THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DAHLIA.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVIII, Issue 24, 11 December 1912, Page 41

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DAHLIA.

Mr Donald McDonald, F.L.S., con tributes to the pages of “The Queen” the following interesting particulars regarding the dahlia:—The dahlia stands next in importance to the rose in the eyes of the florist and its history discloses the fact that it has attained its present grandeur through the persevering efforts of experts extending over a century. It has yielded readily to the art and intelligence of the florist, and from a weedy pisnt of about Bft high continued selection has produced a dense, bushy habit, ranging from sft down to Ift. This improvement in its stature makes the plant far mere manageable, as well as stately, and the flower has also increased in size and form, and sports into endless varieties, which appear in new ami chaste colourings each year. Towards the end of summer and early in autumn these flowers are the chief glory of the borders. It is interesting (o trace back to the first introduction of the dahlia to this country. The first plants were received in England by the Marchioness of Bute, ■but they appear to have been lost through bad treatment. It was next in troduced in 1804 by Lady Holland, who brought seeds of it from Spain. This imperious lady aimed at being first in everything—even her culinary productions were to be unrivalled. While in the South of France she became acquainted with Palestine soup, a name bestowed upon it because its characteristic ingredient was the Jerusalem artichoke. Some tubers believed to be of that vegetable were obtained by her and sent to tie gardener at Holland House, Kensington. Instead of the artichoke, however, they turned out to be tubers of the dahlia, and the value of the acquisition was soon realised by a London florist offering 30 guineas each for them. During the first few years of its introduction few varieties were originated, and these of very inferior merit. This was the experience of the most scientifically managed gardens in France and Germany, as well as in the Madrid garden where they wore first cultivated. The gardener at Holland House was fortunate enough t > obtain new varieties from seeds the first year, two of which were double, and these were the first double flower I of the numerous family we now possess. The French botanist, in his cseay on the genua, observes that “it is not probable that ws shall ever see a blue one, since the varia.

tiou is from prtrple to yellow.’* He considered blue and yellow, to be the fundamental ’ types of the colours .of Howers, and that they mutually exclude each other: “Yellows pass readily into red and white, but not into blue; and in like manner -blue flowers are changed by cultivation into red and write, but never into yellow.*’ ' He. was proba.bly quite correct in his day, but we have advanced in knowledge since then, and now have more than one genus of plants that include the three primary colours—blue, red, and yellow in most pronounced degrees, though as yet there is no blue dahlia, ami a fortune awaits its producer.