THE 



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OCTOBEE, 1859. 



I AHLIA shows are apt to lack interest through same- 

 ness and repetition. Beautiful as is the spectacle pre- 

 sented by well-filled stands, rich in all the colours of 

 the rainbow, stretching along a great room in lines of 

 mixed colours, the eye soon wearies of it, and, unless we 

 have an interest in the details, it must be counted as 

 one of the least interesting of floral fetes. It is so 

 oughly _ out of the question to exhibit plants — for those 

 that come in pots are, of course, only apologies for plants — 

 that there is little beyond dahlia devices, and such furniture 

 as constitutes no proper part of the show itself, to give cha- 

 racter to the scene. There is certainly a field open for the ex- 

 ercise of ingenuity in making a dahlia show attractive to the eye of the 

 artist. That it attracts growers is a matter of course ; it would be strange 

 if it did not. That it attracts a mixed public is also a matter of course, 

 for 'the love of flowers is universal. The dahlia is a popular favourite, and 

 a glowing mosaic of colours has charms that are not to be resisted, apart 

 altogether fi'om the views of those who have to do with the direction of 

 public taste. The jS"ational Dahlia Show held at Aston Hall, Bii-mingham, 

 on the 20 th of September, was no exception to the established rule, and 

 yet it was perhaps the best exhibition of the kind ever got together, and 

 deserved to be so, seeing the length of time it has been in preparation, 

 and the strenuous exertions that have been made to insure success. Nor 

 was it ill-judged to select a spot suited to the convenience of northern 

 and midland growers, however inconvenient it must have been to the men 

 of the south. But the southerners had their way last year, at St. James's 

 Hall, and it was but right they should now take second place as to distance 

 from home, and the getting of their flowers in good condition to the arena 

 of competition. 



"We write this at the moment of having left the show, with no leisure 

 for any attempt to portray the splendours of the scene, or even for 

 reference to the notes made during an inspection of the flowers ; engage- 

 ments calling us quickly away, and the exigencies of publishing demand- 



TOL II. — NO. X. L 



