78 GARDEN FLOWEUS. 



produce, in autumn, very beautiful specimens 

 of skeleton leaves and calyxes, the green parts 

 having withered away, and left bare the bundles 

 of vessels which form the frameAVork. Of the 

 macerated fibres of some of these plants, a cloth 

 and stuff have been made, supeiior even to 

 those made of flax. This is the case especially 

 with the ivy-leaved mallow, (il/aZva mauritiana,) 

 whose pink flowers are sometimes found in 

 EngHsh gardens, and were brought from the 

 south of Eru-ope. The cm-led mallow [Malva 

 crispcL) of Syria, and the Peruvian mallow, 

 {Malva Peruviana^ both of which are cultivated 

 in England, have been used for the same pur- 

 pose. The former species Avas once planted 

 in kitchen gardens for food. It affords re- 

 markably strong fibres, Avhich have been 

 manufactured, not only into thread for spinning, 

 but also into cordage for vessels. The French 

 chemist, De Lisle, gave great attention to the 

 mallows, and recommended that the fibres of 

 various kinds should be used instead of rags in 

 making paper. So interested was he in this 

 project, that he had u volume printed on j^aper 

 made wholly of the fibre of the mallow, and 

 presented it to " L' Academic des Sciences." 

 But the members of the academy, while they 

 admired the skill and science of the exj^eriment, 

 did not consider the mallow paper as Hkely to 

 be generally useftd. 



These plants, boiled as food, were formerly 

 considered so wholesome, that Horace commends 

 them for their salutary properties. They were 



