78 
DAHLIA. 
occasional watering will be all the care they will 
require until the season again commences for propa¬ 
gation. 
DAHLIA. 
The Dahlia is certainly one of the most splendid 
Plants in cultivation, for whether the brilliancy and 
variety of colors in the flowers, the extent of its 
varieties, the duration of its blooming, or its fine 
appearance when in perfection be considered, it stands 
in each particular unrivaled, and merits a situation 
in every Garden, and it is an additional recommenda¬ 
tion, that it is easy of propagation, and cultivation. 
Propagation. —Where a quantity of Plants 
required, a hot bed should be made about the middle 
of March, and the tubers planted in the bed in sandy 
soil, and just covered. They will require no water, 
as it is very apt to cause them to rot. As soon as the 
shoots are about three or four inches high, proceed to 
propagate them, by taking off each shoot, holding it 
near the base by the thumb and finger, and by aslight 
motion of the hand to and fro, it will be detached from 
the crown of the root, and if adroitly performed, the 
base of the shoot will present a convex surface, sur¬ 
rounded by one or more incipient buds. Plants raised 
by this mode, not only produce the finest flowers, but 
