Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 201 



is mediocre. I have found it to be an excellent 

 seed-parent — ^the second generation having pro- 

 duced flowers on which I am building great 

 hopes. 



There is no doubt that only the primary shade 

 of red will remain true at all times. Any dahlia 

 of red overlaid with another colour is one which 

 varies with the soil and climate. Take, for 

 example, that glorious brown-rose Princess Pat. 

 In the gardens of California and of the central 

 and southeastern states it is always the same 

 brown-rose. In the North; in Oregon and 

 Washington, in Maine and in Canada and in 

 England, it is overlaid with a distinctly violet 

 tone, making the flower almost unrecognizable, 

 except for its unusual form and habit. 



Any red of the brick variety toward the end 

 of the season, when the sun is low and the days 

 are short, becomes a sickly, washed-out orange. 

 Have you observed that noisy Gustav Douzon 

 by mid-October? He has shouted the red en- 

 tirely out of his system, becoming only part of 

 the sombre background of russet. 



Where red is variegated with white or with 

 yellow the tendency is to go back to the red. 

 Ballet Girl, a fluffy cactus of white with the base 

 of the petals in red, will throw out one pure-red 

 flower to two of the type. Geisha plays havoc 



