THE HOLLYHOCK. 
363 
It is very singular that so much time and 
learning should have been expended for the 
sake of ascertaining why this tree has been, 
from the earliest times, selected to be planted 
in churchyards. The reason is plain enough, 
and admits but of one way of solution, namely, 
that its sombre hue and perennial foliage 
point it out as admirably, and best fitted 
indeed, to decorate the place of the dead. 
Were it a lively and cheerful-looking tree 
there might be room for some controversy 
on the subject ; but so long as it remains, 
plant it where you will, a gloomy and sor- 
rowful object, it is only proper that it should 
be associated with the mournful silence of the 
grave. It may not be out of place to observe 
here, that at present there is a great deal of 
false taste displayed in planting cemeteries. 
This will be at once admitted, when it is 
mentioned that in some of those of recent 
formation, the Yew appears to have been 
studiously excluded. This is the more sur- 
prising, when it is considered, that the chief 
charm of the tree consists in its almost singular 
adaptation for adorning the churchyard, and 
other scenes of a sorrowful and hallowed 
description. The Pine, for instance, is a 
gloomy-looking tree ; but, upon seeing it by 
the grave-yard, no one can help tracing its 
descent from the mountain top, its native 
abode, and consequently, it appears there as if 
it were from home. The Weeping Willow r , 
again, like every other tree of the genus, is 
occasionally gay, rejoicing in the gale at in- 
tervals — a tree of the living and of the bright 
world, rather than of the land of " deep 
forget fuln ess." The Poplar, too, though in 
many respects suited for growing beside 
graves, is almost continually fluttering, and 
hence unsuited for situations which are pro- 
verbial for stillness. The Yew, therefore, can 
never with propriety be excluded from situa- 
tions which it has so long occupied, and which 
the common suffrages of mankind have proved 
to be in every way suited for it. 
After trying all the usual plans of propa- 
gating this tree, I am inclined to give the pre- 
ference to that of raising them from seeds. 
Layering is a sure process, but the plants so 
raised have a tendency to bushiness : those 
grown from cuttings are alike incapable of 
forming a leading shoot. It may be remarked, 
however, that such as are designed for hedges 
only, have no need for a leader, as it is evident 
that, bushy plants will more readily incorporate 
themselves into the required form. 
Cuttings should he planted in sand, and in 
a shady place, during the month of August or 
September ; and it is important to cut them 
iff immediately below the previous year's 
growth, so that a small portion of the wood 
which is two years old may adhere to each. 
They should be made about six inches in 
length, taking care to trim off the leaves at 
bottom, so that they may be firmly fixed in the 
soil. In the course of two years they will be 
sufficiently rooted to be removed into lines, 
where they may remain for two years more, 
when they should be again shifted. The 
berries of this tree are ripe in the month of 
November, when they turn to a bright red 
colour. They should be sown immediately 
after being gathered ; for if treated as haws in 
a rot-heap, the probability is, that mice and 
birds will devour them. I saved a large 
quantity of the berries last autumn, and 
buried them, as is usually done, in a pit partly 
exposed to the influence of the weather in 
order to rot off the pulp which envelopes the 
seed ; but, as already stated, the vermin 
devoured a great part of them, thus proving, 
that although the branches and leaves are 
poisonous, the seeds may be eaten by them 
with perfect impunity. The soil in which 
they are sown should be such as will not 
get hard on the surface. Loose and friable 
soil, if moderately damp, should if possible 
be selected. 
Civilized nations no longer use the Yew as 
an instrument of warfare ; and though archery 
meetings are increasing rapidly in England, 
there are other descriptions of wood more 
slender and elastic used in the construction of 
bows, so that its chief use may be said to be as 
an element in landscape decoration, and for 
planting in the particular situations already 
described. It is strictly a sepulchral object, 
and no one with any consistency would intro- 
duce many specimens of it either in a pleasure- 
ground, or in any situation often resorted to ; 
unless indeed some individuals of a gloomy 
temperature, absorbed in thought, might like 
to walk beside it. 
THE HOLLYHOCK. 
Tins is rapidly improving, and is fairly on its 
way towards its elevation as a florist's flower ; 
but there have been exhibited at the shops in 
London, and at exhibitions in the country, a 
vast number in which there was nothing but 
the colour to admire. The petals of the Holly- 
hock are too much of the texture of a Poppy 
to be at all acceptable without great improve- 
ment, and there has not seemed to be any ad- 
vance among the quantity shown recently at 
exhibitions. It was noticed last year, that 
Mr. Barron, of Saffron Walden, had been the 
most successful of all the raisers, who had 
hitherto attempted the improvement of this 
g.mdy plant, and there was certainly one 
quality in the specimens we saw, thai was by 
far the most important of all qualities that 
could be imparled to this tribe of Bowers. He 
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