Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/788

 770 HOLMAN HOLMES certainty ; a large proportion of the seed of a good strain will produce fine flowers; hence this, being the least troublesome, is the most common method of propagation. As the plants do not bloom until the second year, they are kept for the first season in a reserve bed, and set where they are to flower in the fall after sowing, or in the following spring. If the flower stalks, as soon as the flowers are past their prime, are cut away, the root may be ta- ken up, divided, and reset ; in this way a choice specimen may be kept along year after year ; the named sorts of the fanciers are propagated in this way as well as by cuttings of the stalks treated in the usual manner. Even grafting is resorted to in the case of very fine sorts, scions made from the stems being set upon the roots of any common kind. Cultivators prefer the dwarfer specimens, they being less injured by winds than the tall, and by selecting in this di- rection the height of the plants is much less than formerly. The hollyhock has usually been free from enemies of all kinds, but in 1873 a parasitic fungus, p uccinia malvacearum, heretofore only known in South America and Australia, appeared in England and France; the only known remedy is to destroy all af- fected plants and thus prevent its increase. The roots of the plant are mucilaginous, and are sometimes substituted for those of marsh- mallow, but they are coarser and darker col- ored. The French use the dried flowers in in- fusions, probably more for the color they im- part than for any medicinal quality. HOIJIAV, James, known as " the blind travel- ler," born in England about 1787, died in Lon- don in July, 1857. He entered the royal navy in 1798, and nine years afterward received a commission as lieutenant. In 1812 he lost his eyesight, and the king consequently appointed him one of the six naval knights of Windsor. During the years 1819-'21 he travelled through France, Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, and along the Rhine, and published an account of his impressions, which was so well received by the public that he set out in 1822 on a journey around the world. Commencing at St. Peters- burg, he took the route by Moscow, Novgorod, and Irkutsk, intending, when the season should permit, to proceed through Mongolia and China; but being suspected as a spy, he was stopped by an order from the Russian govern- ment and sent back under escort to the Ger- man frontier, whence he returned to England in 1824. He published in 1825 an account of this journey, under the title of "Travels in Russia," &c. The five years from 1827 to 1832 he passed in a voyage around the world, of which he published an account in 1834. His route was from England to Madeira, Teneritfe, and the west coast of Africa, thence to Brazil, which he passed some time in visiting, thence to Cape Colony, Caffraria, Madagascar. Mauri- tius, Ceylon and India, New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand, returning by Cape Horn to England. He afterward, in 1843-'4, made a tour in the Danubian prin- cipalities and Transylvania. His books are more curious than useful. HOLMBOE, Christopher Andreas, a Norwegian philologist, born at Vang in 1796. He studied in Christiania, and also in Paris under Sylvestre de Sacy and Caussin de Perceval, and became in 1822 professor at the university of Chris- tiania. His works, written in Norwegian, Da- nish, German, French, and Latin, relating to Scriptural studies, archeology, numismatics, and comparative philology, include De Prisca Re Monetaria Norvegice (Christiania, 1841 ; 5th ed., 1854); Sanskrit og Oldnorske (1846); Det norslce Sprog vcesentligste Ord/orraad sam- menlignet med Sanskrit (1852) ; and Traces du bouddhisme en Norvege avant V introduction du christianisme (Paris, 1857- 1 70). HOLMES. I. A N. W. county of Florida, bordering on Alabama, and intersected by the Choctawhatchee river; area, 396 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,572, of whom 137 were colored. Its surface is nearly level. The soil is a rich allu- vium in the river bottoms, and sandy else- where. The chief productions in 1870 were 18,424 bushels of Indian corn, 7,035 of sweet potatoes, 116 bales of cotton, 4,480 gallons of molasses, 2 hogsheads of sugar, and 76,985 Ibs. of rice. There were 116 horses, 1,112 milch cows, 3,749 other cattle, 1,237 sheep, and 3,543 swine. Capital, Cerro Gordo. II. A central county of Mississippi, bounded S. E. by Big Black river and N. W. by the Yazoo; area, 756 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 19,370, of whom 13,225 were colored. It has an undu- lating surface and a very rich soil. The Yazoo is navigable by steamboats in this part of its course during the whole year, and the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern railroad passes through the county near its S. E. bor- der. The chief productions in 1870 were 352,- 623 bushels of Indian corn, 16,433 of sweet po- tatoes, and 19,027 bales of cotton. There were 1,110 horses, 2,343 mules and asses, 2,962 milch cows, 5,838 other cattle, 2,680 sheep, and 10,- 426 swine. Capital, Lexington. III. An E. central county of Ohio, intersected by Ivilbuck creek and watered by Walhonding river ; area, 405 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 18,177. It has a diversified surface and a soil of generally good quality. Coal is found near Kilbuck creek, and gas springs have been discovered. The Cleveland, Mt. Vernon, and Delaware, and the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago railroads pass through it. The chief productions in 1870 were 351,516 bushels of wheat, 569,895 of Indian corn, 538,383 of oats, 18,275 of bar- ley, 102,117 of potatoes, 246,520 Ibs. of wool, 589,193 of butter, and 26,410 tons of hay. There were 7,015 horses, 14,805 cattle, 62,491 sheep, and 20,111 swine; 11 flour mills, 2 saw mills, 3 manufactories of agricultural imple- ments, 1 of furniture, and 3 of woollen goods. Capital, Millersburg. HOLMES, Abiel, an American clergyman, born in Woodstock, Conn., Dec. 24, 1763, died in