CHAPTER XXXI 



VINES 



ALTHOUGH much to be admired when growing against a 

 school building, vines are seldom grown in school gardens, 

 on account of the difficulty of providing supports. In the 

 home grounds, however, vines may be put to several uses. 



The chief value of vines is to soften the outlines of a build- 

 ing, and thus to make it more attractive. They may climb 

 over its sides, or may be confined to a trellis, or may wander 

 over a porch, and, by drooping from it, make it more shady 

 and homelike. But vines may also be made to train over 

 any unsightly object, such as the compost heap, or a pile of 

 stone. Or in narrow spaces they may be made to do the 

 work of shrubs, for when given simple supports to climb on, 

 they will make a wooden or a wire fence into what appears 

 to be a hedge. 



The varieties of vines are many, and, as all through this 

 book, I shall speak of only the easiest and the finest to grow. 

 Considered according to their habits, there are three kinds. 

 First come the annuals, which sprout from seed, and die in 

 the same season. Next come herbaceous perennials, which, 

 though they live from year to year, die to the ground each 

 fall. Finally, there are the woody vines, which do not die 

 back. 



Some of these vines climb by clinging. That is, some 

 have either suckers or rootlets, by which they can cling to a 



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