324 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 23, 1892. 
FltORICOliTURE. 
The Hollyhock. 
This, the common name of Althaa rosea, appears 
to etymologists a somewhat perplexing word. The 
latter part, hock, is according to Dr. Prior clearly 
from the Latin, Alcea: but the holly seems to be 
very difficult to explain. Dr. Prior says, that the 
most probable origin of it is the Latin, caulis, with 
the meaning of a calecolay, or Cabbage-hock, and refer¬ 
ring, as in Cabbage-rose, to its well-formed double 
flowers, or used in the sense of stalk, and referring to 
its lofty habit, in contrast with the lowly Hock-herb< 
or mallow. Cauli, or Coley-hock would easily pass 
into Holly and Holly-hock. It is an interesting and 
instructive study in seeking out the origin of common 
names, and the Hollyhock is no exception to the 
rule. 
I have, in my time seen the development of the 
Hollyhock from a flower, only partly semi-double ; 
and one of large size, high finish, and perfect double¬ 
ness. It now seems impossible to get much beyond 
what has been reached of late years, only that no one 
can forecast the possibilities of development in the 
flower. It is onerequiring a good garden soil, which, 
to do the plants full justice, should be trenched 
to the depth of two feet, and well manured with 
something akin to that got from an old Cucumber 
bed. If good plants, whether obtained by seed or 
by means of grafting or from cuttings, are put out in 
April, they cannot fail to do well, grow into large size, 
and produce fine spikes of bloom. Messrs. Sutton & 
Sons, of Reading, who every season grow as fine a 
plantation of Hollyhocks as one can well desire to 
look upon, say with much truth that “in growing 
the Hollyhock it is necessary to remember that a 
large amount of vegetable tissue has to be produced 
within a brief period, so that the treatment through¬ 
out its career should be exceptionally liberal." 
This is quite true, and it is worthy of note that while 
the Hollyhock will take a large amount of moisture 
during the summer, it is rather impatient of it dur¬ 
ing winter ; and especially is this the case with old 
plants, and one can therefore understand the reason 
why the late William Chater, of Saffron Walden, used 
to remove the soil from the necks of his old plants 
left in the ground for the winter, and piling up white 
sand round the neck, to the depth of six inches or so. 
The heavier and more retentive the soil, the more 
necessary is such a precaution. I have known some 
growers to lift their old plants, pot them, keep them 
in cold frames during the winter, and replant them 
in spring. 
By sowing seeds early in January or February on 
bottom heat, growing them on freely in pots, and 
planting them out of doors in June, the Hollyhock 
can be made an annual, but the plants hardly become 
strong enough to show the true value of the variety. It 
is best to sow the seeds in June or July, grow the plants 
on in pots, winter them in a cold frame, and plant 
out in March or April as the weather suits. If the 
seeds be sown in the open, a warm border should 
be selected, and if the plants remain there until 
early spring before being placed in their blooming 
quarters, which is sometimes safer than transplant¬ 
ing in autumn, a little Joose litter may be thrown 
over them with advantage during a time of severe 
frost.— R. D. 
Pansies and Violas, etc. 
This spell of snow arid severe weather causes 
frames to be kept close and Pansies and other plants 
are shut up, and if they were not in a tolerably dry 
state before being shut up closely, they will pro¬ 
bably be suffering more or less from damping. It 
will therefore be best, directly the frames can be 
opened, to do so and admit plenty of air and examine 
the plants, and if damping, i.e. decaying of the 
foliage, is visible, see to the removal of such leaves 
at once, using a pair of scissors, and I have always 
found a dusting of dry white sand a great help to its 
extermination. An application of flour of sulphur 
or even dry lime I have also used. But an abun¬ 
dance of air and the lights off as much as possible in 
dry weather should be seen to. Pansies, Violas, 
Carnations, &c., will begin to grow very soon, so 
they should be kept very hardy and tolerably dry, 
giving plenty of air, for it is a great mistake to keep 
these plants closely shut up in frames, excepting in 
very severe weather. Avoid any tender treatment 
and keep the plants hardy and exposed to the air, 
avoiding biting east winds, as these do infinitely more 
harm than frost, as the plants bear frost with im¬ 
punity if in a tolerably dry state.— D, 
-- 
FERNS: THEIR GROWTH 
AND CLASSIFICATION. 
At the meeting of the Manchester Horticultural 
Improvement Society held on the yth inst., Mr. W. 
Birkenhead, of Sale, read a paper on Ferns. At 
the outset he pointed out that Ferns, being flowerless, 
are spoken of as belonging to one of the lower orders 
of plants, but a full appreciation of the beauty and 
gracefulness which belong to them points to the 
higher education than is found among people who 
admire flowers only. It would seem that when the 
mind is first opening to a recognition of beauty in 
plants the most gaudy takes up the attention of the 
individual, some bloom of striking colour or of 
enormous size, perhaps a Paeony, or a Rose as large 
as a small Cabbage, arrests the attention. But as 
the mind opens to an enlarged conception of beauty 
smaller flow'ers are noticed, and interest is taken in 
those which beforetime had been passed by unseen, 
or at any rate unthought of. The awakening of the 
mind goes on as education on the subject advances, 
until it is seen that beauty does not dwell in colour 
alone, but that form comes within the range of vision 
as a competitor with colour in its demand for the 
admiration of the better educated portion of society. 
The exquisite tracery of the branches of the leafless 
Elm, the gnarled branches of the majestic Oak, and 
the delicate divisions and sub-divisions of more 
humble Ferns are alike admired by those who have 
learned to see beauty in so many forms. In this 
advance we get the best evidence of a refined and 
elevated taste, a condition of thing which 
guarantees to the fortunate possessor a feast of far 
greater excellence than can be enjoyed by the 
enthusiast in colour alone. Admiration of form in 
no way deadens the enjoyment of colour, but the two 
together enter into and form a combination of beauty 
of a highly gratifying character. Ferns, being flower¬ 
less, it was interesting to notice them modes of repro¬ 
duction, which are twofold, principally by spores, 
and secondarily by buds formed on the fronds of 
some species, on the rhizomes of others, and on the 
roots of others. These buds contain within themselves 
all the necessary power of vital force to enable them 
to grow into a likeness of the parent plant when 
placed in suitable relationship to of the elements 
nutrition. Mr. Birkenhead went on to explain at 
length the difference which exists between a spore 
and a seed. Seeds, he said, are always preceded by 
flowers, and are the advanced growth of substances 
generated in the sexual organs of the flowers. When 
perfect they contain the embryos of future plants, 
with vital powers ready to operate directly they come 
under the influence of necessary heat and moisture. 
For the production of seeds the pollen or fertiliz¬ 
ing substance of the male organs in the flower must 
be brought into contact with the stigma, or female 
organ, and a combination of the two elements must 
take place before the seed begins to form. But not 
so with the spores of Ferns. These are produced in 
millions without any semblance of a flower or the 
organs of a flower being visible in any way. These 
spores are blown about, or float in the atmosphere in 
countless numbers, where Ferns are growing, and 
when they alight upon a suitably moist and warm 
surface they adhere and presently begin to swell. 
They form cells containing a green coloured sub¬ 
stance, and the cells increase in numbers until they 
present the appearance of broad flat scales, of a vivid 
green colour. Rootlets like fine hair are at the 
same time produced underneath, with which they 
fasten themselves firmly to the surface upon which 
they have alighted. Among these rootlets the sexual 
organs make their appearance, and thus fertilization 
is brought about In flowering plants the sexual 
fertilizing agencies are at work in the flower before 
seed can be formed, whilst with Ferns the sexual 
agents of reproduction are not discoverable until the 
spore has left the plant which gave it being, and has 
itself entered upon an independent existence. When 
fertilization has taken place soon there is an evidence 
of the fact by the upward growth of minute fronds, 
and from that point of time the development of the 
Fern goes on until the perfect plant is seen full of 
graceful beauty, 
Mr. Birkenhead went on to notice the principle 
upon which Ferns have been divided into classes by 
botanists for the convenience of recognition and de¬ 
scription. The various species are distinguished, he 
explained, from each other by the peculiar forms in 
which the sacs containing the spores are found to 
exist. Sometimes they are seen in roundish clusters, 
sometimes in oblong clusters, sometimes in short, and 
at others times in long oblique lines. In others 
again they are in a horse shoe form, while others 
are contained in little cups much resembling a wine 
glass in shape, others seem to be enclosed in re¬ 
ceptacles like bivalvate shells, and still others like 
beads on the top of an upright stalk, on numerous 
branchlets at the upper part of the stalk, or at the 
end of an otherwise normal frond. This diversity 
of form made the classification of the Ferns very 
easy, and other varied forms made the task still 
easier. 
THE ARUM LILY AS AN 
AQUATIC. 
In an American gardening contemporary, I notice 
some remarks on this plant which bear out my ow 
experience, that the Arum Lily is a moisture lovin 
subject, for I have seen very fine plants standing in 
water in intermediate and other houses which seemed 
to revel in such treatment and produced very fine 
blooms. The writer of the notes in the American 
paper gives his experience of the growth of this plant 
in South Africa, where a creek ran through a long 
stretch of farm land, and by the side of, and in 
which, thousands of splendid Callas were in bloom, 
with grand leafage and tall large stems and enor¬ 
mous spathes. 
On the occasion of a visit a year after he found 
that a herd of pigs had discovered the spot and 
rooted out the Calla roots and ate them, and 
in their native country they are called Pig Lily, on 
account of the fondness of these animals for the root. 
The Hottentots eat them, roasting them in ashes. 
The pigs that had feasted so luxuriantly on the roots 
are reported to have’ produced the sweetest and 
finest pork when killed of the whole herd. 
Pigs are well known to have a very strong digestion, 
and Hottentots are evidently not very particular, as 
a pound or two of Colman’s mustard at a meal would 
appear to be only a toothsome feed, according to 
the experience of a well known humorous writer on 
American horticulture, who writes as follows in 
The blonst's Exchange :— 
“ A rush of work has prevented my entering sooner 
into my investigation of the Calla Lily bulb as a 
food product, but to-day being Sunday, I thought it 
proper to have a tid-bit for dinner, if the bulb proved 
to be one, and if it did not, I could not choose a 
better day to enter on an investigation that was 
fraught with so much good for humanity at large. 
“At ii. 30. a. m. to-day I carried the bulb to the 
kitchen and gave it to the Negro cook, instructing 
her that it was a new kind of sweet potato of surpas¬ 
sing delicacy that had been sent to me from a distant 
land, and that she was to roast it and when 
thoroughly cooked inform me and I would dine. 
“After roasting the bulb in a very hot oven for 
one hour, she sent me word that it was ready and I 
sat down to the table with several other guests to 
enjoy a square meal. 
“I informed my companions of the commission I 
had received from the Florist's Exchange, shook 
hands solemnly, and received earnest, and I trust 
sincere, promises that my grave should be kept 
green. 
“ Peeling the Calla bulb carefully, I noticed that 
a small sucker had been removed from the side of 
the bulb, and guessed at once that the cook had 
decided to try a taste of so priceless a delicacy on 
her own account. 
“ I found the flesh of the Calla bulb to resemble 
very much in appearance the flesh of a sweet potato, 
but had a greater number of tough fibrous strings 
running through it ; it was dry and mealy and 
looked and smelt good. 
" Taking a good big mouthful, I masticated it 
thoroughly and swallowed it. ‘ How does it taste, 
Caldwell ? ’ chorused my guests. ‘ Why, it don’t 
taste of anything, it is absolutely tasteless,’ I 
answered. Just then 1 felt a suspicious tingle in the 
tip of my tongue that I knew too well. It was the 
Calla Lily leaf over again, and I piled into the 
gutter dish at once, At this juncture a prolonged 
