My Experiences in the Improvement of Plants: The Dahlia Years

Published in the Eagle Rock Advertiser as “My Experiences in the Improvement of Plants” (1933–1934)

By J. J. Broomall

Part One of Two · December 1, 1933–January 25, 1934

Original text by J. J. Broomall is in the public domain. Compilation, editorial notes, introduction, biography, and revised text copyright © 2026 by Steve K. Lloyd. All rights reserved.

Late in 1933, nearing the end of a career that had made him one of Southern California’s best-known dahlia growers and breeders, J. J. Broomall began a weekly newspaper series under the title My Experiences in the Improvement of Plants. He announced from the beginning that the series would be “more or less of an autobiography,” but that he would ground it chiefly in the plants he knew from experience. The dahlia naturally came first.

These opening eight installments form the most clearly dahlia-centered portion of the surviving series. Broomall moves from variation and the demands of plant improvement into the history of the modern dahlia, breeding and heredity, his experience with Margaret E. Broomall and Mrs. Frances E. Bullard, his preferred method of “segregation,” and finally the practical requirements of cultivation, planting, irrigation, and disbudding. The result is both retrospective and instructional: an aging breeder explaining not simply what he had accomplished, but what decades of work had persuaded him mattered most.

This two-part presentation is editorial. Broomall wrote one continuing series, and his original installment numbering is therefore preserved rather than restarted in Part Two. The division is made after Part 8, where the sustained dahlia-centered run ends. That seam is especially appropriate because Broomall had already warned the reader in his opening installment that the dahlia’s greatest importance to him was the way it awakened his interest in improving other plants, “economic as well as ornamental.” Part Two follows that broader purpose into the rest of the surviving series.

The surviving numbered run contains no installment dated December 28, 1933. Because the numbering resumes consecutively with Part 5 on January 4, this is preserved as a publication or holdings gap, not treated as evidence of a missing numbered part.

Part 1 — December 1, 1933

In order to explain what I may have learned in regard to the improvement of plants it will be necessary to relate my own experience in the cultivation of plants, so that a portion of what I shall say will be more or less of an autobiography, but I will try to avoid being tiresome by confining most of my remarks to Dahlias, and other plants with which I may have experimented.

What I shall say in regard to plant improvement should be of interest to the many thousands of high school and college graduates who are now looking in vain for a “job.”

I never attended either high school or college, yet I am going to try to tell some of these young men (and women) how to win both fame and fortune, provided they have nerve enough to try, and are not too easily discouraged.

I wonder how many of the graduates of these higher places of learning know how to produce any considerable part of the food they must have in order to live?

I do not know how many times I read “Robinson Crusoe” when I was a boy. I think the greatest charm about that narrative was the resourcefulness of the hero. The fact that he knew how and was able to provide for himself, without the aid of others, that which he must have in order to survive should be a lesson and an inspiration to everyone.

I doubt very much if Robinson Crusoe ever had a college education. Higher education may be all right, I have nothing to say against it. Nevertheless I think the most important education of all (and the most neglected) is to know how to produce our own food, and not depend upon “George” to do it, for the time may come when “George” will balk. Then what are you going to do?

I claim that a better understanding of plant life is absolutely essential for the future welfare of the human race, for plants feed us all. They are the connecting links between ourselves and Mother Earth from which we came.

My purpose in writing this is to try to get YOU interested in this all important work of Plant culture and improvement, and to pass on the little I may have learned so that those who follow may have the benefit of my experience, limited though it may be.

First of all I will say that there is absolutely no “Wizardry” connected with the improvement of plants, but a very great amount of work and intelligent effort is necessary for success. I have regarded the appellation of “Wizard” as rather a doubtful compliment, for as near as I can learn from the Dictionary a Wizard is sort of He-witch, and if Wizards should be treated as “witches” were in olden times I would rather be excused.

To begin with Plant Variation makes possible the improvement of the great majority of plants, and the possible variation of many plants is as limitless as time and space. You may think this statement is an exaggeration, but wait and see.

For nearly forty years I have been growing Dahlias as a business, and I will say considerable about them because I have had more experience with them than any other plant. I am still growing Dahlias, and probably will continue to grow them as long as I am able to grow anything, for I owe a great deal to that wonderful flower.

The Dahlia has responded so freely to my efforts at improving it that now as I am nearing the sunset of life I am able to live in a home of my own in comfort. But most important of all the Dahlia has been the means of awakening me to the unlimited possibilities of many other plants, so that in a small way I am trying to improve other plants, economic as [well as] ornamental, for to know more about plants that produce our food is of far greater importance than just raising something that is pleasing to the eye.

(Continued Next Thursday)

Part 2 — December 7, 1933

To illustrate the unlimited variation of plants under cultivation I will say that in one year I grew more than ten thousand Dahlias from seed. No two of those ten thousand seedlings produced flowers that were alike. The number of seedlings grown by the writer is but “a drop in the bucket,” for thousands of other growers in this country, and in most other civilized countries having a temperate climate are also growing seedling dahlias in their efforts to improve the flowers, so that the number grown is beyond computation and the variation of the flowers is so great as to even baffle the imagination of experienced plantsmen.

This “dahlia craze” (if it can be called such) extends around the world, from Great Britain and most of the European countries to South Africa, and Australia. When I was in the commercial dahlia business I received requests for catalogues from the U.S.S.R. Experiment Stations in Moscow, and Leningrad, Russia, also from Austria, Czechoslovakia, and many other countries too numerous to mention.

While the foregoing may give some idea of the extent of dahlia growing and its consequent enormous variation, it is only one of many plants that can be, and are being improved by reason of their increased tendency to vary when brought under cultivation.

In many plants (including the dahlia) there is considerable variation when they are brought under cultivation, for plants like people are greatly influenced by their environment. A plant removed from its native habitat where it has probably had to struggle for its existence, quite often with a limited amount of plant food and moisture, and then brought under cultivation where it has an abundance of both, with perhaps a complete change in the character and chemical contents of the soil is certain to do something different. In fact it cannot help but act differently. But this change in form, color, or other characteristics is as nothing compared with the varieties made possible when two species of the plant are “crossed,” for the possible variation of the plant from the “Hybrids” so produced is increased a thousand fold, and then some.

Taking the above facts into consideration it seems to me that readers must agree with the statement that the “possible variation of plants is unlimited,” and remember that variation is what makes it possible to improve many plants in beauty and usefulness.

When we consider the countless number of seedlings grown of the dahlia for instance it might be inferred that the production of so many varieties would result in having too many kinds in cultivation. In a certain sense this is undoubtedly true, but it is quite probable that much less than one per cent of the seedlings raised by experimenters in their efforts to improve a plant is ever offered to the public, for it is seldom that more than one in a thousand is an improvement over pre-existent kinds, and it would be very foolish for the grower to attempt to introduce a new variety unless it was distinct from, or an improvement upon a similar variety already in cultivation.

When it is understood that all the countless varieties that are finally discarded must have received the very best care and culture in order to determine their relative merit, some idea may be formed of the immense amount of work that is often necessary in order to produce a plant that is really an improvement over those that have preceded it. And among plants where the greatest improvement has been made the percentage of retrogrades is generally the highest. In other words it is ever liable to be more and more difficult to improve upon the BEST.

With these facts in mind therefore I would warn the would be experimenter that unless you are prepared to endure many disappointments, and to do an unlimited amount of work you had better not try to improve plants, for if there is any short and easy way to success in plant breeding the writer has not found it.

(Continued Next Thursday)

Part 3 — December 14, 1933

The secret of success. If you have the determination, and the stuff in you of which pioneers are made you will have a fair show to succeed in plant improvement, and success will bring you an amount of satisfaction that can hardly be measured in dollars and cents, and it may bring you the respect and admiration of your fellowmen, for he who (figuratively speaking) causes “two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before” is a benefactor to Humanity, and will not have lived in vain. When I went to learn the florist business I remember hearing two small daughters of my boss sing a song of which the following is a part:

Work while you work, play while you play,
That is the way, to be cheerful and gay.
All that you do, do with your might,
Things done by halves, Are never done right.

Somehow that song lingered in my memory, be believe [sic] what little success I may have had in my undertakings is due to the wholesome advice it contained. Indeed I regard the spirit of it as “The Secret of Success” not only in plant breeding, but in every worthwhile undertaking in life. I do not know the title of the song, nor the name of the author, but I regard the lesson it teaches as invaluable.

The man or woman who contemplates experimenting in plant improvement must be a lover of plants, for unless one thinks enough of a plant to give it the best possible attention the result is liable to be disappointing.

The most skillful hybridizing, and selection cannot lead to the production of greatly improved varieties unless it is accompanied by the best possible cultivation, for remember that most plants that have been improved by man in co-operation with the forces of nature must have had an abundance of plant food that was readily available to the plant in order to make it possible for it to do its best, and without the soil being in the best possible condition, favorable action by plants that have already been improved cannot be expected.

To determine what IS the best cultivation the grower should know something about the conditions under which the plants grew in their native habitat, even though some plants adjust themselves readily to a change of climate and environment.

The species of dahlias from which the varieties we are now growing have been developed are indigenous to Southern Mexico, but do not get the idea that the Dahlia is a tropical plant for most of the species are not, and the improved varieties we are now growing will not produce the best blooms when the temperature goes much above 90 in the shade, which in Southern California may mean from 100 to 120 in unrestricted sunshine. If your dahlias are subjected to such tropical conditions it will pay you to shade them with re-inforced cheesecloth to neutralize the sun’s rays during such torrid weather. Never use colored cloth of any description for shading blooming plants as colored cloth makes too dense a shade. This rule will apply to many other plants as well as to the Dahlia.

The native habitat of the Dahlia, where it is found growing in the greatest profusion is on the elevated plateau and volcanic mountain slopes about 200 miles inland, where the elevation is 6000 feet or over. This part of Southern Mexico is known as “Tierra Fria” (cold land) having a mean temperature of 60 degrees the year around, making it a climate that is unsurpassed.

In our own country the dahlia is grown most successfully near the ocean, provided they are not subjected to excessive heat. While dahlias like a moderate temperature and a good supply of moisture they can adapt themselves to widely different locations, and conditions, being grown very successfully at the high altitude of Denver, Colo., and producing equally as fine flowers close to sea level in Skagway, Alaska.

(Continued Next Thursday)

Part 4 — December 21, 1933

In growing dahlias it matters not so much about the elevation or degree of latitude IF conditions are favorable the improved dahlia will send forth flowers that are a joy to behold, and thanks to the untiring efforts of man these flowers are so vastly different and superior to their progenitors of the Mexican Highlands that it is difficult for most people to understand how such a marvelous transformation has been brought about.

As I proceed with this discussion I will try to explain how this great improvement has been made, and how still greater improvements can be made possible in the future.

The Dahlias in Grandmother's Garden. Dahlia Variabilis from which the first double dahlias of three generations ago are generally thought to have been produced, was single in its wild state. It was a small flower, only a few inches in diameter, seldom containing more than eight petals. The first double flowers were obtained by M. Dankelaar of the Botanical Gardens of Belgium in 1814, and from this source came later the double dahlias so common in eastern gardens 70 years ago. The specific name “Variabilis” was given the original variety because seedlings grown from it produced flowers of widely differing colors without hybridizing. This may have been due to a change in the character of the soil, or to heredity, possibly both.

The first double dahlias were undoubtedly the result of extra good cultivation, and a superabundance of plant food, and be it known some of the best gardeners in the world are Belgians.

For many years before much attention was paid to the cultivation of dahlias in this country English growers took the lead in developing new varieties. These old-fashioned double dahlias (known to the trade as “Show Dahlias”) were too stiff and formal to become very popular with many people, but in 1872 a new type of dahlia was discovered in Juxphaor, Mexico, by J. T. Vanderberg that was destined to revolutionize dahlia growing. This new specie was named “Juarezi” in honor of the man that was at that time President of Mexico.

In 1882 this new Dahlia was shown in London by H. Cannell & Sons. The graceful form and brilliant color of Juarezi at once captured the fancy of flower lovers, and today no flower in cultivation boasts of a greater number of admirers than the descendants of dahlia Juarezi, or as it is now more generally known the “Cactus dahlia” and its hybrids.

It was called “Cactus Dahlia” because flowers of the original species resembled the blossoms of the cactus known as “Cereus Speciossimus” in form and color. The progeny of Dahlia Juarezi not only “broke” into different colors, but into different shapes as well. It was by selecting the most desirable of these, and re-selecting the finest from each succeeding generation of plants that the Cactus Dahlia was worked up to a high state of perfection. The contrast between Juarezi and some of its gorgeous descendants is so great that it almost staggers belief. Indeed the marvelous transformation wrought in this wonderful flower in the last forty years must seem to those unacquainted with the possibilities of plant life more like a tale from Arabian Nights than actual reality.

For many years English growers were in the lead in the improvement of the Cactus Dahlia. I have always regarded Henry Cannell as Godfather of the Cactus Dahlia as it was he, or his firm that started that remarkable flower on its way to world-wide popularity.

The finest Cactus Dahlias of English origin while they had a transcendent beauty and esthetic loveliness of form were not a complete success with American growers. As they had been bred in a cool, moist climate they were weak growers. The English in their efforts to obtain flowers with needle-like, revolute petals had bred too close to type, and excessive inbreeding is as certain to result in constitutional weakness in plants as it is in animals. For this reason most of the English bred dahlias were more or less of a failure during our hot summers and were disappointing to most amateur growers.

(Continued Next Thursday)

Part 5 — January 4, 1934

There is nothing mysterious about the part Man has taken in the improvement of the Dahlia, although the action of some plants being experimented upon is sometimes exceedingly puzzling.

A great deal of this talk about crossing different varieties by hand-pollenizing is humbug, and growers offering hand-pollenized seed for sale are either not well posted on the difficulty of hand pollenization of the Dahlia, or else they are deliberately deceiving the people. There are two reasons why it is exceedingly difficult to pollenize a Dahlia by hand and be sure that you are going to get the cross you are trying for. First the Dahlia is a composite flower, that is the sexes are both in the same blossom, and unless the stamens are removed or made infertile before the flowers are fully developed (which is a very difficult task) the danger of self-pollenization is very great. Second, unless the blossom to be operated on has been protected from ALL insect visitation, and from the wind, the chances are that the bees or the wind have beaten you to it, and you will NOT get what you expect even if Heredity does not upset your calculations.

How Some of the World's Finest Dahlias Have Been Obtained. It should not be inferred that I do not believe in hand-pollenizing. I believe in it, and practice it to some extent, but if I had relied on that alone I would never have accomplished very much.

The Margaret E. Broomall has been adjudged by leading Dahlia Experts of America to be the finest Dahlia in the world, and it scored 93-½ in the Trial Grounds of the American Dahlia Society at Storrs, Conn. It would be fine if I could look wise, and say I obtained that Dahlia by expert Hybridizing, BUT it would not be telling the truth. Quite a number of the finest plants in cultivation have been accidents as far as the pollenization of the seed parents is concerned.

The Margaret E. Broomall is a seedling of the blush-pink decorative Dahlia Mrs. Frances E. Bullard. I did not pollenize the blossom that produced the seed, and I do not think any pure white Dahlias were grown near it. This goes to prove my contention that Heredity plays an important part in the creation of new varieties, for at some time in the past one of the ancestors of the Mrs. Bullard was probably white. At this time I believe it to be fitting and proper to pay my humble tribute to the late Mrs. Dr. Bullard, for both she and Dr. Bullard were people whom I am proud to consider my friends, and both were lovers of the beautiful, and of nature.

Mrs. Bullard appreciated the Dahlia I named in her honor, and a visit to the Bullard Gardens and Conservatories on the hill above Echo Park was always a most enjoyable event, for it was a trip through Wonderland. Mrs. Bullard was one of the most successful Amateur Hybridists I have known, and her collection of Hybrid Epiphyllums (Christmas Cactus) of her own origination was worth going a long way to see, for some of them were beautiful beyond description.

The Dahlia I named in honor of this most estimable lover of nature has proved to be one of the best seedling parents I have ever used. While there are now quite a number of finer Dahlias than the Mrs. Bullard, I have not yet found its equal for producing a large number of desirable seedlings.

A few years ago I came to the conclusion that the greater the difference between the parent flowers, the more vigorous and stronger in growth would be the seedlings from such crosses, and since I have been making it a rule to cross flowers as different in shape as possible, providing always that the stems and habits of both parents were good, I have succeeded in originating a few extra large and strong growing kinds that claim the attention and admiration of all who see them, some of them winning many prizes when shown in competition.

(Continued Next Thursday.)

Part 6 — January 11, 1934

While I still do considerable pollenizing by hand in attempting to get the crosses I desire, by far the easiest, (and surest) way to get the desired result is by “Segregation” as follows: Plant the kinds you desire to cross close to each other (not more than four feet apart, three feet or less would be better unless they are tall growing kinds) and they should be planted fifty yards or more from any other dahlias, to make sure that you will not get an undesirable mixture.

When this segregation is practiced one can be reasonably sure of getting the desired cross in at least a small part of the progeny. The bees working on these segregated plants will be a help instead of a hindrance. This need not in the least interfere with the hand pollenizing of the plants. Incidentally I believe the number of self-pollenized flowers will be less than when pollenized by hand alone, for bees are much more expert than the man with the brush, even though the pollenizing is an unconscious act on the part of the bees. All they are after is food, and they don't give a heck about what kind of seed you get from the flowers.

In addition to the Mrs. Bullard I have found Gladys Sherwood, Marian Broomall, and Eagle Rock Beauty to be very satisfactory as seed parents. They seem to have the “blood” in them that leads to perfection. Please understand this by no means completes the list of good parents. It is only a few of my first choice for breeding purposes. There are no doubt many others just as good, possibly some that are better that I have not tried.

On the other hand I have found Siskiyou, and Ambassador to be very poor parents, and have ceased to use them for seed purposes.

Do not be surprised if you get something very different from what you expect, for after thirty or forty years of crossing and re-crossing the heredity of the Dahlia is so strong that your seedlings are just as liable to inherit the traits of some remote ancestor as they are the direct parents. Another thing, there is always a possibility that one of them may make a “break” in some unlooked for direction, for remember when you are trying to improve plants you are gambling with nature.

It is not absolutely necessary that both parents of your seedlings be flowers that are always perfectly double. Some of the best dahlias I have raised were from flowers that came habitually with open centers. If your seed parent is a strong grower with perfect stems, and habit it does not matter so much if it does habitually produce imperfect blooms from the viewpoint of the florist, if the seedlings receive the best possible cultivation, nature assisted by your intelligent efforts will generally give you perfectly double flowers, for that is what made possible the First Double Dahlias.

There is another way that new colors in flowers have been obtained, and that is from “sports.” Peter Henderson defines a “sport” as a “bud or seed variation,” but I think most plant men understand a sport as a bud variation, that is where one branch of a plant produces a flower or a fruit quite distinct in color or other characteristics from all the rest of the plant. As to what causes a plant to sport is as yet I believe beyond the ken of most horticulturists. Some may theorize and speculate as to the cause or causes. The chances are the cause is not always the same. In my opinion it is one of the acts of nature that mere man has not yet been able to fathom to a certainty.

Practically the only way to increase and preserve most sports is to grow cuttings from the branch that bears the bud variation, which at times may not be an easy matter. Even if grown in this manner you cannot be sure that your sport will not revert to type within a year or two. While there have been sports in some shrubs and trees that have proved to be quite valuable, I would not recommend it as a means of obtaining new varieties of dahlias, as the only sports in dahlias that I ever had proved to be not worth cultivating. Nevertheless I will not say that it is impossible to obtain a dahlia sport that might be desirable or even quite valuable.

(Continued Next Thursday)

Part 7 — January 18, 1934

I have tried to emphasize the importance of the best possible cultivation as being absolutely necessary for success in the improvement and culture of the Dahlia. What I shall say in regard to culture will apply to many other plants, as well as to the Dahlia. Other growers may differ with me as to what is the best cultivation. I have no desire to find fault with them or their ideas, and will only say that as long as I get satisfactory results, I can see no reason for changing my methods.

I have been asked what kind of soil Dahlias should be grown in? I will reply that any kind of soil that will grow beans or cabbage can be depended upon to grow good Dahlias. It matters not so much as to the kind of soil, as to the condition of the soil. Personally I prefer a sandy loam because it is easier to work, but I have seen good dahlias grown in heavy clay and adobe and from that to almost pure sand.

In the first place have your soil in the best possible condition before planting. If the ground is poor a liberal application of barnyard manure is recommended as the best soil builder. It is better to apply this in the fall or early in the winter, and dig and redig the ground as often as practicable between then and planting time so that the manure becomes thoroughly incorporated with the soil.

Fertilizer from cows is in my opinion the best for Dahlias, but if it is not possible to obtain animal fertilizers, finely ground bone-meal is my next choice. This can be applied when the plants are growing by sowing a moderate amount of it in shallow furrows, not too close to the plants. It should be covered up by the hoe soon after being applied. When you are obliged to use artificial fertilizer it should be supplemented by the addition of leaf mold or surface peat. Do not be afraid of getting too much Humus in the soil. It will make heavy soil easier to work, causes sandy soil to retain moisture longer, and will greatly improve your chances for success in growing all plants, by making it possible for the roots of plants to obtain their nourishment.

If your ground is not well filled with moisture it should be thoroughly wet at least a week before you want to plant, and as soon as it is dry enough to work without sticking to the shovel, or spade, dig it a foot deep, or deeper if possible. The deeper the better will it be [for] your plants. Remember whether you want to use the ground for experimental purposes, or growing flowers for pleasure it is a great advantage to have your soil in the best possible condition before planting.

In Southern California dry roots planted in March will begin blooming in May or June, and be at their best in midsummer. Green plants grown from cuttings, (or seedlings) planted as late as July first will if properly treated give excellent results in the fall.

If planted in a single row, plant them at least three feet apart. They may be planted a little closer for hedge effect, but not if large flowers are desired, for when they are planted too close they will rob each other and it will be a question of the survival of the strongest, and not always of the fittest, or most desirable.

If more than one row is wanted, the rows should be at least four feet apart. Make the holes not less than five inches deep, so that the upper side of the tuber will be four inches below the surface. Lay the tubers in a horizontal position with the eyes, or sprouts if any are showing uppermost. Never stand them on end. I know not why but many inexperienced amateurs I have met have the idea that a Dahlia tuber should stand up, and if let alone they will probably stand half of them wrong end up. The first thing a dahlia tuber does after being planted is to throw out feeding rootlets at the end of the tuber farthest from the crown, and a depth of four inches is most favorable for such root action, and four inches is likewise the proper depth for the crown of the tuber from which the tender sprout must push its way to the light and air at the surface. Hence the planting of the tuber in a horizontal position is best for quick action for both roots and sprouts of the plant to be.

Part 8 — January 25, 1934

In a country where irrigation is necessary, this in connection with cultivation is most important. Conditions vary so greatly that it is not possible to say how often they should be watered. The time may vary from a few days to one or two weeks. I have seen good dahlias produced in Southern California without any irrigation, and I have seen them suffering from lack of moisture where they were watered every day. The habit some people have of splattering water from the hose over everything every day is simply a waste of time and water. Ground so treated will have a hard, glazed surface, so that the water cannot penetrate deep enough to reach the roots of the plants, and the greater part of the water is quickly lost by evaporation.

I believe furrow irrigation to be the best for Dahlias. If the Dahlias are in a row make a small furrow on each side of the row, and allow the water to trickle slowly through the rows for eight or ten hours, or until the ground is thoroughly wet underneath. If single plants are to be watered make a circular furrow not less than eight inches from the plant, and fill and refill this furrow until the ground is wet at least a foot deep.

When the plants become large the irrigating furrows should be from ten to eighteen inches from the plants to avoid injuring them. Remember that most plants (including the dahlia) will if the soil is in proper condition, throw out feeding roots as far as the plant is high. It is not necessary to apply water close to the plants after they are large enough to bloom. If the water goes into the soil within two feet of the plant the roots will reach out for it.

If the ground is in perfect condition when roots are planted no irrigation should be necessary until the Dahlias are more than a foot high, but in the case of green plants that have been grown from cuttings, or seedlings, they should be watered soon after being set out, and much more frequent irrigation will be necessary than for dahlias where the tubers have been planted.

In extremely warm weather much more watering is required than when the temperature is not above normal. Thorough cultivation should follow each irrigation. Keeping the surface soil well pulverized will prevent excessive evaporation and be an aid to healthy root action.

In all cases where extra large flowers are wanted it is advisable to do considerable disbudding. What is known as the “Crown Bud” will as a rule make the very largest flower, but in many varieties it is often difficult to get a first class stem with the first bud that appears in the center of the plant. Most professional growers advocate what is termed the “single stemmed branching system.” To obtain this result the top is cut, or pinched off the plant when it is about one foot high. This causes the plant to throw out branches near the ground. As soon as the buds appear on the branches all the flower buds should be pinched off except the large central bud on top, also all the small lateral branches that appear lower down on the stalk, but do not remove any of the large leaves that are on the main stalk, as a flower stem without foliage would not look natural nor attractive.

When this disbudding is properly done practically all the strength of the stalk is thrown into the one bud, with the result that you should be able to get a fine large bloom on a good stem, if you have grown a good variety.

If you do not understand disbudding, watch some one who does, and you can learn how within five minutes.

And now if you have an idea that it is hardly worthwhile to try, I want to assure you that the amount of pleasure and relaxation that many derive from working among their plants is beyond estimate. The man or woman who has not watched a beautiful blossom expand that has been brought into existence by their own efforts, and has not been enthused and enraptured as nature unfolded her handiwork has missed, is missing one of the joys of living.

(Continued Next Thursday)

1. Storrs score for Margaret E. Broomall. The January 4 installment gives the score as 93½. Other surviving documentary evidence gives 92. The discrepancy is preserved rather than harmonized.
   
   

2. “Planting the Dahlia.” Part 7 carries forward and revises material Broomall had published earlier under the separate title Planting the Dahlia. A portion of this 1934 discussion is reproduced with Chapter Fourteen, Dahlia Roots, Bulbs, or Tubers: What Should We Call Them?, where it is identified as a later excerpt rather than part of the numbered chapter.
   
   

3. Irrigation. Part 8 carries forward and substantially develops Broomall’s earlier practical writing on irrigation. The earlier irrigation material remains a distinct historical work family, but its principal reader-facing substance in this edition is represented by this later 1934 treatment.