CHAP. VIII.J 
DAHLIAS. 
297 
which are thought worth preserving are 
marked* and the others taken up and thrown 
away. When the stalks are killed by frost; 
the tubers are taken up, and kept in some 
dry place till the season of planting the fol¬ 
lowing year. The slips are taken from the 
collar of the root in spring, and the cuttings 
from the tops of the young shoots early in 
summer. Both are planted in very small 
pots, in light, rich, sandy loam, and placed 
in a hotbed frame, and shaded. In a fort¬ 
night they will have struck root; but they 
should be shifted into larger pots, and placed 
for a short time in a greenhouse, before they 
are turned out into the open ground. Dah¬ 
lias have large tuberous roots, but stems will 
only spring from the eyes or buds in the 
crown of the root. If these eyes should have 
been destroyed, or be wanting, the root is 
said to be blind; and though it will live for 
several years in the ground, it will not send 
up a single stem. For this reason, before 
dividing the root, it should be planted in a 
gentle hotbed to develope or start the buds 
or eyes; and when it is divided, care should 
be taken that each piece includes a portion 
