MARCH. 
47 
of Wales (Keynes), pale blush ground slightly edged with lilac, a very pretty 
flower of fine form. The following Fancies received the same award :— 
Butterfly (Keynes), a light ground flower with scarlet and brownish crimson 
stripes, large, full, and of fine form; and Miss Ruth (Eckford), yellow 
ground tipped with white, a free and constant flower. Second-class certifi¬ 
cates were awarded to the following:— Aurora (Rawlings), a medium-sized 
flower of good form, colour bright rose; Flambeau (Turner), one of the 
flowers of the season, colour rich deep chrome yellow, heavily edged and 
tipped with scarlet lake, a most striking exhibition flower. Flossy Gill 
(Keynes), a beautiful light ground flower, edged with pink, and of fine form; 
Gazelle (Keynes), a constant flower of good quality, colour clear fawn; 
Harriett Tetter ell (Keynes), blush ground deeply margined with dark purple, 
a flower likely to become a standard variety for its obvious useful qualities ; 
Hon. Airs. G. Wellesley (Bragg), base of the flower white, heavily edged and 
tipped with purple, good petal and outline; John Sladden (Rawlings), a dark 
crimson flower of excellent form, scarcely shown in good condition as a 
seedling; Lady Jane Ellis (Eckford), a promising show flower, ground colour 
creamy white tipped with purplish rose; Lord Lyon (Fellowes), rich violet, 
a decided acquisition in point of colour, constant, and of fine form ; Mrs. 
Burgess (Burgess), a very novel flower, the body of the petals being lilac 
with an edging of maroon; Mrs. Thornhill (Pitfield), a delicate ground 
flower, the edges of the petals being beautifully feathered with pink ; Star- 
light (Turner), a “ taking ” yellow ground flower distinctly tipped with lake; 
Valentine (Fellowes), a pretty light flower, almost pure white, with a thin 
edging of deep purple, a flower of excellent properties ; and Vanguard 
(Wheeler), deep purplish maroon, a large but somewhat flat flower as shown. 
To these may be added the following that did not receive any award of 
merit as far as can be ascertained:— Commander (Bragg), a large, bold, rich 
orange buff flower; Mephistopheles (Headley), almost black, valuable only 
for its colour, but a good bloom would “ tell ” as a front-row flower ; and 
Picotee (Fellowes) a very delicate and handsome flower, colour pale primrose 
lightly margined with purple. Judging from the awards, it may be safely 
inferred that seedling Dahlias of the past year have possessed more than an 
ordinary share of good qualities, and among these may be classed pre¬ 
eminently, I think, that great desideratum—novelty of colour. The Fancy 
varieties have not evidenced, in so marked a manner, the march of improve¬ 
ment. Bessie Wyatt (Keynes), was the only one awarded a second-class cer¬ 
tificate ; it is a full-sized white ground flower, with red stripes. Plausible 
(Keynes), is about the best flower of those “ not placed,” to use a racing 
phrase. The ground colour is a mixture of red and crimson with purple 
stripes, and Mr. Keynes thinks very highly of its worth. 
{To be continued .) 
REMARKS ON FRUIT TREE CULTURE.—No. 18 . 
It is probable that my last remarks may be looked upon as rather 
rambling and discursive, if not reiterative, for which, however, I make no 
apology, as I know that it is only by a constant reiteration of a truth that 
it becomes printed on the brain, or, in other words, impressed on the 
memory; and as I write for recruits and not for veterans (many of whom 
know better than myself all about it), I would direct the attention of all 
young practitioners to the periodical recurrence of great fruit years, and to 
