EMBRACING ROOTS 



The ivy may be considered as a root-climber, although the 

 branches assist by growing round the stem. 



A curious instance has been given me of the longevity oi 

 ivy and its power of clinging to life. A correspondent 

 mentions the case of a Scotch fir whose life was threatened 

 by an ivy. The trunk of the ivy was sawn through. That 

 did not kill it, at any rate immediately ! 



Probably the rain soaked up by the leaves, and by the roots 

 in the crevices of the bark, kept it sufficiently fresh to cling 

 to life. As it refused to die, a ladder was brought, and it 

 was dragged off the tree. No doubt it would have died if 

 the weather had been at all dry. 



There are some very beautiful tropical plants which also 

 climb by means of their roots. These roots, the so-called 

 girdle roots, grow right round the stem and embrace it, so 

 that the climber is perfectly supported. 



It is impossible not to be impressed with the extra- 

 ordinary variety of all these contrivances by which plants 

 are able to escape the trouble of supporting themselves. 

 But such ways of life involve certain disadvantages. Sup- 

 posing there is nothing on which to climb, the stems trail 

 feebly on the ground, and are probably soon choked by the 

 surrounding grasses. Curiously enough, there are varieties 

 of the Ivy, Wistaria, and the French Bean which are up- 

 right, and do not climb at all. The Tree Ivy has all its 

 leaves like the leaves of the flowering shoot in the common 

 form. In America, Wistaria sinensis is often grown as a 

 standard tree, and does not send out the long shoots, some- 

 times thirty feet in length, which are common when it grows 

 on walls. The dwarf French Bean has a thick stem and 

 requires no support, yet it often puts out a long slender 

 shoot which tries to twine round something. 



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