POPULAR GAEDEN PLANTS. 



twelve months afterwards. When the plants 

 have finished flowering they should be placed 

 in a pit where they can be shaded. They will 



Fig. 536.— Cyclamen persicum "Papilio", 



soon show signs of resting by ceasing to make 

 leaves, when they require less water. In the 

 autumn they should be started again by shaking 

 them out of the old soil and repotting in pots 

 of convenient size. The subsequent treatment 

 should be that already detailed. These second- 

 year corms will flower earlier and more freely, 

 but the blooms may not be quite so large as 

 first -year plants. It is not advisable to keep 

 them after the third season. 



There are now some very fine strains, re- 

 markable for the size and shape of the flowers 

 and an extraordinary variety of colour. Two 

 of the most recent acquisitions are a crested 

 variety raised by Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., 

 and which is remarkable in having a raised 

 feather-like crest on the petals; and the Papilio 

 Cyclamen (fig. 536), of Continental origin, which 

 differs from the type in having more or less 

 fringed petals, spreading horizontally, wing- 

 like. Both of these forms come fairly true 

 from seeds. 



Dahlia. — Introduced into England from 

 Mexico in 1789 by the Marchioness of Bute, 

 who brought it from Spain. The form, size, 

 and colours of the flowers have been so much 

 improved that we now have almost every shade 

 of red, white, yellow, and purple, as well as an 

 infinite variety of mixtures of these colours. 



There are five well-marked groups or sections 

 of Dahlia, viz. Show, Fancy, Pompon, Cactus, 

 and Single, although until a few years ago 

 only two were recognized, namely, Show and 

 Fancy. They were distinguished somewhat 

 Vol. I. 



arbitrarily, Shows being white or yellow varie- 

 ties, edged, tipped, or laced with a dark colour, 

 after the manner of the Picotee; but when 

 the disposition of colours was reversed, and 

 the florets of a dark colour tipped with a lighter- 

 shade, or with Carnation-like stripes, they were 

 called Fancies. The two classes are now gener- 

 ally merged in one, and known as Show varie- 

 ties. 



Single Dahlias (fig. 537). — These are slight 

 variations of the wild type, reintroduced some 

 twenty years ago, when it achieved a remark- 

 able popularity, a large number of new varieties 

 being soon raised from it. Beautiful as they 

 are, and so well adapted for floral decorations, 

 the fleeting character of their blossoms is against 

 their use in this way — the petals quickly falling 

 unless the blooms are gathered quite young. 

 A race of dwarf varieties, known as Tom Thumb, 

 originated with the late Mr. T. W. Girdlestone, 

 who also enriched collections with many beauti- 



Fig. 537.- Single Dahlias. 



ful seedlings, possessing delightful combinations 

 of colour. 



Cactus Dahlias (fig. 538). — This is the most 

 popular section of Dahlias. They are derived 

 from Dahlia Juarezi, a crimson-flowered species. 

 The section takes its name from an imagined 

 likeness to the bloom of a Cactus. By crossing 



28 



