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THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Jan. 



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THELLISES FOR CLIMBING OR TWININO SHRUBS 

 AND PLANTS. 



We are frequently astonished at the degree of beauty 

 produced by the sim .est con- 

 trivances, under tne direction of 

 a little taste. We have seen 

 litUe log cabins transformed 

 into masses of foliage and flow- 

 ers, with scarlet runners and 

 morning glorys (convolvulus) 

 trained up on simple strings, 

 costing not more, perhaps, than 

 an hour's labor. Without these 

 flowers, such a dwelling would 

 indicate a tasteless and comfort- 

 less occupant ; but with them, 

 it appears cheerful and pleasant 

 and tasteful. Tiiere is much 

 that is graceful and beautiful 

 about climbing plants, and they 

 grow with such rapidity, and are 

 eo easily trained into the most 

 fanciful forms, that they are 

 among the most useful material 

 for the embellishment of cotta- 

 ges and small gardens. Only 

 imagine an unpretending cot- 

 tage or farm-house half buried 

 in festoons and garlands of 

 honeysuckles, clematises, and 

 roses, and in the front garden 

 two or three, or even one pillar 

 of roses, or fanciful trellis of 

 ^ seme fine climber ; and then 



Fig. 1. imagine the same cottage naked 



as it came from llie nands of the builder, and you 

 have a contrast that illus- 

 trates, in some degree, 

 what any man can do 

 with a few simple climb- 

 ers, for the embeliishment 

 of his dwelling. We fre- 

 quently Fee ir gardens 

 some very cl-./.sy, awk- 

 ward affairs, made by 

 some ekillfu carpenter, 

 no doubt, as supports for 

 climbers. There are 

 many of them around this 

 very city of ours, of shapes 

 we could not describe, and 

 a.s ugly, we are very sure, 

 as can be found elsewhere; 

 any one of them, inclu- 

 ding the white paint that 

 has been lavished on it, 

 would certainly cost as 

 much as half a dozen 

 vastly more tasteful and 

 beautiful. We have — 

 seen very neat supports, 

 like figure 1, for cobeas, 

 maurandias. Sic, made 

 by taking young cedars 

 or pines two or three 

 inches in diameter and six 

 to eight feet high, strip- 

 ping oir the foliage, and F'o- 2. 

 leaving a foot of the lower branches and less of the 

 upper ones, so that a string or wire carried from top 



to bottom all around, made a pyramid. About two feet 

 of the bottom was cleared of 

 branches entirely, and sunk 

 in the ground. Three or 

 four of these placed near 

 each other, with the strings 

 or wires carried from the top 

 of one to the other, make 

 pretty festoons with rapid 

 grovi^ing, luxuriant plants. 



Figure 2 is a very tasteful 

 conical, three side support, 

 made of light strips of tim- 

 ber — if preferred rustic, of 

 saplings with the bark on. 

 It may be six or eight feet 

 high, and should be placed at 

 least two feet in the 

 ground. The plants 

 or seeds intended to 

 cover it, may be set 

 in the center of the 

 space between the 

 feet. It will an- 

 swer equally well 

 for climbing roses, 

 honeysuckles, cobe- 

 as, maurandias, ipo- 

 mceas, or annuals 

 such as convolvulus 

 or scarlet runners. 



Figure 3 is an 

 exceedingly ■ simple 

 pyramidal support, 

 and looks very well. 

 It is simply eight or 



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Fig. 3. 



% 



ten slender poles or rods eight to ten feet, or v^U 



any lequired height. They are spread at the —I ' ^ 

 bottom and tied together at the top. A very 

 slight catch in the ground will sustain them. 



Figure 4 is a very simple and pretty spiral 

 support for slender stemmed climbing plants. 

 It is made of a round piece of wood three or 

 four inches in diameter, and of the height re- 

 quired — say four or five feet. A piece of 

 strong wire is then fastened on one end and 

 wound round in spiral form to the other. At 

 each turn the wire will present the appearance 

 of a ring on each side of the stick. When 

 carried to the other end, it is there fastened 

 and the wire is left between the two ends 

 loose and elastic. If the support be only 

 three or four feet high, it will be sufficient to 

 insert it in the earth eighteen inches to two 

 feet ; but if higher, it should be planted in 

 the socket of an iron fork that would be sunk 

 in the ground at least eighteen inches. 



Any ingenious person of a little taste and 

 a will, might contrive many such articles, 

 quite as simple and as ornamental as those 

 we have figured. We have given these by 

 way of drawing attention to the subject ; and 

 we have given them at this time particularly, f'*'- 4- 

 because there are few persons who do not find occa- 

 sionally, during winter, a leisure honr that might 

 well be devoted to the preparation of some such arti- 

 cles, that might be both useful and ornamental to the 

 garden next summer. Many feel the want of such 

 structures in the summer season, and would gladly 

 drepare them, but their time is then occupied. 



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