VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 317 



and its foliage, wiien it clothes thickly a high wall, or folds 

 Itself in clustering wreaths around the trunk and branches 

 of an open tree, is extremely handsome and showy. Al- 

 though the leaves are not evergreen, like those of the Ivy, 

 yet in autumn they far surpass those of that plant in the 

 rich and gorgeous coloring which they then assume. 

 Numberless trees may be seen in the countr}' by the road 

 side, and in the woods, thus decked in autumn in the 

 borrowed glories of the Virginia Creeper ; but we particu 

 larly remember two as being remarkably striking objects ; 

 one, a wide-spread elm — the trunk and graceful diverging 

 branches completely clad in scarlet by this beautiful vine, 

 with wiiich its own leaves harmonized well in their fine 

 deep yellow dress ; the other, a tall and dense Cedar, through 

 whose dark green boughs gleamed the rich coloring of the 

 Virginia Creeper, like a half-concealed, though glowing 

 fire. 



In the American forests nothing adds more to the beauty 

 of an occasional tree, than the tall canopy of verdure with 

 which it is often crowned by the wild Grape vine. There 

 its tall stems wind themselves about until they reach the 

 very summit of the tree, where they cluster it over, and 

 bask their broad bright green foliage in the sunbeams. As 

 if not content with this, they often completely overhang the 

 head of the tree, falling like ample drapery around on every 

 side, until they sweep the ground. We have seen very 

 beautiful effects produced in this way by the grape in its 

 wild state, and it may easily be imitated. The delicious 

 fragrance of these wild grape vines when in blossom, is 

 unsurpassed in delicacy ; and we can compare it to nothing 

 but the delightful perfume which exhales from a huge bed 

 of Mignonette in full bloom. The Bittersweet {Celastrus 



