198 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS 



proved by a trade florist named Chater, living at Saffron 

 Walden, in Essex (see the chapter on Crocuses for a 

 note of the derivation of the name of this old town), 

 and for many years " Chater's strain of prize Holly- 

 hocks " was a feature of the catalogues of the principal 

 seedsmen. Special varieties were grown under name, 

 just the same as Roses, Carnations, and Dahlias, and 

 almost equalled these old favourites in popularity. There 

 were classes for them at all the principal flower shows, 

 and the exhibition blooms were truly remarkable, alike 

 in size, form, and colour. 



It was as a garden plant that the Hollyhock was 

 valuable to the great bulk of flower-lovers. They set 

 it in groups at the back of large borders. They even 

 made beds of it. The tall spikes were closely studded 

 with flowers from within two feet of the ground to the 

 tip, and, leaning gently forward, made a gracious 

 semblance of bringing their beautiful blooms nearer 

 to the admiring eyes of the grower. 



Cottagers grew the plant, and it did well in their 

 modest gardens. Those who love to ramble in country 

 places, examining the village plots as they pass reflectively 

 along, cannot but heave a sigh of regret that the old-time 

 pictures are seen no more, even though gay Sweet Peas 

 and Dahlias enliven the gardens. The Hollyhock seemed 

 to form an integral part of the cottage. The whitewashed 

 walls of the dwelling formed a background for it, its crest 

 touched the low, thatched roof. It stood in soldierly array 

 at the back of the border wherein the Carnations, Pinks, 

 Snapdragons, and Monthly Roses grew. 



The undoing of the Hollyhock came swiftly in 1873. 

 A year or two, and its career as a great garden and 

 exhibition flower was at an end. Its kinship with the 

 Mallows proved fatal. A destructive fungus burst. like 



