MALLOW. 818 



low were used as a counter poison against the 

 sting or bite of all venomous reptiles from the 

 wasp to the serpent ; and that the juice of Mal- 

 lows given warm, was a celebrated medicine for 

 such as were gone melancholy, or were deranged 

 in mind. We learn also from this natural his- 

 torian, that Mallows were sown in the fields for 

 the purpose of enriching the ground. 



The common Mallow, Malva Si/lvestds, is a 

 plant v^hich we see bordering the road sides in 

 most parts of Europe ; and although it so fre- 

 quently meets the eye from its flowers succeeding 

 each other from the month of May to the end of 

 October, yet its blossoms never tire the sight, 

 their petals being of delicate reddish-purple, 

 sometimes varying to a white or incUning to a 

 bluish cast, with three or four darker streaks 

 running from the base. It is fortunate for the 

 husbandmen that nature should allot this plant 

 for the banks and borders of fields, rather than 

 to scatter it over the meadows, since its spread- 

 ing branches would in a great measure destroy 

 the turf, and cattle in general refuse to eat this 

 plant, so that it would soon overrun and smother 

 other vegetation. 



The Dwarf Mallow, Malva Rotundifolia, and 

 the Musk Mallow, Malva Moschata, are also indi- 

 genous species of the Mallow. 



