CHAP. LIX. ARALIA^CE^. HE'DERA. 1001 



been stuccoed, or smoothly plastered, no dilatation of the fibril is sufficient to 

 cause the ivy to adhere ; and hence, in such situations, it always falls down, 

 either when rendered somewhat heavier by rain or snow, or when acted on by 

 wind. Against such walls, therefore, trelliswork ought to be fixed ; or the 

 main shoots of the ivy may be nailed, like those of any other wall tree. 

 To common brick or stonework, or the rough bark of trees, the fibrils adhere 

 readily. In the crevices of rocks, and on the surface of the ground, they 

 become roots ; but it is only when this is the case that they can afford any 

 nourishment to the plant ; a fact easily proved, by cutting through the stem of 

 a plant of ivy at the foot of a wall or a tree, to which it may be attached ; 

 when, it will be found, the ivy speedily dies. When ivy trails on the ground, 

 it roots into it, and grows vigorously, but rarely flowers ; and in this state it 

 has acquired the name of the barren, or creeping, ivy. When it climbs up 

 trees, or is in any situation where it is much shaded, it seldom, if ever, 

 flowers, until it has grown so high as to be subject to the direct influence of 

 the sun. Hence, on branchy-headed trees, it is seldom seen in a flowering 

 state, until it has reached their uppermost branches, and partially destroyed 

 them. Ivy flowers soonest when grown against a wall, and fully exposed 

 to the light. Whatever support it may have, when it has reached the summit 

 the branches shorten, and become woody, forming themselves into large, 

 shrubb}', bushy heads ; and the leaves become entire, taking more of an oval 

 shape, and no longer being lobed like the lower ones. In this state, the 

 plant will flower freely, and will continue growing like a shrub for many 

 years, producing no leaves but such as are nearly oval, and showing no incli- 

 nation to creep, or to throw out roots. Hence, we often see the appearance 

 of an ivy hedge 5 ft. or 6 ft. in height on the top of an old ivied wall. The 

 flowers of the ivy are of a yellowish or greenish white : they appear in the 

 end of September, and continue expanded through the months of October 

 and November : they are odoriferous, and contain a good deal of honey ; on 

 which account they are much frequented by bees and other insects, to which 

 they afford a valuable support, as they are in perfection at a time when there 

 are few other flowers. The berries increase in size during the winter, are 

 full formed in February, and ripe in April, furnishing food for wild pigeons, 

 blackbirds, thrushes, &c., in the spring. When the berry is ripe, it is succu- 

 lent with a purple juice; but afterwai'ds it becomes coriaceous, dry, and 

 shrivels into a somewhat five-angled figure ; thus beautifully harmonising with 

 the lower leaves. The common ivy will grow to the tops of trees nearly 

 100 ft. in height : but it is doubtful whether the Irish"ivy will attain the same 

 elevation, though it grows with much greater vigour than the common sort 

 when young. Both varieties continue growing during winter ; and, in shady 

 situations, throughout the year. Hence, rooted plants of Irish ivy, placed in 

 good soil, at the base of a wall 10 ft. high, will reach its top in three years ; 

 and those of the common ivy in five years ; but after it has attained 15 ft. or 

 20 ft., its growth is comparatively slow, unless it be against the warm walls 

 of a dwelling-house ; when it will cover a gable-end, ha\ing chimney flues in it, 

 in 5 or 6 years ; a circumstance which may be turned to the greatest advan- 

 tage in towns. The duration of the ivy is very great: judging from some of 

 the plants against ruined castles and abbeys, we should suppose them to be 

 two or three centuries old. The stems sometimes are found, in such situa- 

 tions, 10 in. or 12 in. in diameter at 1 ft. from the ground. The seeds of ivy 

 resemble swollen grains of wheat, and, as they pass through birds of the 

 thrush family unaltered in shape, they are frequently found scattered on 

 the ground. Ray, in his Catalogus Plantarum rariorum AnglicB et Insulariim 

 adjacentium, says that hence have arisen the stories of wheat having been 

 rained down. The chewed seeds have an acrimonious taste. The golden- 

 leaved variety, when it thrives, is a splendid plant, appearing in spring, after 

 it has made its new leaves, like an immense mass of yellow flow ers. There is 

 a plant of this variety on the back of one of the hot-houses in the Hammer- 

 smith Nursery, which has reached the top of the wall, and covered a stack of 



