72 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICtJLTtJRAL SOCIETY. [1876- 



ichievement, are plain to all. He asks not for caveat, he solicits no patent. 

 Strangely enough for an American, heis indifferent whether protection 

 shall protect. But do you not owe it to him, within your own limited 

 sphere, to aid him in every possible mode of " advancing the " science 

 and improving the practice of Horticulture ?' Of which methods the 

 gratuitous dissemination of precise knowledge is by no means the least. 



The indications of a sounder taste in matters of out-door decoration 

 are heartily welcome. How often have we heard a sigh of regret that 

 the English Ivy is not hardy enough to endure our climate, and that 

 therefore^ the home-porch, or church-wall must be deprived of delicate 

 greenery or grateful shade. Yet all the while, by every corner ancl nook, 

 and over all our stone fences, trailed a vine incomparably its superior. 

 That this fact is appreciated, at last, is obvious to all who chance to pass 

 by the edifices more recently erected for public worship in this City of 

 Worcester. England, whose zealous and skilled Florists have so devel- 

 oped the latent possibilities of our Azalea and Rhododendron, has not 

 found this American Climber too insigniticant to notice. The attention 

 of all who are interested in the more perf t ct adornment of the sanctuary 

 and the home, is invited to the following concise summar}^ of its merits : 

 " Ampelopsis Hederacea (Virginia Creeper) : This, which is found wild 

 " over a large portion of Canada and the United States, is a vigorous 

 "deciduous climber — reaching sometimes heighls of from forty to fifty 

 " feet. With large digitate leaves of a warm, green color, in early Sum- 

 " mer, but changing in the approach of Autumn to a bright red, giving 

 *' the plant at that season a peculiarly grand appearance, amply compen- 

 " sating for its small, inconspicuous flowers, which, beiog of greenish 

 *' w'hite, are not of themselves attractive. This shrub is one of the most 

 " ornamental of hardy climbers, unrivalled for covering walls and houses, 

 " to which it clings closel}^ and firmly with no other aid than that of its 

 " tendrils ; and that few plants withstand the dust and smoke of 

 " towns so well is proved by the frequency with which it is to be seen 

 " growing and even thriving, on windows and balconies in the most 

 " crowded thoroughfares, with no other soil than that afforded by a 

 " shallow box, or moderate sized flower pot In order to keep it tidy, it 

 " should be trimmed or pruned annually, the best time for the operation 

 "being in Spring, before it begins to grow." This last suggestion 

 of the Garden can be fully endorsed by your Secretary, from his personal 

 observation and trial. Xo one who has not tested it can have any idea 

 of the advantages of close pruning. Whether it would be as beneficial to 

 the newly introduced varieties from Japan — to the Ampelopsis Veitchii — 

 can only be learned from actual experience. But, at any rate, let us 

 hope that this graceful and thrifty climber may shortly be made to 



