CONCERNING VINES 



another vine of notably rapid growth. It is much 

 beloved, not for its flowers, which are insignificant, 

 but for the artistic quality of its foliage and the wonder- 

 fully brilliant colors to which it turns in the autumn. 

 This vine, moreover, is hardy to the point of being 

 declared difficult to kill in places where it has once 

 established a foothold. It has the power to cling 

 closely to the support over which it grows, and can 

 be relied on to enhance many natural effects. Invari- 

 ably it forms a graceful arch or bower and is at home 

 on rustic, irregular constructions. No other vine, 

 perhaps, would have suited the arch shown in plate 

 xxviii. as well as the Virginia creeper. All about this 

 arch there is a profusion of blossoms. A flowering 

 vine, therefore, was not necessary, while in the 

 autumn the red tones of the foliage of the Virginia 

 creeper give richness and warmth to the scene. 



The Boston or Japanese ivy, A. Veitchii, a relative 

 of the Virginia creeper, and perhaps the most generally 

 known climber in the world, has a particular use where 

 a vine of close, clinging propensities is desired. It 

 seems especially eager to attach itself to the sides of 

 flat stone walls or the stonework of houses, for which 

 purpose there is no better vine. In the autumn it 

 shows its leaves in all their lustrous beauty, richly 

 changed to many shades of red and green, and becomes 

 then one of the most striking effects of nature. It is 

 not so rapid in its growth as the Virginia creeper. 



In 1860, when the sacred mountain of Fujiyama 

 in Japan was first ascended by Europeans, Mr. John 

 Gould Veitch discovered this vine there, and after an 



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