. Florists' review [microform]. Floriculture. AHLIAS old-fashioned! No, not now, though still oc- casionally called old-fash- ioned flowers. Thirty or forty years ago they were correctly so called, for they then had all the prim, precise dignity that 'is characteristic of many old fashions. The prim form, the show type, still survives and is a be- loved member of the group, but now the show type is only one of many types; it no longer dominates the fashions of the entire dahlia family. No, indeed, dahlias now are not old-fashioned. There is nothing antiquated or slow about them; they are genui
. Florists' review [microform]. Floriculture. AHLIAS old-fashioned! No, not now, though still oc- casionally called old-fash- ioned flowers. Thirty or forty years ago they were correctly so called, for they then had all the prim, precise dignity that 'is characteristic of many old fashions. The prim form, the show type, still survives and is a be- loved member of the group, but now the show type is only one of many types; it no longer dominates the fashions of the entire dahlia family. No, indeed, dahlias now are not old-fashioned. There is nothing antiquated or slow about them; they are genuine progressives. Just when the experts have completed a nice, elaborate classification of the dahlia forms, labeling them cactus, decorative, show, peony-flowered and so on—just then two or three brand-new types are likely to appear and create fresh dis- order, because none of the old labels will fit the new arrivals. In fact, the dahlia always has been peculiarly quick to respond to good treatment. When, late in the eighteenth century, the first consignment of seed of the wild dahlia was sent from the native dahlia home in Mexico to the gardeners of Europe, the flower imme- diately-—even in the first year—showed its apprecia- tion of its new environment by beginning, in numerous instances, to assume a dou- ble form. A Fortunate Find. Even the first flowers of the cactus type had their origin, apparently, in acci- dental discovery, or in en- tirely natural circumstances, rather than in special cul- ture or systematic experi- mentation. It is said that in 1872 a shipment of dahlia roots, mostly decayed on ar- rival, was received by a Dutch florist from a friend in Mexico and that a cactus flower, the first one known to civilization, was pro- duced from one of the few sound roots in the lot. If. then, the dahlia has proved itself so appreciative of slight human attention, why should it not develop won- derfully under the skillful care of modern specialists? In accounting fo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecad, booksubjectfloriculture, bookyear1912
