September 19, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
603 
Dahlias at Westminster 
jUwu&l SxWbiUow oi the K^.S. 
fresh quarters and are thus more likely to 
escape injury from damping during the win¬ 
ter months. The operation of transferring 
the small plants from the seed bed is a deli¬ 
cate one, and must be done with every care, 
and due caution is necessary to avoid injury 
by bruising. I find a large pin with its 
point hammered flat as suitable as anything 
for the purpose, and a pointed soft stick 
will also answer. There are different 
opinions as to how best to treat the young 
seedlings, whether to plant them several to¬ 
gether in a pot or to plant them out sepa¬ 
rately in very small pots. I have long held 
that the sooner a plant can be given a 
separate existence the better one is able to 
provide for its individual requirements, and 
I consider that in this way more rapid de¬ 
velopment of growth is secured. On the 
other hand where one has to deal with seed¬ 
lings in large quantities it is almost im¬ 
possible to treat the plants separately for 
want of space. Advocates of placing several 
plants together hold that, with the greater 
bulk of potting compost, there is not so 
much water required, and there is less risk 
of the plants damping off, but the amateur 
may be best advised to follow his own in¬ 
clinations, and will find out for himself the 
better way to treaf the young plants. The 
compost used for all seedlings should not be 
too coarse, and of the same nature as that 
used for the parent plant of the genus to 
which they 7 belong. 
More advanced seedlings that will require 
additional room, before the turn of the 
days, should have any repotting require¬ 
ments attended .to without delay. If we are 
to get the plants into a flowering state in a 
reasonable time it can only be done by keep¬ 
ing them in an active stage of growth from 
the time the seeds germinate until the flower¬ 
ing stage is reached. If we apply .the treat¬ 
ment of seedlings of other genera of plants 
to Orchid seedlings I am convinced we shall 
not err to any great extent, and it is advis¬ 
able also to study the seasons as to when 
repotting may' be best done. The excessive 
heat of summer and artificial fire heat are 
conditions which should be avoided as far as 
possible when disturbing young plants. 
H. J. Chapman. 
-f+4- 
Dahlia Jasper. 
The above is a show variety with neat 
and compactly built flowers of a rich dark 
purple. First-class Certificate from the 
National Dahlia Society' on September 
3rd, when shown by' Mr. S. Mortimer, 
Rowledge, Farnham. 
Cactus Dahlia Una. 
The blooms of this variety are of huge 
size and delicate soft pink, with remark¬ 
ably long florets cut into two to four 
fringes at the end and folded over the 
face of the flower. It is possibly' the type 
of a new race. First-class Certificate by' 
the National Dahlia Society' on Septem¬ 
ber 3rd, when shown by' Messrs. J. Bur¬ 
rell and Co., Cambridge. 
Pompon Cactus Dahlia Minima. 
The blooms of this variety are very 
small, exceedingly neat and maroon- 
purple. First-class Certificate by' the Na¬ 
tional Dahlia Society' on September 3rd, 
when shown by' Messrs. J. Burrell and 
Co., Cambridge. 
Single Dahlia Betty 
The ray's of this variety are rose- 
coloured, with a dark crimson zone round 
the centre. The bloom is neat, but mode¬ 
rate in size and very' distinct. First-class 
Certificate by the National Dahlia So¬ 
ciety on September 3rd, when shown by 
Messrs. Cheal and Sons, Crawley. 
The annual exhibition of the National 
Dahlia Socieiy was held at the Royal Hor¬ 
ticultural Hail, Vincent Square, West¬ 
minster, on the 3rd inst. It W'as held just 
after we had passed through a remarkable 
time of wind and rain, and it was natural 
to expect to see the evidence of damage. 
Whatever may have happened to the 
plants at home, there w T as, nevertheless, 
a splendid display of blooms, which, for 
all practical purposes, might be con¬ 
sidered perfect. Some of the very largest 
probably had been destroyed, necessi¬ 
tating the use of smaller ones for the ex¬ 
hibition, but in the opinion of many, 
Dahlias do not lose much if smaller than 
what could possibly be attained. 
Nurserymen. 
The class for forty-eight show Dahlias 
is the best to find out all the more popu¬ 
lar varieties for exhibition. We reter to 
the old show Dahlias with solid and 
rounded blooms. Air. John Walker, 
Thame, Oxon, took the lead here with 
such varieties as T. W. Girdlestone, Colo¬ 
nist, Eclipse, S. Alortimer, G. Rawlings, 
E. Britton, D. Cornish, J. Walker, Dr. 
Keynes, Wm. Keith, Gracchus, Duke of 
Fife, J. Bennett, Af. Staunton, H. Turner, 
A. Ucock, Chieftain, T. Pendred, Dandy, 
H. Keith and A. Rawlings. He was fol¬ 
lowed by Air. William Treseder, Cardiff, 
and Mr. S. Alortimer, Rowledge, Farn¬ 
ham, both these having exhibits that were 
only' inferior by' having the blooms 
slightly smaller. 
In the class for twenty-four show Dah¬ 
lias Mr. C. Turner, Slough, took the lead 
with fine blooms, followed by Air. M. V. 
Seale, Sevenoaks. The blooms of the lat¬ 
ter were distinctly smaller. 
Fancy Dahlias only differ from show 
varieties in being mottled and striped, or 
tipped with some paler colour. Some of 
these tipped Dahlias are very pretty, and 
for some years Airs. Saunders held almost 
a unique position. The flowers are y'el- 
low, tipped with white or soft lilac, but 
now several other varieties are closely 
similar and differ only in small particu¬ 
lars. These are Mrs. Browning, Mrs. 
Alortimer and William Sheldon. From a 
decorative point of view in the garden, 
little or nothing is gained in the way of 
effectiveness by having striped and 
mottled varieties, but when they are tip¬ 
ped with some lighter hue they' are very- 
conspicuous and effective, even from a 
distance. 
- Cactus Dahlias continue to be improved 
by the raising and introduction of varie¬ 
ties that differ from all their predecessors 
in some special particular, usually in the 
length and direction of the florets. The 
Silver Challenge Cup for eighteen varie¬ 
ties in bunches of six blooms each was 
secured by Messrs. James Stredwick and 
Son, Silverhill Park, St. Leonards. The 
varieties they exhibited are all new or 
relatively so. In our opinion, the most 
charming of them were those named 
Evening Star, Airs. Alfred Dyer, Herald, 
Satisfaction, Diadem and C. E. AA ilkins. 
The last-named is- a remarkable Dahlia, 
and secured the Silver Medal for the best 
bunch of Cactus - Dahlias in the show. 
Uiiier beauatul varieties in tlie stand were 
lvernia, Saxonia, Rev. T. W. Jamieson, 
Harold Peernian, Indomitable, Rev. A. 
Hall, J. B. Riding, Snowstorm, Rev. 
Arthur Bridge, Dorando, William Alar- 
shall and Dr. G. F. Gray. The second 
prize went to Alessrs. J. Burrell and Co., 
Cambridge, and the third to Alessrs. J. 
Cheal and Sons, Crawley', Sussex, who 
had some very charming varieties in their 
stand. 
The best twelve Cactus Dahlias in 
bunches of six blooms each were staged 
by Air. S. Alortimer, including Ruby 
Crinstead, William Marshall, Conrad, 
White Lady, Premier, Hyacinth, Lady 
Colin Campbell, Gazelle, Rainbow, Pilot, 
Adonis and Alexander. He was fol¬ 
lowed by Air. Al. A’. Seale. 
The alternative method of exhibiting 
Cactus Dahlias is to place them singly' 
on boards, as is the usual custom with 
show Dahlias. AA’e do not think they' have 
the same decorative effect, although it 
gives exhibitors an opportunity' of show¬ 
ing larger blooms than is desirable for 
bunches. Alessrs. J. Burrell and Co. led 
the way, followed by Alessrs. Keynes, Wil¬ 
liams and Co., Salisbury', and by Alessrs. 
James Stredwick and Son. All of the 
three exhibits were very good. 
For twenty-four varieties of Cactus 
Dahlias on boards, the prizes were taken 
by' Mr. Al. V. Seale, Air. W. Treseder 
and Alessrs. AA’. Pemberton and Son, in 
this order of merit. 
Pompon Dahlias are highly interesting 
in their way. because they' are more suit¬ 
able for cut flowers for decorative pur¬ 
poses than the old show Dahlias. They 
are of the same neat and regular form, 
but differ remarkably in size. Air. C. 
Turner had the best twenty-four set up 
in bunches of ten blooms each. All were 
remarkably neat and included Corsair, 
Rodney. Queen of AATrites, Marietta, Ne- 
rissa, Bacchus, Thora, Adela, Sibyl and 
Hesperia. Messrs. J. Cheal and Sons 
were a very good second, having a large 
number of very pretty and neat varieties 
in their stand. Air." Al. A T . Seale was 
third. 
For twelve Pompons in bunches of ten 
blooms each the prizes were taken by 
Alessrs. J. Burrell and Co. and Air. J. 
AValker, in this order. 
Single Dahlias were also as attractive 
as usual in the bright display of colours 
which they made. Like the Pompons, they 
are set up in bunches of ten. so that they 
may all face one way. The bunches 
shown by Alessrs. J. Cheal and Sons were 
triangular in outline and convex, not flat. 
They took the leading award for twenty- 
four bunches, including such charming 
flowers as Naomi Tighe, Aliss Norland. 
Leslie Seale, Aliss Roberts. Snowdrop, 
Kitty, Betty. A T esuvius, Princess of AA'ales, 
Peggy, Glencoe, Fugi San and Brilliant. 
Air. M. V. Seale was second. 
In the smaller class for twelve bunches 
single Dahlias Mr. J. AA’alker took the 
leading award. 
