March  24,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTTOULTURE  ANT)  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
255 
Turning  now  to  the  newer  kinds,  those  sent  out  during  the  last  six 
years,  we  shall  find  that  valuable  new  blood  has  been  infused  into  this 
section  during  that  period,  and  that  no  fewer  than  six  of  these  new 
Show  Dahlias  are  (o  be  found  among  the  first  twenty-five  in  the  table. 
The  year  1892  is  responsible  for  four  of  the  sorts  which  are  so  placed. 
John  Walker,  although  last  season  appears  to  have  been  very  unfavour¬ 
able  to  this  grand  white  variety,  occupies  the  third  position  on  the  list. 
Arthur  Rawlings  still  remains  at  No.  10,  while  William  Powell  stands 
at  No.  21,  and  Arthur  Ocock  at  No.  25.  The  variety  last  named 
would  occupy  a  higher  position  than  it  does  but  for  its  bad  form  at  the 
two  last  exhibitions.  The  Show  Dahlias  sent  out  in  1893  have  failed 
as  yet  to  make  their  mark,  Mrs.  Morgan  only  taking  a  place  at  No.  35, 
while  Virginale  on  its  first  appearance  in  the  table  will  be  found  at 
No.  48.  Duchess  of  York  (No.  6),  although  only  distributed  in  1894, 
promises  well,  only  four  other  varieties  having  been  better  staged  at 
either  of  the  last  two  shows  ;  while  Chieftain  of  the  same  year  takes 
up  an  honourable  position  at  No.  27.  Norma,  however,  only  manages 
to  creep  in  at  the  end  of  the  list.  Shotesham  Hero  (No.  10)  the  only 
representative  of  1895,  was  remarkably  well  shown,  and,  depending  on 
its  last  year’s  form  alone,  stands  higher  in  the  list  than  any  of  the 
other  new  sorts,  except  John  Walker  and  Duchess  of  York.  1896  is 
also  represented  by  only  one  variety,  Florence  Tranter,  which  makes 
its  debut  at  No.  27. 
The  race  for  first  place  on  the  table  of  Fancies  between  those  two 
veterans.  Rev.  J.  B.  M.  Camm  and  Mrs.  Saunders,  which  had  been 
maintained  for  a  number  of  years,  may  now  be  regarded  as  at  an  end. 
Previous  to  1895  the  latter  held  the  lead,  but  since  then  Rev.  J.  B.  M* 
Camm  has  been  gaining  steadily  upon  its  rival,  and  at  the  last  exhi¬ 
bition  was  staged  oftener  than  at  any  other  time  during  the  fifteen 
years  covered  by  the  analysis,  and  also  more  frequently  than  any  other 
Show  or  Fancy  variety  except  Mrs.  Gladstone  and  R.  T.  Rawlings. 
Surely  this  must  be  regarded  as  a  remarkable  performance  considering 
Rev.  J.  B.  M.  Camm  has  now  been  in  cultivation  for  exactly  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  Both  Duchess  of  Albany  and  Mrs.  John  Downie  were 
unusually  well  shown,  also  Dorothy  and  Buffalo  Bill.  But  com¬ 
paratively  few  flowers  were  staged  of  Mrs.  Saunders,  Frank  Pearce, 
T.  W.  Girdlestone,  and  Rebecca. 
The  newer  sorts  in  this  section,  those  distributed  within  the  last 
six  years,  are  few  in  number,  and  none  of  them  occupy  a  higher 
position  than  No.  11.  The  only  representative  of  1892  is  Comedian, 
which  was  poorly  shown  last  3mar,  and  consequently  falls  from  No.  9 
to  No.  12.  Dazzler,  sent  out  in  1893,  remains  pretty  well  as  before, 
at  No.  18.  Of  the  1894  varieties  Emin  Pasha  rises  from  No.  14 
to  No.  11,  while  S.  Mortimer  (No.  14)  has  never  been  quite  as 
well  represented  as  during  the  first  year  after  its  introduction. 
In  the  section  devoted  to  those  miniature  Show  and  Fancy  Dahlias 
known  as  Pompons,  many  of  which  are  so  admirably  adapted  for  the 
purposes  of  garden  decoration  in  the  early  autumn,  the  changes  are 
much  more  rapid  than  in  the  two  classes  previously  dealt  with.  For 
instance,  of  the  twenty-five  varieties  named  in  the  select  list  which 
follows,  only  about  half  the  number  were  last  year  more  than  five 
years  old.  Of  these,  which  may  be  termed  the  established  varieties, 
Phoebe  was  more  largely  shown  at  the  last  exhibition  than  in  any 
previous  year.  Whisper  follows  at  some  distance  with  a  very  steady 
record  for  the  past  eight  shows.  E.  F.  Junker  has  also  proved  itself 
dependable,  although  less  frequently  staged  than  formerly.  Eurydice, 
on  the  other  hand,  has  improved  its  position  during  the  last  five  years. 
Isabel,  Darkness,  White  Aster  (Guiding  Star),  Favourite,  Red  Indian, 
Grace,  and  Mars  appear,  however,  to  be  gradually  declining  in  favour 
with  exhibitors.  The  most  striking  advances  made  in  the  newer 
kinds,  those  sent  out  since  1893,  are  shown  by  Nerissa  (1896),  which 
rires  from  No.  7  to  No.  2 ;  while  Emily  Hopper,  Douglas,  Ganymede, 
Rosebud,  and  Sunny  Daybreak  all  occupj"  good  positions  considering 
that  they  appear  for  the  first  time  in  the  list  at  all. 
There  are  still  several  Cactus  Dahlias,  which  last  year  were  more 
than  two  years  old,  that  continue  to  hold  their  own  among  the  newer 
sorts.  For  instance.  Matchless  again  takes  the  premier  position  in 
this  section,  having  been  staged  more  frequently  than  any  other 
Cactus  at  the  last  three  exhibitions;  while  Gloriosa,  Lady  Penzacce, 
Delicata,  Bertha  Mawley,  and  Robert  Canned  are  also  to  be  found 
among  the  first  twelve  on  the  list.  If  we  take  the  Cactus  Dahlias  of 
more  recent  introduction  in  the  order  of  their  ages,  we  find  that  of  the 
varieties  sent  out  in  1895  Earl  of  Pembroke  stands  only  second  to  the 
leading  flower — Matchless.  Harmony  remains  in  its  former  position 
at  No.  7,  while  Mrs.  Barnes  has  fallen  from  No.  6  to  No.  9.  Fusilier 
(No.  5)  takes  the  lead  of  the  1896  varieties,  followed  by  Mrs.  Wilson 
Noble  at  No.  8,  Beatrice  at  No.  13,  J.  E.  Frewer  at  No.  15,  and  Miss 
A.  Nightingale  at  No.  20.  Two  of  the  sorts  sent  out  in  1897  also 
find  places  on  the  list — viz.,  Starfish  at  No.  16,  and  Harry  Stredwick 
at  No.  19. 
When  we  come  to  treat  of  the  single-flowered  varieties,  the 
limited  number  of  exhibits  in  this  section  is  undoubtedly  a  drawback 
in  placing  them  accurately.  I  have,  however,  treated  them  in 
precisely  the  same  way  as  the  Cactus  varieties.  Victoria  still  takes 
the  lead,  followed  by  W.  C.  Harvey,  of  the  same  year,  1889.  Of  the 
other  established  varieties  Miss  Roberts,  Northern  Star,  and  Amos 
Perry  occupy  the  best  positions ;  whereas  the  most  prominent  of  the 
newer  kinds,  those  sent  out  since  1893,  arrange  them.selves  as 
follows  : — Demon,  Phyllis,  Beauty’s  Eye,  Polly  Eccles,  The  Bride, 
and  Jack  Sheppard. 
FANCY  DAHLIAS. 
Position  in  Present ! 
Analysis.  ! 
Average  Number  ot 
Times  Shown. 
No.  of  I'imes  Shown  I 
in  1897  in  True  ' 
Relative  Proportion 
to  the  Average. 
Name. 
j 
Date  of 
Introduction. 
Raiser’s 
or 
Introducer’s 
Name. 
Colour. 
1 
27 
1873 
Keynes  . 
Yellow  and  red 
2 
l»-7 
1 1 
Mrs.  Saunders  . 
1872 
Turner  . . 
Yellow  and  white 
17-7 
2(1 
Duchess  of  Albany  . 
1884 
Turner  . 
Orange  and  erhnson 
4 
17-0 
19 
Mrs.  John  Downie  . 
1889 
T  urner  . 
Orange  and  scarlet 
5 
14-7 
13 
Matthew  Campbell  . . 
1889 
Keynes  . 
Buff  and  crimson 
6 
14-4 
1  1 
T'rn.nk  Ppn.rr.ft .  . 
1886 
Rawlings  . 
Rose,  striped  crimson 
7 
13-8 
'T  W  fiirHlpstnnf*  . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  maroon 
s 
l''-7 
1  j 
1888 
Keynes  . 
Fawn  and  maroon 
9 
9-8 
10  . 
Peacock  . . 
1877 
Turner  . 
Maroon  and  white 
10 
9-0 
1 1 
Buffalo  Bill  . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
Buff,  striped  vermilion 
1  1 
9-5 
1 1 
1894 
Keynes  . 
Yellow,  striped  crimson 
12 
9 ’3 
7 
Comedian  . 
1892 
Keynes  . 
Orange  and  crimson 
13 
8-G 
G 
I^phppcia.  . 
1883 
Keynes  . . 
Lilac  and  crimson 
14 
8-0 
6 
S.  Mortimer  . 
1894 
Mortimer  . 
Rose,  striped  crimson 
15 
6-8 
4 
Henry  Eckford . . . . 
1886 
Itawlings  . 
Yellow  and  red 
6*7 
(] 
Rjirnp.*?  ...  . . 
1878 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  crimson 
17 
60 
5 
1891 
Keynes  . 
Orange,  striped  crimson 
18 
5-0 
o 
C) 
Dazzler  . 
1 893 
Keynes  . 
Yellow,  striped  scarlet 
