Vines and Creepers 



105 



3 . Pumpkin vines possess remarkable vitality. One stem was crushed 

 underfoot and held together by only a few fibers, but I bound it tightly 

 together with a strip of muslin, and it climbed to the top of the frame and 

 bore a ripe pumpkin ; another branch was broken more than half in two, but 

 it grew right on and bore fruit. 



4 . The male and female blossoms were also an interesting study. The 

 former were very numerous, and bloomed at the end of long, slender stems, 

 while the latter grew on stout, thick stems, with embryo pumpkins well 

 formed back of the blossoms before they opened. 



5 . The fruit grew in greater profusion, ripened more perfectly, and 

 had a better flavour than when it grows on the ground. 



6 . Though the bugs were very troublesome last summer, and destroyed 

 almost all of the pumpkin and 

 squash vines in our vicinity, my 

 climbing vines were not molested 

 by them. 



7 . It was very entertaining 

 to watch the ripening of the 

 pumpkins. At first, small round 

 spots or stars of yellow appeared 

 on the surface. Then followed an 

 intricate tracery of yellow lace, 

 woven by Nature's skillful yet 

 invisible fingers upon the ground- 

 work of deep green, which grew 

 brighter and more distinct from 

 day to day, tmtil the whole orl) 

 of emerald turned to a globe of 

 gold, and by the sun became a 

 sun in miniature by other suns 

 surrounded, in the zenith of our 

 arbour's sky, and the fruit of the pumpkin tree was ripe and ready 

 for the harvest. 



8. It is worth while to examine the commonest plants, especially the 

 vegetables, with reference to new combinations of use and beauty. Take 

 rhubarb, for instance. Unlike many of the foreign things that are wanted 

 for broad-leaved effects in the hardy border, it is sure to grow. 



