DAHLBEBG. 735 DAHLIA. Stockholm. Under Charles XI. he became director of fortifications. He rebuilt most of the works then existing with such skill as to be called the 'Vanban of Sweden.' He was appointed a royal councilor, a field-niarsha!, and in 1096 Governor of Livonia. Consult Schlijzer, Schwedischc Jiio- (jraphiea (vol. i., Altona, 1760). DAHLGBEKT, diil'gren, Fredrik August (lSl(j-'J5). A Swedish poet, born at Nordmark, August 20, 1810. He is the author of many popular dialect songs and ballads (3 vols., 1870) and of some successful dramas, of which Verm- landbif/arne (1840) is most noteworthy. He was also a facile translator for the theatre and wrote a history of the Swedish stage. DAHLGREN, dal'gren, John Adolf (1809- 70). An American naval officer, prominent on the Federal side during the Civil War. He was born in Philadelphia of Swedish parentage; en- tered the T'nited States Navy as a midshipman in 1826; cruised for a time on the Macedonian and the Ontario: and from 1834 to 1838 was en- gaged in the United States Coast Survey work, for which his aptitude and training in math- ematical studies had well fitted him. In 1837 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, but m the same year was forced by failing eyesight to leave the active service, and did not resume his duties until 1842. After a cruise of two years in the Sfediterranean on board the Cum- herland, he was assigned to the Ordnance De- partment, which absorbed the greater part of his energies from this time on, and of which he was twice chief— in 1802-63 and in 1868-70. In his many years of service he greatly increased the efficiency of the department and became espe- cially well known tlironj;h his invention (1850) of the Dahlgren gun, which proved of the xitmost value to the Government during the Civil War. In April, 1861, on the defection of Franklin Buchanan (q.v.), he succeeded that officer as commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, a po-, sition which he held intil the fall of 1802, when he became chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. In Februarj-, lS(i3. he was raised to the rank of rear- admiral, and in .luly replaced Admiral Dupont as commander-in-chief of the South Atlantic blockading squadron, the greater part of which was engaged in the siege of Charleston, S. C. Soon after taking command, he, in cooperation with General Gilluiore, the commander of the Federal troops near Charleston, succeeded in capturing Morris Island, silencing Fort Sumter, and completing the closing of the port. Finally, in February. 180.5. Charleston was evacuated by the Confederates, and Dahlgren occupied Charleston Harbor, while General Schimmelpfennig took pos- session of the city. Soon afterwards he resigned as commander of the South Atlantic squadron, and from 1860 to 1808 commanded the South Pacific squadron. After finishing his second ■ term as chief of the Bureati of Ordnance, he was placed in command, at his own reqviest, of the United States Navy Yard in ^^'ashington, where several months later he died. In addition to many reports and magazine articles, he published : Thirty-tiro-I'ound Practice for Ranges (1850); fff/istemif of Boat Armament in the United States Navji (1852); Naval Percussion Locks and Primers (18.52): Ordnance Memoranda (1853); X/ie?? and fiheU Guns (1856); and an uncom- pleted volume entitled Notes on Maritime and International Laic was published posthumously in 1877. Consult iladeleine V. Dalilgren (liis widow), Memoir of John A. Dahlgren (Boston, 1882). DAHLGREN, dal'gren, Karl Fbedrik (1791- 1844). A Swedish liumorist and poet whose ballads and songs are widely sung. He was horn near Norrkoping, June 20, 1791. Descrip- tions of natural scenes and the burlesque idyll are his fortes. Like Hood, whom in many V. ays )ie resembled, he ])ul)Iishcd for some years an annual. The Muses' Almanac, as a receptacle for his stories and comic sketches. His sole novel, Nahum Fredrik lierastriims kriinika (1831), is excellent. He died at Stockholm, May 2, 1844. DAHLGREN", drd'grcn, Mapeleine Vinton (1835 — ). An American autlior, wife of Ad- miral J. A. Dahlgren, born in tiallipolis, Ohio. Under the name of "Corinne," and later that of "Cornelia," she wrote many sketches and poems. She was one of the founders of the Literary Society of Washington, and at one time its vice-president. A list of her works in- cludes the following: Idealities (1859); Houth Sea Sketches (1881); Etifjuette of Social Life in Washington (1881); South Mountain Magic (1882); and lAghts and Shadoivs of a Life (1880). She also rendered from the Spanish Donoso Cortes's CatJiolicism, Liberalism, and Socialism, and from the French the Pius IX. of jMontalembert and the Executive Power of De Cliambrun (1874), with a preface by James A. Garfield. DAHLGREN GUN. The type of gun de- signed by Admiral Dahlgren after a series of experiments to determine the pressures at differ- ent parts of the bore. They were introduced into the Navy in 1852 and were in general use dtiring the Civil War. See Ballistics; Guns, Naval; Ordnance. DAHLIA, dal'ya or dal'ya (Neo-Lat.). A genus of large perennial herbaceous ]>lants of the natural order Composit;e, natives of Mexico. Most of the varieties in cultivation are derived from the species Dahlia variabilis and Dahlia Jnarezii, the latter being the parent of the cac- tus forms. Dahlias were first brought to Mad- rid by Spanish botanists in 1789. The name was given in honor of Dahl, a Swedish botanist. The dahlia varies greatly under cultivation. Some 3000 varieties have been catalogued. Most of these have been the showy and fancy kinds with spherical, symmetrical flowers dift'ering mainly in color. The cactus or decorative types are more chrysanthemum-like in form. Their introduction within recent years has done much to increase the popularity of the dahlia. The dahlia possesses a wide range of colors and lacks practically only sky-blue and kindred shades. It is propagated by division of the root, cut- tings, and seed. The first method is that of the amateur, the second that of the commercial grower, and the last is used in the production of new varieties. In gardens the roots are plant- ed 18 to 36 inches apart in any good soil and require ordinary cultivation. In the fall the roots are dug and stored in the cellar like po- tatoes. A beetle injurious to dahlias {Diabrotica 12- punctata) is illustrated under Corn-Insects.
