IVY 45 



to the lowliest midge, all flocking to the welcome 

 banquet. 



The wood of the ivy is soft and porous and of no 

 great value, though the stems sometimes arrive at a very 

 considerable bulk. When the plant has long been 

 in undisturbed possession of some old ruined building 

 the main stems may often be found a yard in cir- 

 cumference. 



The berries are smooth to the touch, globose in form, 

 about as large as a pea, and of a dense black that has a 

 slight suggestion of purple in it. This sombre tint makes 

 them the more conspicuous when in a heavy Winter most 

 things, including the ivy foliage itself, are resting beneath 

 a mantle of snow. These berries are borne in great 

 profusion, and are a most welcome provision for the birds, 

 and especially coming as they do when the farmer has 

 gathered in all his fruit, pears, wheat, and other delectable 

 items in the menu of his feathered friends and enemies, 

 and the other wild berries have been consumed. The 

 black-caps, missel-thrushes, and wood-pigeons seem specially 

 partial to them, but many other species may be found 

 eagerly flocking to the attractive repast. The birds owe, 

 again, a deep debt of gratitude to the ivy for the valuable 

 shelter that its dense masses of evergreen foliage afford 

 them, not only when concealment is sought at nesting- 

 time, but when its snug recesses shield them amidst the 

 driving snow and fierce wintry winds. These berries, 

 though slightly succulent when quite ripe, being somewhat 

 bitter and acrid, have no attraction to the human biped, 

 and are strongly emetic in their action if he be so 

 injudicious as to venture on experimenting with them. 



