Mny  8,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
409 
Show  and  Pompon  Dahlias. 
The  Dahlia,  a.s  represented  by  tlie  massive  roniuled  blooms 
seen  at  Dahlia  exliibitions,  is  divided  into  two  distinct  types — 
the  Show  and  the  Fancy.  Botli  are  convenient  terms,  nnder- 
stood  by  Dahlia  cultivators  and  exhibitors,  but  they  are  arbitrai-^s’ 
and  probably  puzzling  to  those  who  are  not  aware  of  the  general 
characteristics  distinguishing  the  two.  All  self-coloni’ed  flowers 
— such  as  Crimson  King,  Duke  of  Fife,  John  Hickling,  and  John 
Walker;  such  shaded  flowers  as  Maud  Fellowes,  Prince  Bismarck, 
Prince  of  Denmark,  and  Shirley  Hibberd  ;  and  .such  flowers  as 
Ethel  Britton,  Henry  Walton,  J.  T.  West,  and  Miss  Cannell, 
Avhich  have  pa  le 
gi'ounds  with  some 
edging  of  a  darker 
colour  to  the  petals —  ‘ 
are  classed  as  Show 
Dahlias. 
Fancy  Dahlias. 
The  Fancy  Dahlia  is 
a  later  form  of  the 
Show  Dahlia,  and  the 
first  of  the  type  to  be 
grown  and  improved 
originated  with  Count 
L  e  1  i  e  u  r,  of  Paris. 
Among  his  seedlings 
V,  ere  some  s  t  r  i  p  ed , 
flaked,  and  tipped 
.single  flowers,  and 
from  these,  it  is  be¬ 
lieved,  came  the 
•originals  of  the  Fancy 
type.  They  were  slow 
in  winning  the  favour 
of  English  growers, 
and  when  they  did 
come  into  more  general 
•cultivation  they  —  at 
that  time  small  and  in¬ 
ferior  in  outline— were 
grouped  under  the 
general  head  of  “  Fancy 
Dahlias,”  and  found  a 
place  in  schedules  of 
prizes.  In  point  of 
form  and  finish  they 
have  quite  overtaken 
the  Show  varieties 
proper,  and  such  Fancy 
Dahlias  as  Comedian, 
AI  r.  John  Downie, 
Frank  Pearce,  and  the 
Bev.  J.  B.  M.  Camm 
are  models  of  form  and 
synunetry  when  at  their 
best.  Of  the  many 
varieties  of  Dahlias 
figured  in  the  “  Annual 
Dahlia  Regi.ster  ”  of 
1836— coloured  figures 
which  are  in  a  very  fine 
state  of  preservation  in 
the  present  day — one 
Fancy  only  appears. 
Fancy  Dahlias  are 
“tipped”  rather  than 
edged,  because  the 
^  order  of  the  Show 
Dahlia  is  reversed,  as  a 
darker  colour  is  at  the 
bottom  or  ground,  with  a  lighter  one  forming  the  tip.  Fanny 
Sturt,  red,  tipped  white;  Airs.  Saunders,  yellov',  tipped  white,  are 
cases  in  point.  All  striped,  flaked,  and  splashed  flowers,  whether 
tipped  or  not.  are  Fancy  flowei’.s.  while  it  is  difficult  to 
accurately  classify  some  varieties,  as  they  partake  to  some  extent 
of  both  the  Show  and  Fancy  character.  Alany  of  the  Fancy 
Dahlias  have  the  defect  of  running  back  to  a  self  form,  in  which 
case  the  self  flowers  can  be  exhibited  among  the  Show  blooms. 
Fancy  Dahlias  should  never  be  propagated  from  roots  which 
produced  run  flowers  the  previous  season,  as  they  cannot  be 
depended  upon  to  come  true  to  character.  When  the  Fancy 
Dahlia  was  inferior  in  form  to  the  Show  type  they  were  not 
exhibited  together:  but  now  that  both  tyjies  are  represented  by 
varieties  which  are  models  of  form,  they  are  now  exhibited  on 
the  same  boards,  though  a  few  classes  are  still  reserved  for  true 
Fancies. 
There  are  a  few  iioints  in  the  cultivation  of  the  Dahlia  which 
Mr.  Mawley  and  his  Seedling  Single  Dahlias.  (See  page  406.) 
are  worth  attention.  It  is  well  to  occasionally  gently  fork  over 
the  soil  between  the  plants,  taking  care  not  to  injure  the  roots 
in  any  way.  A  mulch  of  manure  about  the  roots  of  the  plants 
will  be  found  in  hot,  dr^ung  weather  to  be  a  great  conservator  of 
moisture  and  coolness  in  the  soil.  In  giving  root  waterings  it 
is  well  not  only  to  do  it  close  to  the  stems  of  the  i)lants,  but  to 
pour  it  on  quite  2ft  from  it.  It  will  be  found  of  groat  assistance. 
Watering  overhead  through  a  fine  rose  watering  pot  will  be  of 
great  advantage  also,  if  done  in  the  evening  of  hot.  drying  days. 
A  close  look-out  should  bo  kept  for  the  ravages  of  any  insects — 
the  earwig  especially.  I’he  old  method  of  trapping  them  by 
means  of  an  inverted  flower  pot  at  the  top  of  the  main  stake  is 
still  one  of  the  best  means  nf  resorted  to.  Shading  of 
the  b  1  o  0  in  s  —  very 
closely  in  the  case  of 
flowers  of  a  delicate' 
tint — must  be  adopted 
in  order  to  secure 
finely  finished  Show 
flowers.  Disbudding 
must  be  regulated  to 
a  considerable  extent 
by  the  nature  of  the 
variety.  Those  having  a 
tendency  to  produce 
large  and  somewhat 
coarse  blooms  should 
be  allowed  to  carry 
most  of  their  flowers ; 
those  varieties  Avhich 
produce  small  blooms 
will  need  considerable 
disbudding  to  assist 
them  in  coming  to  the 
requii'ed  sizes;  but  in 
regard  to  this  matter, 
knowledge  of  the  re- 
Q'lirements  of  the 
variety  is  very  neces¬ 
sary. 
Pompon  or  Liliputian 
Dahlias. 
Forty  years  or  so 
ago  Pompon  Dahlias 
found  no  place  in 
Dahlia  catalogues,  and 
it  was  not  till  after  that 
period  their  merits  as 
border  flowers  began  to 
be  recognised.  In  1858, 
when  the  first  of  the 
large  Dahlia  exhib- 
tions  which  gave  rise  to 
the  National  Dahlia 
Society  was  held  in  St. 
James’s  Hall,  there 
was  no  class  for  Pom¬ 
pon  Dahlas.  The 
varieties  at  that  time 
(mainly  sorts  intro¬ 
duced  from  the  Con¬ 
tinent)  were  very  tall 
growers,  while  the 
flowers  were  only  just 
commencing  to  take  on 
the  fina  shape  they  did 
when  the  late  Mr. 
Charles  Turner  com¬ 
menced  the  work  of 
improvement  at  the 
Royal  Nursery,  Slough. 
The  origin  of  tite  Pompon  Dahlia  dates  from  1808.  It  was 
Hartwig,  of  Karlrushe,  wlio  obtained  it  as  a  double  form  of 
Dahlia  coccinea,  wliich,  when  reproduced  from  seed,  found  great 
favour  with  the  Oerman  florists,  onr  lOnglish  flori.sts  favouring: 
tlie  lai'ger  forms,  from  whicli  liave  come  onr  Show  and  Fancy 
Dahlias.  The  German  florist  who  did  most  to  improve  thi' 
Pompon,  or  German  Dahlias  as  tliey  were  then  known,  was 
Koe.stritz,  who  was  head  gardener  to  the  Flder  Deegen,  and  by 
1824  he  was  zealously  at  work  raising  and  improving  it. 
Not  only  have  the  improvers  of  the  Pompon  Dalilia  given  ns 
small  symmetrically  formed  flowers,  but  the  leading  new  varieties 
of  the  present  day  are  dwarf  in  growth — averaging  from  3ft  tn 
4ft  in  height — while  they  are  wonderfully  floriferous,  as  it  is 
pos.sible  to  cut  an  armful  of  flbwers  from  a  plant  at  one  tinu'. 
For  decorative  purposes,  in  a  cut  state,  no  other  type  of  Dahlia 
is  its  superior,  and  for  garden  decoration  notliing  representing 
the  genus  is  its  equal. — R.  Dean. 
