278 THE HOLLYHOCK. 
of petal is a decided point, for it is the most scarce of all; it is the 
greatest drawback in the hollyhock that the flimsy petals spoil the 
colour by their watery transparent nature, and shrivel and burn up 
rapidly with the heat of the sun, besides which they cannot keep any- 
thing like a good form, even if they are disposed to be good. Besides, 
however, looking among them for varieties with one or other of these 
qualities conspicuous, there may be some with well-formed flowers, 
beating present varieties of the same colour, however slight the supe- 
riority may be; but it must not dishearten the grower if he find forty 
or fifty to throw away, for one to save. It may be, however, that some 
sorts not worth keeping for their own merits as flowers, may, neverthe- 
less, possess some scarce property worth seeding for; for instance, a 
very thick petal, and good round outline formed with handsome petals, 
may not be double enough to retain as a flower, but such a plant may 
be worth saving the seed from one season. Another, a very brilliant 
colour upon a very worthless bloom in other respects, may be worth 
keeping through the bloom for the chance of its imparting the colour to 
a better thing ; all these things must be looked to while selecting those 
which are to stand, but though they may be worth seeding from once, 
it would be useless trying them a second year. ‘Those intended for 
propagation and rearing should be labelled, and in all respects require 
exactly the same treatment as the established plants.” 
Among the qualities to be esteemed in new varieties, it must not be 
forgotten that those which are wide at the bottom of the spike, and 
have the flowers close together, narrowing the bloom gradually as they 
proceed upwards, are the best ; and that if the footstalks are short, the 
blooms close to the stem, and therefore crowded and confused, they are 
by no means estimable. In showing the hollyhock, only a few flowers 
should be exhibited ; three or four rows of flowers at the largest part 
of the pyramid should be set up, all above should be cut off, and no 
half-opened blooms or unbloomed buds should be seen. ‘This, with as 
much of the under-stem as will serve to hold them in the stands, is all 
that should be shown, and all in a stand should be of uniform height. 
Three rows are the most effective, the back being the tallest, the middle 
rather more dwarf, and the front shortest. In some cases the exhibitors 
are restricted to five flowers, but this is not so good a plan as limited 
heights, for the reason that they cannot be so uniform. If, for instance, 
the lowest were restricted to nine inches of flower, and the highest to 
fifteen, it would allow of the three heights being nine, twelve, and 
fifteen inches. We can hardly imagine a gayer subject than a number 
of stands of hollyhocks thus arranged, making all show the same 
distance apart, and thus preserving not only a neat and uniform arrange- 
ment the whole length of the tables, but also affording the judges the 
greatest facilities for determining the relative merits. 
As to the properties of the hollyhock, it will be enough for our 
present purpose to quote the following general rules laid down by 
Mr. Glenny :— 
‘1. The flower should be round, and the principal or guard petals 
should be thick, entire on the edges, and lie flat, being free from 
puckering or frilling. 
