HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS 111 



Stocks. To many people Stocks are only familiar in the form 

 of the popular "German Ten-week" varieties. Beautiful and valu- 

 able as these are, from their huge double spikes, rich colours, 

 long duration of bloom, and delicious fragrance, they ought not 

 to be the sole representatives of the genus. The Brompton Stock 

 is also a fine plant, well worthy of cultivation. Like the Ten-week, 

 it is easily raised from seed, but it is best treated as a biennial, 

 being sown in a frame in June, grown sturdily, and planted out, 

 if the position is fairly dry and well drained, in October for flower- 

 ing the following year. The plants are liable to be destroyed in 

 low. damp places, on which frost settles sharply in winter; and 

 in case of doubt they may be wintered in pots in frames. In the 

 latter event they will be planted out in spring, and a little trouble 

 may well be taken to prepare the ground, thorough digging and 

 manuring being resorted to, preferably a few weeks before planting 

 time. The plants will not be retained after flowering, but fresh 

 seeds sown ; thus they become what we call biennials. The 

 Brompton Stocks have bold growth, large flower spikes, and bright 

 colours to recommend them ; we may therefore turn to them with 

 confidence. 



There is no reason, of course, why the Ten- week Stocks should 

 not be introduced into herbaceous borders if desired. There are 

 often positions near the front of borders where clumps might be 

 planted with great advantage. These beautiful flowers are genuine 

 annuals, but for all that they belong to the same genus as the 

 biennial Brompton Matthiola. Whence the name " Stock," it may 

 be asked, and whence "Matthiola"? "Stock" is an abbreviation 

 of "Stock Gillyflower" (gilloflower or gilliflower). "Matthiola" 

 is derived from Matthioli, the genus having been named after an 

 Italian of that name. Our flower-loving forebears did not distin- 

 guish flowers by separate names so carefully as we do now, and 

 they called several plants which we regard as distinct by the col- 

 lective name of Gillyflowers. Stocks and Carnations were both 



