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JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER L 
Mi 
1890  it  has  had  to  give  way  to  Mrs.  Saunders  and  the  Rev.  J.  B.  M. 
Camm,  which  since  then  have  run  an  almost  neck  and  neck  race 
for  the  premier  position.  Last  year,  however,  was  the  first  in 
which  the  latter  has  managed  to  come  in  at  the  head  of  the  poll. 
The  collapse  of  Gaiety  has  been  very  remarkable,  considering  the 
prominent  place  it  occupied  only  five  years  ago.  At  the  last  show 
it  appeared  in  only  one  stand,  and  at  the  two  previous  exhibitions 
in  but  four  and  seven  stands  respectively.  Dorothy  and  Rebecca 
were  staged  last  year  more  frequently  than  usual,  whereas  Mrs. 
Saunders,  Mrs.  John  Downie,  Peacock,  and  several  other  well-known 
sorts  were  to  be  seen  in  but  few  stands. 
There  are  but  few  varieties  in  the  table  which  can  be  called  in 
any  way  new.  Of  these  T.  W.  Girdlestone,  distributed  in  1890, 
still  remains  at  No.  7,  while  its  companion  of  the  same  year, 
Buffalo  Bill  (No.  13)  has  risen  three  places.  The  only  other 
Fancies  of  a  later  date  than  these  are  Comedian  (1892),  which 
rises  one  step  from  No.  12  to  No.  11,  and  S.  Mortimer  (1894), 
which  makes  its  debfit  at  No.  9. 
The  most  noteworthy  feature  in  the  list  of  Pompons  is  the 
number  of  sorts  of  recent  introduction,  and  the  prominent  posi¬ 
tions  most  of  them  occupy.  Some  of  the  old  favourities,  however, 
are  still  shown  as  frequently  as  they  were  five  or  more  years  ago. 
For  instance,  E.  F.  Junker,  Darkness,  Whisper,  Isabel,  Red  Indian, 
Favourite,  and  Eurydice. 
The  Cactus  Dahlia,  in  comparison  with  the  Show,  Fancy,  and 
Pompon,  is  altogether  a  new  creation,  and  consequently  very  few 
have  any  history  worth  mentioning.  In  fact,  Juarezii  is  the  only 
variety  finding  a  place  in  this  analysis  which  was  last  year  more 
than  three  years  old.  This  will  give  some  idea  of  the  rapid 
advances  that  are  being  made  in  this  section.  Of  the  fifteen  sorts 
mentioned  in  the  list,  four — Mrs.  Barnes,  Earl  of  Pembroke, 
Harmony,  and  Mayor  Haskins  —  were  sent  out  as  recently 
as  1895, 
The  Singles,  though  not  nearly  as  popular  in  the  garden  as 
they  deserve  to  be,  add  greatly  to  the  attraction  of  our  early 
autumn  exhibitions.  Here,  too,  we  find  the  newer  sorts  taking 
prominent  positions,  most  of  the  varieties  named  in  the  selection 
being  less  than  four  years  old. 
In  the  following  select  lists  the  Pompons  have  been  treated 
in  a  similar  way  to  the  Shows  and  Fancies  in  the  tables.  In  the 
case  of  the  Cactus,  Decorative,  and  Single  varieties,  however,  the 
average  number  of  times  they  were  staged  at  the  last  two  shows 
alone  governs  their  relative  positions  in  the  lists.  Those  marked 
with  an  asterisk  are  new  sorts,  and  the  places  they  take  dependent 
upon  the  number  of  times  they  were  shown  at  the  last  exhibition 
only. 
Pompons. —  Arthur  West,0  G.  Brinckman,  Phoebe,  Tommy 
Keith,0  Bacchus,0  E.  F.  Junker,  Darkness,  Whisper,  Captain 
Boyton,°  Isabel,  White  Aster  (Guiding  Star),  Red  Indian,  Lilian, 
Favourite,  Grace,  Admiration,  Sunshine,0  Lady  Blanche,  Eurydice, 
and  Rosalie. 
Cactus. — Delicata,  Countess  of  Radnor,  Gloriosa,0  Matchless, 
Lady  Penzance,  Bertha  Mawley,  Robert  Cannell,  Mrs.  Barnes,* 
Countess  of  Gosford,  Apollo,  Kynerith,  Earl  of  Pembroke,0 
Juarezii,  Harmony,0  and  Mayor  Haskins.0 
Decorative. — St.  Catherine,  Baron  Schroder,  Duke  of  Clarence, 
Black  Prince,  Marchioness  of  Bute,  Cannell’s  Favourite,  Harry 
Freeman,  Mrs.  Gordon  Shaw,°  Mrs.  Hawkins,  Lady  Marsham,  and 
Josephine. 
Singles. — Phyllis,  James  Scobie,  Victoria,  Northern  Star,  Amos 
Perry,  Mrs.  Parrott,®  Mrs.  Wythes,°  The  Bride,0  M.C.C.,  Miss 
Henshaw,  Demon,  Miss  Glasscock,  W.  C.  Harvey,  and  Evelyn.0 
Where  Dahlias  are  largely  grown,  as  they  should  be  in  every 
garden  for  the  purposes  of  autumn  decoration  and  the  supply  of 
cut  flowers,  it  is  always  a  black  letter  day — “  the  first  dark  day 
of  nothingness,”  when  the  plants  are  cut  down  by  frost.  What 
dismal  objects  do  they  not  then  present !  For  the  past  nineteen 
years  I  have  kept  a  record  of  these  black  letter  days,  the  dates 
when  the  Dahlias  in  my  garden  were  completely  killed.  Looking 
down  the  list  they  are  found  to  vary  considerably.  For  instance, 
in  1888  all  my  plants  were  destroyed  as  early  as  the  3rd  of  October, 
whereas  in  1894  flowers  could  be  gathered  up  to  the  very  end  of 
November,  giving  a  range  of  nearly  two  months.  Taking  the  whole 
period,  the  average  date  comes  out  as  November  3rd.  Last  year 
my  Dahlias  succumbed  to  frost  unusually  early — viz.,  on  October 
24th,  which  is  ten  days  earlier  than  the  mean  date  of  their  destruc¬ 
tion,  and  earlier  than  in  any  autumn  for  seven  years. — E.  M., 
Berkhamsted. 
FANCY  DAHLIAS. 
Position  in  Present 
Analysis. 
Average  Number  of 
Times  Shown. 
No.  of  Times  Snown 
in  1895  in  True 
Relative  Proportion 
to  the  Average. 
Name. 
Date  of 
Introduction. 
Raiser’s 
or 
Introducer’s 
Name. 
Colour. 
1 
19-9 
18 
Rev.  J.  B.  M.  Camm  . 
1873 
Keynes  . 
Yellow  and  red 
2 
19  3 
10 
Mrs.  Saunders  . 
1872 
Turner  . 
Yellow  and  white 
3 
17-5 
19 
Duchess  of  Albany  . 
1884 
Turner  . 
Orange  and  crimson 
4 
170 
10 
Mrs.  John  Downie  . 
1889 
Turner  . 
Orange  and  scarlet 
5 
15-3 
12 
Matthew  Campbell  . 
1889 
Keynes  . 
Buff  and  crimson 
6 
15  0 
13 
Frank  Pearce . 
1886 
Rawlings  . 
Rose,  striped  crimson 
7 
120 
15 
T.  W.  Girdlestone . . . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  maroon 
8 
11-6 
19 
Dorothy . 
1888 
Keynes  . 
Fawn  and  maroon 
9 
110* 
11 
S.  Mortimer  . . 
1894 
Mortimer  . 
Rose,  striped  crimson 
10 
105 
4 
Peacock  .  . . 
1877 
Turner  . 
Maroon  and  white 
11 
9-0 
10 
Comedian  . 
1892 
Keynes  . 
Orange  and  crimson 
11 
9  0 
17 
Rebecca  . 
1883 
Keynes  . 
LiDc  and  crimson 
13 
87 
8 
Buffalo  Bill  . 
1890 
Keynes  . 
Buff,  striped  vermilion 
14 
83 
8 
Henry  Eokford . . . 
1886 
Rawlings  . 
Yellow  and  red 
15 
6  8 
1 
Professor  Fawcett  . 
1881 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  brown 
16 
6  5 
1 
Chorister  . 
1881 
Keynes  . 
Fawn  and  crimson 
16 
6  5 
2 
Mrs.  N.  Halls . 
1881 
Rawlings  . 
Scarlet  and  white 
18 
6  4 
1 
Gaiety . 
1879 
Keynes  . 
Yellow,  red  and  white 
19 
6-2 
3 
Henry  Glasscock  . 
1875 
Keynes  . 
Buff  and  crimson 
20 
6  1 
4 
Flora  Wyatt  . 
1871 
Keynes  . 
Orange  and  red 
20 
64 
3 
George  Barnes  . 
1878 
Keynes  . 
Lilac  and  crimson 
*  A  new  variety,  the  position  of  which  is  dependent  on  its  record  for  the  1895  show  only. 
