ii8 MANURES FOR FRUIT TREES 



One ton of ivy extracts 25 lbs. of mineral 

 matter from the soil. 



The ivy is looked upon as the emblem of friend- 

 ship, because of the closeness of its adherence to 

 the tree or wall on which it has once fixed itself ; 

 and the priests of ancient Greece presented a 

 wreath of ivy to newly -married persons, as a 

 sjnnbol of the closeness of the marriage tie. 



Ixora (Ixora coccinea, West Indian Jasmine, 

 Natural Order, Rubiacese) is a stove flowering 

 shrub with evergreen leaves. It was introduced 

 into England in 1690, and grows well in a com- 

 post^ of 2 parts of fibrous peat, 1 part of fibrous 

 loam and 1 part of silver sand. It is the king of 

 stove plants. 



The ashes of Ixora contain in 100 parts : — 



1 Homer in that part of "Odyssey " where he represents Laertes 

 as diverting his melancholy for the absence of Ulysses by cultivat- 

 ing his little farm, particularly mentions the circumstance of his 

 ma/wwrmg it with eompost. 



