10 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 



account of its exquisite salmon colour and its 

 fern -like foliage. The ray florets show a row of 

 single petals while each inner floret is enclosed 

 in a slender tube. The flowers are small and 

 dainty, but none too many on a plant. Another 

 variation of the type has white petals, and the 

 group of unusually long tubes of bright yellow give 

 the effect of a giant bi-colour daffodil. Already 

 it is called "Narcissus flowering" and justly so. 



In France they must have an especially long 

 and slender insect to pollinate these dahlias, for 

 here they never seem to set seed alone, and no 

 instrument of mine, at least, has ever yet suc- 

 ceeded in reaching the pistil; and if I dare cut 

 back the tube the flower sulks and says, "I 

 won't." 



There is a great future in this new "break" in 

 form. We are only on the threshold, but I be- 

 lieve the day is coming when this class will rank 

 in importance with all the best. 



Of the fragrant dahlias, there is none which 

 will make a bouquet really sweet. A few of faint 

 odour there are when blooming during cool 

 weather; but here again the future lies wide open. 

 When they are sweet, the fragrance is that of a 

 pond-lily. 



There are many new varieties of dahlias bred 

 on the other side of the Atlantic which are un- 



