REVIEWS. 
151 
purpose than having the figures to place in a glazed frame, for the 
inspection of customers ; and the private cultivator ought to have 
the book as a memorial of what has already appeared, and as a 
standard by which new ones may be judged of when they do 
appear. 
The practical instructions are from Mantel, which states that 
(( it has been computed not less than twenty thousand seedling dahlias 
are raised annually in this country. The facility with which they 
may be raised—the comparatively short period which intervenes 
between the time of sowing and that of flowering—and the great 
success which has hitherto attended this mode of propagation, will, 
no doubt, account for the extensive cultivation of this highly esteemed 
flower. 
“ The dahlia is also propagated by cuttings and by divisions of the 
crown ; and new and beautiful varieties are constantly raised from 
seed. The seed is usually obtained from the finest double flowers; 
but some successful propagators prefer that procured from semi-double 
varieties ; and we believe some of our finest dahlias have been raised 
from semi-double seedlings. The seed should be collected early in the 
season, as soon as the blossoms have withered, and the receptacles are 
sufficiently dry. 
t( If desirable, the seed may be collected late in the season/and when 
the receptacles are in a green state, in which case they should be 
divided and placed in a window, or in any dry warm situation ; and if 
the seeds be allowed to remain in the calices, they will retain their 
vitality better than if detached from the receptacle. 
“ The seeds should be sown in large pans or pots about the middle of 
February, and placed in a hotbed frame. The young plants require 
to be potted off singly into the smallest sized pots, soon after the coty¬ 
ledons are above ground, and when the first pair of leaves are suffi¬ 
ciently developed. They should then be placed in the frame nearly 
close to the glass, to prevent them from being drawn up weakly. When 
of sufficient size, they may be re-potted, placed in a cold frame, and 
protected at night till the middle of May, that being the period for 
planting them in the open air. 
“ Those who propagate extensively, sow the seed in hotbed frames 
the beginning of March ; and during the month of April, instead of 
potting, set out the seedlings on a slight hotbed, covering them at 
night with mats, until the planting-out season arrives. With the 
view of obtaining new varieties, some propagators transfer the pollen 
from one flower to another, by means of a camel-hair pencil; in which 
