304 Ornamental Shrubs. 



to keep it in good shape. In no case is the foHage partic- 

 ularly attractive, though in appearance it is always fairly 

 good. The flowers, double and single, take on a consid- 

 erable range of form and color, red, white, and purple, 

 with numerous combinations and intermixtures. They 

 come forward at the season of the year when the gar- 

 dens and fields are most destitute of color, blooming 

 in August and September, and continuing for some weeks. 

 Because of their submission to the shears, the altheas 

 are capable of making beautiful flowering hedges, though 

 they do not appear to be much used for that purpose — 

 perhaps, in part, for the reason that they afford but 

 slight protection as a barrier against encroachments on 

 the part of small animals. But as single specimens or 

 in borders, they show to better advantage than any 

 other shrub at the particular period when they are at 

 their best. The many forms known to cultivation are 

 supposed to be varieties springing from a common type, 

 and as a rule are greatly superior to the species from 

 which they have sprung. 



Of the numerous varieties only a few need be named, 

 such as are believed to cover the field of usefulness on the 

 part of the most exacting planters. One of the best- 

 known single forms is H. totus albus, with pure white, 

 single blossoms of large size, and without the prominent 

 crimson eye for which the group is distinguished. H. 

 alba plena is equally good in its general characteristics, 

 producing large, white, double blossoms. H. boule de feu 

 is in two forms, one with single red or pink flowers, and 

 the other with double blossoms of the same hue. H. alba 



