By Richard Anthony Salisbury, Esq. 89 



its name, under the pretext that another Dahlia was already 

 established in the class Bioecia. This is so far from being true, 

 that the description of the Cape Plant he alludes to, by Profes- 

 sor Thunberg-, in the Skrivter af Naturhistorie Seljskabet, 2 

 bind, did not come out till 1 792 ; nor was the manuscript even 

 read before that society, till April, 1791, three months after 

 Cavanilles' Dahlia had been published. 1 am aware that 

 there is no general rule without an exception, and that in some 

 cases the right of priority must be given up, but in this, not 

 a shadow of reason for the innovation can be offered, and as 

 these plants are universally known, both in our Island, and 

 upon the Continent by the name of Dahlia, much inconveni- 

 ence will ensue for a time, if the other be adopted : moreover, 

 it would be unjust to Cavanilles, who is now dead. 



I must now venture to give some account of the introduc- 

 tion of the Dahlias into our own Island ; by which it will ap- 

 pear how rapidly we have improved upon the French method 

 of treating them ; and as they have already not only produced 

 a number of varieties with us, but each species requires a 

 somewhat different management, I shall first describe the 

 genus, species, and varieties botanically, and then offer such 

 observations, as I hope will not be found quite useless respect- 

 ing them, after the manner of our own Prince of Gardeners, 

 Philip Miller, whose Dictionary, Linnaeus, has justly 

 called " Lexicon non solum hortulanorum sed botanicorum." 



DAHLIA. 



Ordo Naturalis. 

 Corymbiferce. Juss. Gen. p. 177. 

 Sect. II. Receptaculum foliolis calycinis, persistent! bus 



