TRAVELLER'S ^OX.— Clematis vitalha. 



Class PoLTANDRiA. OrJc)- PoLYGYNiA. Nat. Order Ranuncu- 

 LAC^iE. — Crowfoot Tribe. 



During May and June the hedges of our 

 chalky pastures, especially in the southern 

 counties of England, are decorated with white 

 clusters of this flower. Nor, when its blos- 

 soms are over, does it cease to ornament the 

 wayside ; for long after green leaves in general 

 have withered into brownness, the Clematis 

 bough presents some verdant spray C)n which 

 the eye may love to rest. So too on barren 

 soils, and in spots far from refreshing streams, 

 it often delights us with its greenness amidst 

 the withered aspects of the vegetation around 

 it ; and wdien winter, with its frosts and keen 

 blasts, has swept away both leaves and flowers, 

 this climber is still beautiful with its large 

 tufts of feathery seeds. It must, however, 

 be acknowledged, that our graceful plant is 

 often injurious to the hedges, by strangling 

 the trees and bushes which it entwines. It 

 is, too, very acrimonious in its properties, and 

 will, if applied to the skin, raise a blister upon 

 it ; the green stalks are used by farmers to 

 bind their gates and hurdles together, and 



