AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



root stalk, is very long, and even in young plants 

 it requires something like a crow-bar to get a hole 

 deep enough for their accommodation. The 

 Hollyhock is a puzzling plant as far as its hardi- 

 ness is concerned. Old plants die under the 

 most favorable circumstances, and live when 

 almost any plant would be justified in giving up 

 the struggle. I have seen a plant half projecting 

 from a snow-drift in the latter part of May, and 

 looking green and healthy as it waited for its 

 other half to be uncovered. I gather the best 

 seeds from the choicest plants, and always raise a 

 few new plants every year. You may as well 

 make up your mind in advance to treat the 

 Hollyhock as a biennial. If you do this, you 

 will be pleased now and then to find that some 

 favorite plant has survived the winter, but if you 

 treat it as a perennial you will be continually 

 disappointed. The plants should be staked up 

 early, so that they may not be prostrated by 

 storms. Good galvanized-iron stakes are the 

 best, as well as the cheapest, for they never break 

 or wear out, and it is well to see to it that they 

 are tall enough to be serviceable, as this plant 

 often attains a height of twelve feet. The Holly- 

 hock requires a deep rich soil to do its best, with 



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