364 
THE HOLLYHOCK. 
had succeeded in producing varieties with 
much thicker petals, and, which is a most im- 
portant point, those petals of a much finer 
texture or surface ; but, besides this, there 
was among his choice varieties, some very ex- 
traordinary novelties in the way of colour and 
form ; and it was said, that he intended to send 
them out last year. Whether any went out 
or not we are unable to say, but those who 
wished to attain perfection, or to go in ad- 
vance, could only hope for success, by com- 
mencing with the best that had been produced ; 
for it would take years perhaps to emulate 
a man, who, like Mr. Barron, had already ob- 
tained really improved varieties ; and con- 
sidering that he would be going a-head at the 
same time, nobody could overtake him, even 
if they began as close to him as his own ap- 
proved varieties would allow them. It is 
quite true that he would require something 
like a price for varieties which he had been 
for -many years engaged in producing ; but 
one had better give five pounds for the best 
thing there is, than set about endeavouring 
to get it ourselves by the same means. To 
produce the thick petalled varieties there is 
no doubt Mr. Barron had for many years 
sowed the seeds, and year after year selected 
the thickest he could find; although the differ- 
ence may have been almost imperceptible from 
year to year, very slight improvements will 
in the course of time become highly important, 
and compared with the race in the hands of 
persons who have been doing nothing to im- 
prove, the advance would be found extraor- 
dinary. Let any one begin now with the best 
of the varieties they could pick up at a com- 
mon nursery, and if they were not very choice 
in their first selection, and very careful in 
their seed-saving, and continued choice to 
propagate from, they would be twenty years 
getting where Mr. Barron has already arrived ; 
whereas, if they had bought the best of his 
to start with, and saved seed carefully, and 
from, the seedlings produced continued to 
select the best to save seed from for future 
improvements, they would be behind but one 
person, and that would be Mr. Barron himself. 
However, we do earnestly wish to see this 
flower encouraged ; because we have already 
seen that a great deal can be done with it, 
and there is no good reason why it shoidd 
not be done. We, therefore, propose to give 
a few hints as to its general culture under 
the least encouraging circumstances ; that is 
to say, supposing we have to begin with the 
common nursery varieties, and from these 
hints the amateur may profit enough to se- 
cure an advance, however slowly it may 
progress. The proper mode of proceeding, 
to overtake Mr. Ban-on, or, if you have his 
sorts, to go a-head of him, would be to save 
seed from the thickest petalled flowers, or 
those with the most extraordinary colours and 
of the best form. All those with petals that 
are indented should be avoided if possible ; 
for whole, smooth-edged, well-made petals are 
what we must fight for, and it is no use to 
save seed from varieties which are opposed 
to this in character. All the flimsy poppy- 
like flowers should be avoided ; all those of 
which the petals are puckered and frilled, 
give little else than similar varieties, or, at any 
rate, they rarely give any that have not the 
same faults. The pods of seed should be 
allowed to swell and begin to turn brown ; but 
not more than half a dozen should be allowed 
to remain on. Presuming them to be in 
bloom, select half a dozen of the best flowers 
on each plant, and tie bass round them to 
know them; let all the other flowers be 
removed as fast as they decay, instead of 
letting them remain on. If, however, there is 
any danger of a bad seed-year, more may be 
left on. When those are turning brown, and 
before the seeds begin to loosen, let them be 
gathered and put in a box to ripen, in a dry 
place exposed to the sun. In the spring, 
about April, let them be sown thinly on beds 
four feet wide, and be raked in; or if you have 
it handy, sift a little loose mould over them. 
When they come up in May, they must be 
watered in dry weather, and hand-weeded, as 
they would otherwise soon be choked, although 
they are strong growing plants when once 
fairly started. As soon as they are large 
enough to remove conveniently let a place be 
prepared to plant them out in : they should 
be nine inches apart in the row, and the rows 
eighteen inches from each other. The ground 
should be well dug, and dressed with well- 
rotted dung, or vegetable mould. The plants 
may then be dibbled in carefully, so that 
the earth is closed about the roots. Here they 
remain till they bloom, requiring to be watered 
until they have firmly rooted into the fresh 
ground, and even then, if the weather prove 
dry and parching ; they must be regularly 
weeded, and towards the winter they should 
be earthed up a little to cover the crowns of the 
roots well against the winter ; although the 
plant is by no means tender. Early in the 
next season the bloom will begin to rise, and 
as their spikes go up the lower buds will open. 
The instant they open and show themselves 
begin the work of destruction ; do not allow 
a semi-double variety to bloom a second bud 
unless there be something very attractive in 
the colour, or in the thickness of the petal, or 
the form of it. Pull up all those with thin 
flimsy petals directly, whether double, or sin- 
gle, or semi-double ; for, as the flimsy petal 
is the worst fault, nothing but an entirely new 
colour should save the very handsomest among 
