TENDER BORDER AND BEDDING PLANTS. 331 
in a heated propagator in February or March. When well 
rooted transfer to sin. pots and keep under glass till the middle 
of May, then harden off and plant out in June. Another 
method of increasing is by division of the tubers in spring. 
A word with regard to lifting and storing the tubers. Wait 
till the first frost has blackened the foliage, then cut off the 
stems close to the soil and lift the roots. Remove them to an 
airy shed and place them stems downwards to allow the active 
sap to drain away When quite dry store them in a dark 
cellar or outhouse or under the staging of a greenhouse heated 
to keep out frost. Do not bury the tubers in soil, sand or any 
other material, because this is apt to cause the tubers to rot. 
Hot, dry places ought also to be avoided for storing tubers. 
In January or February place the roots on the greenhouse 
staging or in boxes, and fill the space between the roots with 
soil, which keep moist. In due course growth will take place 
and the shoots can be utilised for cuttings. The temperature 
for starting the tubers should be about 55 to 65 deg. Those 
who have no greenhouse must leave the roots in storage till 
May, then plant them direct into the open garden. The best 
results are always obtained from cuttings annually. The old 
roots will make large bushy specimens for big borders, but 
the quality and size of the blooms are inferior to that of young 
plants reared from cuttings. The original home of the dahlia 
is Mexico. 
Datura (Thorn Apple). — Half-hardy annuals or shrubs 
with large trumpet-like flowers, belonging to the Potato family 
(Solanacese). The shrubby species can only be grown outdoors 
in summer, and hence require greenhouse protection in winter. 
The annual species suitable for outdoor culture are : D. cerato- 
caula, white, fragrant, 3ft., Cuba; D. fastuosa (Horn of 
Plenty), purplish, double, 12 to i8in., Mexico; and D. 
ineteloides (Syn. D. Wrighti), lilac, 3 to 4ft., Texas. Sow 
seeds in heat in March, grow the seedlings on in pots till 
June, then plant out 3ft. apart in sunny borders in ordinary 
well-drained soil. D. stramonium (Thorn Apple) is an Indian 
annual of a weedy character, which will reproduce itself from 
self-sown seed. Flowers white or violet. Only suitable for 
rough borders. The shrubby species, D. sanguinea and D. 
suavolens (Syn. Brugmansia suavolens), are sometimes grown 
outdoors in summer and removed indoors in autumn. For 
this purpose the plants are trained as low standards in order 
that the tiumpet-like flowers may be seen to greater ad- 
vantage. 
Ficus (India Rubber Plant). — The India Rubber Plant 
(F. elastica) is a tender exotic only suitable for growing out- 
