White Flowers 193 
beds. Set bulbs 3-4 in. deep, in full sun, and stake before flowering. 
It needs mulch about the roots if the season is dry, and plentiful water- 
ing. After flowering, cut off the seed-vessels, and lift when the tops are 
withered, after frosts come. Dry in a cool shed out of the sun and store 
in a dry, warm place through the winter. For other var. see Yel., Pink 
and Red Per. 
Hrsiscus, Marsh Mattow (H. moscheutus, var. Crimson Eye). 
4-6 ft. A tall plant bearing white flowers often 4-6 in. across, with a 
center of rich deep red. It does best in a rich moist soil. Propagated 
by seed and division of the root. A new variety has been made by 
hybridizing which claims to be a great improvement on the usual type. 
Also pink var.; see Pink Per., August. 
HottywHock (Althea rosea, var. alba). 5-8 ft. One of our finest 
hardy plants, a biennial in some places, with me a perennial. It forms 
a thick clump of large leaves from which rise stout stalks bearing 
enormous wheel-shaped flowers of many colors. The erect growth 
makes a good background for lower bushy perennials, or they can be 
grown in broad rows without other plants, or as the foreground of a 
high hedge or shrubbery. Seeds should be sown in early spring and the 
young plants removed to a permanent position in August or September. 
I allow mine to seed themselves, and thus obtain strong plants, each 
year finding enough to reset in early spring, where they get well estab- 
lished by another season. Top-dress with manure when about to 
flower; give plenty of water and full sun. If plants are weak, allow only 
one stalk to a plant and stake early. If in a locality where they winter- 
kill, cut back to within 6 in. after flowering, lift the plants and winter 
in a cold frame. Some recommend a mulch a foot deep of coal ashes 
as a winter protection. Of late, hollyhocks have been affected with the 
rust, an orange-colored fungus growth that appears on the lower leaves 
first, and spreads upward, in time destroying the entire foliage, and 
injuring the bloom. If discovered early, we are advised to spray with 
a weak solution of permanganate of potassium; if advanced, spray 
with a weak solution of Bordeaux mixture, neither of which helped my 
plants. Try my special remedy, page 130. Remove all infected leaves 
and burn them carefully, and change the bed; or one can save the seed 
and let hollyhocks go for a year or two, and try afresh. It is said that 
the single varieties are less affected than the double ones. Give a deep, 
rich soil, underdrained with stones if possible. May be also propagated 
by division of strong roots. 
