JULY. 145 



in this country as the outlandish rose. It was 

 well known to the ancients. Pliny describes it as 

 a rose growing on stalks, like the mallow. This, 

 as well as some other species of that plant, has 

 been cultivated for its fibres, from Avhich thread 

 has been manufactured. Phillips states that, in 

 the year 1821, about two hundred and eighty 

 acres of land were planted with the common 

 holly ock, with the view of using the fibres of 

 the plant instead of those of hemp or flax, and 

 converting them into thread. It was discovered, 

 in the progress of the manufiicture, that the plant 

 yields a fine blue colour, little inferior to indigo. 



The common hollyock is a biennial plant. 

 It sometimes attains the height of ten feet. Its 

 varieties are of many hues, from the bright 

 clear white, to the rich dark purple which gar- 

 deners call black. It is a native, not only of 

 the east, but of Siberia, and the southern coun- 

 tries of Europe ; and the single yellow hollyock 

 has been found wUd in Africa. 



That common, but handsome flower, the 

 French willow, (EpiloMum migusUfolium,) often 

 termed rose hay willow, is now very conspi- 

 cuous. It is, by its height, well fitted for the 

 shrubbery, but it is often seen, too, on the gar- 

 den bed. So far from requiring any culture, 

 it is a most troublesome flower in the garden ; 

 for the long pods which contain the seeds pro- 

 duce a great abundance, and each seed is 

 crowned with a tuft of dovm, which facilitates 

 its dispersion, so that the gardener finds con- 

 siderable trouble in eradicating the numerous 



