Songs of the Fields 



sembling maple foliage, but they are more artis- 

 tically cut. 



The buds are incased in a big, loose, heavily 

 veined covering that opens to permit their exit, 

 and this cover is set in a fringed cup, adding an 

 artistic touch. The rosy, delicate, pink bloom 

 emerges in a crumpled, folded state, and slowly 

 opens and stretches to a smooth trumpet-shaped 

 flower, as the wings of a moth expand and grow 

 even; and it appears in late July and August, 

 when it has a solid green background to em- 

 phasize its beauty and scarcely a rival to attract 

 attention from it. There are five petals of the 

 bloom, maroon at the base, abruptly shading to 

 delicate pink at the edges, and strongly veined 

 with maroon color on the outside. The flowers 

 measure from four to six inches across and closely 

 resemble pink hollyhocks. At the base the sta- 

 mens and pistils combine in a tube that spreads in 

 a pollen-covered tip and attracts bees and all 

 sweet-lovers to the plant. When the petals fall, 

 the case that opened for their exit closes again, and 

 the seeds ripen inside. From pods that I gathered 

 beside the river I have two mallow plants growing 

 at my well curb. They were kept during winter 

 and planted in early spring. Mallows bear cul- 

 tivation easily in sufficiently damp places, but they 

 can not have too much water. 



The river with its accompanying voices forms 



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