TRE~ VMENT. 
93 
than six feet apart each way. Due regard must be had to the respec¬ 
tive heights of the plants and the colors of their flowers; if on a bed 
where they are to be viewed from all sides, the tallest-growing kinds 
should be placed in the centre; if to be seen only from the front, the 
'cftiest must be set at the back; and, in reference to colors, so arranged 
that they will produce a harmonious effect as a mass. Your plants, 
if well grown, will be from eighteen inches to twenty-four in height, 
when planted, and should be supported by stakes immediately; when 
they are full two feet high, the top of the leading shoots, or upright 
stem, should be cut off to induce the plant to throw out laterals. 
It is a very common error to keep the Dahlia in pots too small for 
the quantity of roots the plant has formed, and the evil consequences 
of this are increased in seasons when it is most desirable they should 
be avoided; for if the weather be so unfavorable as to put off the 
period of planting out, the roots have been meanwhile increasing, and 
filling up the pot, so that when the plant is taken out to be set in the 
open ground, the ball of earth cannot be removed without breaking 
some of the fibres ; and, fearful of doing this, many persons plant them 
without disturbing it, and the result generally is, that the plant does * 
not begin to grow vigorously until near the time when it ought to be 
in flower. It is better, indeed, to break some of the fibres, and get 
away the dried and baked earth from around the roots; for though it 
seems to give a violent check to the growth of the plant, it will, when 
ii has recovered, thrive far better than those planted with the ball 
entire; it is, however, preferable to avoid the necessity for the latter 
plan, or the alternative of breaking the roots, by planting them in pots 
of a larger size than those commonly used. The crown of the tuber 
should be placed at least three inches below the surface of the soil in 
planting out. 
Mulching and Watering. 
When the plants are two feet high, remove the earth from around 
the base .of the stems to the depth of three or four inches; supplying 
its place with well-decomposed manure, which must be slightly cov¬ 
ered with earth; in dry weather, the plants must be watered through 
this mulching twice a week at least, or every other day, according to 
the state of the weather; and this should be done in the evening. The 
