CHAPTER XXIV 



THE DAHLIA 



THE dahlia will always make a successful appeal to the 

 affections of the amateur gardener, first because of the 

 comparative simplicity of its culture, but chiefly because, 

 at a period of the year when the summer denizens of the flower 

 garden are beginning to bear traces of wear and tear, and are 

 preparing either for their winter rest or their demise, the dahlia 

 is just coming into bloom. If the weather be at all propitious, 

 there is a certainty that it will produce a wealth of gorgeous 

 flowers over a period of many weeks, and that it will help to make 

 the early autumn garden gay until the first severe frost pronounces 

 its doom. 



For the purposes of classification the dahlia family may be 

 divided into six sections. These are: (1) cactus, (2) show and 

 decorative, (3) paeony-flowered, (4) pompon, (5) single, (6) Tom 

 Thumb. A moderate-sized volume could be filled in enumerating 

 the thousands of varieties that are included in growers' cata- 

 logues, but for the guidance of the amateur gardener it will be 

 sufficient to indicate in the following tables a few of the newest 

 varieties worthy of his attention, as well as those that are suitable 

 for exhibition, if he entertains ambitions in that direction. 

 CACTUS 



Name Colour 



Austin Cannell Mauve touched with crimson at the base of the 



petals 



Britannia Salmon pink flushed with apricot 



Crimson King Crimson, scarlet tips 



General French Bright terra-cotta 



Keyne's White White 



Gladiator Yellow and pink 



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