DAIII.TA. 3J.? 



DAHLIA. Dahlia. 



Natural Order Corymhiferes. A Genus of the Syngc- 

 ncsia Polygamia Supcrjlua Class. 



This splendid addition to our autumnal parterres 

 was unknown to the Old World until the year 

 1789? when it was first sent to Spain from Mexico, 

 where it grows wild in sandy meadows. It was 

 introduced to this country by the late Lady Bute, 

 who procured it from INIadrid in the same year 

 that it arrived from America ; but either through 

 a want of care or judgment in the cultivation, these 

 plants were entirely lost to our gardens until seeds 

 were re-introduced by Lady Holland, in the year 

 1804. It is singular that this distinguished flower 

 should have been twice introduced to this country 

 through the ladies of two of our distinguished 

 statesmen ; and that the first introduction should 

 mark the year when France became revolutionized, 

 and the second that wliich saw Napoleon made 

 Emperor of the French nation. From these inci- 

 dents we present the Dahlia as the emblem of in- 

 stability. 



The Dahha was but little known in England 



