GROWING, SHOWING, AND SHADING THE DAHLIA. 
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temperature, and this is secured by the ordi- 
nary flower-pot, which keeps off the wind and 
sun by day, and the chilly air of night. The 
disadvantage attending all this is, that a dirty 
white becomes a clean white, and is, therefore, 
shown artificially ; a yellow becomes lighter ; 
a purple or scarlet less brilliant ; a rose or 
crimson comes paler ; spotted and edged 
flowers lose their marks a good deal, and the 
stand formed with such flowers loses its bril- 
liancy altogether. It is idleness alone that 
causes the earwigs to beat us ; a want of early 
and incessant attention, which a boy could 
supply, so that we have no sympathy for 
people who pretend they must cover the Dahlia 
from them. If there must be artificial means, 
they ought to be used with some judg- 
ment. If we consider that the regulation of 
the temperature by covering increases the size 
of the flower, the means ought never to be 
applied to large flowers. Cleopatra last 
season was always shown large ; and the 
larger it was, the more faulty it was; while the 
smaller blooms were almost perfect models. 
We should unquestionably grow this without 
depriving it of its air and light, and if we 
shaded it at all, it should be with a distant 
shade. It cannot want any management with 
respect to its centre, for we have not a better 
eye in the whole family, nor one shown so often 
in a perfect state. There is no excuse, then, 
for covering it to bring up the centre. The 
colour is paler than some of the yellows, but we 
doubt if we saw a natural bloom last season ; 
and covering the light from a yellow flower will 
always make it a dip or two lighter. Upon the 
whole, we can hardly bring ourselves to agree 
with the very artificial mode of blooming 
Dahlias for show, and we have not much faith 
in the efficacy as to the bringing up of the 
centre. Of a hundred blooms of Dodd's-yellow, 
shown last season, not five had the centre at 
all well up, and not one quite perfect. It is the 
nature of deeply-cupped flowers to have bad 
centres, and the best are always those which 
are moderately-cupped, or not cupped at all. 
Take Essex-triumph for a good centre ; coarse 
as the flower is, there is never any deficiency 
in the eye; and if the whole list of varieties are 
examined, it will be found the same. Standard- 
of-perfection is difficult to show with a good 
centre, but its other points are like Dodd's- 
yellow, unexceptionable ; still there is a charm 
about perfect symmetry on the face of a flower 
and the eye which it is difficult to pass by. 
Some of our very knowing growers — people 
more cunning than the rest — discover that 
Cleopatra " is no use" — that is the favourite 
term. Now, it does so happen that those who 
do not grow Cleopatra lose one certain bloom, 
which, like the Essex-triumph, is never, per- 
haps, a great star in a stand, but always a 
sound, useful, and often an indispensable flower; 
for unless growers happen to have a fine 
bloom of Admiral Stopford, they often waul 
the Triumph among twelve, but in twenty-four 
they want it even if they have Stopford ; and 
so with regard to Cleopatra, those who have it 
not will lose a certainty of a useful flower, 
which no yellow can touch once in a score 
times, and they will repent when too late to 
repair the error; for June is late for planting 
out, except for the late shows. Let those, 
however, who grow two plants, grow one with- 
out shading, and we shall see what they can do 
best with. Lady Sale is one of these flowers 
which we pronounce will be literally good for 
nothing, if its character be destroyed by grow- 
ing it in the dark. The bright yellow will turn 
straw-colour, and the red edge will, for the most 
part, disappear, or turn a cloudy brown ; in 
which state it will hurt, instead of help, a stand, 
and damage the credit of the flower itself. 
Hudson's Princess Eoyal, one of the most 
beautiful when in perfection, has been shown 
these three seasons out of character, so much so, 
that the colours cannot be recognised; and, ex- 
cept by those who know every variety by its 
form and general features, even while out of 
character, the flower could not be known as 
the same that was shown as a seedling in such 
fine order. It is now shown almost waxy white 
in the ground, and the tips are pale and unin- 
teresting, and this arises solely from growing 
it in the dark. Ansell's Unique is almost lost 
sight of from the same cause. The tip, which 
gave it a decided lift in the scale of Dahlias, 
has been lost, as it has been shown since shad- 
ing deeply has been resorted to, like a yel- 
low, and little bits of smudge here and there, 
— which is all that has been seen of its tip, — 
have been just sufficient to make it a dirty self, 
instead of a clean tipped flower. We regret 
that florists can never do anything in mode- 
ration. Because one thing does better covered, 
they jump at the conclusion that all things will: 
and as soon as Roses are shown in stands and 
single blooms, like Dahlias, there will, no doubt, 
be plenty who will conclude that, as some 
Dahlias do better for shading, Roses must also. 
We could go through the popular flowers of 
the day, and show that many are not shown 
in their natural character through this pot- 
covering system, and that the flowers are 
thereby destroyed in quality. Many which 
have white grounds, and purple or rose edgings 
or tips, are equally damaged by close covering, 
and the marks are indistinct and less vivid for 
it ; but, if there were nothing else, the flowers 
that are openly grown, will last a week longer 
in perfection than those which have been 
nursed under the various contrivances for in- 
creasing the size, and, as the growers errone- 
ously conclude, perfecting the centre. 
