382 FLORA HISTORICA. 



DAHLIA. Dahlia. 



Natural Order Corymbifem : a Genus of the Synge- 

 nesia Polygamia Superflua 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 Mex- 

 ico, where it grows wild in sandy meadows. It 

 was introduced to this country by the late Lady 

 Bute, who procured it from Madrid in the same 

 year that it arrived from America; but either 

 through a want of care or judgment in the cul- 

 tivation, 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 which saw Napoleon made Emperor of the 

 French nation. From these incidents we present 

 the Dahlia as the emblem of instability. 



