1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



63 



it in his " Icoiies et Descriptioiies Plantarum," 

 tlic inililirnOon of which was commenced at 

 Miuiriii in 1791. 



For ten years the .\blie Cavanilles manajrod to 

 keep his nahlius. and one of them inoduoed semi- 

 double tlowers in Oetober. 17W; and in the Jan- 

 luirj" tullowinfr was tijjiu'ed in the Icones as D. 

 liiuimtii, whieh was the earl.v name of our D. 

 variabilis^ and thus we fix the date of the tirst 

 doubling of the Dahlia in Europe as oecurrinjc in 

 the first year of its Uowering at Madrid. The 

 variety named Hnsca was very soon afterwards 

 estalilished at Dresden, for in the year 1>-C0 it was 

 sent from Dresden to Berlin with the D. pi»Mafa 

 and D. coociiica already cited, the entire collec- 

 tion of Dahlias of that date consisting of these 

 three only. In lf*i Cavanilles sent them to the 

 .lardin des Plantes at Paris, and to M. Decandolle 

 at Montpelicr, and thus the flower was fairly 

 started on the way to liecome known throughout 

 Europe. 



In the year 1799, Humboldt found the Dahlia in 

 a prairie between Areo and Pat zciiaro at a height 

 of five thousand feet above the level of the sea, 

 a fact which at once explained the failures of 

 Lady Hute and others to grow it as a plant need- 

 ing much heat and a constantly close atmosphere 

 under glass. Kew had obtained the plant, and 

 had lost it as a consequence of stewing or roast- 

 ing it, as moist or dry crockery might happen to 

 be in favor, and at Paris the same thing had oc- 

 curred. 



The year 1804 forms the second epoch in the 

 history of the Dahlia. Seeds were again sent 

 from Madrid, and M. Buonaiuti i-aised all three 

 varieties, and they flowered satisfactorily and 

 were figured in the botanical periodicals of that 

 day. The great aim now was the production of 

 double flowers. In 1806 the gardeners at Mal- 

 maison and St. Cloud were striving after double 

 flowers, but appear not to have got beyond the 

 three varieties they began with, namely, cocciiica, 

 puri>iijra and crocra. But in 1813 M. Dankelaar, 

 of the botanic gaiHlen at Louvain, Belgium, ob- 

 tained some semi-double flowers; and again he 

 operated and secured flowers perfectly double, 

 and the honor appears beyond all doubt to be 

 due to him of launching the Dahlia on the tide of 

 time as a fine florist's flower, 

 t This brings us to the year 18U, which we may 

 term the third epoch in the history of the flower. 

 It had become established at Erfurt and Leipzig 

 simultaneously with its establishment at Louvain 

 in lsl;i, and Haage had raised a flower that was 

 more than single if not quite double. It was ad- 

 mired, however, chiefly for its violet color which 



DAHLIA SUPE 



A 



DAHLIA COCCINEA. 



was at that time new to the Dahlia. In 1811 the 

 continent was throivn open by the approach of 1 

 the Allies to Paris, and the British amateurs 

 found Dahlias in plenty in French gardens; many 

 of which soon found their way to this country 

 and were taken charge of with enthusiasm by 

 the hopeful florists. 



About the year 1815 double flowers were be- 

 ginning to appear. The figure of Dahlia super- 



/fim.the "crimson fei'tile-rayed Dahlia "appears 

 in the Botaniial Register for 1815. This repre- 

 sents our " sliow " Dahlia, the D. rariahiUs in its 

 best form as a single flower not far removed from 

 its wild Mexican) form certainly, but in a grand 

 condition as regards its rich crimson color, its 

 great spread oi narrowish elliptic rays, and tlie 

 small but brilliant golden centre. Such a flower 

 would now be 

 prized, and 

 would make a 

 new class of 

 singles. If his- 

 tory is once 

 more capal>Ic 

 of i*eix?ating 

 itself, surely 

 this original 

 Dahlia that we 

 have improved 

 out of exist- 

 ence will be re- 

 stored to us. 



From this 

 time the How 

 er acquires ex- 

 tensive popu- 

 larity, and as 

 autumn ap- 

 proaches the 

 whole country 

 appears to 

 glow with 

 Dahlias, for 

 tens of thou- 

 sands are exhibited, and the talk of all the 

 world is about them. The excitement that has 

 prevailed in recent years in connection with ex- 

 hibitions of the Chrysanthemum is as nothing 

 when compared with the frenzy of forty years 

 during which the Dahlia was the greatest of all 

 the exhibition flowers. Frrim 1820 to 1860 wa5 the 

 term of its highest popularitj'. 



The type of flower in fashion thiry years ago is 

 admirably shown in the treatise on " The Dahlia," 

 by Robert Hogg, published by Groombridge, 18.53, 

 for herein we find the true precursors of the 

 splendid show flowers that now rank highest in 

 the esteem of cultivators; the petals are no longer 

 pointed, but rounded and smooth, and so even 

 with the periphery of the flower, as to secure 

 for it from every point of view an unbroken 

 outline, while the crown is higher and more re- 

 fined, and in respect of size the flower comes very 

 near to the present standard. 

 Species in Cultivation. Taking the species re- 

 ported in the order of their appearing, 

 we have DaliUa cvccine<i, otherwise 

 D.frustranea, the barren-rayed Dahlia, 

 introduced to Madrid, and figured b.v 

 Cavanilles in his Icones. The more 

 famous D. variahilis or D. superllua, 

 the fertile-rayed Dahlia, was probabl.v 

 also one of the three secured for the 

 first Madrid set. Figures of it abound. 

 In 18:17 was introduced from Mexico 

 D. Uarkcria:, a i>leasingform, probably 

 not specifically distinct from the tore- 

 going. In 1840 D. tllabrata was ob- 

 tained from Mexico. It is smooth and 

 distinctly lobed in the leaf, and has a 

 neat and pleasing habit, being smaller 

 every way than D. variabilis, of which 

 it is a variety. The noble D. inipcfialis 

 is certainly distinct, and with all its 

 imperial qualities, it does not now 

 concern us more than to record that 

 it first flowered in the Zurich garden 

 in 1803. 



The Dahlia shows at the Crystal 

 Palace in a long run of years were de- 

 lightful, but they came to an end in 

 the year 1869, simply because, as the 

 managers reported, they had ceased 

 to pay. Thereupon was formed the 

 "Metropolitan Society for the Encour- 

 agement of Florists' Flowers," but the 

 autumn show in 1875 in the -Alexandra 

 Palace was the last act and deed of 

 this society. For sutficient cause the 

 thing died quietlj'. 

 But the Dahlia did not die, nor were the ten 

 years of its eclipse a loss t(j its history. There 

 was seen upon the horizon of the world of flowers 

 the original Dahlia of 178'.i; the simple Mexican 

 flower known as the single Dahlia suddenly ac- 

 quired popularity, as though its beauties were 

 perceived for the firet time. 



Concurrently with the revival of the single 

 flowers as subjects of special attention, there 



came into the floral rtrmument a quite new star 

 know as the Cactus Dahlia, and this has given 

 birth to a numerous proj^eny. It was on the 3d 

 of September, 1880, that Mr. H. Connell, of Swan- 

 Icy, presented at the fruit show in Alexandria 

 Palace, the firet flowers of Dah!ia Jaurfjzi seen 

 in this country. This distinct and beautiful var- 

 iety is an independent and original introduction 



RFLUA, DOUBLE AND SINGLE. 



from Mexico, in the year 1872, by Mr. .1. T. Van- 

 derberg, of Juxphaor, near Utrecht, with whom 

 it flowered in 1873. W. H. Cullingford. of Ken- 

 sington, became the introducer of the noble 

 flower to England. 



Pickings from Michigan Pomological 

 Society Meetings. 



The Orchard in Winter. The question how 

 to prepare orchards for ^vinter was discussed 

 at a recent meeting of the Michigan Pomo- 

 logical Society. 



It was pretty generally conceded that orchards 

 especially Peach, should not be cultivated later 

 than the flrst or middle of August; that a mulch, 

 or covering of some kind like Rye, is desirable ; 

 provision should be made in working the land 

 for all surplus water to run off and as trees will 

 not stand wet feet, the land must be well drained; 

 that stiff clay lands are much more difficult to 

 keep in proper condition than the sandy ones; 

 and mice will not be harbored if the orchard is 

 kept free from sod or gi'ass. Mi*. Chatfield ad- 

 vocated late fall plowing, as it left the ground 

 in a loose and mellow condition, but it must be 

 so late as not to start the trees to growing. C. J. 

 Monroe thought that if we could depend on a 

 catch of Clover he would prefer that as a winter 

 covering, but as Clover was not as sure as Kye 

 he preferred the Rye. A. S. Packard would put 

 about a bushel of chip manure around each 

 tree, sow Rye and plow under when in blossom. 

 His land was deep sand and mostly drained itself, 

 as it was ready for the plow half an hour after a 

 heavy rain. A. I'. Merritt wanted a good growth, 

 not too rank; thought a coating of wood ashes 

 broadcast was very beneficial; but if put too 

 near the tree in quantities, might injure it. Also 

 thought there should be a coierlng on the 

 ground of some kind. Those who had only 

 sandy ground had no conception of the troubles 

 of those who have clay soil. 



Succession of Forest Growth. 



[Extravt of paper read by Robert Douglas before the 

 American Nurserymen's Association.] 



The prevailing and almost universal be- 

 lief that when native forests are destroyed 

 they will be replaced by other kinds, for the 

 simple reason that the soil has been impover- 

 ished of the constituents required for the 

 growth of that particular tree or trees, is, 1 

 believe, one of the fallacies handed down 

 from past ages, taken for granted, and never 

 questioned. Nowhere does the English Oak 

 grow better than where it grew when WU- 

 liam the Conqueror found it at the time he 

 invaded Britain. Where do you find While 

 Pines growing better than in parts of New 

 England, where this tree has grown from 

 time immemorial? Where can you find 



