markable, that the two species do 

 not hybridise together ; and that 

 D. superflua or 'variabilis, should 

 produce flowers of colour so different 

 as crimson, purple, white, yellow, 

 orange, and scarlet, without hybri- 

 disation. Among all the colours, 

 however, displayed by these varieties, 

 no flowers have yet appeared of blue, 

 and comparatively few of a pure 

 white. These two species, and their 

 varieties, were the only Dahlias 

 known in English gardens for many 

 years ; as, though a few kinds were 

 introduced from time to time from 

 France and Spain, yet as they did 

 not hybridise ^vath the others, and 

 were rather more tender, they were 

 not generally cultivated, and appear 

 to have been soon lost. Most of these 

 have, however, been re-introduced 

 from j\Iexico, with several new 

 species, within the last few years ; 

 and there are now ten or twelve 

 distinct species, besides innumerable 

 varieties of D, variabilis, to be 

 procured in England. The most 

 remarkable of the new species is the 

 tree Dahlia, 1). excelsa, which is said 

 to grow in Mexico thirty feet high, 

 with a trunk thick in proportion. 

 The name of Georgina was applied to 

 the Dahlia by Willdenow ; because 

 the word Dahlia was thought to bear 

 too close a resemblance to the word 

 Dalea, which had been previously 

 given by Thunberg to a small legu- 

 minous genus. As, however, the 

 words are both spelt and pronounced 

 differently. Professor De Candollehas 

 recommended that the name Dahlia 

 shall be retained, and most botanists 

 of the present day have followed 

 his recommendation. The name 

 Georgina was given in honour of 

 Georgi, a German botanist, who resi- 

 ded for several years at St. Peters- 

 burg. 



The Dahlia is a tuberous-rooted 

 plant, which is propagated either by 



seeds, or division of the root. The 

 seeds are chiefly used for raising new 

 sorts ; and they should be treated 

 like tender annuals, being sown on 

 a slight hot-bed in February or 

 JMarch, and planted out in May. 

 The plants rarely flower the first 

 year, but the tubers will form in the 

 course of the summer, and may be 

 taken up in autumn with those of 

 the old plants. When the plants 

 are propagated by division of the 

 root, care must be taken that each 

 piece has a bud attached to it. 

 These buds,' or eyes, as the gardeners 

 call them, are not scattered all over 

 the tubers, like those of the potato, 

 but collected in a ring round the 

 collar of the root. These eyes, when 

 the tubers are in a diy state, are 

 sometimes scarcely perceptible ; and 

 to discover them, nurserymen often 

 plant their Dahlia-tubers in a hot- 

 bed, "to start the eyes," as they 

 call it ; that is, to force the latent 

 I buds sufficiently forward to show 

 where they are situated, before they 

 j divide the tubers for the purpose of 

 I forming new plants. Sometimes the 

 ' eyes do not form a ring round the 

 j collar or crown of the root, but a 

 I considerable portion of it is without 

 any buds. These parts, when divided 

 j from the rest, are called blind 

 I tubers ; and, though, if put into the 

 i ground, they will live for several 

 j years, sending out abundance of 

 , fibrous roots every year, no gai'dener 

 has yet been able to induce a blind 

 j tuber to form an eye, or to send up 

 ' a shoot. This peciiliarity should be 

 kept in mind by all novices in flori- 

 cultiu-e, as dishonest persons fre- 

 ' quently sell large and healthy -looking 

 tubers, which are, however, v.-orth- 

 less, from their being without eyes. 

 To remedy this evil, an expedient 

 has been deA-ised of grafting the 

 tubers of Dahlias in the same manner 

 as is practised with the tubers of 



