DAHLIAS AND THEIR TRKATMENT. 35 



flowered in Kew Gardens before they did in Cambridge, and were figured 

 in the Botanical Magazine. 



28. Pentstemon grandiflorus, Nutt., a native of the Northern and 

 Western part of Missouri, where Mr. Nuttall long ago discovered it, also 

 of Iowa, »fcc. This and the equally showy P. glaber, (which was raised in 

 England thirty years ago, but soon lost) we owe to Mr. Sprague, the artist^ 

 who accompanied Audubon in his excursion up the Missouri in the year 

 183-, and collected the seed from which the present stock has been de- 

 rived. P. grandiflorus has very smooth and glaucous foliage, and large, 

 lilac-purple flowers, little inferior in size to those of P. Coh(Ea, but far 

 superior in color. It is perhaps one of the most elegant species of this 

 showy genus, and has the advantage of being perfectly hardy in New 

 England. 



29. Salvia R(emeriana, Schule, a showy, scarlet-flowered species, 

 ■which has lately been figured in the Botanical Magazine, under the name 

 of S. porphyrata, was first cultivated here from Texan seeds, supplied by 

 Wight and Lindheimer. The flowers are more showy and larger than 

 those of S. coccinea, but not so numerous. 



30. Macromerfa viRiDiFLORA, D. C, raised from seeds collected in 

 Arizonia by Mr. Wight, is rather curious than showy, being a sort of 

 Gromwell, with a long corolla, an inch and a half in length, white, tinged 

 with green. 



31. Datura meteloides, D. C. This we likewise owe to Mr. Wight, 

 who sent seeds from New Mexico in 1851, since which it has been a con- 

 spicuous ornament of our garden at the close of summer. Brought forward 

 in spring under glass, it might be made to blossom at midsummer, when it 

 would continue until arrested by frost. From seeds distributed from this 

 establishment this species is cultivated in England and France, under the 

 name of D. Jfightii, and highly prized, as well it may be; for its flowers 

 are larger, at least much wider, and better colored than those of D. Metel, 

 while the stems are low and spreading, the light-green herbage only 

 slightly foetid, and the blossoms sweet-scented. They are five or six 

 inches broad at the expanded summit, and seven or eight inches in length ; 

 and the margin bears only five very slender teeth. 



A considerable number of Apetalous and Indigenous plants deserve to 

 be noticed in their turn, but this communication has already reached an 

 undue length, as I fear. 



DAHLIAS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



BY PARKER BARNES. 



The early history of this popular flower is involved in some obscurity ; 

 but from the mass of matter we have fortunately been able to cull a few 

 facts, which it may be useful to present before proceeding to the more prac- 

 tical part of our article. 



