4Qi THE cottage gardener and country 
THE DAHLIA AND ITS CULTURE. 
( Continued from page 413.) 
Shading the Blooms. —This is absolutely necessary 
with many varieties. It has the effect of bringing up 
the centre of the bloom before the back or guard petals 
fail. The best shade I ever saw was one made of wood 
in the form of a small box, with one side glazed, and 
hung with hinges to open. It was secured to a stake to 
support it the proper height. The bloom was placed in 
the box through this glass door, and a slit made in the 
bottom. There it stood sheltered from the burning rays 
of the sun, from heavy rains and blustering winds, in a 
snug haven of rest. This shelter, however, is rather 
expensive. With stake and box they cost about Is. 6d. 
each, but then with care they will last several years. 
Other shelters may be adopted, such as common garden 
pots set on a thin circular board, with a slit half way 
through it to guide the bloom to the centre. This is 
supported, also, by a stake thrust into the ground, having 
the board nailed to it; the pot is then inverEed over 
the bloom. This answers pretty well, but the colours 
are not so clear and bright. Thin turned iron bowls are 
sometimes used, supported by a stake through the centre, 
with good effect; but they are rather inconvenient, because 
the blooms cannot be so easily observed. Then, again, 
shelters formed in the same shape with wire, and covered 
with oiled canvass. These are the next best, in my 
opinion, to the glazed boxes, and are much cheaper. 
These shelters, whichever are adopted, need not be ap¬ 
plied till the blooms are half expanded. The best formed 
and most double blooms should be chosen to be shel¬ 
tered, where they may remain till wanted for exhibition. 
Insects. —All this care may be useless if the insects 
that prey upon this fine autumn flower be not destroyed. 
In the young state the common garden slug or snail 
preys upon the young plauts. These may be destroyed 
by frequent waterings with clear lime water, and a circle 
of fresh quicklime laid round each plant will prevent 
their travelling to the plant. I have found, also, rough 
coal ashes a good preventive. But the most destructive 
insect is the earwig. This insidious enemy travels about 
during the night, feeding upon the tender, juicy petals, 
spoiling, by his nibbling, the best flowers, descending to 
the earth as soon as flight appears, and hiding himself 
there till the approach of the shades of night. This 
hiding propensity or instinct may be taken advantage of 
by providing a retreat for him, entrapping him, as it 
were, to his destruction. An old expedient is to place a 
small quantity of moss or short hay in small garden 
pots, and invert them upon the stakes. Every morning 
these are examined, and the hay or moss shook over a 
pail of scalding water. In some seasons many hundreds 
may thus be destroyed. Hollow garden bean-stalks, a 
foot and a half long, placed among the branches, form a 
fine hiding-place for these insects. These should be 
taken gently in hand in the morning, and the insects 
blown out into scalding water. The best trap, however, 
for these pests is one invented by Mr. Edwards, a figure 
of which is given in The Cottage Gardener, Yol. XVI., 
p. 122, and may be had of any respectable nurseryman. 
When this invention is better known it will be universally 
appreciated by all growers of the Dahlia. Even all 
these traps may be insufficient to prevent the ravages 
of these insects. A last resource is to go out two hours 
after dark with a lantern, and examine every flower. 
The nocturnal marauders will be found at work feeding, 
and may then be easily captured and destroyed. 
Another destructive insect is the thrips. This pest 
sucks out the colours from the petals; even pure white 
blooms are discoloured and made dirty by them. I am 
obliged to confess that there is no known agent which 
will destroy them. Long-continued dry weather is most 
favourable for their increase. Hence the only remedy 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, March 24, 1857. 
we can apply is copious syringing over the entire plant, 
flowers and all. This will tend to check their increase; 
and, by untiring perseverance in syringing, the thrips 
may be kept under till the autumn renders the operation 
unnecessary. 
Preparing for Exhibition. —My short essay would 
hardly be complete if I did not add a few lines on what 
I consider the best plan of conveying blooms to the 
exhibition, and, when arrived there, placing them on 
the stage. It is absolutely necessary to have a box 
made for that purpose, with the lid loose to lift off. The 
lower part should be made so as to hold a certain num¬ 
ber of tin tubes fixed firmly to the bottom. These 
should be water-tight, and should be filled with water. 
They should be placed at such a distance from each 
other that each bloom will not touch its neighbour. 
Cut the blooms late in the evening before the day 
of exhibition, or, if the distance is' not very great, 
they may be cut very early in the morning with 
the dew upon them. This will keep them quite fresh 
till they are placed on the stage. Have a num¬ 
ber of corks ready that will fit the tubes, bore a 
hole through each, and draw the stem of the bloom 
through this hole low enough to be immersed in the 
water; then carefully press the cork into the tube. If 
the flower-stem does not fit the hole tight wedge it in 
with paper. A box may be made to hold twenty-four 
blooms, but one or more to hold twelve blooms each is 
preferable. Two may be placed together to make a 
twenty-four stand. It is desirable to have a few extra 
blooms in an extra box to supply any that may be 
spoiled by the carriage. The lid should be so made as 
not to touch the blooms. In such boxes blooms may 
be conveyed in these railroad days a hundred miles in 
perfect safety. 
Winter Treatment. —This includes cutting down 
the plants, drying and storing away the roots, and 
examining them occasionally to see tlje state they are in. 
I always kept a stock of late-struck plants in pots on 
purpose to preserve them through the winter. I found 
this the most certain way of preserving alive any scarce 
or new variety. As soon as the frost had killed the 
tops I had them cut off, and the pots placed in a dry 
room till the soil was quite dry; I then laid them on 
one side under a greenhouse stage, or in any dry place 
where the frost could not reach them. By this plan I 
scarcely ever lost a plant, however small the tubers 
were. Such as are grown in the open ground should 
have their tops cut down after the first frost, and the 
roots immediately dug up. If allowed to remain in the 
ground the roots, being yet in action, send up a large 
supply of sap, which flows out of the just cut top, 
causing it to quickly decay downwards even to the bulbs, 
and often destroying the incipient buds. By taking 
them up the flow of sap is prevented or cut off at once; 
then take the further precaution to hang them up, roots 
upwards, in a dry, dark shed. The remaining sap in 
the green stems will then draiu off the superfluous sap, 
and ripen as it were, and thus keep more certain through 
the winter. This taking up should, if possible, be done 
after a few days of dry weather; the roots will then rise 
clear of soil, and be ready to put away much sooner 
than when taken up wet. I have tried many ways aud 
many places in storing awmy the roots when they were 
in a properly dry state, and have come to the conclusion 
that the best plan is to lay them on one side in a dry, 
low room (not a cellar), and cover them over with dry 
hay or close, short straw. This I removed and renewed 
afresh every five or six weeks. By this plan I scarcely 
ever had a mouldy or rotting root. If such an one did 
appear I instantly removed it, washed it quite clean, cut 
away all decayed parts, and dried it well and replaced 
it. Of course those that I took such pains with were 
either first-rate ones or very scarce with me. When 
