22 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



lines on which these varieties should be judged. It was 

 stipulated that show and fancy Dahlias should be circular 

 in form, the petals or florets rounded, the centre compact, 

 closed, and on a level with the shoulder of the bloom ; that 

 the florets should be stiff and smooth and the back ones 

 the largest, so that the whole of the flower may be seen to 

 advantage when viewed from the front. In judging stands 

 of these flowers due consideration was to be given to 

 variety, attractiveness of colour, uniformity in size, and 

 perfection of form in the individual blooms. These lines, 

 with but little modification, have been followed until the 

 present time at the exhibitions of the National Dahlia Society 

 and other societies that give special encouragement to 

 Dahlias. The Royal Horticultural Society suggests in its 

 " Rules for Judging " that in estimating the merits of the 

 show and fancy flowers, the blooms should be of good 

 outline, the florets rounded or fluted, of a shell shape, 

 centre of bloom well up or even, but close and not over 

 developed, colour bright and fresh, the back florets not 

 being faded. 



The flowers of the show and fancy Dahlias have some- 

 times been described as lumpish and inelegant, and there 

 are those who regard the varieties as utterly unfit for any 

 purpose other than the production of specimen blooms 

 for exhibition. This is a mistake, and it has resulted in 

 many gardens being much less interesting and attractive 

 late in summer and early in autumn than they might be. 

 The flowers have certainly a formal appearance, but lumpish 

 and inelegant they are not, and those who have paid any 

 considerable degree of attention to Dahlias can hardly fail 

 to derive much pleasure from well-developed blooms so 



