THE ALTHJEA. 49 



ings. The single Furze is easily obtained from seed 

 sown in shallow drills in March. 



If two rows of Furze are sown 18 inches apart, they 

 make one of the most enduring and close fences that 

 can be had, especially for gardens that require shelter 

 from cold winds ; but it must never be forgotten that 

 it requires the pruning- shears every season to keep 

 it well feathered below, and then nothing will go 

 through it. 



o* 



The Alth.ea (Malmcece). 



All the species and varieties of this order are more or 

 less beautiful, and even the weeds of this class partake 

 of its beauty. It consists of three divisions, the 

 Hibiscus, the Hollyhock, and the Mallow, with their 

 several varieties ; and although all three of these di- 

 visions belong to the one great natural order Mal- 

 vaceae, yet few would observe this in the case of some 

 of the subjects; for instance, the old Althaea frutex 

 would be easily taken for quite a different thing from 

 the Hollyhock, the Mallow, Hibiscus, &c. Here I shall 

 only refer to the Hibiscus class, the Althaea frutex. 

 These are deciduous shrubs of great beauty, comparable 

 to carnations on trees. There is nothing to be com- 

 pared with a well- grown dwarf standard Hibiscus on a 

 lawn, or a small bed of them, consisting of numerous 

 shades, as they are so remarkably varied and rich in 

 colour. To grow them well a good compost of peat, 

 maiden loam, and decayed manure is required, with a 

 good free drainage. In the northern counties a diffi- 

 culty will arise as to the flowering of many of the choice 

 kinds ; but in the southern and western counties no such 

 difficulty will be felt. These are seldom or never seen 

 nowadays, not because they are surpassed in beauty 

 by any of our new things, but because they are not 

 really known. 



They may be propagated by seed from the single 

 sorts, and by cuttings of the double ones, also by 

 grafting on stocks of the common Syriacus. The cut- 



D 



