302 Hollyhock. 



the ground more conspicuous. For small gardens, or where 

 the situation is much exposed to the winds, the dwarf Holly- 

 hock is the most desirable ; and when some of these are planted 

 in front of the taller kind, it adds considerably to the beauty of 

 the group. 



Considerable benefit would be received by those who keep 

 hives of bees, by giving attention to the cultivation of this flower, 

 since the late season at which it flowers gives the bees an 

 opportunity to make a second season for collecting their sweets ; 

 and when a wet or cold season has impoverished the hive, or 

 brought sickness into the swarming community, these autumnal 

 flowers will afford them relief, and give them strength to endure 

 the winter, which is also considerably shortened by enabling 

 them to subsist without falling on their store at too early a 

 season. 



The ancients attended their bees with so much care that the 

 hives were conveyed in the night to distant spots, abounding 

 with such plants as afforded the most honey, and surely it were 

 easier to plant flowers for the bees than to take the bees to the 

 flowers. These industrious insects have peculiar claims on the 

 lower classes, since they stray into the grounds of the wealthy, 

 where, without committing devastation or fraud, they obtain 

 treasure for their master ; and are therefore a kind of licensed 

 flock, which feed at freedom without the fear of giving offence 

 or receiving imprisonment, for they neither break down fences 

 nor transgress against the laws. 



The Hollyhock is also likely to hold a higher rank in rural 

 economy than that of feeding bees. For some years past, it 

 has been known that a good strong cloth may be made from 

 the fibrous bark of the flower stalks of this plant, and in the 

 year 1821, about two hundred and eighty acres of land near 

 Flint, in Wales, were planted with the common Hollyhock, 

 with the view of converting the fibres of this plant into thread, 

 similar to that of hemp or flax. In the process of manufac- 

 ture, it was discovered that the plant yields a fine blue dye, 

 equal in beauty and permanence, to the best indigo. This 

 important discovery cannot fail of producing beneficial conse- 

 quences, both in a commercial and agricultural point of view. 



