Varieties in Alien Soil and Climate 209 



J. Harrison Dick is much the same form except 

 that the back petals hang down in a shower, but 

 hybrid cactus it is dubbed for all that. 



The upright stems are coming — one or two a 

 year, now. Ballon was the first, a solid, stodgy 

 decorative not more than two feet high. The 

 blossoms of dull brown looked up at one begging 

 to be pulled off and used as pincushions. Lately 

 Insulinde has taken the world by storm. The 

 flowers, though large and fairly double, remind 

 me of that exquisite little iris cuprea in form, 

 colour, and habit — copper, orange-gold, or golden 

 orange, call it what you will, you cannot describe 

 it, and you will always wonder at it. 



Among the odd forms of dahlias are two types 

 which stand out beyond the others. In 1914 the 

 "Star" dahlias made a hit at the English shows, 

 but have only just appeared among us here. 

 Crawley Star is the best of them, a dainty cup- 

 shaped single, evidently containing a drop or 

 two of "cactus" blood, just enough to reflex the 

 petals a bit. A rosy pink, better than most, 

 of upright habit, rather small, airy, and dainty, 

 it is one of the best for house decorations. It is 

 not of great value in the garden as it gives but 

 little colour effect. 



The anemone-flowered types have lately come 

 from France. Of all, Meissonier is the best on 



