April  8,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
287 
having  been  so  poorly  represented  in  1895.  Arthur  Rawlings  rises 
from  No.  13  to  No.  10,  and  at  each  of  the  last  three  exhibitions  was 
better  shown  than  at  the  previous  one.  Arthur  Ocock  (No.  11), 
alihough  miserably  represented  in  1896,  has  good  records  for  the 
three  preceding  exhibitions.  William  Powell  (No.  20)  loses  three 
places  since  last  year.  The  only  Show  Dahlias  on  the  list  which 
were  distributed  in  1893  are  Mrs.  Morgan  (No.  30)  and  Kathleen 
(No.  49).  Of  the  three  1894  varieties  Duchess  of  York  already 
takes  up  a  high  position  on  the  table,  at  No.  8,  while  Norma  will  be 
found  at  No.  43,  and  Chieftain  at  No.  49.  Shotesham  Hero,  which 
was  only  sent  out  in  1895,  secures  a  place  at  No.  30. 
The  persistent  rivalry  for  first  place  in  the  list  of  Fancies 
between  Rev.  J.  B.  M.  Camm  and  Mrs.  Saunders  is  still  main¬ 
tained.  It  may  be  remembered  that  the  former  for  the  first 
time  in  1895  managed  to  obtain  a  slight  lead,  which  it  still  holds, 
owing  to  both  varieties  having  been  staged  an  equal  number  of 
times  at  the  last  exhibition.  Gaiety,  for  many  years  the  premier 
flower  in  this  section,  now  stands  at  No.  17.  It  was,  however, 
more  frequently  staged  last  year  than  at  any  show  for  six 
seasons. 
Eight  new  Fancies  have,  I  find,  appeared  since  1889.  T.  W. 
Girdlestone,  sent  out  in  1890,  has  been  shown  in  a  good  many 
stands  during  the  last  three  years  ;  indeed,  for  that  period  only 
three  other  Fancy  Dahlias  have  as  good  a  record — viz.,  Rev. 
J.  B.  M.  Camm,  Mrs.  Saunders,  and  Duchess  of  Albany.  Buffalo 
Bill,  of  the  same  year,  has  risen  from  No.  13  to  No.  11.  Dandy, 
the  only  1891  variety,  on  its  first  appearance  in  the  table,  takes  up 
its  position  at  No.  16.  Comedian,  the  only  representative  of  1892, 
already  stands  at  No.  9.  Dazzler,  first  sent  out  in  1893,  will  be 
found  at  No.  19  ;  S.  Mortimer  (1894)  at  No.  12  ;  Emin  Pasha, 
also  of  1894,  at  No.  14  ;  and  Mrs.  Mortimer  (1894)  at  No.  19. 
The  late  President  of  the  National  Dahlia  Society,  the  Rev. 
Charles  Fellowes,  was  the  raiser  of  a  large  number  of  Show 
Dahlias,  some  of  which  have  in  their  day  occupied  very  prominent 
positions  in  these  analyses.  Prince  Bismarck  (No.  40),  distributed 
in  1879,  is  the  oldest  variety  raised  by  him  which  finds  a  place  in 
the  present  table  of  Show  Dahlias.  It  was  never  more  largely 
shown  than  at  the  1883  exhibition,  when  it  occupied  the  sixth 
place  in  the  analysis  for  that  year.  Since  then  its  decline  has 
been  certain,  but  very  gradual.  Prince  of  Denmark  (1881)  is 
another  very  old  favourite.  In  1887  it  stood  at  No.  7  in  the  list. 
Although  now  only  at  No.  25  it  still  remains  the  leading  flower  of 
its  colour — dark  maroon.  Goldfinder,  of  the  same  year,  was  at 
one  time  even  more  popular,  standing  fifth  in  the  analysis  for  five 
years  in  succession  (1883  to  1887).  Of  all  his  flowers,  Maud 
Fellowes  (1889),  now  takes  the  highest  positiou.  The  doings  of 
Mrs.  Morgan,  Shotesham  Hero,  and  Perfection  have  already  been 
referred  to.  Mr.  Fellowes  also  raised  a  good  many  Fancies,  but 
only  one  of  these,  Oracle,  has  been  at  any  time  numerously  staged 
at  a  Crystal  Palace  show. 
In  glancing  through  the  select  list  of  Pompons  it  cannot  fail  to 
be  noticed  how  the  best  positions  are  taken  up  entirely  by  varieties 
of  recent  introduction.  In  fact,  we  have  to  pass  over  the  five 
leading  sorts  before  we  come  to  any  old  favourite.  Of  the  older 
varieties  those  which  maintain  their  ground  best  against  the  new 
comers  are  Whisper,  E.  J.  Junker,  Darkness,  Isabel,  and  Admira¬ 
tion. 
That  popular  section  the  Cactus  Dahlia  is  the  most  modern, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  one  in  which  the  greatest  advances  have 
recently  been  made.  Here,  again,  the  most  prominent  places  are 
occupied  by  some  of  the  newest  sorts,  the  three  leading  flowers 
dating  only  from  1894.  In  fact,  the  only  varieties  older  than 
these  which  find  places  among  the  first  twelve  are  Bertha  Mawley, 
Robert  Cannell,  Countess  of  Gosford,  and  Juarezi.  It  is  very 
satisfactory  to  find  Matchless  at  the  head  of  the  list,  for  it  is  not 
only  very  dependable  for  exhibition  purposes,  but  has  few,  if  any, 
rivals  as  a  model  Dahlia  for  ordinary  garden  cultivation,  being  of 
moderate  height,  very  free  flowering,  and  holding  its  blooms  on 
long  wiry  stalks  well  above  the  foliage. 
In  the  list  of  Decorative  Dahlias  the  most  noteworthy  feature 
is  the  prominence  given  to  varieties  which  were  only  a  short  time 
since  classed  among  the  true  Cactus. 
The  Singles  appear  to  be  somewhat  more  conservative,  for  there 
are  still  to  be  found  several  old  friends  on  the  select  list.  Indeed, 
as  things  are  going  the  leading  flower  Victoria  must  be  regarded 
as  quite  an  old  friend.  The  fourth  place  is  occupied  by  James 
Scobie,  followed  by  W.  C.  Harvey  and  Amos  Perry,  and  a  little 
further  on  by  Miss  Henshaw.  Of  these  the  two  youngest  were 
sent  out  in  the  same  year  as  Victoria,  1889. 
In  the  following  select  lists  the  Pompons  have  been  dealt 
FANCY  DAHLIAS. 
Position  ra  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 
20-1 
22 
Rev.  J.  B.  M.  Camm  . . . 
1873 
Keynes  . 
Yellow  and  red 
2 
19  6 
22 
Mrs.  Saunders  . . 
1872 
Turner  . 
Yellow  and  white 
3 
174 
17 
Duchess  of  Albany  . . 
1884 
Turner  . 
Orange  and  crimson 
4 
166 
15 
Mrs.  John  Downie  . . . . 
1889 
Turner  . . 
Orange  and  scarlet 
5 
15-0 
15 
Frank  Pearce  . . 
1886 
Rawlings  . 
Rose,  striped  crimson 
5 
15  0 
14 
Matthew  Campbell  . . . . 
1889 
Keynes  . 
Buff  and  crimson 
7 
13  8 
16 
T.  W.  Girdlestone . . 
1890 
Keynes  . . 
Lilac  and  maroon 
8 
11-2 
9 
Dorothy . . 
1888 
Keynes  . . . . 
Fawn  and  maroon 
9 
105 
11 
Comedian  . 
1892 
Keynes  . . . 
Orange  and  crimson 
10 
9  7 
9 
Peacock  . 
1877 
Turner  . 
Maroon  and  white 
11 
93 
11 
Buffalo  Bill  . . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
Buff,  striped  vermilion 
12 
9  0 
7 
S.  Mortimer  . . 
1894 
Mortimer  . 
Rose,  strippd  crimson 
13 
8*5 
S 
Rebecca . . 
1883 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  crimson 
14 
8  0* 
8 
Emin  Pasha  . 
1894 
Keynes  . . 
Yellow,  striped  crimson 
15 
7-9 
5 
Henry  Eckford . . 
1886 
Rawlings  . . . 
Yellow  and  red 
16 
7  0 
11 
Dandy . . 
1891 
Keynes  . 
Orange,  striped  crimson 
17 
6-6 
8 
Gaiety . 
1879 
Keynes  . 
Yellow,  red,  and  white 
18 
65 
2 
Professor  Fawcett  . . . . 
1881 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  brown 
19 
60* 
6 
Dazzler  . 
1893 
Keynes  . 
Yellow,  striped  scarlet 
19 
60 
5 
George  Barnes  . . . 
1878 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  crimson 
19 
6  0* 
6 
Mrs.  Mortimer  . 
1894 
Mortimer  . 
Yellow  and  fawn 
*  New  varieties,  the  positions  of  which  are  dependent  on  their  records  at  the  1896  show  only. 
