276 TUE FLORIST. 



THE DAHLIA SEASON OF 1850, AND ITS RESULTS. 



To the article I sent you for insertion in last month's Florist, you 

 were pleased to add some comments of your own on the cover. 

 Now, in reply, I can only state, that for many reasons a correspon- 

 dent's name is often best withheld : what may go down very well 

 under the signature of A. B., would hardly be noticed were the plain 

 name of John Smith of some obscure village (perhaps a hundred 

 miles off from the head-quarters of floriculture,) appended to an 

 article ; and so the only course left is for you, in your editorial capa- 

 city, to insert such papers as you may deem most likely to interest 

 the great variety of readers of your periodical. Be it remembered 

 that the spirit of Junius's letters was much more telling in its 

 effects from the fact that the author was, and is even now, I believe, 

 unknown. Not that I wish for a moment to compare myself with 

 that powerful wielder of the pen, for an article written to aid a flori- 

 cultural journal can surely have no personal or political feeling ; and 

 the name of the author cannot be of much consequence while his 

 pen is used only for the legitimate purpose of spreading floricultural 

 information. If this is not considered of sufficient interest for the 

 readers of the Florist, it will not be inserted, and no one will be any 

 the worse, except that the paper will have been wasted ; and the 

 writer must consider himself fortunate in already seeing five of his 

 concoctions appearing in such a respectable and well got-up work 

 as the Florist really is. 



As in my last I endeavoured to shew the Geraniums oftenest seen 

 on the London exhibition-tables, my present object is to give the 

 names of Dahlias seen also in like manner. This ought not to be 

 considered a rule altogether ; for the season may not have suited 

 some flowers : Dreadnought, a very perfect crimson ; Walter Hilson, 

 a nicely formed orange ; Samuel Girling, a very model of form ; and 

 several others that have come well in former seasons, have not been 

 shewn once this year. Another reason is, that perhaps the anxiety 

 to exhibit novelties causes older equally good varieties to *' hide 

 their diminished heads," and thus each year they will get "fewer 

 and fewer, and then by degrees beautifully less." Amongst varieties 

 let out previously to 1850, the following have been exhibited : 



Let out 



Times. 



ia49 Duke of Wellington . . 24 



1848 Shylock 20 



1847 Yellow Standard .... 20 



1849 Mr. Seldon 17 



1848 Richard Cobden .... 16 



1850 Fearless 14 



1849 Grenadier 13 



1849 Mrs. Bacon 12 



ISl'G Marchioness of Corn wallis . 12 



^^l^""^ Times. 



1845 Beeswing 12 



1849 Purple Standard .... 10 



1848 Crocus 9 



1843 Essex Triumph .... 8 



1847 Scarlet Gem 7 



1845 Cleopatra 7 



1848 Imbiicata 7 



1842 Admiral Stopford .... 6 



1844 Nonpareil 6 



The above return is not so complete as could be wished, owing 

 to the difficulty there is now in obtaining full reports of the large 

 country exhibitions, the Chronicle never chronicling these events 



