Dahlias. 109 



cultivation, they are by far the most promising and the most pro- 

 ductive of new forms. They all have the same kind of materials 

 to work with — ray and disc-flowers — and they are by nature fitted 

 to express the same kinds of beauty. The rose and the lily have 

 two other very different kinds of natural endowments and two 

 very different types of beauty, not superior or antagonistic, but 

 different. 



The title-page of this bulletin illustrates a kind of beauty that 

 is not usually associated with the dahlia. The gentleman who 

 ordered this variety from Holland thought himself badly cheated 

 because the flowers were small and only semi-double. It is true 

 that semi-double forms often lack character, but sometimes they 

 have prettiness and individuality, though they never get any 

 prizes at the exhibitions. 



The peadiar merits of the dahlia. — Meanwhile, what are some 

 of the present advantages the dahlias possess? As to foliage, 

 they have at least five times as much variety as the chrysanthe- 

 mums do. They have the old familiar potato-like foliage, which 

 is naturally rather broad and coarse. Much of this rankness, 

 however, is due to methods of cultivation. Secondly, there is the 

 new cactus type which is graceful and delicate enough to attract 

 attention of itself. Between these two extremes there are many 

 intermediate forms which the eye recognizes, but whose lines of 

 beauty can scarcely be suggested by descriptions. Speaking only 

 of very distinct forms, we have a very finely cut type of foliage 

 of which Fern-Leaved Beauty is perhaps the best at present. 

 Then there is still another type of foliage whose form is not so 

 noticeable as its rich, dark red color. Ami Barillet has these dark 

 reddish leaves with a single flower of cardinal. We had only 

 one other variety of this type last year. Its single yellow flowers 

 did not seem to go so well with this reddish foliage and perhaps 

 some other colors may prove to be quite inharmonious with it. 

 Here is a hint for one line of evolution for the dahlia. This red- 

 dish color is very uniform, and I am entirely convinced that it 

 has a natural look and is not merely a curiosity. To me it looks 

 much more at home in the garden than the purple beeches do on 

 the streets. Finally, there is a tendency towards variegation in 

 the dahlia leaf which seems to me fully as legitimate as the 



