266 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
feet in height, and with the blooms standing high above the 
foliage, which gives a most conspicuous effect to the natural 
beauty of its form and the splendour of its colouring. The form 
is almost perfect, with great depth of petals, and an excellent 
rising centre, such as cannot be imitated by any of the usual 
plugging and trickery sometimes played off, or at least attempted, 
at exhibitions; and thus it is an excellent show Dahlia. It is a 
seedling of 1840 ; and that year it was exhibited at Chichester, 
and there only, where it received the first prize. In order to 
prove the fact of its continuing true to its character, it was again 
brought forward in the present season, met with general admira¬ 
tion, and received many prizes. 
In order to obtain compact and handsome plants, and blooms 
of the finest description, it is desirable to pinch off the top when 
the plant attains about a foot in height. This makes it throw 
out many and vigorous side shoots, which may be afterwards 
thinned out if they appear too numerous ; and if the blooms are 
intended for exhibition, as many of the neighbouring buds may 
be pinched off as may appear to be necessary. When the petals 
begin to expand, they must be protected by shades from rain and 
the direct action of the sun ; because the more exquisite the 
colours, and the more close and perfect the bloom, it is the more 
easily injured by either of these. 
The Dahlia belongs to the Syngenesia superflua of Linnaeus ; 
and to Ecliptece , the sixth subtribe of Composites of the natural 
system. It is named after Andrew Dahl, a Swedish botanist, and 
was first introduced into Britain in 1789. At first it attracted 
but little attention, and no great care was taken of it. It was 
then a flower of variable colours, with a broad disc, and a single 
whorl of petals. From that time to 1820, there were six importa¬ 
tions, all different in the colours of the flowers ; and they are 
sometimes reckoned six species ; but the probability is, that, like 
the vast variety of cultivated ones, they are all one species ; and 
the mode of treating the whole of them is exactly the same. 
They are natives of the table land of Mexico, either wholly 
below the underlimit of frost, or in situations where there is very 
little freezing, and that not till the stems of the Dahlias have died 
down for the season. Above 4° of frost, that is, 28° of Fahren¬ 
heit’s thermometer, they bear all vicissitudes of weather and 
temperature ; but when the thermometer sinks to 28°, the leaves 
