HOLLYHOCKS. 



43 



in shoals nearly every season. If named varieties are desired they can always be pro- 

 cured from leading nurserymen, but nearly or quite as good may be had much more 

 cheaply from seeds saved from the best strains, and it may be added that seedlings grow 

 more freely than do plants raised in any other way. 



HOLLYHOCKS. 



The hollyhock (Althaea Eosea) has been cultivated as a florists' flower for many 

 years, and when in perfection is a great ornament to the garden in autumn. As an 

 exhibition flower it is generally much admired, the spikes and blooms being very 

 attractive on a show board. Its popularity was greatly decreased for a number of years 

 by the attack of the hollyhock fungus (Puccinia malvacearum), which committed great 

 havoc among the plants. Its virulence has now greatly abated, and the hollyhock is 

 again becoming more largely grown. This disease has swept away a number of fine 

 varieties raised by the attention of many old florists, but there are still good named 

 hollyhocks at command. 



The late Mr. G. Glenny's list of rules for the properties of the hollyhock is so clear 

 and precise that it is reproduced here : — 



"The flower should bo round, and the principal or guard petals should be 

 thick, entire on the edges, and lie flat, being free from puckering or frilling. The 

 centre, which is composed of florets, should form half a ball, and the more it covers 

 the principal or guard petals the better. These florets should be thick, large, 

 whole on the edges, perfectly free from fringe, or notch, or raggedness all over. The 

 colour should be dense, instead of watery or washy. The more bright and novel, 

 the more desirable. The spike should be close, the flowers touching each other, and 

 tapering from the bottom to the top, the foot-stalks of the flower being longer at the 

 lower end of the spike than at the upper end. There is no fixed height for the plant ; 

 but the flowers should begin one foot from the ground, and open all at once." Accord- 

 ing to the code of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, the guard petals should be about 

 half an inch beyond the centre, and the colours of the flowers clear and decided if self ; 

 if shaded or mottled, pleasing and harmonious. 



As a garden flower the stately habit of the hollyhock and its beautiful colours 

 render it particularly desirable. In the back of a flower border or in groups in the 

 shrubbery it looks very handsome, with its flowers embracing shades from blush to 



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