A REMARKABLE PLANT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1105, 19 April 1911, Page 8

A REMARKABLE PLANT.

THE MALTA SHHTJB. •-■• ■•■ [To'the Editor.l ' Sir,—As you devote considerable attention to agricultural matters, will you kindly afford space for the following very valuable hint to settlers generally, l*r as. tho malwa shrub does not' appear in any.catalogue of shrubs I have persued, it would appear that it is as yet a stranger to this land.. Though the particulars have been in : my possession fov many years, unfortunately it never came in view again till the' other day.—l am, etc., E. BEZAE. ; Wellington, April 18, 1911. "The malva shrub, a native of California, has been attracting the attention of the Agricultural. Society of Melbourne. If. all is true., that is stated of this plant, it is a most wonderful and useful one, and the general Government ought immediately' to procure some seed of it to distribute amongst the settlers of our various provinces. We are told that the malva shrub is a beautiful evergreen, and is valuable in ,\n industrial sense. It grows equally well in a wet or dry season, on lowlands or hillside, regardless of climate or special-culture. It can be produced from " seed carelessly strewn, aiid in five years attains an average height of. 30ft., usually surviving eight years, but the falling seed maintains a perpctnnl growth, and the. tree gives more seed than any other known. Besides enduring the effects of climate, the folingo tian sustain cattle and sheep, which will leave clover to feed on its largo juicy leaves, and from experiment it has been found that cows give more and richer milk from this .nutriment. Cattlo only b'rowso on the leaves, which ■are quickly replaced. ,Tho plant blooms for nine months'in the year, and bees work upon tho flowers all the' time, preferring them to those of others. Tho stem of tho shrub, which attains - about ISinJ in diameter, after lying on the ground during the rainy season, becomes partially decayed, and exhibits a mass of fine, delicate, and strong fibre, , capable of being used in the same manner as flax. Ono acre of these trees, after the first growth, will yield ten times tho fibrous material that an aero of flax would; with the advantage that little or no labour is required. ' Thus, tho' trees will aid in attracting./moisture-'tb, parched .'countries, feed cattle, sheep, and bee's, and also produce at any.early date nn article of commercial value" in .fibre.. After the second ■yea'r ; animals may be. allowed.to' feed'on them with iinpunity." 'J.Tliey.. grow with such exuberance and rapidity that leaves eaten off are produced in a week, and no animals havo been known to gnaw the branches. .| Whore'this plant is abundant, it is a fact that fevers and sickness are rare, as it. acts in the samo manner as the' sunflower, which is known ''to ic'tnove malaria. It is of 'immense .value in countries destitute of forests, and which are subjected periodically to destructive droughts, like Australia in many parts. The season for sowing is immediately before the winter rains commence, and the plants, when 10 to 12in. high, ought to be transplanted."