1879.] CULTURE OF THE HOLLYHOCK. 29 



these have been left in the same positions, and so well did they look 

 last season, that I fully expected to have got a fresh start with clean 

 plants ; but on inspecting them before winter, with a view to have 

 them lifted and propagated in spring, the enemy was found to be still 

 in possession. This summer, provided these plants are not seriously 

 affected, I will propagate a number in cold frames. Growth under 

 cool and moist conditions seems the only means of securing good spikes, 

 and comparatively free from disease. 



What I would recommend, and what I am doing myself, is to raise 

 a stock from seed, and propagate any good variety which may be 

 produced. When the seed has been gathered from fine flowers, there 

 is a very large percentage of extra good varieties as the product, and a 

 fair collection may be formed from these, provided always there are no 

 Mallows in the neighbourhood, and no disease. Seed may be sown in 

 autumn or in spring. When sown in autumn the Hollyhocks may be 

 treated much in the same way as Cauliflowers, only raising the seedlings 

 under glass instead of in the open border, and duly pricking them out 

 under hand-glasses or in cold frames. I have found damp and slugs make 

 sad havoc with the seedlings during winter. To sow in the beginning 

 of March, and grow quickly, is better for the plants than to keep them 

 hanging on in a torpid condition throughout winter. Boxes used for 

 wintering Geraniums are very suitable for raising the seedlings in. 

 Prepare these with a layer of coal-ashes placed in the bottom for drain- 

 age, cover the ashes with rough Mushroom dung, and fill up with a 

 compost of three parts loam to one of old Mushroom dung. In sowing, 

 allow at least an inch of space for each plant, and merely press the 

 seeds into the soil so as to be nothing more than covered ; place a sheet 

 of brown paper over each box, and set them in a frame with a mild 

 heat. When the seedlings appear, gradually increase ventilation until 

 they can be removed to a cold frame, in which they will merely require 

 protection from frost, cold winds, and cold rains. It will depend on 

 the particular locality, soil, or climate, whether the seedlings can be 

 transferred from the boxes to the positions out-of-doors where they 

 are to bloom. If it is not safe to do so, the plants ought to be potted 

 singly in 6 -inch pots, draining these like the boxes, and using the 

 same compost, potting only moderately firm. In the course of another 

 fortnight they will require to be finally planted out. A spadeful and 

 a half of half soil, half dung, with a little soot, and some artificial 

 manure, such as Amies' Chemical, added, should be intimately mixed 

 with the natural soil of the border where each plant is to be placed. 

 This provides for the roots a ready medium until they ramify into the 

 border around, and thereby secures a quick, strong growth from the 

 first. The border itself should have been deeply turned up, and manure 

 mixed into the entire depth. A depth not less than 3 feet should be 

 aimed at; deeper than that, if possible. If the subsoil is unkindly, mix 

 the dung into it without bringing it to the surface at all. A rich, free, 



