460 Foreign Notices. — England. 



MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



Art. I, Foreign JVotices. 



England. 



English Dahlia Exhibitions for 1844. — Always desirous of giving our 

 amateur friends and lovers of the dahlia all the information in relation to 

 this beautiful flower, we present below a brief account of one of the 

 greatest dahlia exhibitions held in England this year. And we are ena- 

 bled to do this, not from newspapers and periodicals, but from our own 

 notes taken on the spot. It was highly gratifying to us that we were 

 so fortunate as to be in London when this exhibition took place. During 

 the whole of the early part of September, we were absent on the Conti- 

 nent, and when we returned the dahlia season was then nearly over. We 

 arrived just in time to be present at the grand exhibition in Baker street, 

 the last one which took place in the vicinity of London. A few days 

 afterwards many of the plants were destroyed by frost. 



The season of 1844 in England, as well as our own country', has been 

 unfavorable to the dahlia ; dry weather throughout nearly the whole of 

 August and September prevented the formation of strong buds, and a 

 larger portion of the flowers were small and imperfect ; owing also to the 

 dry season the plants were in many places attacked by the thrips, and 

 severely injured. A less number of dahlia exhibitions have been held 

 the present year than for two or three seasons previous ; this is in a de- 

 gree, no doubt, owing to the breaking up of the Metropolitan Society of 

 Florists, Avho were the first to bring the dahlia to the perfection which it 

 has arrived within a few years. When this interest ceases among the 

 principal growers around the metropolis, less zeal is felt in its cultivation 

 in the provincial towns. 



The Exhibition took place at the Bazaar in Baker street, Portman 

 square, London. It was got up by the exertions of the principal cultiva- 

 tors, among whom were Messrs. Widnall, Brown, Girling, Atwell & 

 Brown, Keynes, Harrison,' Sorrel, Brag, Stein, Turner, Whale, Sparry, 

 Hansard, Edwards, Low, Mitchell, — each one subscribing a certain sum 

 to be awarded in prizes. 



The dahlias exhibited were not very numerous, nor, as a whole, of re- 

 markable beauty. The stands occupied three tables about forty feet long 

 each, one being filled principally with seedlings. We did not note down 

 all the entries. The room was to be open at one o'clock ; but owing to 

 the large number of seedlings, the judges were not then enabled to make 

 up their awards ; this occupying so much time the public were admitted, 

 and the awards completed afterwards. After some delay the stands were 

 all duly ticketed Avith the name of the grower, and the names of the 

 flowers added, when, in company with Mr. Brown, we looked over some 

 of the most prominent stands. 



The 1st, 2d and 3d best stands of 24 blooms, nurserymen's class, were 

 as follows : — 



