370 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
The rules and regulations also provide for quarantine, 
both domestic and foreign, at the discretion of the Secretary 
of Agriculture and ]jrovision for public hearing before the 
Board, etc. 
Later Information 
On vScptember i6th and 17th the Horticultural Board held 
a hearing in Washington. William Pitkin, chairman of the 
Legislative Committee appeared on behalf of the American 
Association of Nurserymen, and James McHutchison, W. 
Rolker and M. Knickman for the New York Importers’ 
Association. 
Each paragraph of the proposed rules and regulations was 
carefully gone over and discussed, and on the 17th, after an 
executive session of the board, they announced that they 
would adopt many of the changes proposed by the committee. 
The changes are essentially as follows: 
A broad permit will be issued authorizing importations 
from a given firm and district covering the entire shipping 
season. This instead of a separate permit for each shipment 
as originally proposed. Permits will expire on June 30th, 
following date of issue, instead of three months. 
Foreign inspection certificates provide that for stock to 
be shipped between October ist and May 31st, inspection 
shall be made after October ist and for stock shipped during 
the growing season, inspection shall be made not more than 
thirty days prior to date of shipment. 
Foreign certificates of inspection to show the district where 
the stock is grown, but this will be waived for the present 
season. 
Seattle, Washington, is added as a port of inspection for 
goods coming from countries where they have no official 
system of inspection. 
It was stated unofficially that the board would give every 
assistance to importers and be more or less lenient with the 
laws this year, that no unnecessary hardship will occur. 
Nurserymen who place their foreign orders through New 
York importers need not personally apply for pennit as the 
importing agent will attend to-it. 
EXPERIENCES IN GROWING HOLLYHOCKS 
Of the old-fashioned hardy perennials few are more 
popular than the Hollyhocks and well they deserve this 
popularity. With their tall spikes of pretty flowers during 
mid-summer, they make a grand show and fill a position 
which nothing else could do, but owing to the ravages of 
disease there is never sufficient plants of good size to fill the 
demand and the small finger-like seedlings used to fill out 
have discouraged many buyers. 
While the rust that attacks these plants has meant heavy 
losses to many growers, yet the writer feels that other 
diseases in plant life having been overcome this also can be 
successfully combatted and the demand is at least worth a 
sj)ecial effort on our part. To secure an interchange of views, 
in the hope that out of them all some good may be secured, the 
writer is here giving his experience of the last six years, 
trusting that it may help some others who are working for 
the saving of this popular flower. 
ff'he result of my experience has been greatly varied, some¬ 
times complete success, sometimes total failure. A cool, not 
over wet summer has produced almost always success, while 
a week of warm, rainy weather has developed disease, the 
extent of loss depending a great deal on the quantity of plants 
and how long unfavorable weather continued. Various 
methods have been tried to overcome this and for me cultiva¬ 
tion has proven the most successful. At this writing we have 
just passed through a week of weather favorable to disease, 
and so far the only disease which has developed is in two 
varieties, and which was caused by planting some late plants, 
which were affected in the frame among the growing stock. 
Every few days the soil is stirred around the plants, either 
by cultivation or by raking soil away from stems. Plants 
on which the soil is permitted to remain in the base of leaves 
are most susceptible to the disease and for this reason the soil 
is either hoed or raked away after the first rain following 
cultivation. Last year about the same time we had similar 
conditions with more rain and ground being too wet to get 
cultivators at work, nothing was done for two weeks ani by 
that time the disease had developed to such an extent that 
by the time we got it under control at least three-fourths of 
the stock had disappeared. Maroon not being attacked at 
all, while yellow was a complete loss. 
Rapid growth and plenty of fresh air from seedbed to 
buyer appears to be an absolute necessity. Seedlings potted 
up and kept close in frames developed diseases so that two 
weeks after planting out entire stock was gone. While in 
other cases where the free circulation of air was prevented by 
obstructions around the field, strong healthy plants were 
attacked. 
Were it not for the disease, Hollyhocks would be one of 
the easiest of perennials to handle. My method is to sow 
about April ist, in cold frame and as the seed germinates 
quickly, in a short time they are ready for potting. Potting 
the seedlings give best results by producing numerous small 
roots, instead of large tap roots. Sash are placed over them 
to control the proper amount of moisture, which is kept 
rather on the dry side with plenty of fresh air. Ground for 
planting in should be well worked and after plants are 
established kept constantly stirred. 
Spraying with Bordeaux Mixture has been recommended 
for the control of the disease but has been found better as a 
preventive than a cure. 
Some growers report heavy losses keeping plants over 
winter; so far I have been pretty successful, except where 
plants were badly diseased in fall. In high well-drained 
ground I have carried them through safely by letting them 
stand and placing manure along the rows. In ground which 
is liable to become wet during the winter I find it better to 
dig up and heel in carefully not crowding plants. Select a 
dry spot with just enough moisture to keep plants from 
drying out during winter, and permit them to freeze slightly, 
this keeps them donnant and also keeps mice out. Cover 
with some dry material, hardy grasses where available, or 
dry forest leaves are good; cover sufficiently to keep just a 
little frost around them, over this place a water-proof cover¬ 
ing, raised enough to permit air to pass over them. As 
they start early in spring care should be taken not to allow 
covering to remain on too long. If plants are kept on dry 
side they will be slower in starting and can be shipped later 
