LUTHER BURBANK 



of the color sense to which red appeals. For the 

 Mexican composite flower was taken into the 

 European gardens, and made to feel quite at home 

 in its new habitat. 



The new exotic came, as a matter of course, 

 under the eye of the great classifier Linnaeus. And 

 he thought so highly of it that he was moved to 

 name it in honor of his friend and pupil, Dr. 

 Andreas Dahl. The great Swedish classifier spoke 

 with final authority in that day, and "Dahlia" the 

 plant became in all languages and wherever 

 grown except, of course, in its native habitat; 

 and what it might be called there, if anything, did 

 not greatly concern the civilized world. 



The scientific generic name Dahlia seemed to 

 serve as well as another for the popular name 

 also. So the name of the friend of Linnaeus has 

 been perpetuated as a household word, familiar 

 almost as the words rose or violet; but of course 

 the great majority of people who pronounce it give 

 no thought to its origin, and are quite unaware 

 that they are paying tribute to a man, and com- 

 memorating a friendship, when they speak of this 

 familiar garden flower. 



So entirely has the origin of the word been 

 overlooked, indeed, that the name dahlia, which 

 should obviously be pronounced with the broad a, 

 is universally pronounced with the long a in Eng- 



[204] 



