THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, March 17, 1857. 
411 
the air is heated somewhat before it reaches the plants. 
When the window opens in half all its length, like folding 
doors, air must he given with more care. In very cold 
weather enough will be admitted by the doorway. In fine 
days in April and May there will be little danger of excess 
of fresh air. 
4. Shading. —We seldom shade healthy, established, 
hardy plants out of doors; but it is sometimes necessary 
to do so with our pets in windows, thus placed in such 
artificial circumstances. It is most needed in sudden 
changes from cloud to sunshine, and when we have been 
doing anything to our plants, such as potting, &c., that has 
disturbed the reciprocal action between roots and foliage. 
It is also resorted to when we wish to preserve the bloom of 
a plant longer than we otherwise could hope to keep it, 
though we may thus somewhat injure the constitution of 
the plant. It will before long be seen that it is also needed 
in all delicate cases of propagation by cuttings. Its total 
neglect is often very prejudicial to plants. Here, for 
instance, is a plant fresh potted or partially disrooted a week 
ago; the w r eather has been dull every day since, but to-day the 
sun shines brightly, and, water as you will, every leaf flags. 
A muslin curtain would have prevented all this mischief. 
But another mischief is sometimes produced by over¬ 
shading, or continuing the shade longer than is necessary, 
and that is even the case when the plant could do without it. 
A vast number of people when they shade a plant never 
think of removing it until hours after the cause of shading 
is gone, and thus the shading enervates the whole system 
of the plant. It w'as lately noticed that the additions of 
solid matter to a plant were only made during unobstructed 
light. All shading has the tendency to elongate or spindle 
out what previously existed. Use it, therefore, but do not 
abuse it. 
The substitutes for it are chiefly two, and when con¬ 
venient I prefer the first, or the second when there is 
nothing to render it impracticable. The first is to withdraw 
the suffering plant to a distance from the window, so that 
the light will be more diffused before reaching it; and the 
plant, while it will be equally eased, will not be so enervated 
as by injudicious shading. The second is to damp the 
foliage, and thus force it to absorb as well as perspire. Of 
course I am not alluding to a plant flagging from dryness at 
the roots—a watering in that case will be the proper remedy; 
but to that flagging which is either the result of some 
peculiar operation on the plant, or some great sudden change 
in the weather from cloud to sunshine, and which no delug¬ 
ing at the roots will neutralise. R. Fish. 
(To be continued.) 
Djiy-rot in Buildings. —A communication was made at a 
late Meeting of the Linncean Society respecting a peculiar form 
of dry-rot which spread with extreme rapidity in the church 
of King’s Wear, Devonshire, by means of long, byssoid, rope¬ 
like shoots, different in the mode of their development, except 
on a very small scale, from anything which had before come 
within our notice. A still more curious case, which we are 
inclined to refer to dry-rot, has lately been sent to us for 
inspection, reminding us of the mural leprosy of Judrea, 
attacking, as it does, and more or less destroying, not merely 
the timber, but the solid walls themselves. It occurred in 
an old house near Eritli, on the banks of the Thames, 
where it has penetrated into every crevice in and between 
the walls and woodwork, separating the bricks and mortal - , 
and rendering the whole so friable that the walls must be 
rebuilt to prevent their falling down. The mycelium here 
forms a widely - expanded network of threads, which are 
twisted together in every possible way, so as to form anas¬ 
tomosing strings, of considerable tenacity, as thick as small 
pack-thread. A strong solution of corrosive sublimate is an 
effectual cure for such destructive affections, where it is at 
all possible to apply it; but where, as in the present in¬ 
stance, the plague infects the w r hole substance of the struc¬ 
ture, destruction seems to be the only remedy. The circum¬ 
stance of the mycelium penetrating into the mortar and 
brickwork to such an extent appears to be new; at least, we 
do not recollect to have heard of anything of the kind 
before.—A Builder. — {Dorset County Chronicle.) 
THE DAHLIA AND ITS CULTURE. 
The operations necessary to grow the Dahlia will 
consist in preparing the soil, starting the plants into 
growth, propagating to increase the number of each 
variety, planting out, summer culture, and winter 
culture. All these points of culture have already 
partially appeared in our pages, but some improvements 
have been adopted by different growers. These I 
shall embody in my remarks; aud another reason for 
apparently a repetition is, the great number of fresh 
subscribers that are patronising The Cottage Gardener, 
who, it is reasonable to suppose, have not the preceding 
volumes by them to consult. Without further preamble, 
then, I proceed to give my experience in Dahlia culture. 
Preparing the Soil. —This includes the site also, for 
it is useless to plant Dahlias on a high ground exposed 
to all the wind that blows, or in a low swamp, where, 
should the season prove wet, the roots would be destroyed 
and rot away. A happy medium between the two is the 
most desirable. If there are plantations at a short 
distance of moderately high hedges, the advantage and 
use of such protection would be of the greatest service. 
The Soil. —The best is a deep friable loam, though, if 
it be rather clayey on a dry bottom, it will answer very 
well. In a light soil the Dahlia produces an immense 
quantity of stems and foliage, but the flowers are neither 
so large, so well shaped, nor so highly coloured; in 
fact, I have seen plants in such light, old garden soil 
that hardly flowered at all. If the soil has not been 
turned up last autumn no time should be lost now. It 
should be dug deep; indeed, if the expense is no object, 
it would be of great advantage to trench it two spits 
deep. Good Dahlias, however, may be grown by 
digging the ground one spit, providing the blade of the 
spade be a foot deep, and thrust in nearly perpendicularly. 
If the ground is poor it should be enriched by a good 
dressing of well - decomposed manure. It should, 
whether dug simply or trenched deeply, be left as rough 
as possible, in order to receive benefit from aeration, 
and from the frosts and rains. In that rough state it 
may remain till the planting season in May or June 
arrives. Then take a five-pronged fork, and with it fork 
it deeply over, picking out all weeds or other extraneous 
matters. It is then ready for use. 
Starting the Plants into Growth. —This is necessary 
when the grower wishes to increase his stock of plants. 
Whoever wishes to contend for prizes at one or more 
exhibitions should grow at least four plants of each good 
variety, though six would not be too many if the grower 
has space enough for that number; hence he should know 
how to set to work to obtain that number early in the 
season, so as to have them strong and well established 
by planting time. Make up a gentle hotbed, provided 
you have not the convenience of a store propagating 
house. As soon as the bed is of a moderate heat cover 
the dung with sand, or, if that is scarce, with coal ashes; 
then examine the old roots, cut away all parts that are 
dead, even the old stems; aud if the living roots are very 
large, so as to be inconvenient, you may shorten in the 
longest, so as to bring the roots into a moderate size. 
Procure some grafting clay, and put a moderate thick¬ 
ness over the place where the old stem has been. This 
is of great service by preventing wet from entering into 
the hollow of the root. It has the effect, also, of keeping 
the top parts of the tubers alive and moist. In many 
cases the incipient buds are just in that place, and if 
that part becomes dry or dead the buds perish. This 
claying over is now practised by all, or nearly all, large 
growers. When the roots are trimmed and clayed place 
them as thickly as possible all over the surface of the 
bed, working them in amongst the sand or coal ashes, 
leaving just the crowns level with the material they are 
| plunged or planted in ; then give a gentle watering, 
