CHAPTER XI 



VINES FOB EVERY PLACE 



A DIFFERENT vine for each position is quite pos- 

 sible, for nature has been generous indeed in her of- 

 fering of material to soften and beautify the rugged 

 face of a cliff or the gnarled trunk of a tree. Vines 

 follow fleet-footed on the trail of death and decay to 

 cover with blooming spray and fruited branch and 

 create a new life more beautiful than that which 

 has passed. The wild clematis and convolvula flaunt 

 their blooms from tree and fence row; the wild cu- 

 cumber makes delicate tracery of green and foamy 

 white flowers along the debris of the neglected ravine ; 

 the woodbine flaunts from the crown of the dead 

 monarch of the forest, and the wild grape — ^that 

 sweetest of the vitis family when in bloom — ^haunts 

 the woods and uplands where the wild elderberry 

 grows. 



All are cosmopolite in their requirements, flourish- 

 ing quite as well in the suburban garden or the city 

 back yard as in their native woodland habitat. All 

 that is really essential for successftil growth is some- 



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