HARDY HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS. 193 



climbing plants that "cling" rather than twine there 

 are the Ampelopsis (known as Virginia Creeper, Boston 

 Ivy, etc.) and the Hedera Helix, the true European Ivy. 

 Both of these attach themselves, in climbing, to walls of 

 brick, stone, or rough wood, trees, etc., by throwing out 

 rootlets or suckers from the stem as they climb, which 

 are firmly attached to whatever they are climbing on. 

 The Ampelopsis Veitchii and Royali are comparatively 

 new plants, but hundreds of thousands of them are now 

 sold annually, and grand specimens are seen in nearly 

 every section of the country. When once established they 

 will climb against walls ten feet in a season, and attain 

 to a hight of fifty feet in three or four years. Many 

 buildings in Boston, New York, and elsewhere, are 

 covered to the roof with these beautiful climbers. The 

 leaves, which are green in summer, overlap lite a coat 

 of mail ; but it is in autumn that they are seen in their 

 glory. No " autumn leaves " surpass in beauty the Am- 

 pelopsis ; shaded crimson, scarlet, and orange, they can 

 be seen, in a clear day, nearly a mile distant. The Am- 

 pelopsis has been largely planted by the Pennsylvania and 

 other railroad lines against the rocks where cuts have 

 been made, and it is in contemplation to use this plant 

 to cling to embankments to prevent sliding. 



Climbing Roses can be trained on wire or wooden 

 fences, verandas, dead trees, or to poles ; but in all cases 

 they require to be tied or tacked to the support to keep 

 them in proper shape. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

 HARDY HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS. 



HERBACEOUS perennials include those hardy plants, 

 the stems of which die down at the approach of winter, 

 or earlier if they have completed their growth. The roots 



