330 THE IVY. 



detach them as carefully as possible from the trees, and to 

 let them fall back. They will thus lie on the ground, and 

 continue to grow in the same direction in which they were 

 laid. Otherwise, new shoots will spring up from the roots 

 which have been deprived of their leading stems, and it 

 will soon be necessary to repeat the process. When Ivy 

 grows over buildings, its effects depend on the nature of 

 the structure : if the masonry be solid, no mischief can 

 ensue, as the climbing shoots will bind and strengthen, 

 without attempting to penetrate ; but if the structure be 

 loose and crumbling, or if earth be lodged here and there, 

 it is very likely that roots will be formed wherever they 

 find a convenient soil, and, as they increase in size, will 

 penetrate into the mass, and dislodge the constituent 

 parts. A striking example of the pernicious effects of 

 Ivy on a structure of this kind occurred some years since 

 in a remote county. At a period of great agricultural 

 distress, a gentleman, in order to furnish the j^oor with 

 employment, resolved to inclose his park, which was 

 seven miles in circumference, with a stone wall. The 

 mason who undertook the contract happened to be an 

 iinprincipled man, and, instead of fulfilling his engagement 

 of building a solid wall of stone, erected it with a double 

 facing of the material named, and filled the interstice with 

 earth and rubbish. When completed, it appeared to be 

 an honest stone wall ; but in a few years Ivy climbed to 

 the top in many places, sent down its roots into the earth, 

 and these, as they enlarged, thrust out the stones which 

 constituted the facings, and revealed the iniquity of the 

 contractor. The present proprietor is subjected to a heavy 

 annual expense in repairing the mischief done by a plant 

 which, if the structure had been what it appeared to be, 

 would have added greatly to its strength and durability. 



It has long been a disputed question whether Ivy 

 growing against- the side of a house renders it damp or 

 otherwise. Dr. Lindley thus pronounces his opinion, 

 formed from a comparison of various conflicting statements 



