Dahlias. 129 



France. 



L'Etablissement Horticole Bruant a Poitiers (Vienne). 

 Vilmorin-Andrieux et Cie, 4, Quai de la Megesserie, Paris. 



New Zealand. 



D. Hay & Son, Auckland. 



The Cornell variety test of 18 g6. — Three hundred and fifty-four 

 different named varieties were grown at Ithaca last year. There 

 were over a thousand varieties catalogued in 1896 in different 

 parts of the world. Our card-index has over two thousand names 

 already, and no effort has been made to trace the older varieties 

 back to their original descriptions. The Cornell University lyibrary 

 has all of the important horticultural journals and magazines com- 

 plete, except the earlier volumes of Gartenflora. The Gardeners' 

 Chro7iicle has accounts of dahlia- shows and descriptions of varieties 

 from 1 84 1 down to the present time. We should be very glad to 

 receive any old books or catalogues containing descriptions of 

 dahlias. We also desire varieties which are not on our list 

 of varieties tried in 1896. The reader may be interested to 

 know that we shall have growing next summer a good collec- 

 tion of the wild dahlias of Mexico. 



Like all garden plants that have been idolized and neglected, 

 the dahlia suffers greatly from having its names of varieties badly 

 mixed. At least thirty-one of the varieties sent us have names 

 that may mean two or more things each. It is also very common to 

 find the same thing under different names. It is enough for present 

 purposes to determine that A. D. Livoni and Ethel Vick are evi- 

 dently two names for the same thing, without attempting to trace 

 back the variety to its original description. The determination of 

 synonyms is a work that takes years and implies a large collection 

 of books, considerable expense, and the co-operation of the trade. 

 Arabella and Mrs. Peary are two varieties that are said to have 

 originated independently, but they are so nearly alike that both 

 would never be desirable in small collections. They are typical of 

 a class that are practically synonymous, but where there is a 

 chance for individual judgment and preference. 



The public should be cautioned not to expect the highest re- 

 sults the same year roots or plants are received. The quickest 



