April 17, 1909. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
253 
Fig. 1. Dahlia Tubers being started in a box. Cutting of.Dahlia Tuber. 
Propagating Dahlias. 
ix inches thick of cinders or other coarse 
naterial can be placed in the trenches 
iver the pipes as shown in Fig. 2, the 
Irainage will be all the better, whilst in 
nanv cases it is advisable to cover the 
oints of the pipes with pieces of turf, as 
;hown in Fig. 4, to prevent the fine earth 
docking up the open spaces. 
Ground that is not very wet or retentive 
nay be efficiently drained by means of 
rrenches arranged about ten feet apart 
in the manner shown in Fig. 6. The 
trenches should be carried to a depth of at 
least twelve inches into the subsoil, and 
the portion below the surface soil be filled 
with cinders, brickbats, and similar 
material, as shown in Fig. 5. the surface 
soil of course being replaced on top. 
The necessary drainage work and pre¬ 
paration of the ground for a lawn should 
be carried out not later than Februarv. 
The ground should be bastard trenched, 
a good coating of well decayed manure be 
incorporated with the soil, and all stones, 
weeds, and rubbish be cleared out. The 
end of March is the best time to sow grass 
seeds, though they may be sown later if 
necessary, and previous to this the ground 
should be well raked and made perfectly 
level by the aid of wooden pegs, a long 
straight-edged board, and a spirit level, 
after which the surface must be well 
rolled until a firm even bed for the seed is 
obtained. 
Grass seeds must be thickly sown, not 
less than one pound of seed being neces¬ 
sary for every twenty-five square yards of 
ground, and to facilitate the even distri¬ 
bution of the seed, it is a good plan to 
divide the ground into squares each con¬ 
taining twenty-five square yards, as shown 
in Fig. 7, string and wooden pegs of 
course, being employed for so doing. Sow 
the seed during calm, quiet weather, and 
cover with fine sifted loam scattered by 
hand at the rate of about half a bushel to 
each plot of twenty-five yards, and after¬ 
wards well roll. Protection against birds 
must be provided until the young plants 
are well up, and, as soon as the grass is 
some three inches high, the lawn should 
be lightly rolled, and after an interval of 
about a week be gone over with a sharp 
scythe, the grass cuttings being allowed 
to remain on the ground. Frequent cut¬ 
ting and rolling are most essential to the 
production of fine close turf, and, when 
the young plants are well rooted and 
firmly fixed in the soil, the mowing 
machine mav take the place of the scythe. 
ORTUS. 
Spring Flowers in London. 
The 4.000 gardeners employed by the 
London Countv Council in 101 parks and 
open spaces have planted for this years 
spring display 357,000 new bulbs, which 
will be supplemented bv many thousands 
of second-year bulbs preserved by the 
gardeners. 
Growing Potatos for Exhibition. 
Exhibition Potatos must always be of 
top size and quality. Plant only the 
tubers of a large size. Scoop out every 
eye but one. Let the best remain. This 
will produce very strong stems but not a 
crowd of them, and the Potatos will not 
be numerous, but huge. Grown thus, it 
is easy to get fine, big tubers for show 
purposes. 
Those who have the command of warm 
greenhouses and ample means of heating 
have, no doubt, started their Dahlias 
much earlier. There are, however, grow¬ 
ers of Dahlias who have to find some 
equally ready means of starting their 
Dahlias with accommodation only for a 
limited amount of heating. 
The method of starting Dahlias is 
shown at the left-hand in Fig. 1. The 
tubers are placed in boxes and covered 
up with some light material that would 
simply serve to retain the moisture about 
the tubers. This may consist of anything 
handy, such as leaf-mould, cocoanut fibre 
or even sawdust. This material may be 
sprinkled, now and again, if inclined to 
get dry, and that will afford the tubers 
all that is necessary to enable them to 
produce cuttings. These cuttings are taken 
off when about 3 in. or 4 in. long and 
prepared as shown in Fig. 2. That on 
the left-hand shows, that the young shoot 
should be cut just below a joint and then 
the two leaves at that joint.should also 
be removed. The cutting is then inserted 
singly in small pots as shown on the 
right-hand side of the figure. The pots 
should be well drained and plenty of 
sharp sand, with a little loam and leaf- 
mould to prevent the cutting from damp¬ 
ing. This cutting in the pot is one that 
has been taken off with a slight heel of 
the old tuber and that is an assistance, 
especially to those who have onlv a mod¬ 
erate amount of fire heat at command. 
Those who have not vet started their 
Dahlias may do so by proceeding in a 
slightly different way. As soon as the 
tubers are-sprouted, so that the owner 
can .see how many young plants he is 
likely to get from them, he can cut up 
the old tubers with a sprout to each. Just 
how much of the old tuber may be used 
will depend upon circumstances, but a 
small portion—^ in. to 1 in.—is quite 
sufficient to enable such a cutting to be 
started into growth without artificial heat 
if none is at command. 
Even a cold frame can be of consider¬ 
able amount of assistance in starting 
Dahlia tubers or cuttings of tubers at this 
period of the year. The chief point to' 
observe is to be careful not to over-water 
the plants until they have made a good 
start into growth; indeed, it is not likely 
that they will require very much water 
before May, unless the weather gets much 
Fig. 2. Shows a Cutting being Prepared, and one Inserted in a Pot, 
