April 27, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
547 
THE DAHLIA.* 
The Dahlia, of which there are several species, 
although probably not more than one is materially 
responsible for the varieties now cultivated in gardens, 
is a native of Mexico, where it was originally found 
growing in sandy meadows at an elevation of 5,000 ft. 
above the sea, by Hernandez, physician to Philip II. of 
Spain ; and it is consequently natural enough that the 
plant should have made its first appearance in Europe 
at Madrid, where Dahlia variahilis was flowered by 
Professor Cavanilles in the Royal Gardens from seed 
received from Mexico in 1789, the Professor naming his 
acquisition in honour of Andreas Dahl, a distinguished 
Swedish botanist and pupil of Linn reus. 
At that time Lord Bute was English ambassador at 
Madrid, and in the same year—that is to say just 100 
years ago—Lady Bute sent seeds home to the Royal 
Gardens at Kew, and thus first introduced the Dahlia 
into England. Seed was also sent in 1804 by Lady 
Holland, who brought it in that year from Madrid ; 
and it was among the seedlings then raised in the 
gardens of Holland House under the care of Mr. 
Buonaniti that the two first double varieties seen in 
Europe were obtained. 
These varieties have been sometimes referred to as 
the first double Dahlias ; but if report says true, double 
flowers must have been known in Mexico long before 
the Dahlia was introduced into Europe at all, for in the 
Floricultural Cabinet for 1858 it is recorded that 
“Figures of a single and double Dahlia have been found 
in an old work on the natural history of Mexico, 
published at Rome in 1651. In this work there is a 
very correct figure of a double Dahlia under the name 
of Cocoxochitl, with violet-coloured ray florets and a 
very conspicuous yellow disc. ’’ 
Of other species the stately Dahlia arborea is not 
hardy enough to be grown out of doors in this country, 
and is not generally considered to be worthy of house 
room. It appears doubtful whether Dahlia coccinea 
can be maintained as a good species ; and although 
frequent attempts have been made to employ the pretty 
little Dahlia glabrata (of which seeds were sent from 
Mexico to the Royal Horticultural Society by George 
Frederick Dickson, and of which a good figure was 
published in the Botanical Magazine in 1840) as a 
means of obtaining plants of dwarf habit, the varieties 
raised, while sometimes of small stature, have rarely 
been valuable, on account of their weak flower stems, 
whereby the flowers, being more or less pendulous, are 
ineffective on the plant. 
A footnote to the page on which the description of 
Dahlia glabrata occurs in the 26th volume of the 
Botanical Magazine, giving the reasons why the name 
of the plant should be pronounced “Dahlia,” and not 
“Dalea,” is worthy of the consideration of the Dahlia¬ 
growing public. 
For practical purposes, therefore, the Dahlias of 
gardens may be regarded as varieties of Dahlia varia- 
bilis—perhaps the best-named plant in the world ; and 
a good figure of an early variety of this unstable flower 
may be found in the first volume of the Botanical 
Magazine, where a large single flower is portrayed 
having rich velvety crimson petals (as the ray florets 
are generally called by gardeners for convenience) 2 ins. 
long, but decidedly narrow, and with a not very con¬ 
spicuous yellow disc, whose diameter is hardly more 
than a seventh of that of the whole flower. This plant 
is described as having been received from France, 
where, about 1800, the cultivation of the Dahlia was 
energetically undertaken for the sake of the tubers, 
which were said to be eatable. They proved, however, 
too acrid either for man or beast, and the French 
growers then turned their attention to the flower, with 
the result that for some years the number of new 
varieties imported from Paris was considerable. 
As soon as double flowers were obtained the singles 
seem to have been entirely discarded ; at any rate, they 
disappeared from the catalogues, and the florists waged 
a war of extermination against the yellow eye of the 
natural flower. 
In the Annual Dahlia Register for 1836 there is an 
interesting series of excellent coloured plates of the 
Dahlias most in vogue among exhibitors at that time, 
but of all the three or four dozen varieties figured 
there are only three or four that have the quilled petals 
that characterise the modern Show Dahlia. Nearly all 
the flowers are flat-petalled, being of much the same 
character as what are now becoming so popular as 
“Decorative Dahlias”; and when it is stated that 
Picta formosissima was frequently seen in winning 
* A paper read at a meeting of the Horticultural Cluh on the 
9th inst. hy Mr. T. W. Girdlestone. 
stands, at any rate up till about 1840, those who have 
grown that “grand old Dahlia” recently, will easily 
realise the extent of the development of the modern 
Show Dahlia. 
This development must nevertheless have been 
rapid between 1840 and 1850, for in a treatise on the 
Dahlia, by Robert Hogg, published in 1853, there occur 
some coloured plates by Andrews of some of the flowers 
then most fashionable, which do not differ materially, 
except in point of size, from the present Show type, 
though nearly all lack finish and refinement. 
A careful examination of these plates should make it 
easy to disprove the statement, which has been so often 
made, that Show Dahlias are no better now than they 
were thirty years ago. If the statement were true the 
question would immediately arise, Why are not these 
older varieties exhibited ? For a glance at Mr. 
Mawley’s careful records of the Dahlias exhibited for the 
last six years at the National Dahlia Show, reveals the 
fact that hardly one of these is of earlier date than 
somewhere in the ’70’s. 
Very early in the day varieties with striped or spotted 
flowers seem to have been obtained, but they were gener¬ 
ally inferior in form and size to the self-coloured blooms. 
Presumably on this account a distinction was made 
between “Show” and “ Fancy ” flowers, so that the 
latter might be exhibited by themselves, and their 
improvement encouraged. The distinction has been a 
puzzling one to many beginners in Dahlia culture at 
various times, not only because Fancies so often come 
self, but because a flower with a light tipis a “ Fancy,>’ 
but a flower with a dark tip is not. 
In the Floricultural Cabinet for 1860, an article on 
new Dahlias signed “ D.” begins as follows :—“ ‘Tell 
me where does fancy dwell ? ’ (this is given in inverted 
commas, presumably as a quotation, but the author’s 
name is not mentioned !), for certainly it is most 
puzzling to tell what are the principles on which the 
separation has been made —white with a purple tip is a 
‘Dahlia,’ but purple with white tip is a ‘Fancy.’ 
Very odd ! However, the division is made, and there 
I suppose it will remain, so we must abide by it.” 
However, the distinction served its turn, and now that 
fancies have been raised to the level of the best show 
sorts, the separation of the striped and tipped flowers 
from the seifs has been to a great extent abolished at 
the exhibitions of the National Dahlia Society. 
In addition to these two classes, now merged in one 
under the appellation of Show Dahlias, there are three 
other types, recognised in these days even by exhibitors 
—namely, the Pompon, the decorative (or Cactus), and 
the single Dahlia. Of these the first has flowers 
similar in form to the show type, but much less in 
size ; the second are most admired when possessing flat 
petals, the type being Dahlia Juarezii, which was 
imported (I believe) direct from Mexico, hy way of 
Portugal or Spain, and whose petals are flat, pointed, 
and slightly twisted; while the single Dahlias re¬ 
present the natural form of the flower in the wild state, 
only greatly improved in outline and substance. 
The culture of all Dahlias is simple in the extreme, 
as they will grow in almost any soil or situation, but in 
the case of the show type considerable experience is 
needed to know which varieties should for exhibition 
purposes be vigorously thinned out and disbudded, 
and which will only thereby be rendered coarse and 
ungainly. For the points of merit in a show Dahlia 
remain the same as when first laid down any number of 
years ago—namely, first form, then colour, and lastly 
size ; for it is only “ when other properties are equal 
that size will determine the preference,” and “in no 
instance should either form or colour be sacrificed to 
size” (vide Floriculture, by J. Mantel, F.L.S., about 
1834). 
There is another important point that was insisted 
upon by the older florists, but which has often been 
neglected hy modern raisers to the injury of the 
reputation of the Dahlia as a garden plant—namely, 
that “ the flower should be erect and stand completely 
above the foliage.’’ Varieties are not infrequently met 
with having flower-stems so weak that the flowers are 
pendulous and quite ineffective on the plant. In fact, 
habit of growth in Dahlias of all classes is a matter 
which ought to obtain the most careful consideration of 
all raisers. 
It may perhaps be of interest to enumerate the 
twelve best fancies and eighteen best show Dahlias for 
exhibition, according to Mr. Mawley’s analyses of the 
National Show for the past six years. They are :— 
Twelve best fancy—Gaiety, Mrs. Saunders, Rev. J. B. 
M. Camm, Chorister, Flora Wyatt, Henry Eckford, 
Mrs. N. Halls, Professor Fawcett, George Barnes, 
Duchess of Albany, General Gordon, John Forbes. 
Eighteen best show—Mrs. Gladstone, Hon. Mrs. P. 
Wyndham, James Cocker, Harry Keith, Henry Walton, 
William Rawlings, Goldfinder, J. T. West, Mr. L. 
Harris, Mrs. W. Slack, T. J. Saltmarsh, Ethel Britton, 
Prince of Denmark, Mrs. Langtry, Prince Bismarck, 
Colonist, Joseph Ashby, James Vick. 
The mode of exhibiting show Dahlias on green boards 
is regretable, but it is not easy to see what to propose 
instead, so it must go. 
All the other sections, however—Pompon, decorative, 
and single—are exhibited with very telling effect in 
bunches of about ten (or six) flowers each ; and now 
that ingenious wire frames have been devised for the 
staging and safe travelling of the bunches, there is 
comparatively little trouble in exhibiting them, and it 
may be hoped that amateur competitors will rapidly 
become very numerous in the classes provided for these 
sections at the autumn shows. 
The statement frequently made that it is not worth 
while to grow named varieties of single Dahlias because 
just as good maybe obtained from any packet of seed is 
absurd. Seedlings may be raised without the least 
difficulty by the thousand, but not one in a hundred 
will be worth growing, and intending exhibitors are 
counselled not to depend for flowers to show upon their 
own seedlings. 
Among singles, no one should omit to plant Amos 
Perry, Enchantment, Formosa, Mr. Kennett, Walter 
Ware, and Mrs. J. Coninck ; and some of the most 
beautiful of the decorative Dahlias are Charming Bride, 
Panthea, Prince of Wales, Henry Patrick, King of 
Cactus, Empress of India, Lady Marsham, and Mrs. 
Hawkins, in addition, of course, to Juarezii. 
The year 1889 being the centenary of the intro¬ 
duction of the Dahlia into England, the National 
Dahlia Society propose to hold a Dahlia Conference on 
the first day (September the 6th) of their great exhi¬ 
bition of Dahlias at the Crystal Palace, when it is 
desired that there should be displayed as complete, and 
if possible historical, a collection of Dahlias as can he 
gathered together. It is confidently hoped that all 
florists will afford the National Dahlia Society their 
heartiest support, and then there will be no doubt that 
the celebration of the centenary of one of the most 
invaluable garden plants ever introduced will he 
worthy of the record and development in English 
gardens of what has been not inaptly styled the queen 
of autumn flowers. 
■-—- 
ffoTES FROM SCOTLAND. 
Vegetable Marrows. —Where these have to be 
grown without permanent glass protections, failures in 
securing a supply of fruits may result from the plants 
being raised too early in the season, together with 
being pushed on rapidly in warmth, and finally planted 
in their fruiting quarters without being previously 
hardened off thoroughly, and in some cases left without 
even temporary protection. In cold backward districts 
where planting out is better left till about June 1st, 
the present time will not be too late to sow. Good 
seeds may be placed singly in 5-in. pots, putting them 
in moderate warmth till the young plants are well up, 
and gradually inuring them to cool - treatment in a 
frame near the glass. Plants raised at this time and 
so treated will be much more likely to withstand the 
fluctuations of temperature they may have to endure 
afterwards, and yield a fair crop of fruit, than such as 
are raised some weeks earlier, and have become 
stunted or injured from too hasty planting out. 
Careful and regular attention as to watering must not 
be neglected, and occasional applications of tepid 
liquid manure when the plants are in their fruiting 
quarters will be of much benefit to them. 
A simple but good system of raising Marrows in the 
open is by taking out a trench, as if for Celery, on a 
warm border, and after filling it with good manure, 
the soil is replaced, and the Marrows planted on the 
ridge thus formed. If a hand-glass can be placed over 
each plant for a few days so much the better. I have 
seen fine Marrows obtained from plants grown on 
a vinery border, but this is a most objectionable 
practice, more especially if roots are plentiful near the 
surface, as it is desirable they should be, and it is 
needless to say that if persisted in results more or less 
injurious to the Vines will be sure to follow. We 
have usually been fairly successful in the cultivation 
of Vegetable Marrows on dung beds without permanent 
glass protection ; but hopeful of better results we have 
resolved in future to take advantage of parts of a pit 
recently erected for forcing Potatos, when these were 
lifted at the end of May. The bed of dung and leaves 
made up for Potatos, with the addition of a top¬ 
dressing of good soil, will form an excellent bed for 
growing Vegetable Marrows also. The variety known 
as the Long-fruited Marrow is commonly grown in 
the open, but the superior quality of Moore’s Cream 
renders it a favourite with some growers. — D. Mackie, 
Ayrshire. 
