LARGE BLOOMS 
an untimely rain just previous to the exhibition. Ade- 
quate protection from an autumn deluge ought also be 
conveniently ready as an emergency measure, or all 
your prize-taking ambitions may be wrecked in a single 
hour and the happy work of a summer come to nought. 
Gutting the blooms for the exhibition is a matter 
for discriminating judgment. If the flowers are to 
travel many miles it is sometimes wise to cut just before 
they are most fully matured. If the dahlia show is 
nearby the flowers can be grown up to almost the last 
moment of their best, and some varieties require five 
to seven days for the fully grown flower to unfold and 
reveal its utmost of beauty and perfection of form. 
Mrs. Jessie L. Seal, a prominent California grower 
of unusual dahlias, says regarding the preparation of 
dahlias for exhibition: "Select the dahlias suitable for 
display purposes and give these plants special care. 
Water liberally; and disbud thoroughly so that flowers 
will not only have greater size when exhibited in bottles, 
but also have longer and stronger stems for vase and 
basket display. Gather the flowers the evening before 
exhibiting, cutting the most perfect blooms with the 
required length of stem; discard all imperfectly formed, 
wind-whipped, sunburned flowers, as well as those with- 
ered on the back. Exhibitors who show larger flowers 
by allowing them to become over ripe lose prizes, as 
the judges examine the back as well as the front of the 
blooms. Be careful not to have the pollen too well 
