8 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



Dahlia was undergoing modification in the direction of an 

 increase in the number of florets at so early a period. 



From the publication of Mascardi's book at the middle 

 of the seventeenth century, nothing further relating to the 

 Dahlia was published until 1787, and the reference to it in 

 a treatise which appeared in that year was for the benefit of 

 the French flower-lovers. Nicholas Thierry de Menonville 

 was commissioned to visit South America for the purpose 

 of obtaining the cochineal insect and the plant on which 

 it lives, and he appears to have been successful. It 

 is evident that he gave attention to matters others than 

 those immediately associated with the object of his journey, 

 the Dahlia being among them. In 1787 Menonville pub- 

 lished a treatise on the cochineal insect and its host plant, 

 and in this he described the Dahlias that had come under 

 his notice in a garden near Guaxaca. There he stated that 

 the plants attained a height of between five and six feet, they 

 had leaves similar in form and size to those of the elder, 

 and aster-like flowers of comparatively large size. Menon- 

 ville's treatise is thus of interest as containing the first 

 reference to the Dahlia as a cultivated plant. 



In the year 1789 the Dahlia was introduced into 

 this country, but unfortunately the plants that were first 

 raised failed to retain their vitality in the conditions to 

 which they were subjected. In the course of that year 

 Vincentes Cervantes, director of the Mexican Botanic Garden, 

 sent seeds of the Dahlia to the Abb6 Cavanilles, director of 

 the Royal Gardens at Madrid. At that time the Marquis 

 of Bute was the English Ambassador at the Spanish Court, 

 and the Marchioness, who was greatly interested in flori- 

 cultural matters, obtained some of these seeds and sent 



