PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 



double, and semi-double, and ranging in color 

 from white to almost black, including every con- 

 ceivable shade of rose, red, lavender, purple, and 

 yellow. The choicest, to my taste, are the large 

 semi-double strains with fringed petals. Every 

 seedsman seems to have his own distinctive name 

 for this variety. One calls it " Mammoth 

 Flower," another " Mammoth Fringed Alle- 

 gheny," while with a third it is simply " Alle- 

 gheny," but, whatever the name, it is the best. 

 A distinct dwarf species is the Japanese, or Tokio. 

 Some dealers, probably because it is new, declare 

 that this species is " superior to all others." 

 Don't believe a word of it. It is not worth 

 growing, except by those who crave novelty at 

 the sacrifice of all else. The plant is low, bears 

 but few flowers ; the range of color is limited, 

 and every shade bad. The dealers tell you that 

 "it possesses odd tints, peculiar only to this 

 variety." Fortunately for the other varieties, 

 this is quite true, as the only shades I have seen 

 are a horrible maroon, or Solferino, and a soiled 

 yellow. Hollyhocks may be readily raised from 

 seed, as the seeds germinate well, even if several 

 years old, and the young plants are easily trans- 

 planted, if moved before they grow large. The 



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