THE DAHLIA. 
The Dahlia is a native of Me.’.iCO, and before 
the invasion of Mexico by Cortez was grown b) 
the Aztecs under the name Acoctli. 
It was named Dahlia in honor of Professor 
Andrew Dahl, a Swedish Botanist, and was first 
cultivated in Europe about 130 years ago. 
Dahlia Variabilis, the forerunner of the com- 
mon or Show Dahlias, was single in its wild state. 
The first perfectly double flowers were obtained 
by M. Dankelaar o.f the Botannical Gardens of 
Belgium in 1814, and from this source came the 
well known double varieties so common in the gar- 
dens of the East a half century ago. 
Dahlia Juarezi, the original Cactus Dahlia, was 
named after a former President of Mexico, and 
was discovered in Juxphaor, Mexico, in 1872, bv 
J. T. Vanderberg, and sent by him to an English 
flroist who exhibited it in England in 1882. The 
graceful form and brilliant color of the flower a+ 
once captured the fancy of flower lovers, and to- 
day there is no flower more popular. 
The progeny of Dahlia Juarezi not only “broke” 
into various colors, but into different shapes as 
well. It was by selecting the most desirable of 
these and reselecting the finest from each succeed- 
ing generation of plants, that the Cactus Dahlia 
has been worked up to its present state of per- 
fection. The contrast between Juarezi and some 
of its gorgeous descendents, is so great that it 
almost staggers belief. 
The Pompon form appeared about 1858-1830. 
Next came the decorative type which is about 
forty years old and most recently the Hybrid 
Cactus and the peony class which dates back but 
a few years and are becoming very popular. 
Indeed, the marvelous transformation wrought 
in the wonderful flower in the past 34 years must 
seem to. those unacquainted with the possibilities 
of plant life more like a tale from Arabian Nights 
than actual reality. 
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