329 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 19. 
Hollyhock was as capable of improvement and bringing 
within the ranks of florists’ flowers as the Dahlia. 
Ingenuity soon found out a method of increasing and 
preserving the kinds that had been so improved, and at 
this day we might almost venture to say the Hollyhock 
looks down with lofty dignity upon its now humbled 
rival. Comparing the merits of these two rival 
flowers, both flowering in autumn, and both possessing 
properties such as the florist can recognise, we should 
be inclined to give the palm to the Dahlia, chiefly on 
account of the length of time it ornaments the flower- 
garden, and also in the now exquisite beauty of colour 
and form to which it has been raised. Whether the 
Hollyhock will ever attain to such decided perfection of 
colour and form is yet to be proved, but the fact of its 
bloom soon being past will be, we fear, a bar to its 
becoming that general favourite that the Dahlia has 
been, and still is in a less degree. 
Certainly the improvement in the Hollyhock has been 
wonderful. Very lately we visited a garden in Hertford¬ 
shire, where they were cultivated to a great extent; 
several of the best known sorts were in flower, such, for 
instance, as Walden Gem, Comet, M. O. Baron, &e., and 
we were much gratified with the sight. On the pre¬ 
mises was a long row of seedlings, most of which pro¬ 
mised great things, having uncommonly large full buds. 
Several were open, and showed great merit; but one 
more especially, and when we say that it was like M. C. 
Baron in colour, but far exceeded it in size, fullness in 
the centre, with superior guard petals, our hollyhock 
amateur readers will understand what our feelings were 
when looking at and admiring this truly fine seedling. 
This fine collection is growing in a garden at the back 
of the Crown Inn, near the station at Broxbourne, on 
the Eastern Counties line of railway, and any one de¬ 
sirous of a day of quiet fishing will find this an excel¬ 
lent spot to visit; and there, in addition to the, to us, 
doubtful pleasures of angling, he may see a truly superb 
collection of Hollyhocks, and the landlord will show 
them with all the zest and politeness of a true lover 
of flowers. So much were we pleased with what we 
saw there, that we determined forthwith to take pen in 
hand, and commence a few essays on this flower, for 
many years neglected, aud even now not known to the 
extent which it deserves. We mean, that in many parts 
of England, Ireland, and Scotland, there are hundreds 
of growers of flowers that have no conception of the im¬ 
provement that lias been accomplished in the Hollyhock. 
They may have heard a rumour of such a thing, and 
they may have seen advertisements of the kinds in the 
catalogues of the growers, but they must grow them 
before they can understand and appreciate their beauties. 
For the benefit of such into whose hands The Cottage 
Gardener may come, we shall direct our attention to 
the following points:—1st. Soil and situation. 2nd. Se¬ 
lection of kinds. 3rd. Planting and after management. 
4th. Propagation by cuttings and seed; but our pro¬ 
scribed space is now full, and therefore we must say— 
To be continued. T. Appi.eby. 
MILDEW ON PEAS. 
Next in importance to hastening the growth of any 
production, is that of retarding it beyond the usual 
period at which it is generally found in perfection. 
Hence the “ having a vegetable product all the year 
round,” implies, in most cases, that that vegetable has 
been forced, produced naturally, and retarded. That 
one and the same crop of any plant cannot do all this, 
must be obvious to every one; but the judicious treat¬ 
ment by which it is more or less accomplished forms the 
skilful part of the management. Of late years much 
has been done in this way with fruit. Grapes are said 
to be attainable in good table condition from the first of 
January to the last of December; and Pine Apples the 
same ; while most of the small fruits, more common in 
our gardens, seem hitherto to baffle the skill that has | 
been directed towards maturing them in the dark days; 
and though currants at Christmas are not unusual, their 
presence at that time is more due to their property of 
resisting decay, than to any extraordinary treatment 
they may have received during their growth; but as our 
duty is more especially with kitchen-garden vegetables, 
we have only digressed as above by way of analogy, as 
much the same laws govern the one class as the other, 
and difficulties, and now and then failure, attend both. 
That atmospheric causes have much influence in the 
retarding process, must be apparent to every one; and, 
unlike the forcing department, we have no means of 
counteracting the effects resulting solely by those 
changes of the air, which, however beneficial for one 
part of a plant’s existence, are diametrically opposed to 
its welfare at another. For instance, September is usu 
ally as warm a month as May; the thermometer will 
range as high, and frosts are, perhaps, less common in 
the former month ; yet mark the result: Peas, which in 
May flourished with a vigour which made their daily 
progress visible to all who took the pains to look, will 
now be found to languish, and probably perish, in spite 
of all the artificial assistance that can be given them. 
This example, of course, relates to the half-advanced 
crops in the two months respectively mentioned. Now, 
that something may he done to mitigate this evil, it is 
our purpose to show; at the same time that it will always 
do so, is advancing too much, because so many other 
causes may be in operation at the same time ; and if 
those of an injurious kind predominate, farewell then to 
success. However, let us not give up the contest in 
despair, and, taking a late crop of peas as our text, it 
requires no extraordinary research to find out that 
mildew is one of the principal agents of this plant’s 
destruction. This insidious enemy, which assuredly, 
of late years, has been on the increase, is much more 
difficult to extirpate than any disease engendered by 
insects of any kind ; aud when it once seizes on this 
plant before the pods are formed and filling, then adieu 
to all prospects of a satisfactory crop. By some peculiar 
feature in its organisation this pernicious parasite 
spreads with frightful rapidity; and from the healthy 
green which the foliage ought to assume, it soon wears a 
grey hue, and eventually one of mealy whiteness; at 
which stage every breeze scatters its progeny far and j 
near, to establish itself on any object calculated to give 
it support. 
This tiny fungus, which in one or other of its forms 
exists on several plants differing widely from each 
other, and acting as such a scourge to all, is yet said to 
be exceedingly sensitive to certain influences, which, 
when brought to bear against it, are said to exterminate 
it. Not the least of these remedies, or partial remedies 
(for no one has yet ventured to assert that it can always 
be eradicated), is that ever-useful agent, sulphur, which, 1 
though it will not in all cases succeed, does in many ! 
check the evil. But it is hopeless to think of the leal 
of an annual plant like a pea being restored again after 
the severe measures adopted to drive away a deep-seated 
disease, but when the attack is but partial, and the 
foliage in the other portion healthy, active measures, 
aided by other external favourable influences, will do 
much to keep it under, so as to insure a crop, not so 
good, certainly, as when grown at a more congenial 
season, but as good as can be expected for the unusual 
period. 
Considering the devastations that mildew makes on 
many crops, even on those favoured by all the ad¬ 
vantages which art can bestow, it is not surprising that 
much should have been said about its origin, effects, 
and cure, and, like its compeer in destruction, the 
