286 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
April  8,  189?. 
For  the  eleventh  year  in  succession  that  refined  variety  Mrs. 
Gladstone  holds  the  proud  position  of  premier  flower  in  the  list  of 
Show  Dahlias.  Its  records  for  none  of  the  last  four  seasons  have 
been,  however,  quite  as  good  as  they  we're  in  any  of  the  preceding 
seven  years.  The  fact  is,  since  the  advent  of  Mrs.  Gladstone  two 
other  remarkably  fine  Shows  have  appeared  upon  the  scene.  I 
need  scarcely  say  that  I  refer  to  John  Walker,  the  only  pure  white 
Dahlia  in  the  table ;  and  R.  T.  Rawlings,  the  leading  yellow 
variety.  At  no  previous  exhibition  has  R.  T.  Rawlings  been  as 
numerously  represented  as  it  was  last  year.  Indeed,  it  was  nearly 
as  often  staged  as  Mrs.  Gladstone.  The  oldest  Dahlia  which  finds  a 
place  on  the  list,  James  Cocker,  sent  out  in  1871,  was  also  unusually 
well  shown.  The  same  may  be  also  said  of  J.  T.  West,  Duke  of 
Fife,  John  Hickling,  Alice  Emily,  Earl  of  Ravensworth,  Mr. 
Glasscock,  Queen  of  the  Belgians,  and  Perfection,  which  appeared 
in  an  unusual  number  of  stands.  On  the  other  hand,  either  the 
season  or  the  date  of  the  show  in  respect  to  it  proved  unfavourable 
to  the  records  of  Harry  Keith,  Colonist,  Willie  Garratt,  Henry 
Walton,  Shirley  Hibberd,  T.  J.  Saltmarsh,  and  many  other  well 
known  sorts. 
There  are  no  fewer  than  fourteen  varieties  in  the  table  which 
have  been  sent  out  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  decade.  Of 
these,  four  were  distributed  in  1890 — viz.,  Duke  of  Fife,  John 
Hickling,  Majestic,  and  Alice  Emily.  Both  Duke  of  Fife  and 
John  Hickling  have  done  good  service,  having  been  consistently 
well  shown  at  the  past  four  exhibitions.  They  now  stand  together 
at  No.  17.  The  records  of  Majestic  have  also  been  very  regular, 
and  since  last  year  it  has  risen  from  No.  28  to  No.  26.  The 
fortunes  of  Alice  Emily  have  been  a  little  more  varied,  but  last 
year  and  the  year  before  it  was  better  shown  than  in  previous  years* 
and  consequently  rises  from  No.  40  to  No.  36.  Coming  to  the 
1892  varieties,  mention  must  first  be  made  of  John  Walker,  which 
stands  at  the  head  of  all  the  newer  sorts,  and,  as  before  stated,  only 
second  to  Mrs.  Gladstone.  Its  records  for  the  last  three  shows  have 
been  as  follows — 29,  30,  and  29,  which  taken  together  are  exactly 
the  same  as  those  for  the  premier  flower,  owing  to  Mrs.  Gladstone 
SHOW  DAHLIAS. 
Position  in  Present 
Analysis. 
Average  Number  of 
Times  Shown. 
No.  of  Times  Shown 
in  1896  in  True 
Relative  Proportion! 
to  the  Average. 
Name. 
Date  of 
Introduction. 
! 
Raiser’s 
or 
Introducer’s 
Name. 
Colour. 
1 
37  6 
33 
Mrs.  Gladstone . 
1884 
Hurst  . . 
Pale  blush 
2 
29  3 
29 
John  Walker . . . 
1892 
Walker  . 
White 
3 
25  9 
30 
R.  T.  Rawlings . 
1886 
Rawlings  . 
Clear  yellow 
4 
252 
24 
William  Rawlings  . 
1881 
Rawlings  . 
Crimson  purple 
5 
24  4 
16 
Harry  Keith  . 
1886 
Keynes  . 
Rosy  purple 
6 
23  0 
22 
Mrs.  Langtry . 
1885 
Keynes  . . 
Cream  and  crimson 
7 
22-5 
21 
Colonist . . 
1887 
Keynes  . 
Chocolate  and  fawn 
8 
20-0 
22 
Duchess  of  York  . 
1894 
Keynes  . 
Lemon,  edged  salmon  pink 
9 
19-6 
21 
J.  T.  West . 
1887 
Rawlings  . . 
Yellow  and  purple 
10 
1S’3 
21 
Arthur  Rawlings  . . . 
1892 
West  . 
Deep  crimson 
11 
18-0 
2 
Arthur  Ocock  . 
1892 
Rawlings  . 
Reddish  orange 
12 
17-7 
19 
James  Cocker  . 
1871 
Keynes  . . 
Purple 
13 
167 
16 
Ethel  Britton  . 
1880 
Keynes  . 
White. and  purple 
Pale  pink,  shaded  purple 
14 
166 
16 
Maud  Fellowes . 
1889  • 
Fellowes . 
14 
16-6 
12 
Willie  Garratt  . 
1887 
Garratt  . 
Bright  cardinal 
16 
163 
12 
Henry  Walton  . 
1873 
Keynes  . 
Pale  yellow  and  scarlet 
17 
160 
18 
Duke  of  Fife  . . 
1890 
Keynes  . . . 
Rich  cardinal 
17 
16  0 
18 
John  Hickling  . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
Clear  bright  yellow 
19 
148 
14 
Mrs.  W.  Slack  . 
1886 
Keynes  . 
Blush  white  and  purple 
20 
14-7 
13 
William  Powell . 
1892 
WeBt  . 
Primrose  yellow 
21 
138 
10 
Shirley  Hibberd  . 
1881 
Rawlings  . 
Dark  crimson 
22 
134 
14 
Harrison  Weir  . 
1883 
Rawlings  . . 
Yellow  * 
23 
131 
8 
T.  J.  Saltmarsh . 
1885 
Rawlings  . 
Yellow  and  chestnut 
24 
12  4 
11 
Miss  Cannell . 
1881 
Eckford . 
Cream  and  crimson 
25 
12  1 
10 
Prince  of  Denmark  . 
1881 
Fellowes . 
Dark  maroon 
26 
10-0 
10 
George  Rawlings  . 
1882 
Rawlings  . . 
Dark  maroon 
2G 
100 
9 
Hon.  Mrs.  P.  Wyndham  . . 
1881 
Keynes  . . . . 
Pale  yellow  and  rose 
26 
10  0 
10 
Majestic . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
White,  edged  purple 
29 
9  8 
9 
Gold  finder . 
1881 
Fellowes . 
Yellow  and  red 
30 
9-0 
6 
Mis.  D.  Saunders . 
1888 
Rawlings  . 
Pale,  edged  rose 
30 
9  0 
4 
Mrs.  Morgan . 
1893 
Fellowes . 
Pale  ground,  tinted  rosy  purple 
30 
9  0* 
9 
Shotesham  Hero  . 
1895 
Fellowes . 
White,  tipped  and  shaded  rose 
33 
8  7 
6 
Burgundy  . . . 
1877 
Turner  . 
Dark  puce 
34 
8  4 
9  • 
Glowworm . 
1889 
Turner  . 
Bright  orange  scarlet 
35 
8  3 
1 
William  Keith  . . . 
1888 
West  . . . 
Dark  plum 
36 
8  2 
11 
Alice  Emily  . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
Keynes  . . 
Buff  yellow 
37 
78 
8 
Crimson  King  . . . 
1887 
Deep  crimson  scarlet 
38 
7  6 
3 
John  Standish  . . . . 
1872 
Turner  . . 
Crimson 
39 
7-5 
11 
Earl  of  Ravensworth  . 
1883 
Harkness  . 
Lilac 
40 
73 
11 
Mr.  Glasscock  . . . 
1886 
Rawlings  . . 
Purple 
Puce 
40 
73 
4 
Prince  Bismarck  . . . 
1879 
Fellowes . 
40 
7  3 
11 
Qaeen  of  the  Belgians . 
1887 
Rawlings  . 
Cream  and  pink 
43 
7  0* 
7 
Norma  . 
1894 
Turner  . 
Bright  orange  buff 
44 
6  9 
1 
Clara  . _ . 
1879 
RawlingR  . T.tt . 
Rosy  peach 
Shaded  orange 
44 
6  9 
2 
Joseph  Ashby  . . 
1879 
Turner  . 
46 
68 
11 
Perfection  . . . . . . 
1889 
Fellowes . 
Orange  buff 
46 
6-8 
8 
Victor . 
1887 
Keynes  . 
Dark  maroon 
48 
6-4 
7 
James  Vick  . . „ . 
1881 
Keynes  . 
Purplish  maroon 
49 
6'0* 
6 
Chieftain  . . 
1894 
Keynes  . 
Purplish  lilac 
Blush 
49 
60* 
6 
Kathleen  .... . . . 
1893 
Turner  . 
*  New  varieties,  the  positions  of  which  are  dependent  on  their  records  at  the  1896  show  only; 
