THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 



THE BEST EXHIBITION DAHLIAS. 



A correspondent is desirous of having a list of the 

 best 24 show Dahlias, and the best 18 fancy varieties 

 for exhibition purposes. Our selection under the 

 first of these headings is as follows : — Mrs. John 

 Downie, Henry Bond, Louisa Neate, John William 

 Lord, John Wyatt, Alexander Cramond, Cremorne, 

 Henry Walton, Herbert Turner, James Service, John 

 Neville Keynes, Mrs. Stancomb, Prince Arthur, Royal 

 Queen, Thomas Goodwin, Constancy, James Cocker, 

 Kingof Primroses, Christopher Ridley, JohnMcPherson, 

 John Standish, Vice President, Lady Gladys Herbert, 

 and Ovid. The following is our selection of 18 fancy 

 varieties : — Charles Wyatt, George Barnes, Flora 

 Wyatt, Fanny Sturt, Henry Glestwick, Mr. Saunders, 

 Miss Lily Large, Parrot, John Lamont, Maid of 

 Athens, Hercules, Enchantress, Monsieur Chauvere, 

 Richard Dean, James Carter, Octoroon, Rev. J. B. M. 

 Camm, and Mrs. Bunn. 



It is not necessary to give descriptions of these. 

 They are all what is known as standard flowers, and 

 being generally cultivated for show purposes, will be 

 found in Dahlia catalogues. The list includes the 

 best among the new varieties of last year, and they 

 are set down in the order in which they were taken 

 down when the list was made. It is just possible, 

 and it might be expected, that some Dahlia fanciers 

 will be found complaining of omissions from this list; 

 but we have made selections to the best of our ability 

 to meet the requirements of our correspondent. 



CULTURE OF VERBENAS FOR EXHIBITION. 



The publication of a coloured Plate of some fine 

 new Verbenas, affords an opportunity for setting 

 forth the mode of culture adopted by the West of 

 England cultivators for getting good specimens in 

 pots, and also in the form of fine trusses for exhibiting. 

 Mr. J. F. Mould, one of the most successful growers 

 of specimen Verbenas in pots for show purposes, 

 states that Verbenas for exhibition should be struck 

 in March from healthy plants making a stout growth. 

 When merely rooted, the cuttings should be potted 

 into small pots, and when these are nicely filled with 

 roots a shift should be given into pots fully two sizes 

 larger. As these pots become filled with roots, the 

 plants should be shifted into their blooming-pots, 

 which in the West of England are somewhat large, 

 averaging from eight to ten inches in diameter, as 

 may be convenient to the grower. The leading 



shoots must be stopped two or three times, in order 

 to produce six or eight strong shoots ; and as the 

 trusses of buds appear, those immediately beneath the 

 leading truss, as they never produce fine pips. 



To have a good succession of bloom, a strong 

 growth should be encouraged three joints from the 

 leading flower-stem, as it is found in practice shoots 

 from the base of these stems will produce trusses of 

 bloom equal to those obtained from the leading shoots. 

 In wet weather the plants should have the protection 

 of glass, to keep the flowers from being soiled by the 

 falling rain. 



The most suitable soil for the Verbena is loam, 

 leaf soil, and peat, in equal proportions, with a sprink- 

 ling of guano mixed with the soil. The pots should 

 be well drained, as Verbenas in pots do well only in a 

 free open soil with plenty of drainage. 



The plants that are cultivated in the open air 

 should be put into a dry, healthy border, the soil 

 of which has been previously trenched, and a good 

 I dressing of well-spent hot-bed manure and leaf soil 

 ! worked into it. In this the plants make a free and 

 vigorous growth ; and the shoots require to be thinned 

 out, and those retained to produce flowers well pegged 

 down regularly on the ground. As the time for 

 exhibiting draws near, lights should be placed on the 

 plants to protect the flowers from heavy dashing rain, 

 and to keep them pure in colour and clean, as it is 

 impossible to have them up to show-form without 

 some such protection. 



The usual method is to exhibit Verbenas in bunches 

 of five trusses of one variety ; and when the flowers 

 are in fine condition, a stand of cut Verbenas is a 

 pretty and attractive sight. Some of the varieties are 

 sweetly fragrant, which is an additional recommenda- 

 tion to notice. 



The Verbena is also a most useful summer bedding- 

 plant for the flower garden, and whether the beds be 

 filled with plants of only one or several varieties, they 

 are very effective when in good bloom. 



The French Government has conferred the Legion 

 of Honour on Mr. Martin J. Sutton, managing partner 

 of the firm of Sutton & Sons, Reading, as a special 

 recognition of the merits of the exhibits of that Firm at 

 the Paris Exhibition, and of the services thereby 

 rendered to horticulture and agriculture. 



