80 
DESCRIPTIVE FLOWER LISTS. — THE DAHLIA. 
discontinue it altogether. The most effectual 
check put upon this wholesale deception was 
by the plan of proving flowers one season 
after they were raised, and exhibiting them 
during the season of bloom. This enabled 
persons to buy flowers of their own choosing 
to assist their collections, and but few were 
content with the descriptions, while they had 
seen enough for these purposes with their 
own eyes. The prizes awarded to seedlings 
by the Metropolitan Society of Florists are, 
generally speaking, a tolerable guide ; but 
even there it was difficult to find a judge who 
would, on looking at a flower, keep in his 
mind all it ought to be. A novelty in colour 
was sure to charru even an old fancier ; a 
brilliant tip, or well-contrasted shade, or a 
delicate margin, would close his eyes against 
long or notched petals, confused eyes, and 
starry outlines. There was no resisting 
novelty. Even up to a late day a new colour 
would secure the safe passing of a very mid- 
dling form ; for we have instances before us, 
even within the past two or three years, of 
coarse, long, reflexed petals, opening like so 
many funnels, and doubling under, to form 
almost a globe, passing what may be called 
an ordeal, as a first-class flower, whereas, had 
it been any other colour, it had been called 
coarse and bad. There is, however, some- 
thing to be said in favour of even this case ; 
for it may well be argued, that we cannot 
attain all points perfect at once, therefore a 
decidedly new colour must be seized when it 
can be had, and retain its place until some- 
thing of the same colour comes of a better 
form. In the present day, as heretofore, size 
has a great charm for many persons ; and 
even judges will not lose sight of what is 
called fine growth, while they give the neces- 
sary attention to the outline and the centre. 
Compactness is so essential to the character of 
all flowers, that size, unless diminutive indeed, 
should be a secondary quality in all men's 
eyes. The style of flower, which, after some 
years of writing, and showing, and judging 
the Dahlia, seems now to prevail, is greatly 
improved upon the old, large, and but ill- 
shaped varieties. "We have no Wilmot's 
Superbs and Nymphea Floras, eight or nine 
inches across ; but we have neat, round, close, 
symmetrical Queens of Roses, Nonpareils, and 
Standards of Perfection; and each year of late 
has added something worth keeping. The pre- 
sent year, perhaps, is prolific of second class 
flowers, useful, but faulty ; several of the new 
ones beat old ones of the same character. 
Thus, the Marchioness of Ormond has com- 
pletely beaten Bridesmaid when at her very 
best ; yet Bridesmaid beat the Maid of Bath, 
and was a very interesting variety, indeed it 
was at times exceedingly beautiful ; and this 
said Marchioness of Ormond is, according to 
a very good authority, the best new flower of 
the season, and will probably be the flower of 
the season. All the rest of this year's flowers 
have some offensive fault; some, and even 
some of the best of them, have confused eyes, 
or points or notches at the ends of the petals, 
or are loose, and want compactness. The 
yellow, called Cleopatra, would be called a 
coarse flower if it were a purple instead of 
yellow ; but all people seem very anxious to 
add yellows and whites. Defiance and Argo 
both grow well and show well at present, and 
they frequently beat Dodd's Prince of Wales, 
which, from its exceeding doubleness and sunk 
eye, is rarely good enough to show, though 
people obstinately put it in a stand in that bad 
state, as if they wished to condemn the flower 
instead of showing their best conditioned 
blooms. The uncertainty of the Dahlia has 
long been the subject of great speculation; 
but it is its uncertainty which makes people 
fly with more avidity to new varieties, and 
praise moderate or even inferior flowers that 
come constant. Some grow a great number 
of a sort, and very few sorts ; others grow 
many varieties, and not more than two of a 
sort ; and the latter will often be able to show 
when the former cannot, because all Dahlias 
have their seasons; and he who grows the 
greatest variety of flowers (so that they be 
show-flowers) will always have a better chance 
of showing a given number of blooms than he 
who grows fewer sorts and the same number 
of plants. Some Dahlias grow best early in 
the season, others best late. One instance 
occurred the last season, among the new 
flowers. Sir John Stewart Richardson was 
beautiful all August, but went off a good deal 
as September advanced ; and at the last show, 
as we observe by a summary in the Gar- 
den Almanack, it was in but few stands ; 
while Lady Antrobus and Standard of Perfec- 
tion were in every one, or nearly every one, in 
the room. In some cases a Dahlia is constant 
enough in ordinary condition, but can seldom 
be caught in first-rate condition ; such flowers 
are more frequently condemned by first-rate 
florists than by common people, because in 
their ordinary condition they are offensive, 
and hardly expected to be otherwise. "We 
once saw a bloom of Nicholas Nickleby, 
the most confused and ill-conditioned, ill- 
coloured variety in existence, in such fine 
order, that, had we been a judge, we should 
have thought it could hardly be surpassed in 
form ; but it was the only time we saw it so ; 
and we might have been deceived into giving 
it a good character for the one season, had we 
not seen other blooms to create a doubt. The 
uncertainty of the flower is, nevertheless, one 
of the great charms of the fancy ; it is impos- 
