2 
Obe ♦flower (Brower 
January, 1918 
The Dahlia. 
By J. K. Alexander. 
[ Written rxprruly tor 1 tie F/ower (..rower . ] 
HISTORICAL. 
T HE DAHLIA is a native of Mexico, 
where they grew wild, and in their 
single state. Earliest history dates 
back to 1657, when it was called Ac- 
octli by the Aztec Indians. Later the 
name was changed to Georgiana, after 
Prof. Georgi of St. Petersburg, which 
name is still used in some of the foreign 
catalogues. It was again changed to 
Dahlia, in honor of Dr. Andrew Dahl, 
a Swedish Botanist. 
The Dahlia was first cultivated in 
the Botanic Gardens, at Madrid, Spain, 
in 1789, and at about the same time 
was introduced into England by the 
Marchioness of Bute. 
Dahlia Variabilis, from which most 
of the common or Show Dahlias have 
originated, was single in its wild state. 
The first double forms appeared in 1814 
and were credited to M. Donkelaar, of 
the Botanical Gardens of Belgium. The 
Pompon form appeared about 1858, 
followed by the Decorative, the origin 
of which is not clearly defined, but 
probably dates back some forty or fifty 
years. Dahlia Juarezi, the first Cactus 
Dahlia, was discovered in Juxphaor, 
Mexico, in 1872, by J. T. Vanderberg, 
and named Juarezi, in honor of Presi- 
dent Juarez of Mexico. It was sent by 
Vanderberg to an English florist, who 
exhibited it in England in 1880. 
Dahlia tubers or bulbs were used as 
a food in Mexico, and at one time in 
F ranee. It was attempted to introduce 
them into cultivation in all Europe as 
a food for either man or cattle, but the 
taste was found nauseous to European 
palates. 
STORAGE OF TUBERS. 
The subject of the proper storage of 
Dahlia tubers or roots has been greatly 
agitated. What I shall say upon the sub- 
ject will be in the light principally of 
my own experience, which, I might add, 
has been considerable, extending over 
a period of twenty-five years, and the 
handling literally of millions of bulbs. 
In the first place allow plenty of 
time for the bulbs to ripen off ; wait 
until the tops have been killed by frost 
or the plant has attained a natural 
maturity. The packing away of green 
roots has been responsible for a great 
deal of heating and consequent decay. 
When digging do not allow the tub- 
ers to be exposed to the sun more than 
an hour or two. If digging is done in 
the morning do not leave them out all 
day in the hot sun, get them into the 
cellar before noon. All that is desir- 
able is to have the outer skin dry ; and 
even that is not absolutely necessary. 
I have dug Dahlias on a cloudy day 
and hauled them in immediately, allow- 
ing no drying whatever, and had good 
results when storing them. 
The cellar where the roots are stored 
should be absolutely frost-proof, and 
great care should be exercised when 
storing away to keep them from com- 
ing in contact with the walls, as I find 
that in extreme weather frost will 
readily travel down the cellar walls. 
Indeed this is also true even if packed 
in boxes ; keep the sides of the box an 
inch or two from the walls. The tem- 
perature should be even and main- 
tained at an average of about 45 . 
The tubers should be packed in open 
bins, barrels or boxes, in clumps just 
as they are dug, and they should not 
be covered with any substance or ma- 
terial whatever. The practice, more 
or less common, of packing in earth, 
sand, ashes, sawdust and so on, should 
not be followed. It is entirely unnec- 
essary and often harmful, for the rea- 
son that a mass is formed which is 
always damp and impervious to air, 
causing mildew and decay. If possible 
there should be an air-space around 
each and every clump. 
The actual packing is simplicity 
itself. Place each clump upside down, 
that is, the cut end of the stalk should 
point towards the ground. Pack loosely, 
one on top of the other to any height 
desired. 
If the cellar contains a heater it is 
best to pack in boxes or barrels, lining 
each receptacle with heavy paper, sev- 
eral thicknesses, and covering with 
paper or burlap. This treatment will 
have a tendency to confine the moist 
air generated by the bulbs, thus pre- 
venting shriveling and drying up. 
If these few rules are followed I am 
sure that no difficulty will be found in 
wintering Dahlias. It is true that cer- 
tain varieties have greater tendency 
towards decay than others, but with 
reasonable care no serious trouble 
should be experienced. 
The Third Liberty Loan. 
The third liberty loan is expected to 
start the middle of February or the 
first of March and the amount of 
money to be raised is more than either 
of the previous loans. It is expected 
that those who have already subscribed 
to the two first liberty loans will do as 
well by the third loan and those who 
have not already subscribed are ex- 
pected to do so when the third loan 
starts. The number of men that this 
country has under arms is increasing 
and the amount of money required is 
very great. The word is to live eco- 
nomically and invest your savings in 
liberty bonds. Every citizen should 
from his savings contribute to the suc- 
cess of the war. 
Bound Volume IV of The Modern 
Gladiolus Grower will soon be ready. 
The four bound volumes contain, we 
are safe in saying, more Gladiolus in- 
formation than can be found in any 
other one publication in the world. 
Anyone wanting a set should order 
promptly. The price remains at $1.25 
per volume, $5.00 for the four, postage 
prepaid. It need not be inferred that 
The Flower Grower will contain any 
less information on the Gladiolus than 
The Modern Gladiolus Grower has. 
The good work will continue. 
[ li ritttn expressly tor The Flower (.1 rower. J 
There is a peculiar charm about the 
Irises that appeals irresistibly to those 
whose taste leads them to seek a close 
acquaintance with them. They fairly 
outrival the Orchid in the wide range 
of coloring, which includes yellows 
from light canary to deep golden ; 
blues, from soft lavender to intense 
purples ; reds, from pinkish mauve to 
claret and maroon ; beautiful bronzes 
and pure whites, and some are marked 
and margined with other colors in ex- 
quisite harmony. 
Irises are invaluable as cut flowers, 
if taken as the buds are about to open, 
and allowed to open indoors, the colors 
will be much clearer and the flowers will 
last a long time, for as fast as one 
flower fades the next bud will take its 
place, until all have opened. 
A dry sunny location suits them best. 
Avoid fresh manure when planting, in 
fact, all manure where German Iris 
are planted. To mulch them with 
strawy manure may injure your plants. 
If you mulch them, and this will be 
beneficial the first winter, when they 
are planted in the summer or fall, use 
straw or leaves. W. E. Fryer. 
Gladiolus — Mrs. Watt. 
[ Subject of illustration on front cover past. ] 
Originated some years ago by Mat- 
thew Crawford at Cuyahoga Falls, 
Ohio. It was first known as Crimson 
until a friend of Mr. Crawford’s, a 
Mrs. Watt, selected it as the best one 
in his collection and it was then named 
for her and has since been known by 
her name. 
Mr. Crawford reports that the va- 
riety is perfectly healthy and has good 
habits of growth. It is especially 
sturdy and not easily blown over and 
there are no crooked spikes and the 
flowers have always found a ready sale 
in any market. 
Gladiolus Mrs. Wait is a mid-season 
bloomer; height about 3 ft., possibly 
4 ft. under high culture. It always 
grows erect even under adverse con- 
ditions. The spike is medium in length 
and the flowers medium size. 
The color has been described by some 
as a "deep cerise,” but because of its 
great depth and velvety sheen, it is 
more perfectly described as a "brillant 
wine.” The bloom is of practically a 
solid color, all one shade, although 
some blooms show a trace of slightly 
deeper markings. 
The color illustration on the back 
page of this issue is, in our opinion, 
slightly different than the actual color 
of the variety Mrs. Watt and we should 
say that the flower had more of a 
velvety purple sheen than is indicated. 
The printers’ and engravers’ art fails, 
of course, to perfectly reproduce nat- 
ural colorings. 
Mrs. Watt is successfully grown in 
various parts of the United States. Its 
keeping qualities as a cut flower are 
above the average. It multiplies by 
division from the parent corm and 
freely by bulblets from small corms. 
