SEPTEMBER. 217 



Mr. Turner), all of first-class quality, and such as will hereafter 

 be seen in every leading stand. Harrison's Picnic, as shewn, was 

 too small to make a first-class flower ; high cultivation may, how- 

 ever, remedy this. 



CHINESE DAHLIAS. 



Some thirty or forty years since, before Mr. Chater's time, Chinese 

 Hollyhocks took well-merited precedence of all other Hollyhocks. 

 Now I see by the advertisements of Messrs. Turner, Youell, and 

 others, that Chinese Chrysanthemums of a foot high are to elbow 

 their somewhat intractable predecessors out of the greenhouse into 

 the borders. And truly there are few flowers that need dwarfing 

 so much as those. But is it that these diminutive species are 

 really natives of the Celestial Empire ? Or is it not rather that the 

 national epithet has come to be identified with any duodecimo edition 

 of an ordinary plant, from the singular power that most singular of 

 people have from time immemorial exercised over forest and orchard 

 trees ? I myself once succeeded, by the bye, in obtaining an apple- 

 tree with four full-grown ripe apples on it, though it was only about 

 as many inches high. That, however, died before the next season. 

 But to return. Why should we not have Chinese Dahlias ? It may 

 interest some of your readers to know that I have accidentally found 

 there is no difficulty in having plants to flower, and very tolerably in 

 character too, when the blossom is many times the size of the w^hole 

 plant. 



About six weeks ago, when thinning the shoots of my Dahlias, I 

 thought I might as well strike one of each, as, if they did not flower 

 this season, they might make a duplicate collection of tubers for 

 some friend. By putting them in a cold frame till the callus was 

 formed, and then subjecting them to heat, they readily rooted ; and 

 there they are still in sixties, from one to three inches high, with the 

 pots full of roots, and waiting to be planted out. But two of them 

 when taken had buds formed, which I did not cut off"; and now I 

 wish I had taken none but such as had buds ; for I think it would 

 have attracted notice, even at Worton Cottage, on a Wednesday, to 

 see on the table a bloom of Captain Warner or of George Clayton, 

 if not exactly tit for a specimen bloom at an exhibition, yet still in 

 very fair condition, on plants respectively 1^ and 2^ inches high. 

 Probably I am now too late ; but I have in consequence just taken off 

 several tops with buds where they could be spared, simply for the 

 sake of the curiosity ; and if they come to any thing worth notice, I 

 will inform you. 



August ISth. Iota. 



