V. THE CULTIVATION OF THE IVY. 



" Here are cool mosses deep, 

 And thro' the moss the ivies creep, 

 And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep, 

 And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep." 



TENNYSON'S " LOTOS-EATEHS." 



BRIEF statement of the principal require- 

 ments of the plant, when subjected to 

 cultivation, will be sufficient under this 

 head. The ivy will thrive in any soil, 

 rich or poor, in which the ordinary plants 

 of the field and garden are found to attain 

 to an average condition of development. 

 For all the ordinary purposes of the culti- 

 vator, good garden ground is sufficient for 

 ivies planted out ; and a mixture of strong 

 loam, mellow manure, leaf mould, and sand, 

 such as would be prepared for fuchsias, 

 will answer admirably for ivies grown in 

 pots. The large-leaved, rampant -growing 

 kinds will make rapid progress in a rich 

 moist soil ; but the variegated kinds must 

 always be grown in a comparatively poor 

 soil, for any excess of vigour induced by high feeding will develop the green 

 portions of the leaf in so great a degree as to considerably lessen the richness 

 of the variegation. All the ivies thrive in peat soils; but there cannot be a 

 question that, if fine examples of the variegated sorts are required, peat is to 

 be avoided, and a mixture should be prepared consisting of turfy loam of a 

 light texture with a considerable admixture of old mortar or plaster broken 

 small, with siftings of broken brick and other such debris. In any and every 

 case they must be treated as hardy plants, and have the fullest exposure to 



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