184 WILD FLOWERS. 



to prize them. The French term this plant 

 la lierre, and the Spaniards give the name of 

 yedra, not only to the ivy, hut to every plant 

 which, like this, has a propensity to climh. 

 • Sheep are very fond of ivy, and its grey- 

 veined leaves often yield them a winter repast. 

 The Irish ivy, (Helix vegeta,) so often culti- 

 vated under the name of the giant ivy, has very 

 large leaves ; but in other respects differs little 

 from our wild plant. 



The question, whether ivy is destructive to 

 trees, has been much discussed by botanists, 

 but it seems the general opinion, that it is not 

 so. Loudon considers that the ivy is the only 

 plant which may be reared against houses, 

 without rendering the walls damp, and the sole 

 objection to be raised against the picturesque 

 covert which it affords to the house wall is, 

 that it harbours spiders and other insects, which 

 will sometimes find their way into the dwelling. 



That very handsome shrub, the strawberry 

 tree, or bear berry, {Arbutus unedo,) is now 

 gay with its greenish white flowers, which hang 

 among its thick evergreen foliage like so many 

 waxen bells. This shrub is very common in 

 gardens, but it is usually enumerated among 

 our wild plants, for it has been known to grow 

 for many centuries in the south of Ireland ; 

 some writers, however, think that it was intro- 

 duced there from Spain, by the monks of 

 Mucross Abbey ; and when we consider how 

 many flowers and shrubs, as well as esculent 

 vegetables, were brought into Britain, for the 



