REMARKS ON THE DAHLIA. 
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break oft* here, in order to return to the other gardens to which you 
have not yet been introduced, but where we shall meet in my next 
letter. Meantime, remaining your’s, &c. 
A. B. 
FLORICULTURE. 
REMARKS ON THE DAHLIA. 
To the Editor of the Horticultural Register. 
Sir, — I take the liberty of addressing myself to you on the subject 
of the Dahlia, as I have not seen any article on that flower since I have 
been a subscriber. The dahlia has become one of the fashionable 
flowers, and also very generally grown by all classes, and is now held 
in the same esteem as the tulip was formerly, though by no means has 
it arrived at that state of perfection which the tulip has attained. Still 
it is one of the most showy and ornamental flowers in general cultiva¬ 
tion, and worthy of any care, as I believe it has not nearly reached 
the acme of its perfection. Five years ago there was scarcely a good 
double dahlia compared with those now in cultivation ; and in ten years 
more, if the mania lasts so long, new ones will throw into shade even 
the beautiful Criterion or the Springfield Rival, which I consider as 
good as any that have been produced; the former for its beautiful 
colouring of purple tip and white ground, the latter for its compact and 
perfect form. 
Allow me to add a few remarks on the cultivation. The dahlia being 
tuberous-rooted, like the Jerusalem artichoke, it is therefore generally 
supposed that a light soil suits these plants best; blit with the dahlia 
a light or too rich a soil is bad, as the one produces too great a quantity 
of root, which is not the object, as in the potato, and the other causes it 
to produce too much top, and foliage of a dark colour, producing flowers, 
neither so perfect, nor are they so clear coloured. But the soil which 
suits these flowers best, in my opinion, is one naturally good,—neither 
light nor heavy, but between the two, and which has not been too long 
under garden cultivation. This soil I have tried with the greatest 
success ; the colours are clear, and the flowers are generally more perfect 
than the same sorts in a much richer soil. There is another advantage 
in this kind of soil: it is cooler and more damp in dry weather than a 
very light one; and this is very requisite to the dahlia, as it improves 
the colour, and keeps the plant in a more moderate state of growth. 
Amongst the most beautiful of these flowers are the two varieties 
above-named. The Queen of Dahlias is equally handsome, being 
