THE rlllMSOX JIALLOJr. 55 



The order to destroy them, to root them out, &c. kr., 

 iiceurs so frequently that we are bound to suppose mallows 

 were more abundant on farm lauds three hundred years 

 ao-o than now. And the question will arise, What par- 

 ticular kind of mallow aroused the enmity of Tusser ? 

 We should assign the honour to the common mallow 

 {Jli/lri/ fii/lrrsl ris), a rampant-growing, showy, and «-e may 

 even say noble plant, with purple-tinted rosy flowers of 

 the peculiar shade called nmiivc, which means simply 

 mallow colour — the L:itin iirilcii being thus softened in 

 passing into French. 



The tree-mallow [Lavulera arborea) has of late years 

 acquired some degree of importance, as supplying a nutri- 

 tive cattle-food, and a fibre suitable for the j'aper-maker. 

 In a report by ^Ir. Gorrie, jjublished in the Gdiuh^nci-'fi 

 JL(i)it:iiii' ^iov June 9, 1877, it is stated that the seeds 

 can be manufactured into a cake scarcely inferior to that 

 of linseed for feeding purposes, while the hbre is equally 

 well adajited for manufacture into paper or (Cordage. 



The j^lauts of this family that are especially worthy 

 of a place in the garden are }fiiIope (jrandiflont, an annual 

 of which there are two varieties, the crimson and the 

 white; the hollyhock {II then rosea), a perennial herb ; 

 the tree-mallow [Lnriilern url/'iri'ii), a, biennial; Ribi-scas 

 Africann-f, an annual with yellow flowers; Ilibixens nixnia, 

 a tall herbaceous perennial with enormous purple flowers ; 

 and the truly splendid shrub, Wb}>scii-\ ■'<iiniinix, more 

 generally known as .Llt/npi fniici;. The last requires a 

 dry sunny position and a somewhat sandy soil to make 

 a grand display of its white, rosy, crimson, or purple 

 flowers — -for there are several distinct varieties — but it is 

 not very particular as to position, provided it is not over- 



