The morning call., 1891-01-18
THE CENTENARY
OF THE DALHIA.
A Flower That HaS Fixed Itself in the
Affections Of Every One.
A Purely American Blossom = Like Other
American Plants 1t Got Into North Ameri-
can Gardens From Mexico via Europe,


apropos to note the fact that the coming
wear will be the centennial of the naming
and describing of the dahlia, and that last
wear was tile centennial of its first Towering
in Europe after its introduction from Mexico,
its native country.
In the past century the dahli9, while not
rising to the proud position OF a queen
among flowers, has firmly fixed itself in the
affections OF almost every one who knows it.
Its blossoms have become like the familiar
faces Of old friends, and, from present In
dications, at the expiration of another CEN
tury the dahlia will be found, as now, where
ever there is garden
The great variation in variety and cOlora-
ton in the dahlia blossom has made the
plants an interesting study for the horticul-
turist. AS a result dahlia societies Tor the
study and exhibition OF the flower exist IN
great numbers ali over England at the pres
ent time The number of varieties that
have been produced since the Introduction
of the flower into Europe is prodigious, and
year by year great numbers of others are
added to the list.
The dahlia is purely an American flower,
says the Philadelphia Ledger, although,
Tide many other American plants it got into
our North American gardens from Mexico
by way of Europe. When the Spaniards
first took possession of Mexico they found
there people who had attained high state
of civilization. Not only did these people
have welI-regulated towns. but they were
found to be expert agTiculturiSts and horti-
culturists Their fields abounded in cul-
tivated fruits and vegetables, and their gar
dens with handsome flowers transplanted
from their native soils. Among the last was
the dahlia So struck was he by the beauty
of this flower that HeTnandes, in his history
of Mexico written in 1901, makes special
mention of it. He describes two species,
one of which, with paie-red flowers, he said
grew in the mountains of Quanhuahuac. and
was called by the natives acoctll.
A little over century later NJ. Ihierry
Menonville, a well-knOwn French botanist
of his time, was sent to Mexico by his Gov
the SpaniardS. While on his dangerous
mission
MENoNvILLE SAW THE DAHLIA
On several occasions and on his return to
France in 1877 published a book of his adj
ventures, and in it he spoke Of the beauty
of the strange flower which he had seen.
About l7SS some seeds OF the dahlIa must
have been sent to Madrid, for it is recorded
that plants Powered for the first time in the
Botanic Gardens of that city in October,
1889. 1t is not known now who sent the
first seeds, although hoTticulturists in the
PRODUCTION to 3 ron Humboldt, saying that
he found the plants from which the seed
was gathered growing in sandy meadows In
the Province of MechOacan, between AreO
and PatZcuaro. This scarcely can be true,
however, for, according TO records, HuIn-
boldt did not take his first voyage to America
until 1893. 1t is probable that these writers
| referred to 1904 where it is on record that
Humboldt sent supply OF seeds to the
Jardin des Plantes and TO Mr.. Otto OF the
Royal Gardens at Berlin.
The plants, on blooming in Spain, in
1889 attracted great attention, and the Mar
chi0ness of Butte secured a few specimens
and sent them to her place in England.
These plants were however, lost
1t does not always follow that, when
new plant of Importance Is introduced, it
will be named after some distinguished
botanist or other scientist. Very often the
honor fails on some person who would
otherwise have been, comparatively speak
ing, unknown. This was the case with the
| distinguished arrival from Mexico. When
Cavaniles, Spanish priest ana one of the
most eminent b0tanlsts OF his day, and who
was at the time at the head of the Royal
| Gardens at Madrid, described the plant in
| 1891 i'll his botanical work, 'lcones Planta-
| rum" he called il DahlIa, in honor of An
| drew Dahl, a Swede, student and disciple
! of the great botanist, Linn@us. Cayanilles
| named three species, Respectively, Pinnata,
| Cocennea and ROsea.
a few years later Professor Kari Will
| denow, German naturalist, for reasons of
| his own, renamed the plant, calling it
| Georgiua, after GeOrgi, an eminent Russian
| traveller and scientist. WllldenOW objected
| to the name dahlia, on account OF It's SINH
| larity to q genus of plants named Dalea,
| after Mr.. Dale, an English botanist. 1t
| having been shown, however, that the new
conner from Mexico had a prior right to the
| name of dahia, that Of Georgina was not
| long in use.
Cavanilles sent specimens and colored
plates to the Jardin deS Plantes IN 1902 and
in May two years later the Right Hon. Lady
Holland sent the three sorts TO Mr.. Buon-
ANTI in England. Within
FIVE YEARS STRICT ATTENTION
Was given in both places to the plant with
view of increasing the varieties. 1t must
be borne in mind that the species that have
been mentioned We're two single and one
Semi-dOuble towering sorts and few other
kinds that came from Mexico in 1904 through
Baron Humboldt, which were likewise
single
The most successful in the early cultiya-
ton OF the dahlia appears 10 have been
Count Lilieur, at St. Cloud. He had four
distinct varieties to work on in 1905. From
seeds OF these he obtained the following
year several plants that were very different
in color frGm the parent plants.
lie following year, desiring TO pr0duce
seedlings like the parents, Lileur exercised
great care in separating the seeds of each
kind, but when these lowered, to his gre at
establishment, the Count found a greater df-
versity of coors and forms than before.
Some of these seedlings were said to be very
handsome, and comprised puppies, dark
reds. buffs and even pale yellow.
With each new year, says a writer in a
horticultural magazine in 1918, came new
varieties, until the kinds seemed almost like
new creations, so different were they in
color and FORM Among one OF the most re-
markabe was seeding that produced
white flowers, and several others with
striped and shaded colOrS, and three double
kinds. These doubles were puppies and
liacS." The same writer, further on in his
article, says: Il have been told of a double
white, but at present have doubts of its ex-
istence."
As showing the rapidly with which new
varieties were raised it may be mentioned
that in 1916 English nurserymen had cata-
logued about $50 varieties and the German
nurSrrymen over 100 varieties, all different.
Among the English cultvators who early
attempted the cultivation of the dahlia was
John Fraser, who lowered Coecinnea in
June, 1893, at Chelsea, and had it figured.
In The autumn of the following year a Mr..
Woonford Powered + sea at Vauxhall
As soon as the double varieties made their
appearance there became rage for them,
ana the more lovely and graceful single
ones were consigned for many years to
oblivion. A few days ago, however, they
were reintroduced from Mexico, creating a
greater craze than perhaps any other flower
has done before This craze, three or four
years ago, simmered down to a quiet love
for the single dahla that is likely TO endure
for many years to come.
EARLY IN THE CENTURY
1t was thought by some that the tubers of
the dahlia might make good food, and in
France dahla tubers were included in the
catalogue of vegetables in the Bon Jardinier
in 1917. 1t was soon abandoned as a vegeta-
BILE for the table, however, as those who
tried to eat the tuberS reported the old ones
to be very. hard, and that the young ones,
though more tender when boiled and Of a
weak aromatic flavor somewhat resembling
ginger, were decidedly insipid. and even the
advantages OF a good sauce could not render
them sufficiently palatable for use except as
matter of curiosity
The dahha is classed by bOtanists among
what they term compesite or compound
flowers. that Is, disk of bloom made up of
large number of small flowers termed flor