12 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER, 
Apri 1, 1903. 
were blasted before developing, showing 
that too much water is injurious, to a cer- 
tain extent. The roots being planted deep, 
as before stated, find plenty of moisture in 
the ground, and do not require any water: 
ing; but if the weather should be dry at 
blooming time, then give a good watering 
(not a mere sprinkling) and repeat it in 
two weeks, if the drought lasts. 
As soon as frosts have killed the foliage, 
lift the roots, shake off the adhering soil, 
allow the roots to dry in the air for a few 
hours, and store in a frost-proof cellar, or 
some other cool place. If the cellar should 
be very dry, and not frost-proof, then cover 
the roots with dry sand; or where there 
are only a few roots, store them in boxes 
ov barrels, and cover with dry earth, or 
sand. ‘ 
The only disease that affects the Dahlia 
to any extent is mildew, which is mostly 
caused by climatic conditions. Keep the 
plamts growing by frequent cultivation, 
and mildew will be unknown. ~ 
A. very troublesome insect with us this 
year has been the small cucumber beetle, 
which feeds on the petals of the flowers. 
The only remedy for this pest that I know 
of is picking by hand. 
As to the bist varieties to grow tho 
selection-must depend on the grower, and 
he must choose according to his fancy. 
There are hundreds of varieties to select 
from, aud new ones are still coming every 
year, so that it would be futile to name 
any special sorts. ~ ; 
Visit the Dahlia exhibitions in Septem- 
ber, or better still, visit the establishment 
of some Dahlia grower, and select the 
varieties that you think will suit your 
taste and purposes. 
tOCtCESOCSCSSES > 
Dahlias in England. 
Amongst the flowers which are now lar- 
gely used in our gardens, few are more 
popular than the Dahlia. ~ The original 
form of this flower has undergone so many 
transitions that we now have distinct 
groups of tall and dwarf varieties, Cactus- 
Dahlias, too, in single and double forms, 
and these, with their star-like flowers and 
elegantly twisted petals, are certainly the 
most beautiful of all. 
The dwarf or pompom form of the Dah- 
lia is very useful for bedding purposes, the 
brilliant colors of these neat little flowers 
being very effective in the border. Al- 
though the blossoms are small they are so 
well held up above the foliage, and jpro- 
duced in such profusion, that they give 
rich coloring to the garden ; and if plants 
are selected with care, so that the height 
(which varies from 4 ft. to 2 ft.) is con- 
sidered as well as the tints of the blooms, 
few plants will give a brighter effect in a 
mass. Ceres, a very floriferous variety, 
in pale primrose, makes . an excellent 
centre to a large bed; with Fashion, light 
orange, also a profuse bloomer, as the next 
tint; and Little Dorrit, a dwarf plant with 
the richest maroon flowers, as the outer 
circle. Or Guiding Star (a lovely white 
variety, 3 ft. high) may be used with Bac- 
chus, in brilliant scarlet, which does not 
exceed 24 ft. in héight, edging the two with 
Little Sweetheart, which is a dwarf plant 
bearing red flowers tipped with white. 
Mrs. Walter Besant, in shades of salmon 
pink, is very beautiful; and Revenge, in 
rich purple and mauve, is distinct and 
handsome. The variety of tints 1s endless ; 
but any of them which tend towards ma- 
jenta are best avoided, as they never har- 
monise well with the rest. Messrs. Dob- 
bie’s new introduction, Mrs. Ireland, is in 
shades of orange-scarlet and white, a very 
brilliant flower, which does excellently in 
a balcony when grown in a large pot or a 
box of rich soil. In fact, all the best Dah- 
lias can be cultivated with success for the 
decoration of verandahs or balconies, and, 
as the rooted cuttings can be obtained 
early in the spying, there is no difficulty 
in having them in bloom in June, when 
they will continue to supply a quantity of 
flowers until the latest autumn. 
A new race of hybrids, combining the 
older Pompon Dahlias with the Cactus 
varieties, has lately been introduced, the 
lovely Aurora being one of the best of 
these. This is a dwarf plant, producing 
many flowers in exquisite shades of sal- 
mon pink and vieux rose, with a metallic 
blue sheen on the tips of the petals, giving 
it a very refined. and uncommon appear- 
ance. The blooms are small and of the 
Cactus shape—a most decorative plant 
either for the border or the balcony. Can- 
nell’s Gem is a Pompon Cactus, in shades 
of scarlet and yellow, a glowing little flower 
of good form and habit, not exceeding 2 ft. 
in height. Crawley Gem must not be for- 
gotten in this connection; it also is a Pom- 
pon Cactus, deep blood-red in color; and 
these three will- probably be the forerun- 
ners of many others of these fascinating 
flowers, which are perfect for cutting, not 
being so heavy as those with larger blos 
soms, and consequently far easier to ar- 
range. in’ vases. 
Of the true Cactus-Dahlias there are now 
a great many, but they are not all of that 
» perfect form, with quilled petals, which is 
seen only in the best varieties, such as 
Ethel. Harry Stredwick (in the 
vichest dark crimson, shading to car- 
mine at the tips of the petals) is a perfect 
specimen of a Cactus-Dahlia; this plant, 
as well as Ethel, has the merit of holding 
its flowers well above the foliage on long, 
stiff stems; a point which is now much 
aimed at in cultivating Dahlias, and cer- 
tainly it enhances their effect greatly. 
Night is another of these upstanding 
flowers, in the deepest maroon, approach- 
ing to black in the centre of the flower, 
with long pointed petals of perfect shape ; 
and Mrs. John Goddard is one of the best 
Cactus-Dahlias yet introduced, having the 
finest-shaped blossoms in glowing metallic 
carmine-crimson, well displayed on long 
stems, and excellent for exhibition or cut- 
ting. 
~ Keyne’s White is now considered to be 
the best of the pure white Cactus-Dahlias. 
It is of perfect shape, the central petals are 
cream-tinted ; Miss Webster being almost 
as good, and both are worthy of cultiva- 
tion. 
Amongst the newest Cactus-Dahlias is 
the lovely Countess of Lonsdale, in rich 
salmon-pink, shaded with apricot at the 
base of the petals. This is one of the more 
dwarf varieties, although the blossoms are 
large, and will no doubt become extremely 
popular, for it is of first-rate shape and 
habit, as well as highly floriferous. Bri- 
tannia (introduced in 1898) is somewhat 
similar—-a most beautiful flower in the 
same shades. 
Cinderella, in rich purple, is quite dis- 
tinct in color, and very floriferous, with 
well-formed flowers of metallic plum-color, 
a most desirable plant; and Arachne is 
quite a new departure, having white 
petals, each iota edged with brilliant 
carmine ; whilst Messrs. Dobbie’s Maggie 
Williams has fantastically twisted petals 
in pure carmine, a most elegant and effec- 
tive Hower 
The single Dahlias of cactus type are 
now much valued for decorative purposes, 
and certainly their light and graceful out- 
lines, glowing with the same rich ‘colors 
displayed by the double varieties, are 
unique for table decoration where heavier 
flowers would be out of place. 
Lady Edith, a very refined blossom, in 
shades reminding us of a Gloire de Dijon 
Rose, is a new introduction in this class; 
Sir Kenneth is equally good, with brilliant 
crimson petals (an excellent companion to 
Lady Edith); Ivanhoe is striped, in crim- 
son and rose color; Alice Lee, in jpink, 
shading to white in the middle, is a very 
elegant flower; Pirate ig in deep crimson, 
shading to purple at the tips of the petals; 
and Rose Bradwardine is bronze and yel- 
low, tipped with scarlet—a very distinct 
and effective variety. 
Many others almost equally good may be 
selected from a first-rate catalogue; and 
these single Dahlias are so easily grown 
from seed that there is no difficulty in ob- 
taining a good collection of them, if those 
only which are best up to mark are kept, 
whilst the poorer seedlings should be des- 
troyed as soon as detected, or the whole of 
the seed may be contaminated. 
Dahlia seed should be sown early in the 
spring on a slight hotbed, pricking out the 
seedlings into a box of good soil while 
quite small, and hardening them off gradu- 
ally, so that they can be placed in flowering 
position at the end of May, when it will be 
necessary to take special precautions 
against snails, which are specially fond of 
devouring them. Dusting frequently with 
lime or soot is effectual in dry weather, but 
the rain quickly spoils the burning effect 
of both these things, and it may be neces- 
sary to surround the young plants in this 
case with a circle of bran, for this is the 
favorite food of the snail and slug, for 
which they will leave all else. A visit to 
the Dahlias at 10 o’clock at night will re- 
veal them at their feast, and they are then 
easily destroyed. 
Double Dahlias are best propagated by 
division of the roots in the early spring. 
Where a large number of each plant is not 
required the roots may be carefully divided 
