Shrubs and Vines 



and, though abundantly used and beautiful for Christ- 

 mas decorations, is manifestly inferior to the foreign 

 sorts. 



A closely related shrub, but deciduous, and popular 

 for winter decoration, when its leafless branches are 

 loaded with red berries, is the winter berry or black 

 alder, a native growth, and a familiar object to those 

 who explore the woods in autumn. 



The most polite way to warn off intruders upon your 

 grounds is by a hedge. Fences are semi-civilized and 

 only fit for cattle. Stone walls must have their asper- 

 ity tempered by vines and mosses to be picturesque. 

 Hedge-rows are one of the most beautiful devices of 

 English scenery, but one looks upon the high bare walls 

 there as a personal affront; whereas a hedge is such a 

 gracious refusal of admission that it pleases rather than 

 offends. 



Among many shrubs used for the hedge, privet is one 

 of the commonest, a genus with no American represent- 

 ative. Its many species are not as distinctive as in 

 some genera, but the genus-type is strongly marked — 

 leaves small, long-oval, entire, opposite and of firm 

 texture, in some species glossy, in the South evergreen, 

 and remaining fresh in the North long after most other 

 leaves have fallen. Delightfully clean and fresh in ap- 

 pearance, hardy, quick-growing, accommodating them- 

 selves to all soils and conditions, the privets are a 

 good-natured folk, adept in finding the pleasant side of 

 every situation — the result of good health as much as of 

 grace of heart. If not trimmed, the abundant small 

 white flowers in panicled clusters, often fragrant, are a 



167 



