October 18 , 1913 . 
785 
THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE. 
I DAHLIA TRIALS AT DUFFRYN. -i 
The dahlia, as so well exemplified by its 
wondrous diversity of form and colour, 
has undergone many changes since its in¬ 
troduction to this country, and it has had 
a somewhat chequered history as a culti¬ 
vated plant. Fix>m the first it received un¬ 
remitting attention from the large band 
of florists who were attracted by the dis¬ 
tinctive character of the flowers, and, as 
the result of their strenuous endeavour 
in the work of improvement, a complete 
transformation in the flowers was effected. 
As so well known to those who are ac¬ 
quainted with the historical aspects of the 
dahlia, the flowers of the plants that were 
varieties with the objwt of increasing the 
size and improving the form of the indi¬ 
vidual blooms. If a decorative variety 
po^essing sufficient merit to justify it 
being distributed through the usual chan- 
nels of trade was obtained, it was an acci¬ 
dental occurrence. The object of the 
raisers \i^s to obtain flowers that would 
be suitable for competitive purposes. 
Then, as at much later periods in the his¬ 
tory of the dahlia, comparatively little 
consideration was given to the habit of the 
plants, and, if show varieties proved usefuil 
in the garden, as unquestionably a con- 
siderable proportion of the finer forms did, 
to competitors at the public exhibitions. 
The splendidly develop<^ blooms, when 
tastefully arranged, were so highly attrac¬ 
tive as to at onoe reioive attention and 
evoke admiration, and it is not altogether 
surprising that considerable numbers 
should have bwn selected by amateurs 
from the exhibition stands for Ix'autifying 
their gairdems. They, indecMl, <lid ex^^tly 
what many hundreds of rose lovers did in 
bygone day.s; they purchaseil varieties a<l- 
mirable in their way but unsuitable for 
garden decoration, and experienced much 
disappointment. Owing to the robust 
growth of the greater proimrtion of the 
earlier cactus vnrietic^ and the shortne.vs 
of the flower stem, the blooms were more 
or l<»ss hidden from xk'Wy and the plants 
incai)able of rendering material ai<l in the 
production of <olour effects. The raisers 
were by no means wholly to blame for so 
few of the cactus <lahlias lieing really 
suitable for the garden, for those responsi- 
VIEW IN THE DAHLIA GARDEN AT DUFFRYN. 
The variety in the foreground is Gluchant, in the centre Brentwood Yellow, on the left Marianne, and on the right Merteiisen. 
frQjjj seed that first leached the 
ntish Isles were single, and within three 
p*^our decades the flowers had not only 
^^nie quite double but had closely ap- 
pi^a^ed the ideal that had been adopted, 
y this time two distinct types had ob- 
amed a place in gardens, one the decora- 
dlhv other the show section, and 
niias were largely grown for beautifying 
and for the production of 
for exhibition. 
with the continuous ira- 
Pvements in the form of the flowers in 
^rd^nce with the ideals of the old 
development of quite new 
bv 1 popularity of dahlias increased 
'^unds, and many were the 
affnr/l^-^ established for the purpose of 
tivaf enoouragement to raisers and cul- 
thA A ^ century or so after 
ahiaa had obtained a place in British 
centr ^'ttention of raisers was con- 
3'tea on the development of show 
it was because Dahlia variabilis and its 
variety coocinea, from which they had de¬ 
scended, were free from some of the defects 
inherent in Juarezi, the progenitor of the 
cactus varieties. By the time this last- 
mentioned dahlia made its appearance in 
this country the owners of gardens who 
were not specially interested in the exhibi¬ 
tion side of the dahlia cult had become 
tired of the formality characleftstic of the 
blooms of show and fancy varieties, and, 
indeed, of the pompons also, and the new¬ 
comer was hailed with delight. 
The great interest evinced in Juarezi 
was such as to induce many to enter on the 
raising of dahlias with cactus-like flowers 
with much spirit, and from the exhibition 
point of view with not a little success. 
Following much the same Hues as their 
predecessors, raisers devoted the greater 
share of their attention to the prcduction 
of varieties bearing blooms of a size and 
form that rendered them of special value 
ble for making awards to novelties at¬ 
tached but little importance to the length 
and rigidity of the flower stems, and it is 
probable that, until within the past few 
years, but few really good garden cactus 
would have been purchased even had they 
received awards. 
Within the past decade the garden has 
been enriched by a considerable number of 
pseony-flowered dahlias, which, owing to 
the large size and distinct form of the 
blooms and their effective colouring, at 
once attracted attention, and were not long 
before attaining a high degree of popu¬ 
larity. A considerable proportion of the 
varieties that were introdu^ during the 
earlier stages of development were tall in 
growth, and had flower stems of sufficient 
len^h but not strong enough to carry 
their blooms well beyond the foliage. The 
desirability of greater rigidity in the flower 
stems has 'been fully recognised by the 
leading raisers, and their improvement is 
