August i, 1881.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
231 
my fine 
cottage- 
lized in 
to 
I came upon a continuous mass of fibre, stitched 
among a thick growtli of grassy herbage, which turned 
out to be the only remains of a large mallow plant 
that had fallen or been broken down the previous 
season, aad all else of which had rotted away. This 
fibre I took with me, aloug with a sample of fresh 
bark ; and having subsequently secured specimens of 
the matured plants, as well as a supply of I ho ripe 
seeds, I handed a portion of each to David Curror, 
Esquire, Secretary to the Chamber of Agriculture, who 
hati the bark tested for its fibre properties by Messrs. 
A. Cowan & Suns, of the valley- field Paper Mills, 
Penicuik ; and the seeds analysed by Dr. Stevenson 
Macadam. In a note which Mr. Curror sent me, dated 
21st November lb71, he stated, 'the results are that 
the stalks are worth £5 per ton for paper-making; and 
the seeds as valuable for feeding as linseed cakes.' 
An analysis of the seed is given as follows with a 
iavournble report of growth : — 
"Analysis of sample of 'Tree Mallow Seed,' re- 
ceived from D. Curror, Esquire, Secretary of the 
Chamber of Agriculture, Edinburgh. Grown at Kil- 
donan, Island of Arran. 
Moisture ... ... 15 56 
Oil ... ... 11 78 
Albuminoid compounds 18 45 
Starch, gum, and sugar... 43'83 
Woody fibre ... 4*96 
Ash ... ... 5-42 
Nitrogen 
Phospliori 
100 00 
29G 
iiial to 
Btituen 
trial b 
album.' 
mallow seeds possess tnc nutritive con- 
good feeding stuff, and woll deservo a 
[seders of stuck. It is not so rich in 
r flesh-producing ingredicnte as linseed, 
or other well-known cakes, but considering the los3 
of nutrient value in the manure when the richer 
cakes are given to cattle, it is possible that tlio 
tree mallow seed would not be much behind ordin- 
ary cake in feeding qualities. Stevknson Macadam, 
Ph.D., F.R.S.E., Lecturer on Chemistry. 
Mr. Archibald Corrie, then wood manager for the 
Earl of Leicester, Hoik ham Hall, Norfolk, wrote on 
the 17th August and 3rd September 1874 : — " A plant 
of the tree mallow No. 1, grown by il self, yielded 
JO lb. of green bark, which was reduced to 4 lb. by 
drying and its dried seed weighed 2 lb. 13 oz. Plants 
K 3, and 4, grown in a row about 2 feet apart, 
yielded 16 lb. of greon bark, which when dried was 
reduced to Sib., and their dried seeds .weighed 7 lb." 
Wo then have the following statement of the uses 
and best mode of cultivating the tree and preparing 
the bark : — 
In addition to the cattle- feeding and paper-making 
properties of the tree mallow, it may be beneficially 
aud economically employed for other purposes such as 
Sheltering ata exposed gardens, and other grounds. At a 
meeting of the Scottish Arboricultnral Society, held, on the 
1st of Nov. lost, 1 recommended the tree, or lis it is some- 
times called the tea mallow, o» a nurse for eca exposed 
young plantations, it being peculiarly adapted for 
affording protection to the young trees beforo theso 
attain sufficient Bizea to shelter ono another. When 
thus employed it is advisable to sow the mallow seeds 
la nursery drills or beds towards the end of June, so 
that thty may not flower next year, and transplant 
them as soon as they arc I to G inches high, where the 
as Ionia 
eeded. 
, chaff, &c, in ad- 
oyment in culinary 
of toilet soaps. 
forest trees are to be planted next spring. For succes- 
sion, another planting of like sized mallows should be 
made in July or August following, to remain green 
and so maintain the slicker after those first planted 
have seeded and been harvested. Afterwards the 
seeds that will get scattered annually, even with careful 
harvesting, will suffice to keep up a sufficient succes- 
of the mallows may 
That "nutritive Tiiucilage," which is peculiar to the 
Malvaceae, or mallow family, and for the esculent, 
emollient, and other properties of which the okra 
(Hibiscus escuUntUs), the marsh mallow (Althca officin- 
alis), and others are much reputed, is also 'abun- 
dantly present in the tree mallow, from which it 
may be obtained in sufficient quantities to allow of 
its being used as a condiment in the less nutritious 
animal foods, such as cut str 
dition to its more extended ei 
dishes, comfits, and the manufactut 
The okra above mentioned is extensively cultivaied 
in tropical and sub-tropical countries lor its pods 
and seeds, the former in their young stato being 
pickled like those of kidney be«ns ; the latter 
impart a mucilaginous thickening to soups, and are 
used in the manner of green peas ; when ripe they 
are boiled Idee barley, and roasted as a substitute for 
coffee. The okra has also been long recognized as a 
textile plant, and a patent has recently been taken 
out in France for making paper from its fibre, for 
which it is being extensively cultivated in Algeria. 
Its fibre is prepared solely by .mechanical means, in 
a current of water, without any bleaching agent, a 
mode that is also likely to be applicable to that of 
the tree mallow. 
For green manure, to be dug or ploughed into the 
ground, the rapid and luxuriant growth of the tree 
mallow renders it particularly suitable. Some have 
assumed that, in consequence of its immense 
growth, it must be a very scourging or soil-exhausting 
crop. In reality, however, this docs not appear to be 
the case, for the plants have comparatively few, and 
by no means farspreading roots, and throughout the 
whole period of their growth, but more especially in 
.hey shed an abundant, con- 
1 
that of the first y 
tinuous succession c 
which overspread th 
leaf-manure covering. 
in^ly derive much of 
phere, as is evinced 
large succulent leaves, 
d surface with a thick 
the plants are not only 
n nutriment, but seem- 
stenance from the atmos- 
: fore'iicntioncd tenacity 
ordinary cereals, 
would yield ovei 
eeds of the tree mallow arc 
i iend to whom I showed them, 
I much experience in distilling 
as from Indian corn, aud the 
I he had no doubt but they 
n of proof spirit per 50 lbs. 
As an ornamental plant for garden and .shrubbery 
decoration the tree mallow has few equals ; whether 
for the tropical like luxuriance of its fir?t season's 
foliage, or the exuberant abundance in the second year 
of its gracefully displayed mauve coloured flowers, 
which resemble those of tho common mallow— La. 
mauve of the French , and may yet be brought by 
horticultural skill lo yield an endless variety both in 
colour and form. 
Cultivation — Tho tree mallow accommodates itself 
to a wide range of soils and situation*, Dot exclud- 
ing from tho former bogpeat, if sufficiently drained to 
free it form stagnant moisture ; and although it 
thrives inland provided the temperature docs not fall 
too low, it is most at home on tho cliffs, and 
among the eortlimixcd debris of sea side rocks, or 
among sea sand-hills on their partly consolidated 
slopes aud hollows. Under cultivation it will -r>\r 
on most soils that arc suitable for ordinary tuna 
