and overlook neglect; "enjoy poor health" 
better than almost any other garden favorites. 
In Sayers' "Treatise on the Dahlia," Boston, 1 839, 
he writes, in the quaint style of the time: "There is no 
flower of such a decorating character as the Dahlia in 
its season; for whether it finds a place around the limited 
ground of a city residence, or the open exposure of the 
rural cottage, its brilliant flowers shine unrivalled and 
attractive to every observer; by the roadside it invites 
and cheers the wearied traveler, and in the city it gives 
a lively conception to every passer by." Sayers hits 
the nail upon the head when he adds : "The Dahlia adapts 
itself to more varieties of soil and location in favorable 
seasons than any other family of plants that claims so 
general admiration". As a proof of this, we find it 
flourishes in the impure air of the city equally as well as 
in the most salubrious air of the country. Nor does a 
different kind of soil act so materially on its well-being 
as on many kinds of plants, which are partial in their 
nature and will only flourish in their peculiar soil and 
location. But should the season prove unpropitious, 
the most unremitted and scientific exertions of the cul- 
tivator cannot counteract its effect on the flowering; 
