130 



CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



the handsomest plants a person 

 could wish to have for a background 

 effect, and towering as it does with 

 majestic effect over its small subjects, 

 the annuals. The Hollyhock is almost 

 as easily raised from seed as the pansy, 

 the pink and the carnation, etc., is ; 

 but the difficulty lies chiefly in careful- 

 ly wintering them, which probably has 

 been the reason for their partial ex- 

 tinction of late years. Hollyhock seed 

 may be started in a cold frame 

 any time during the month of June, 

 and as soon as the plants have become 

 sufficiently 'established to allow of tliem 

 being handled, transplanted to any 

 ordinary bed in rather a shady locality. 

 Do not defer sowing the seed later than 

 this month, as it is almost impossible 

 for them to get sufficiently established 

 to withstand the winter. My experi- 

 ence with them has been that if sown 

 later than June they will invaribly be 

 frozen through the winter, and even 

 sowing in June and subsequent trans- 

 planting will sometimes discourage the 

 amateur ; because the proper amount 

 of covering required is somewhat 

 puzzling. Too much is sometimes 

 as bad as too little, for if we have 

 a mild winter the plants, having been 

 grown pretty strong, will probably rot 

 with a heavy covering, and the 

 same sometimes happens with the 

 lighter covering. Therefore I would 

 suggest a medium amount of covering, 

 and to plant in a rather secluded spot. 

 If the plants have properly wintered 

 over, plant to their proper situation 

 about the middle of April, as during the 

 cooler weather of April they have a 

 better chance to root, when they will 

 be fully prepared for the warmer 

 weather to follow. I would suggest 

 not to leave them where they were 

 planted the previous summer, as fre- 

 quent transplanting will strengthen 

 their blooming properties. This, the 

 June issue of the Horticulturist, will 

 give amateurs plenty of time to prepare 

 themselves for sowing seed for their 

 plants for next year, and I only hope 



many will avail themselves of the 

 opportunity of so doing in order to 

 have one of the finest species of plants 

 in their gardens, not on account of 

 its value as suitable for cut flowers, 

 but as a decoration for the garden. 



