118 ORKAMEXTAL GARDEN^I]S^G. 



CHAPTER YIII. 



CLIMBERS AND TRAILERS. 



As found growing wild, the hard-wooded climbers and 

 trailers afford some of the most delightful bits of natural 

 scenery to be met w'ith. Many of these serve valuable 

 purposes for embellishments iu ornamental gardening, as 

 shown in Part III. Some kinds, and conspicuously the 

 Clematis, have been improved much by cultivation since 

 first brought into the gardens. 



THE VIRGIXIA CREEPER. Ampelopsis. 



A. genus of climbers of the first rank for general cul- 

 ture. The A^iRGixiA Creeper (^4. qicinquefolia), also 

 called ^'American Ivy," and incorrectly, ^' AVoodbine," 

 is the common native species. It is a rapid gi'ow^er, pro- 

 ducing dense masses of splendid, digitate foliage, and at- 

 taching itself firmly to wood, stone, or the trunks of 

 trees. There is, however, a form not possessing this last 

 named quality, wdiich should be avoided. The foliage of 

 this species turns to a beautiful crimson in autumn. 



A^EiTcn's Ampelopsis {A. triciispidata, syn. A. 

 Veitcliii), from Japan, possesses great merit as a hardy 

 climber, and particularly for covering brick and stone 

 walls. The leaves are smaller than the common kind, 

 lobed instead of divided, and of a clear green, changing 

 to crimson-scarlet in the fall. They possess the pleasing 

 peculiarity of regularly overlapping one another, liter- 

 ally forming an even sheet of green, if growling on any 

 smooth surface like a building. Perfectly hardy if pro- 

 tected for one or two winters until well established. 



Anions^ other ornamental species may be named the 

 Pepper Vine (^4. hipinnatoi), of vigorous, picturesque 

 growth, with compound, pinnate leaves. Royle's Ampe- 

 lopsis {A. Roylii), of rapid grow'th, with large foliage. 



