206 The Amateur's Book of the Dahlia 



yet alone as a pure 'pinh pink, although challenged 

 many times. 



Hortulanus Fiet, a veteran now, is one of the 

 finest of soft pinks. Here, however, is a dahlia 

 whose blending of tints is greatly influenced by 

 its surroundings. A decorative of good size, fine 

 substance, and habit, free flowering almost to a 

 fault; the colour when grown in good soil in the 

 open garden should be a warm, creamy pink. I 

 have seen it grown in two neighbouring gardens 

 near by, of tubers separated from the same 

 clump; yet the blooms were so different in 

 appearance that one could hardly believe they 

 were related. One was the type — correct in 

 every way; the other, grown in ground which had 

 been heavily limed and soot added to the 

 fertilizer; where trees kept it shaded most of the 

 day. The colour was dark — ^almost brown, 

 shading to orange yellow in the centre; the petals 

 were loose and the stem weak. I have seen it 

 grown in poor soil, neglected in cultivation, yet 

 blooming freely, a poor pinkish white. 



Crystal; delicate pink cactus, large, free in 

 bloom for some, shy for others; keeps its white 

 fingers better than most variegated dahlias. 

 Inclined to be pendent, perhaps, yet with such 

 grace and refinement that I feel none should be 

 without it. 



