clysters, and fomentations.—The flowers are eagerly visited by bees, which obtain from them an abundant supply of honey.
All the species of mallow, both indigenous and exotic, are beautiful plants, well calculated for ornamenting gardens, and affording grateful food to cattle; as they may be easily propagated by seed. But there are three, viz. the Crispa, or Curled Mallow; the Peruviana, or Peruvian Mallow; and the Mauritiana, or Matiritian Mallow; which, when macerated like hemp, afford a thread much superior for spinning, to that obtained from the latter vegetable; and the cloth made of the three species before mentioned, is said to be more beautiful than that manufactured of flax. From the curled mallow, which produces the strongest and longest fibres, excellent cordage and twine have been procured; and M. de Lisle fabricated a new kind of paper from different species of the mallow, which not only served for the purposes of writing and printing, but also appeared to be eminently useful for drawing, and for the hanging of apartments.
Mallow the Marsh. See Marsh-Mallow.
MALT, denotes barley prepared for brewing, so as to produce, by fermentation, a potable liquor, known under the different names of Beer, Ale, and Porter.
The operation of malting is performed by steeping any quantity of good barley, newly threshed, in a leaden cistern containing river water, for the space of three or four days, or till the fluid acquires a bright red colour: but a more eligible method is that of changing the water every day, till the grain is sufficiently macerated, so as to slip out of the husk, when compressed between the fingers. It is then removed from the cistern, and laid in heaps to drain for two or three hours, at the end of which it is stirred, and formed into a new heap. In this state, the grain is suffered to lie for more or less than forty hours, till the malt is properly come; during which interval, it will be necessary to examine the barley at the expiration of 15 or 16 hours, because the grains generally begin to sprout about that time. Within an hour after the roots appear, the heap must be carefully stirred, so that the whole may equally germinate.
The malt is now to be spread out, and repeatedly turned over, for the space of two or three days, in order that it may properly cool; in consequence of which process it becomes mellow, dissolves easily in brewing, and readily parts with the husk. To complete the process of malting, the barley is thrown up into a high heap, where, in the course of 30 hours, it becomes as hot as the hand can bear it, by which both its sweetness and mellowness are improved. Lastly, the malt is dried in a kiln, heated with coke, charcoal, or straw: the intensity of the fire varies according to the colour required; but, where wood or other vegetable fuel is employed, such materials ought to be perfectly dry; as otherwise the smoke arising from damp combustibles would greatly injure the grain.
In order to determine the quality of malt, a handful of it should be thrown into cold water, where those grains that are imperfectly germinated, will swim with one end
