GIANT IVY. 



the subject, and trust he will follow it up. It pains every man who appreciates the 

 importance of our forests, their' influence upon climate and upon the landscape, and 

 their various uses to our domestic arts, to see the thouglitlcss havoc that is constantly 

 made upon them. Year after year the unsparing axe is sent upon its " clearing" 

 missions, and the beautiful pieces of woodland that remain are falling before it as a 

 brave army before a ruthless and invincible foe. We rejoice that in Western New 

 York coal is rapidly taking the place of wood as fuel. So it will be in other sections, 

 now that the coal regions are bec<)ming every year more and more accessible by means 

 of the various railroads in process of construction. When this heavy drain upon the 

 forests ceases, they will be appropriated to nobler purposes, and will become much 

 more interesting to their proprietors. — Ed.] 



THE IVY — AN INVALUABLE PARLOR PLANT. 



BY J. J. SMITH, rillLADELnilA. 



i One of the most beautiful plants for a drawing-room, parlor, 



,. .,0/,yj'-. hbrary, or dining-room, is the Giant Ivy. In Germany, and 



^^ .^ particularly at Berlin, it is treated as a window plant, where 



js< -5^ it serves for a curtain or screen. As it bears perfectly fur- 



/^'- ' ^"'^ nace or even stove heat, provided it is not exposod to the 



^^^Mr'^^^^'-'^S immediate action of the fire or flue ; and as it is always of 



jv-tw s - ^^ -fi^ the deepest green, and grows rapidly during the winter; 



,' 5'X we consider it a valuable piece of information to impart to 



our readers, that they may have at least one plant that will 



succeed in livinir rooms. It should have abundance of 



water, though never so much that the roots will be regular- 

 ly covered over with the liquid. The box and mode of 

 GIANT rvY. planting, it will be well to attend to. Our drawing repre- 



sents one about six feet high by two and a half feet broad, in the parlor of a friend, 

 which is one dense mass of dark green foliage, except the points in growth ; these 

 are of a delicate pea color. The whole appearance at a front window, either from an 

 inside or outside view, is rich and spring-like. There is another advantage possessed 

 by this plant as an in-door ornament ; if the windows of the room happen to be raised 

 by Molly when she sweeps, in frosty weather, the Ivy is so hardy a plant, as not to be 

 absolutely killed in a few moments, as would be the case with the wax plant, and 

 many others. In short, the Ivy is the best house-plant we have ever seen. 



In the present instance, a box lined with tin, in which books were received from 

 London, was used ; four rollers being inserted at the corners, to make it easily mova- 

 ble. To prevent its having too great weight, blocks of charcoal, covered over with 

 leaf mold, were placed in the bottom. This also gave a suitable foundation, in which 

 the roots delight. In one corner a small strip was nailed, making a well, into which 



