340 THE IVY. 



well worthy of note,. that Ivy-berries are never injured by 

 frost, however severe the winter may be. 



Although the Ivy never bears flowers, or assumes a 

 bushy habit until it has had an opportunity of indulging 

 its climbing propensities, yet, by proper management, it 

 may be made highly ornamental as a standard shrub. For 

 this purpose, plants that have mounted to the top of a 

 hedge-bank, and have there rooted, should be taken up in 

 winter, and carefully removed to their new destination, 

 when, though they may perhaps throw off all their leaves 

 (a tolerably sure sign of healthy action in any transplanted 

 tree), they will soon recover ; for it appears that the bushy 

 branches when once formed never revert to the habit of 

 the young plant. 



The principal use of Ivy is that already mentioned, 

 namely^ of covering the walls of buildings. Planted 

 against the side of a house where there are no windows, 

 it is not only ornamental, but keeps out heat in summer 

 and cold in winter ; but when it climbs round windows 

 it is likely to be the means of introducing earwigs and 

 other insects into the house. The variety called Irish 

 Ivy, which has large leaves and grows rapidly, is the best 

 adapted for covering masonry. 



The leaves and tender branches are eaten by sheep and 

 deer in times of scarcity. The wood is soft and porous, 

 and when cut into thin slices is used in filtering liquids. 

 The roots are employed by leather- cutters to sharpen their 

 knives on. A fragrant resin exudes from the old stems if 

 wounded, which, Walton says, makes bait attractive to 

 fish. A substance called hederine may be extracted from 

 this, which in India is used as a medicine. 



