CHAPTER XII 

 SHOWS AND SHOWING 



UNTIL nearly the close of the nineteenth century the 

 methods of presenting Dahlias to public notice at the 

 exhibitions were so primitive in character as to suggest to 

 the visitors that these flowers, in their wondrous diversity of 

 form and colour, possessed but little value beyond afford- 

 ing entertainment to fanciers well acquainted with their 

 properties as defined by the authorities, and therefore in 

 a position to fully appreciate them. During the past few 

 years immense improvements have been made in the staging 

 of Dahlias, and in visiting an exhibition of the first class 

 it is possible not only to enter whole-heartedly into the 

 enjoyment of their distinctive charms, but also to obtain 

 object-lessons in the arrangement of the blooms for the 

 decoration of the home, on festive and other occasions. 

 Great as the improvements at the exhibitions have been, 

 there is ample room for further reform, and it is much to 

 be desired that societies who devote any considerable share 

 of their attention to these flowers will see to it that their 

 exhibitions shall be not less remarkable for the taste shown 

 in the arrangement of the blooms than for the cultural 

 skill in their production. Were this to be more generally 

 the case, Dahlia shows would rapidly attain to a higher 

 degree of popularity, and thus become more useful, by 



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