FEBRUARY 23, 1S99. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



303 



clean you should carefully examine 

 any plants brought in from outside 

 sources and by a system of isolation 

 determine to your satisfaction that 

 they are clean before putting them 

 with your own. Some growers say 

 nothing will stop rust from spreading, 

 while others again claim to have ob- 

 tained relief by using sulphide of po- 

 tassium in the proportion of half an 

 ounce to one gallon of water. 



BRIAN BORU. 



the other forms and in the Increasing 

 demand for cut blooms. 



During the period of neglect referred 

 to above dahlias were rarely seen ex- 

 cept in private gardens, even there not 

 in very great variety, and as there was 

 no special reason why the names 

 should be kept, they gradually dropped 

 out of use, the grower distinguishing 

 his varieties by color rather than 

 name. Now, when popular demand 

 calls them into use again, there has 



color. These matters have not given 

 the European grower and dealer much 

 trouble, as the dahlia there has al- 

 ways been more or less popular since 

 its introduction. Besides, with them, 

 proper safeguards have been thrown 

 around it, in the form of national and 

 local societies, which have fostered its 

 growth and protected it from abuse by 

 exhibitions, etc. These exhibitions 

 take upon themselves largely of the 

 nature of a society event. 



House of Armazindy Carnations at Wietor Bros., Rogers Park, Chicago. 



DAHLIA NOTES. 



With the returning popularity of the 

 dahlia, I deem it proper to call the at- 

 tention of those intere.sted to a few 

 important points that are apt to be 

 overlooked, or underestimated. 



It should be borne in mind that in 

 this country the dahlia has but recent- 

 ly emerged from a long period of neg- 

 lect, and to many localities even yet it 

 is quite unknown, in any of its forms; 

 and in but few places, in this coun- 

 try, at least, is it receiving that care- 

 ful, painstaking study that is necessary 

 to bring it into popular favor. 



In recent years new life has been 

 injected into the cultivation of this 

 flower, by the introduction of the cac- 

 tus forms, which have proven a very 

 w-elcome, and also valuable, addition 

 to the dahlia family. Many marked 

 improvements are also noticeable in 



been gathered a very respectable col- 

 lection, not only of the new but alsri 

 of the old-time favorites of the past 

 generation; but, alas! what shall we 

 say of their names? Some have b^ji 

 rechristened and sent out as new vari- 

 eties, some have been given fancy 

 names or named for the person fur- 

 nishing the stock, while a few, by 

 careful comparison with European 

 catalogues, have had their proper 

 names restored to them. All this has 

 caused an endless amount of trouble 

 for the careful grower. 



Descriptions, too, are not at all ac- 

 curate and but few persons would rec- 

 ognize some of the best known varie- 

 ties by the descriptions given in vari- 

 ous catalogues of domestic dealers. 

 This, however, may be explained in 

 part by the fact that there is a wide, 

 and yet conscientious difference of 

 opinion among people upon a given 



It is a difficult matter there to in- 

 troduce a new dahlia, unless it has re- 

 ceived some recognition from one or 

 more of these societies. I think, how- 

 ever, that our English cousins should 

 have been more diligent in passing 

 upon a number of cactus varieties of 

 recent introduction, as we have some 

 painful recollections of blighted hopes 

 along this line. However, these are 

 exceptions and not the rule. With us, 

 rules in this respect have been very 

 lax. 



The corrections of these evils 

 should receive special attention from 

 commercial growers and dealers, as 

 they, more than others, are to be bene- 

 fited by the popularity of this flower. 

 I make no charge against any one in 

 particular, for we are all more or less 

 guilty. We grow too many varieties 

 and it is only too evident that there 



