BOOK IV. 



ON THE PROPAGATION AND PLANTING OF 

 HARDY AND OTHER CLIMBING PLANTS. 



The Ivy {Araliacccv). 



As an evergreen climber there is nothing comparable 

 to the Ivy, and as such it is both ornamental and use- 

 ful. The ways in Avhich the Ivy may be used as an 

 ornament are almost too numerous to mention. As a 

 waterproof covering to a dwelling-house, shed, &c, 

 nothing can equal it. My master, from whom I learnt 

 gardening, had the back of his dwelling-houses covered 

 with Irish Ivy as a protection for them. The walls 

 being boards, we used to clip it close once a year in 

 the spring, and in the course of a few weeks it would 

 be covered again with close foliage as thick as a mat ; 

 and soon it would be completely coated with leaves like 

 tiling, so that no water could get at the walls, while 

 the appearance was charming — a beautiful foliaged- 

 clothed wall, far before a whitewashed one. 



For covering walls, and as an under shrub for shrub- 

 beries and banks, nothing can surpass the Irish Ivy. 

 The variegated kinds are exquisite subjects for covering 

 walls of every description where diversity is required. 

 The Gold and Silver Ivies are beautiful kinds for 

 dwelling-houses ; being of a more compact and less rapid 

 growth than the Irish, they form a very neat and secure 

 covering. It is necessary that these Ivies be planted 

 when young, so that the new growth may be made on 



