THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CACTUS DAHLIA. 477 



course of development, neatly curved inwards, exactly as is the case with 

 a show flower. These are the varieties the buds of which are flat or button- 

 shaped ; and in nearly every case it ^vill be seen there is what must be 

 considered an unsightly break between the florets fully developed and those 

 still developing. Often there mil be one row or more of flat florets near 

 the centre, undergoing the change from the folding frontwards to the 

 rolling backwards, and this detracts from the beauty of the flowers and 

 makes them of less value in an exhibition stand ; and I think before 

 many years are past this class will have died out. 



All the best forms of Cactus Dahlias, and by far the greatest number, 

 have buds formed in the shape of a filbert, with quite a point to them ; 

 the florets of such in an undeveloped state are never or very seldom curved 

 inwards, but are gradually unfolded from a straight position. In many of 

 these the fully-developed floret, as its edges bend backward, takes a grace- 

 ful curved form towards the front, and these, in my opinion, are amongst 

 the most attractive of the modern Cactus Dahlias. But so varied are the 

 different forms now existing that in shape, to say nothing of colour, one 

 variety can scarcely be considered the exact counterpart of another, and it 

 is most diflicult to in any way classify them. However, each of the 

 various forms has some advocates. Some, for example, prefer the form 

 in w^hich all the florets are quite straight and pointed, as in ' Charles 

 Woodbridge,' ' Countess of Lonsdale,' 'Ruby,' ' Ethel,' ' Firebrand,' and 

 ' Zephyr,' whilst some prefer the flowers in which the florets are very 

 numerous, the centre ones only being slightly curved, as in ' Britannia,' 

 ^ Mary Service,' ' Capstan,' ' Fighting ]\Iac,' and ' Up-to-Date.' There are 

 others who most admire a flower in which nearly all the florets curve 

 inwards, as in 'Night,' 'Mrs. Carter Page,' 'Captain Broad,' ' Laverstock 

 Beauty,' and ' Mrs. J. J. Crowe.' Some, again, prefer those of a graceful 

 but irregular form, like ' Fantasy,' ' Loyalty,' ' Ajax,' and ' J. F. Hudson.' 

 And some like those with a tendency to reflex each floret, as ' Magnificent,' 

 * Uncle Tom,' and ' Lord Roberts.' Each of these forms, to my mind, has 

 a charm of its own, and I am inclined to think it is just this great 

 diversity of form, quite as much as of colour, which has made the Cactus 

 Dahlia so popular a flower as it is to-day. 



As regards future developments I see no reason, having such a diversity 

 of form and colour to work upon, why w^e should not expect developments 

 totally beyond anything we now have, and in a few years we may possibly 

 have Cactus Dahlias and Chrysanthemums vying with each other to be, in 

 beauty and in size, the Queen of Autumn. 1 myself have for some years 

 been working a new quilled form, but I have as yet very little to report 

 regarding it. 



In several quarters I have heard it intimated that some standard should 

 be set up, either by the R.H.S. or by the National Dahlia Society, as to 

 what a good Cactus Dahlia should be in form. I have devoted much 

 thought to the subject, and am decidedly of the opinion that it would be 

 most unwise to attempt to do this. As I have already said, diversity of 

 form helps to make the Cactus Dahlia popular, and whichever of the 

 various forms were chosen or adopted as the standard, it would inevitably 

 throw out a host of beautiful flowers which others most admire, and 

 would probably cause a curtailing of that universal interest which it 

 seems the Cactus Dahlia is destined to create. 



