366 FLORA HISTORICA. 



into nursery beds, placing them about twelve 

 inches from each other, observing to water them 

 should the season be dry until the plants have 

 taken root ; they should be then kept free from 

 weeds until October, when they may be planted 

 out where they are to remain. We have some- 

 times been successful in sowing the seeds as soon 

 as they are ripe in the autumn, and by planting 

 them out early in the spring, have obtained flow- 

 ers a year sooner than could be procured from 

 the spring sowing. 



The flower-stalks of the choicest varieties of 

 Hollyhocks should be cut down to the earth when 

 the beauty of the flowers is decayed, for if suf- 

 fered to mature the seed, it frequently impo- 

 verishes the plants so much that they decay 

 during the winter, and a single stalk of these 

 emblems of fecundity will yield sufficient seed 

 for a large garden. 



