'Iram, indeed, is gone with all its Rose, 

 And Jamshyd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows; 



But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields. 

 And still a Garden by the water blows." 



— Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. 



CHAPTER XIV 



Vines, Decorative and Useful 



VINES more quickly than anything else unite 

 a house with the ground, hence they are the 

 first things which may and should be planted, 

 rather than the last, although the latter has been 

 more generally the custom. They give finish to 

 the most barren place in a single summer, and, 

 rightly handled, afford an amount of shade equal 

 to years of growth of trees — besides furnishing 

 very beautiful bloom if the purely ornamental 

 kinds are used, or an abundance of fruit if the 

 grape is included. Moreover, all this is done 

 with the very least use of ground space; where 

 there is room for nothing at all literally, in the 

 way of a garden, there is still room for a vine, 

 or for several. 



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