1870.] CULTIVATION OF THE HOLLYHOCK. 7 



well water them, so as to thoroughly saturate the soil ; they will then 

 require but little water afterwards, until they are rooted. I place the 

 cutting pots in a temperature of from 65° to 75°, and if some bottom- 

 heat can be employed, so much the better. Should some of the larger 

 leaves suffer from damp, a pair of scissors will soon remove them. 



I often avail myself of the propagating season to raise some seed- 

 lings, when I have at command such a temperature as that stated 

 above. Using a light sandy compost, I sow the seed very thickly in 

 pots or seed-pans, and as soon as large enough to handle, I pot them 

 singly into small 60-pots about the time I do the cuttings, for I use 

 the same-sized pots for each. As soon as the pots are filled with roots, 

 both cuttings and seedlings, I shift into 32-pots, and if the plants are 

 kept growing till the middle of April, they can be gradually hardened 

 off preparatory to being planted in the open air, and both seedlings 

 and cuttings will bloom the same season. 



The work of preparing the ground for the reception of the plants is 

 an important matter. The situation I select as an exhibitor is a spot 

 quite remote from the shade of trees, or the reach of their roots, and 

 where the plants can have the full benefit of the sun. The ground 

 should be well trenched previously, at least 2 feet deep, and plenty 

 of rotten dung worked in as the work proceeds : dung from an old 

 cucumber-bed will be found very suitable for the purpose. 



I select a fine day for planting out, when the soil is in good work- 

 ing order. The plants are placed in rows fully 5 feet apart, the 

 plants 4 feet apart in the row. As soon as the plants are 1 foot in 

 height, they are staked, the stake being driven firmly into the ground, 

 and the plant secured to it by pieces of matting, not too tightly, so 

 that there is perfect freedom of expansion. As the plants increase in 

 size I employ strong twine for tying out, as a security against winds. 

 At this stage it is highly important that the plants be kept growing 

 freely, and plenty of water is given in hot and dry weather, and copious 

 sprinklings overhead from a rose watering-pot. If I cannot get rain- 

 water, I always expose it to the influence of the sun before using it. 



Red-spider often causes the cultivator some trouble. I cut off all 

 leaves infested by it and bury them, and mulch the plants well with 

 fresh rotten dung, and give a copious soaking of manure-water once 

 a-week. The exhibitor should allow but one spike of flowers to each 

 plant, and in the case of cut flowers being required, they should be 

 thinned out so as not to interfere with each other. This is best done 

 with a pair of strong scissors. 



Well and truly has the Hollyhock been termed "a noble flower." 

 For garden decoration it is in some respects unapproachable, yielding 

 such fine masses of gay-coloured flowers. It can be planted in various 



