AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



119 



DAH 



This interesting genus, consisting of com- 

 paratively few species, shows more plainly 

 the skill of the florist than almost any other 

 in cultivation. Its history is also somewhat 

 curious, as, strange to say, though it has 

 become so great a favorite, and is so univers- 

 ally cultivated, the history of its introduction 

 is very obscure. It is generally said to have 

 been introduced into England by Lady Hol- 

 land in 1801; but the fact is, it had been 

 introduced many years before that period, 

 and was only brought from Madrid in 1804 by 

 Lady Holland, who apparently did not know 

 that it was already in that country. The first 

 kind of Dahlia known to Europeans, D. super- 

 flua, Cav., (i). variabilis, Dec, Georgina pin- 

 nata, W.,) was discovered in Mexico by Baron 

 Humboldt in 1789, and sent by him to Pro- 

 fessor Cavanilles of the Botanical Garden, 

 Madrid, who gave the genus the name of 

 Dahlia, in honor of the Swedish professor 

 Dahl. Cavanilles sent a plant of it the same 

 year to the Marchioness of Bute, who was 

 very fond of flowers, and who kept it in the 

 green-house. From this species nearly all the 

 varieties known in the gardens have been 

 raised, as it seeds freely, and vai'ies very 

 much when raised from seed. In 1802, D. 

 frustranea, Ait., {D. coccinea, Cav.,) was intro- 

 duced from France, in which country it had 

 been raised from seed. It is rather remark- 

 able that the two species did not hybridize 

 together, and that D. superflua, or variabilis, 

 should produce flowers of colors so different 

 as crimson, purple, white, yellow, orange and 

 scarlet without hybridization. Among all the 

 colors, however, displayed by thi'se varieties, 

 no flowers have yet appeared of blue, and are 

 not likely ever to be, as we find no family of 

 plants in nature in which there are blue, yel- 

 low and scarlet in varieties of the same spe- 

 cies. These two species and their varieties 

 were the only Dahlias known in English gar- 

 dens for many years, as, though a few kinds 

 were introduced from time to time from 

 France and Spain, yet, as they did not hybrid- 

 ize with 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 

 Mexico, with several new species, witliin the 

 last few years, and there are now ten or 

 twelve distinct species, besides innumerable 

 varieties of D. variabilis. The most remarka- 

 ble of the new species is the tree Dahlia, D. 

 excelsa, which is said to grow in Mexico thirty 

 feet high, with a trunk thick in proportion. 

 D. imperialis, a distinct species, attains a 

 height of ten to fifteen feet, and is of a fine 

 branching form, producing, late in the fall, 

 pure white, drooping, lily-like flowers, three 

 inches in diameter. It flowers rather late to 

 be seen in perfection in the Northern States, 

 but it is a magnificent plant in any section of 

 the country where frost holds off until the 

 15th of November. The very showy scarlet 

 D. Juarezii, commonly called the "Cactus 

 Dahlia," is another distinct species, which, 

 with its many varieties of A^arious shades of 

 color, is very attractive. The single varieties 

 also of D. coccinea, from their grace and 

 beauty, are much used for vases or epergnes 

 of cut flowers. They also make distinct and 

 interesting bedding plants, as they flower in 

 great profusion. The colors so far attained 



DAL 



are scarlet, yellow, rose, crimson, and 

 white, with a great variety between these 

 colors, as in the other classes, making 

 a fine contrast with the yellow disk. The 

 propagation of the Dahlia is quite sim- 

 ple. For amateui-s, division of the root will 

 more than supply their needs, as each will 

 divide, if started in a hot-bed or any warm 

 and moist place, into at least six good plants. 

 Young plants of both the single and double 

 sorts are propagated hy cuttings taken off old 

 roots, started in heat in February or March, 

 and grown on in pots until time to plant out 

 in the border, which should be done as soon 

 as danger from frost is over. Seeds of either 

 the double or single sorts sown in February, 

 grown on, and planted out in June, will make 

 strong blooming plants by August. To suc- 

 ceed well they should have a strong, deep and 

 rich soil ; as they are rapid growers, they are 

 consequently gross feeders, and are much 

 benefited by frequent applications of water 

 durin<jj the summer, and by liquid manure 

 after the buds are formed. For perfection in 

 bloom the shoots and flower-buds must be 

 thinned out in the younger stages of growth, 

 but otherwise it will be unnecessary to do so. 

 Some of the dwarfer Pompon varieties have 

 for the last two seasons been flowered in pots, 

 for spring sales, with success, both pecu- 

 niarily and otherwise, one firm in the neigh- 

 borhood of New York having disposed of over 

 10,000 plants in flower in one season. The 

 dwarf white variety, named Camelliceflora, is 

 the favorite for this purpose. The same firm 

 plants two houses of this variety about the 

 first of August, for winter blooming, putting 

 on the sashes just before the first frost, 

 realizing a handsome price for them during 

 winter, or until the houses are required for a 

 spring crop of Geraniums, Fuchsias, etc. 



Daisy. Blue. See Agathea Ccdestis ■ also Aster 

 Tripolium. 

 Common. Bellui, which see. 

 Marsh Ox-eye. Chri/santhonum lacustre. 

 Ox-eye, or White. Leucanthemum vulgare. 

 Paris. Chrysanthemum frutescens. 

 Swan River. Brachycome iberidifolia. 

 Western. Bellis integrifolia. 



Dalbe'rgia. Named after Nicholas Dalberg, a 

 Swedish botanist. Nat. Ord. Leguminosm. 



A genus of lofty-growing, East Indian ever- 

 green trees. Most of the species are truly 

 magnificent, of immense size, with beautiful 

 pinnate foliage, and produce an abundance of 

 white flowers in axillary racemes. The trees 

 are the most remarkable for the valuable 

 timber they furnish. D. latifolia is the Black- 

 wood or East Indian Rosewood tree, common 

 on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, and 

 yields one of the most valuable furniture 

 woods. The timber is furnished in planks 

 four feet wide, and is of a dark purplish color, 

 very lieaA^y, close grained, and susceptible of a 

 high polish. It lacks the rich perfume of the 

 true Rosewood, and is not so beautifully 

 variegated. In India it is used in the manu- 

 facture of their richest furniture. The species 

 yield some of the most valuable timber used 

 in the mechanic arts. 



Dalea. Named after Dr. Samuel Dale, an 

 English botanist of the last century. Nat. 

 Ord. LeguminoscB. 



