96 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



section give them a peculiar charm — rich, dark and velvety colors pre- 

 dominate ; yellows are absent, and no two in a mixture are alike. Their stems 

 are erect and stiff, and they are admirably adapted for cutting. They like a soil 

 that is not liable to dry out, or the quality of the blooms suffers. They should 

 be planted in groups of six or eight, and each year the quantity of bloom will 

 be about doubled from each clump. — Rept. Mass. Hort. Soc. 



Fig. 924. 



Hollyhocks and Pansies. — An excellent covering for the hollyhock is 

 a nail keg, with both ends knocked out. Place one over each plant, and^fill in 

 about it with leaves. Then put something over the top, to keep out^the rain. 

 When snow comes, bank up well about the keg. Plants come through the 

 winter, when protected in this way, in splendid condition, and give early and fine 

 flowers. Unprotected, half the hollyhock plants die off in spring, at the north. 

 A close, heavy covering is almost sure death to a pansy. The ideal covering 

 for pansies is leaves scattered loosely among the plants, with large branches of 

 evergreens laid over them. These keep the leaves in place. — Am. Agriculturist. 



Wild Flower Trade. — The trade in cut wild flowers is beginning to be 

 an important business in the large cities. Wild ferns, especially those with 

 leathery leaves, are an especial feature. The Christmas fern, Aspidium acrosti- 

 choides, is largely drawn on. It is estimated that five millions of fronds of this 

 fern were sold in Philadelphia last year.— Meehans' Monthly for December. 



