May  10,  1900.’ 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
389 
other  variety  in  this  section  can  come  up  to  it — can  show  as  good  an 
average  record.  In  fact,  only  three  years  ago  it  was  more  numerously 
staged  than  any  other  Show  or  Fancy  Dahlia  in  the  exhibition,  except 
Mrs.  Gladstone  and  R.  T.  Riwlings,  Duchess  of  Albany  is  another 
very  reliable  variety,  and  at  the  la^t  two  shows  was  rather  more 
frequently  staged  than  the  leading  flower.  Mrs.  Saunders,  which 
some  years  ago  was  at  the  head  of  the  list,  although  less  largely 
shown  than  formerly,  still  retains  its  place  at  No.  3.  The  principal 
varieties  which  were  to  be  met  with  last  year  more  frequently  than 
usual  were  Duchess  of  Albany,  Dorothy,  and  Peacock  ;  whereas  Rev. 
J.  B.  M.  Camm,  Matthew  Campbell,  and  T.  W.  Girdlostone  were 
below  their  average  form. 
Of  the  three  comparatively  new  Fancies  in  the  table.  Goldsmith, 
sent  out  in  1895,  takes  the  lead  at  No.  8,  having  risen  five  places  since 
the  previous  exhibition.  Next  comes  Emin  Pasha,  distributed  in 
1894,  at  No.  12,  followed  by  S.  Mortimer  of  the  same  year  at  No.  13. 
Turning  our  thoughts  to  those  charming  miniature  Show  and 
Fancy  Dahlias,  the  Pompons,  it  will  at  once  be  realised  that  the 
changes  here  are  more  rapid,  or  rather  less  sluggish,  than  in  the  case 
of  the  two  sections  we  have  just  dealt  with.  Consequently,  a  shorter 
average  will  better  suit  their  requirements.  Taking  the  mean  records 
for  the  last  four  shows  the  varieties  arrange  themselves  as  follows, 
fl'hose  marked  with  an  asterisk  were  sent  out  in  1898  or  subsequently  : — 
•Bacchus,  Tommy  Keith,  Nerissa,  Emily  Hopper,  Phoebe,  Captain 
Boyton,  G.  Brinckman,  Whisper,  Douglas,  Dr.  Jim,  Sunny  Daybreak, 
Arthur  West,  Distinction*,  Eurydice,  E.  F.  Jungker,  Lilian,  Demon*, 
and  Snowflake*. 
Up  to  the  present  time  George  Brinckman  has  stood  in  the  fore¬ 
front  of  the  few  good  white  Pompons  that  we  have,  while  the  latest 
candidate  for  honours  is  Snowflake,  a  new  variety  of  much  merit. 
Emily  Hopper,  although  first  distributed  in  1874,  still  takes  prece¬ 
dence  (f  all  the  yellows;  the  best  orange  coloured  variety  being 
Phoebe,  and  the  best  pale  yellow  E.  F.  Jungker.  Coming  to  the 
different  shades  of  red,  we  find  Bacchus,  the  leading  flower  in  this 
section,  at  the  head  of  the  scarlets,  Arthur  West  at  the  head  of  the 
crimsons,  while  Nerissa  stands  alone  as  the  representative  of  the  rose- 
coloured  Pompous.  Among  maroons  stands  as  leader  Captain  Boyton, 
rather  closely  followed  by  Douglas.  Of  the  newer  seifs  may  be  men 
tioned  Distinction  and  Demon  as  promising  well  in  their  respective 
shades  of  crimson. 
In  order  to  give  some  idea  of  the  changes  and  improvements  that 
have  taken  place  in  recent  years  in  the  Cactus  section,  I  have 
arranged  in  the  following  list  the  different  varieties  according  to  the 
number  of  times  they  were  staged  at  the  last  exhibition  of  the 
National  Dahlia  Society  ;  and  for  comparison  their  records  for  one  or 
both  of  the  two  previous  shows  whenever  they  were  represented  five 
or  more  times : — 
Cactus  Dahlias. 
Britannia,  1898  . . 
1899 
26 
1898 
14 
1897 
Colour. 
salmon  pink  and  apricot 
C.  Woodbridge,  1897 . 
25 
18 
— 
crimson 
Starfish,  1897  . 
25 
34 
7 
orange  scarlet 
Keynes’  White,  1898  . 
23 
19 
— 
ivory  white 
Mary  Service,  1898  . 
23 
21 
— 
russet  yellow  and 
Night,  1898 . 
18 
18 
heliotrope 
dark  crimson 
Countess  of  Lonsdale,  1899 
17 
— 
— 
salmon  and  apricot 
Magnificent,  1899  . 
17 
— 
— 
salmon  pink  and  apricot 
Lady  Penzance,  1894... 
14 
26 
24 
pure  yellow 
Lucius,  1899  . 
13 
— 
— 
deep  orange 
Alfred  Vasey,  1898  . 
11 
8 
— 
reddish  amber 
Cinderella,  1897  . 
11 
18 
— 
purple 
Fusilier,  1896  . 
11 
24 
25 
coral  red 
Stella,  1898  . 
9 
— 
— 
bright  crimson 
Viscountess  Rherbrook,  1899 
9 
— 
— 
reddish  terra  cotta 
Capstan,  1898  . 
8 
— 
— 
brick  red 
Laverstock  Beauty,  1898  ... 
8 
— 
— 
soft  red 
Arachne,  1898  . 
7 
15 
— 
white,  edged  crimson 
Island  Queen,  1898  . 
7 
11 
— 
lilac  mauve 
Mrs.  J.  Goddard,  1898 
7 
— 
— 
crimson  scarlet 
Ebony,  1899  . 
6 
— 
— 
deep  ebony 
Eileen  Palliser,  1898 . 
6 
— 
— 
yellow 
Mrs.  Peart,  1893 . 
6 
8 
9 
creamy  white 
Exquisite,  1899  . 
5 
— 
— 
reddish  cinnamon 
Mrs.  Wilson  Noble,  189G  ... 
5 
21 
17 
pinkish  salmon 
Regulus,  1898  ..,  . 
5 
6 
— 
rich  crimson 
For  the  sake  of  our  analysis  if  for  no  other  reason,  it  y  to  be 
hoped  that  at  all  events  some  of  the  sorts  mentioned  in  this  list  have 
come  to  stay.  Hitherto  the  reputations  of  the  Cactus  Dahlias,  which 
have  been  from  time  to  time  sent  out  in  such  rapid  succession,  have 
been  extremely  fleeting.  For  instance,  it  will  be  noticed  that  only 
Starfish,  Lady  Penzance,  Fusilier,  Mrs.  Peart,  and  Mrs.  Wilson  Noble 
were  sufficiently  represented  at  the  last  three  shows  to  entitle  their 
records  to  anpear  under  each  of  the  three  years.  Moreover,  of  the 
fifteen  varieties  for  which  records  are  given  for  the  last  two  years, 
more  than  half  that  number — Starfish,  Lady  Penzance,  Cinderella, 
Fusilier,  Arachne,  Island  Queen,  Mrs.  Peart,  Mrs.  Wilson  Noble,  and 
Regulus,  although  a  year  older  at  the  time,  were  not  as  frequently 
exhibited  in  1899  as  in  1898,  showing  that  they  were  rather  losing 
than  gaining  ground  in  general  estimation. 
FANCY  DAHLIAS. 
Position  in  Present 
Analysis. 
Average  Number  of 
Times  Shown. 
No.  of  Times  Shown 
in  1899  in  True 
Relative  Proportion 
to  the  Average. 
Name. 
Date  of 
Introduction. 
Raiser’s 
or 
Introducer’s 
Name. 
Colour. 
1 
20‘9 
18 
R Av  -T.  Ti .  M.  rJflTTi  m  . .  . 
1873 
Keynes  . 
Yellow  and  red 
2 
18-8 
20 
Duchess  of  Albany . 
1884 
Turner  . . . . 
Orange  and  crimson 
3 
16-9 
17 
Mrs.  Saunders . 
1872 
Turner  . 
Yellow  and  white 
4 
16-3 
16 
Mrs.  John  Downie  . . 
1889 
Turner  . 
Orange  and  scarlet 
5 
13-3 
8 
Matthew  Campbell . . . 
1889 
Keynes  . 
Buff  and  crimson 
fi 
12  9 
11 
Pra.nk  P^arnfi  . . 
1886 
Rawlings  . . 
Rose,  striped  crimson 
7 
12  5 
15 
Dorothy  . 
1888 
Keynes  . 
Fawn  and  maroon 
8 
120 
16 
Goldsmith  . 
1895 
Keynes  . 
Yellow,  striped  crimscn 
9 
11  7 
9 
T.  W.  Girdlestone  . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  maroon 
10 
lO'O 
;S 
1890 
Keynes  . . . 
Buff,  striped  vermilion 
11 
96 
12 
pAn.p.oA,k  .  , .  ,  .  , . .  . 
1877 
Turner  . 
Maroon  and  white 
12 
9-5 
10 
Emin  Pasha . • . 
1894 
Keynes  . . . 
Yellow,  striped  crimson 
13 
8-4 
11 
S.  Mortimer . 
1894 
Mortimer  . 
Rose,  striped  crimson 
14 
83 
8 
P.AhpAf^a  .  , , .  , 
1883 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  crimson 
15 
74 
7 
Comedian .  . 
1892 
Keynes  . 
Orange  and  crimson 
16 
6-4 
7 
Dandy  . 
1891 
Keynes  . 
Orange,  striped  crimson 
17 
5-9 
2 
Henry  Eckford  . . 
1886 
Rawlings  . 
Yellow  and  red 
18 
5  5 
11 
Hercules  . . 
1877 
Keynes  . 
Yellow  and  crimson 
19 
5-4 
5 
Dazzler . 
1893 
Keynes  . 
Yellow,  striped  pcarlpt 
