THE IVY, 335 



green, or of a reddish tinge, with white ribs. As it 

 increases in size the lobes of the leaves become wider, and 

 the stem loses its brittle character. If it can find no 

 support, it creeps along the ground, sending into the 

 earth, from the lower part of the stem, tufts of fibrous 

 roots. These are to be distinguished from the tufted 

 fibres by the aid of which the plant clings to a wall or 

 trunk of a tree. The former are proper roots, and are 

 only pushed forth from those parts of the stem which, are 

 opposite to the leaves, and only appear when they can be 

 employed with advantage in the support of the plant. 

 The tufts of fibres, on the contrary, are produced from all 

 parts of the stem which are nearest to the wall or tree, 

 and are invariably absent when the plant crawls along the 

 ground, and therefore has no use for them. Consequently, 

 the opinion that Ivy is injurious to trees, by inserting its 

 roots into the bark and absorbing their juices, is erroneous. 

 It may sometimes happen that a tree is clasped too closely 

 by matted Ivy-bands, and is thus prevented from develop- 

 ing its full growth, or, more rarely still, the weight of its 

 massy head may overstrain the branch which supports it, 

 and be the occasion of ruin to both j but, except under 

 such circumstances, it does no mischief. 



A remarkable instance of the compressing power of 

 Ivy is cited in the Gardeners' Chronicle, proving that a 

 netted mass of Ivy does not simply prevent the expansion 

 of the body which it clasps, but as its stems increase in 

 bulk, actually contracts the space inclosed. On removing 

 some Ivy from an old house at Carshalton, it was 'dis- 

 covered that a thick leaden water-pipe had been in many 

 places deeply indented, and in some places squeezed flat, 

 by the stem" of the plant. Trees that have long been 

 coated with a network of Ivy should not be stripped all 

 at once, lest they should be injured by sudden exposure to 

 cold ; and when it is desired to keep young trees in plan- 

 tations clear of Ivy, the best plan is, not to cut through 

 the stems of the intruder, as generally practised, but to 



