148 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  21,  1901. 
proved  the  plant  to  be  almost  hardy,  first,  by  flowering  it  on 
plants  grown  in  the  open  garden,  and  then  by  means  of  a  root 
that  had  inadvertently  been  left  in  a  border,  and  which,  passing 
the  winter  unharmed,  sprouted  and  grew  the  year  ensuing* 
Salisbury,  on  his  part,  showed  that  Continental  botanists  had  too 
hastily  assumed  that  mere  varieties  Were  species,  and  reduced 
those  that  had  flowered  to  two  species  only.  In  France  an  ardent 
florist,  Count  Lelieur,  almost  exactly  one  hundred  years  ago,  commenced 
improvements,  and  even  while  Europe  was  being  convulsed  with  war 
appears  to  have  persistently  continued  the  work.  In  1814,  some  of 
the  Continental  varieties  having  been  introduced  to  England,  the 
culture  of  the  plant  was  at  once  undertaken  with  great  enthusiasm. 
It  would  appear  from  Hogg,  1820,  that  the  practice  of  raising 
plants  from  seeds  prevailed  at  that  date,  but  they  were  also  propagated 
by  means  of  cuttings  and  tubers.  The  latter  were  also  potted,  started 
early  into  growth,  and  planted  out  to  produce  an  advance  crop  of 
flowers.  For  many  years  the  extreme  height  of  the  plants,  from  9  to 
12  feet,  was  a  great  drawback,  but  shortly  dwaifer,  though  still  tall, 
varieties  were  introduced ;  and  in  any  case  a  +all  habit  seems  not  to 
have  prejudiced  their  popularity,  for  a  few  years  later  we  find  Lee  of 
Hammersmith  offering  2C0  varieties  for  sale.  Up  to  about  1830  Latin 
names  were  not  uncommonly  used  to  distinguish  varieties,  as,  for 
instance,  Lee’s  atracta,  anemoneflora,  densa,  priscilentissima,  coccinea, 
and  speciosissima.  But  it  was  impossible  that  the  Latin  language 
could  supply  names  for  the  overwhelming  crowd  of  varieties  that 
annually  made  a  bid,  if  not  for  fame,  at  least  for  a  place  in  the  gardeD, 
and  so  the  more  sober  desigaations  of  Morning  Star,  Man  of  Kent* 
and  Queen  of  Roses  came  into  Use, 
The  rate  of  supply  At  this  period  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact 
that  180  new  English  varieties  were  offered  iu  the  spring  of  1835,  and 
the  popularity  of  the  flower  is  guaged  by  the  prices  charged.  Of  these 
101  sorts  were  catalogued  at  5s.  each,  fifty-six  at  7s.  6d.,  and  twenty- 
one  at  10s.  A  few  years  later  half  a  guinea  was  the  standard  price 
for  a  novelty,  and  at  this  figure  new  varieties  continued  to  be  sold  for 
some  thirty  years,  when  prices  declined  somewhat.  To  understand 
how  so  large  a  number  of  varieties  could  possibly  find  buyers  in  one 
year,  it  is  necessary  to  explain  that  up  till  about  this  date  th  re  was  no 
criterion  of  what  the  florists  wanted  in  the  Dahlia,  and  it  was  just 
then  that  what  was  termed  the  cup-shaped  floret  began  to  appear,  and 
which  became  the  type  that  florists  gave  the  preference  to.  The 
forms  that  were  discarded  consisted  n  ainly  of  the  Anemone-flowered, 
the  China  Aster-flowered,  and  the  Globe-flowered  sections.  Size  and 
colour  in  these  appear  to  have  been  the  points  mostly  looked  for- 
Wilmot’s  superba,  for  example,  having  been  9  inches  across. 
The  first  exhibition  of  Dahlias  was  held,  curiously  enough  in 
Billingsgate,  in  1832,  a  silver  cup  having  been  offered  for  twelve 
blooms.  The  Metropolitan  Society  of  Florists  then  took  up  the 
flower,  and  furnished  rules  by  which  the  blooms  were  to  be  judged. 
Shows  all  over  the  country  became  shortly  the  fashion,  from  four  to 
100  blooms  being  the  number  staged  for  prizes.  At  the  very 
beginning  of  the  exhibition  era  a  practice  crept  in  of  removing  the 
hard  centres  from  blooms  otherwise  good,  and  replacing  them  with 
per  ect  florets.  This  was  sometimes  so  skilfully  effected  as  to  escape 
detection,  but  as  a  rule  it  resulted  in  much  ill  feeling,  because  societies 
were  not  so  keen  in  meting  out  punishment  to  detected  offenders  as 
honest  exhibitors  considered  they  ought  to  have  been.  Very  early, 
too,  a  point  in  judging  was  noted  that  still  merits  attention.  It 
happened  then  as  it  does  now,  that  a  very  fine  bloom  with  the  older 
florets  past  was  pitted  against  a  fresher  bloom,  but  with  a  hard  centre. 
It  was  clearly  stated  that  the  former  must  be  allowed  to  be  the  better 
bloom,  though  at  the  time  imperfect,  whereas  the  other  under  no 
circumstances  could  be  considered  as  other  than  inferior.  “  Fancies,” 
though  not  classed  separately  from  “  Shows,”  were  early  in  existence, 
not  only  in  the  striped  and  spotted  forms,  but  as  early  as  1827 
Levick  raised  a  variety,  crimson  with  clearly  marked  white  tips,  the 
first  of  this  type.  It  caused  much  excitement,  not  only  on  account  of 
its  novelty  but  also  because  of  its  uncertainty  and  its  tendency  to 
revert  to  a  crimson  self.  The  variety  was  named  incomparable,  and 
during  many  years  occupied  a  high  position  as  an  exhibition  flower  ; 
when  in  good  form  being  unique  among  its  compeers. 
It  is  rather  curious  that  the  single  forms  raised  early  iu  the 
century  were  preserved  in  gardens  here  and  there,  and  that  it  was 
from  these  that  the  craze  for  single  varieties  which  originated  twenty 
years  ago  was  fed  with  material.  The  Cactus  forms  which  first 
appeared  about  the  same  time  are  so  common  as  to  require  no 
comment.  It  is  right  to  state  that  the  Dahlia  from  the  very  first  was 
admitted  into  the  flower  garden,  and  all  along  the  plant  has  been 
more  or  less  effectively  employed  as  a  stately  flower  of  autumn,  its 
value  in  masses  having  been  appreciated  long  ago.  For  bedding 
purposes  a  class  with  small  flowers  and  a  dwarf  habit  of  growth  was 
specially  cultivated,  and  used  mostly  to  furnish  the  back  lines  in  broad 
ribbon  borders.  Good  forms  of  these  were  Zelinda,  purple;  Little 
Wonder,  scarlet;  and  alba  floribunda,  white.  The  Pompon  varieties 
introduced  from  Germany  about  thirty-five  years  ago,  and  latterly 
“Glare  of  the  Garden,”  seem  to  have  completely  routed  these  out  of 
gardens. 
Now,  when  many  gardeners  and  amateurs  are  thinking  of  starting, 
their  stock  of  tubers  to  produce  cuttings,  it  may  be  not  uninteresting 
to  note  that  the  practice  of  planting  the  tubers  in  April  is  a  very 
old  one,  and  for  ordinary  garden  purposes  still  the  best  method  of 
culture,  and  specially  to  be  commended  on  account  of  the  labour  and 
time  saved  as  compared  with  the  usual  practice. — R.  P.  Brotherston. 
Sprekelia  formosissima. 
The  Jacobsea  Lily  is  a  bulbous  plant  with  curiously  shaped  and 
rich  scarlet  flowers,  and  like  many  other  members  of  the  Amaryllis 
family  may  be  had  in  flower  all  through  the  winter  months,  and 
is  therefore  extremely  useful.  It  is  usually  catalogued  as  Amaryllis 
formosissima,  but  its  correct  name  is  Spiekelia  formosissima,  and  it 
hails  from  Mexico.  It  is  certainly  to  be  regretted  that  the  beautiful 
flowers  fade  so  quickly,  but  although  they  only  last  from  four  to  six 
days  they  are  nevertheless  useful  where  choice  flowers  are  required 
for  cutting,  or  for  the  decoration  of  greenhouses  throughout  the 
winter. 
Established  bulbs  will  expand  their  flowers  in  from  four  to  six 
weeks  after  starting  in  a  temperature  of  65°  to  70°,  but  as  soon  as 
the  flowers  are  open  the  plants  should  be  removed  into  a  cooler  house. 
They  may  be  grown  singly  in  5-inch  pots,  but  as  each  bulb  only 
throws  up  a  one-flowered  scape  it  is  better  to  place  about  five  bulbs  in 
a  7-inch  pot,  especially  if  required  for  decorative  purposes  in  a  large 
house,  or  even  for  cutting.  The  flowers  usually  appear  with  the 
leaves,  and,  like  all  Amaryllises,  they  are  best  when  established  and- 
the  pots  are  full  of  roots  ;  indeed,  they  should  be  forced  gently  the 
first  year  they  are  potted,  and,  with  an  eye  to  future  usefulness,  they 
must  be  well  cared  for  after  flowering. 
This  is  where  many  people  fail  with  bulbous  plants.  As  soon 
as  the  flowers  have  faded,  and  this  is  generally  at  an  early  stage  of 
the  plant’s  growth  for  the  season,  they  are  thrown  aside  and 
neglected.  It  is  known,  alas  !  too  well  that  it  is  impossible  to  do 
justice  to  the  host  of  dissimilar  plants  during  the  forcing  season  ; 
but  this  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  unless  the  embryo  flower  be 
formed  in  the  bulb  before  the  leaves  die,  forcing  or  even  natural 
growth,  so  far  as  flowers  are  concerned,  will  be  a  disappointment  the 
next  year. 
A  good  compost  may  consist  of  three  parts  of  loam  and  one  part  each 
of  leaf  mould  and  sand,  but  they  will  only  require  potting  every 
second  or  third  year,  and  if  the  surface  soil  is  removed  every  season 
before  starting  the  bulbs  and  fresh  compost  supplied,  also  all  suckers 
removed  and  the  drainage  kept  free,  they  will  flower  for  years  without 
being  potted.  After  flowering  keep  the  plants  well  exposed  to  the 
sun  until  growth  is  completed,  then  gradually  withhold  water,  and 
finally  dry  them  off  and  rest  them  for  at  least  three  months. — F. 
