BEDDING PLANTS. 



77 



ing D. Chisolmii with the 20th Century. D. Chisolmii is a remarkable 

 species discovered three years ago in Mexico. It has bright scarlet 

 flowers on very long stems; the leaves are very large, simple and cov- 

 ered with coarse hairs. The hybrids heretofore have only been tried at 

 Washington in the grounds of the Dept. of Agriculture. Last year the 

 third generation seedlings gave almost every shade of color common 

 to the Dahlia. The flower stems are, as a rule, longer than those of the 

 varieties in common cultivation ; most of the seedlings are single, some 

 are semi-double and others quite double, those of the latter resembling 

 more or less those of the Cactus class. The Cosmos Dahlias do best the 

 second year, especially when the old tubers are planted. In Washing- 

 ton they have done well when planted deeply during the first half of 

 April. The principal feature of the Cosmos DaLlia is its early flower- 

 ing trait. 



DAHLIA CHISOLMII 



