1881 .] 
AMERICAN AGRIC U LT U RIS T. 
107 
New Single and other Dahlias. 
The double Dahlia variabilis, in its in¬ 
numerable varieties, is so generally cultivated 
to the exclusion of others, that we speak of 
it as the Dahlia, as if it were the only one. 
No doubt some of our readers recollect when 
this Dahlia was first introduced to our gar¬ 
dens, and the wonderful change that has con¬ 
verted the single or semi-double kinds into 
the nearly globular, perfectly doubled and j 
q uill ed, choice florists’ varieties. We do not 
admire the florists’ Dahlia; the flowers are 
heavy and the stems are weak, grasshoppers 
attack the flowers, and borers riddle the 
stalks, and after much trouble with sticks 
and strings, liquid manures, and fights with 
insects, we are fortunate if we get a fan- 
bloom before frosts kill the plants. The flow¬ 
ers are so thoroughly mechanical and utterly 
wanting in the grace and beauty that we look 
for in flowers, that we have come to the con- ! 
elusion that paper or other artificial flowers 
are quite as beautiful and cost much less. 
The culture of the fancy varieties of the 
Dahlia has greatly declined since 25 or 30 
years ago, when novelties in England brought 
one to ten guineas each, for a little rooted 
cutting, and some of our amateurs imported 
them even at those prices. While we have 
very little interest in florists’ or “fancy” 
dahlias, mere balls of color, we are glad to 
see other species introduced, which are of 
easier culture, quite as effective for forming 
masses of color and, which the old style is 
not* and never can be, really useful as cut 
flowers, especially for large floral decorations. 
In a recent visit to several English gardens, 
we were struck with the beauty and useful¬ 
ness of these newer dahlias, even in that 
cool climate, and thought how much more 
effective they would be under our bright suns, i 
Upon mentioning these on our return, to j 
Peter Henderson, we found that this wide- I 
the “ cactus dahlia ” ( Dahlia 'Juarezii). 
awake florist had anticipated our suggestions, 
and had already imported some of the most 
desirable of these plants. Already have the 
species broken up into varieties known by 
florists' names. Among the real or nominal 
species, besides the common Dahlia ( D. vari¬ 
abilis), there are now offered : Dahlia impe¬ 
rials, D. coccinea, D. Mexicana, D. gracilis, 
D. Cervantesii, and D. Juarezii , and numer¬ 
ous varieties have already been derived from 
some of them. Dahlia imperialis, which we 
figured several years ago, is a grand plant, 
but it requires so long a season that it is of 
no use in northern gardens. The varieties 
of D. gracilis and D. coccinea form com¬ 
pact bushes, three feet high 
or less, with excellent foli¬ 
age, and a profusion of 
single flowers, usually about 
the size of a half dollar, 
with a yellow disk, and 
ample ray flowers, all the 
way from pure white, 
through various yellows, 
lilacs, and scarlets, to the 
darkest, velvety maroon. 
Then- profuse bloom and 
the brilliancy of their flow¬ 
ers commend them at once. 
One of the most striking 
of all these new Dahlias is 
D. Juarezii, whether a spe¬ 
cies or not is difficult to 
decide in its present curi¬ 
ously half-doubled state. 
It was introduced into cul¬ 
tivation from Mexico, by 
the way of Holland, and is 
altogether a striking novel¬ 
ty. The foliage and habit 
of the plant are good, while 
the flowers are so unlike 
those of any other as to 
make the common name of 
“Cactus Dahlia” properly 
descriptive, as they remind 
one in their form and bril¬ 
liant scarlet color, of the 
flower of some of the Cacti. 
The engraving gives the 
flower of about half of its 
real size. Peter Henderson 
speaks of it in his cata¬ 
logue as ‘ 1 the grandest 
novelty of the year.” Some 
of these newer Dahlias will 
make excellent plants for 
pot culture, as they readily 
submit to being dwarfed. Like the older 
sorts, they are not in the least hardy, but 
their roots must be kept with the same care 
that we give to potatoes and other tubers. 
tensest colors that are almost blue-black. 
Some have a sprawling habit, but this can be 
overcome whenever some one will take them 
in hand, and raise choice varieties. One of 
the latest additions to the list of perennial 
species is from the mountains of Cashmere,. 
Delphinium Cashmerianum. It has a good 
blue color, and its flowers are of a somewhat 
A New Larkspur—The “Cashmerean.” 
The Larkspurs, Delphiniums, are general 
favorites, perhaps for the reason that whether 
among the low growing annuals or the often 
stately perennials, the flowers are for the 
most part blue, and often of some shade of 
that color rarely to be met with elsewhere. 
The old annual Rocket Larkspurs we rarely 
see now-a-days, yet they give flower spikes 
almost as handsome as Hyacinths and with 
great range of color. It is probably because, 
to have them at their best, they should be, 
like most early blooming hardy annuals, 
sown in fall, and the young plants wintered 
under a slight covering. Most amateurs, 
full of garden zeal in early spring, have 
hardly learned to think so far ahead. But in 
the perennials, from the Double Chinese to 
the Bee Larkspur in its varieties, often as 
tall as the tallest gardener, the list is now 
long, including the still rare scarlet California 
species, and presenting blues from that choice 
shade known as “porcelain-blue,” to the in- 
the “ cashmerean ” larkspur (Delphinium Cashmerianum). 
globose shape, so unlike that of most Lark¬ 
spurs that one might not at first suspect it to 
belong to the genus. The engraving shows 
the peculiar shape of the flowers; there is 
nothing in the foliage especially different 
from the related perennial species. The habit 
of the plant is unfortunately “sprawly,” or 
as botanists would say, decumbent, and on 
this account it is better suited to the rockery 
or wild garden than to a border where neat¬ 
ness is desirable. This species, whether as a 
subject for careful selection or for hybridiz¬ 
ing with other species, promises excellent re¬ 
sults to the careful cultivator. The species 
has proved hardy in England for two win¬ 
ters previous to the present unusually severe 
one. Messrs. Woolson & Co., Passaic, N. J., 
with whom it flowered last year, inform us 
that they felt so confident of its hardiness 
that they left their stock in the open ground. 
Horseraxlisli. —In answer to many we 
say that horseradish can only be profitably 
cultivated as an annual crop. The set plant¬ 
ed in spring becomes a large root by fall, 
with but few side roots, and should then be 
dug. If left in the ground a second year, the 
branch roots of the horseradish plant grow 
large and are very difficult to eradicate. 
