September, 1911 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



05 



growing on screens, the small foliage is not 

 seen to advantage; but on an upright sup- 

 port it is very showy. It is a good twiner, 

 a vigorous grower and will attain a height 

 of fifty feet. It does best in a good, sunny 

 location and a rather light soil. The nar- 

 rower leaves of the variety angustifolia are 

 preferred by many people; in other par- 

 ticulars the plants are identical. 



Where a heavy, dense planting is sought, 

 few vines will give such a rough, natural 

 effect as the frost, or chicken grape (Vitis 

 cordifolia). This is a very tall grower 

 and in shady places will grow upright 

 until it eventually reaches the light, even 

 if the distance be one hundred feet. The 

 berries are numerous and small ; the foliage 

 is wooly underneath, and, when it turns 

 in the fall, makes a wonderful display. 

 Another excellent variety is the fox, or 

 skunk grape (V. Labrusca). This variety 

 is likewise a tall grower and also will 





Gourds are rapid growers and have an infinite 

 variety of forms. Dish rag gourd 



exceed one hundred feet. The berries, 

 which are a rich, amber color, are larger 

 than in the former variety but not so 

 numerous. There are a great many 

 varieties of the wild grape which make 

 attractive decorative vines. They are all 

 very hardy, require no attention other 

 than planting, and are all good plants for 

 autumn color. 



For a quick effect, either as a screen 

 or for covering buildings, few vines can 

 approach the Kudzu (Pueraria Thun- 

 bergiana). This vine will cover a building 

 fifty feet high in two years, and, after it 

 is once established, will grow as much as 

 sixty feet in a single season. It is generally 

 classed as an herbaceous perennial, killing 

 to the ground each winter in the latitude 

 of New York, but that is erroneous. On 

 the south shore of Long Island, with a 

 southern exposure and absolutely no pro- 

 tection, it stood the heavy winter of 



1903-04. Every spring it sends out strong 

 shoots that, before the end of the season, 

 grow to the top of the roof of the building 

 on which it is trained. This plant demands 

 sunlight. The foliage is a good green, but it 

 succumbs to the first frost and has no au- 

 tumn colors. It is easily transplanted, and 

 young plants can be raised by layering. 



The bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) 

 deserves to be cultivated more generally. 

 It is especially good in semi-shade, its 

 foliage being remarkably pretty, with the 

 body of the leaf dark green, and the rim 

 and outer edge tinted brilliant scarlet. 

 The little clusters of white and black- 

 centred blossoms are so hidden by the 

 foliage that you must get close to the vine 

 in order to see them. After the foliage 

 has fallen, the vine is one mass of curious 

 little scarlet berries, with a reflexed outer 

 covering of orange yellow. 



The bittersweet is a good twiner and 

 easily reaches a height of thirty feet. 

 It is never troubled with insects or disease, 

 and, on the whole, is the best of all hard- 

 wooded vines with ornamental fruit. Prun- 

 ing should be done in early spring ; cutting 

 severely if flowers and fruit are desired, 

 but for foliage prune moderately. 



An ornamental fruited vine for extremely 

 sunny situations, but one useless in the 

 shade, (where it is always covered with 

 mildew) is the matrimony vine (Lycium 

 Chinense). The small red berries are 

 produced in abundance along the long, 

 thin, drooping, lateral branches. It is 

 a twiner, but a poor one and needs assis- 

 tance. It flowers on new wood and should 

 be pruned close in early spring. It 

 can be transplanted in spring or fall, or 

 young plants can be raised by layering. 

 Very like this but not quite so vigorous is 

 L. halimifolium, with more yellowish fruit. 



An annual vine especially fine for cover- 

 ing fences, is the gourd {Cucurbita Pepo, 

 var. ovigera). In the fall, after the leaves 

 are gone, the fruit is decidedly ornamental. 

 The foliage is a good shade of green and 

 the vine grows with astonishing rapidity. 

 Another good trait is that it does not seem 

 to show the effects of either excessively 

 dry or wet weather, but keeps growing 

 until checked by frost. The gourd climbs 

 by tendrils and can ascend almost 

 any kind of an open-work fence. In 

 sunny locations it attains a height of ten 

 to twelve feet. The seed should be sown 

 in the greenhouse in March, or out of doors 

 toward the end of April. 



A plant closely allied to the gourd, and 

 useful for the same purposes, is Coccinea 

 cordifolia. Its ornamental fruit, of a 

 vivid scarlet makes it a good companion 

 vine for the gourd. The culture of both 

 plants is the same. 



Because of the inflated seed sacs that 

 give it its name, Cardiospermum Hali- 

 cacabum is a great favorite with children. 

 It is a fairly good foliage plant and in a 

 sunny location is worth a trial. This 

 vine is an annual and very tender; there- 

 fore the seed should be sown in the green- 

 house about the middle of March and the 





Wild cucumber, a rapid growing annual, is strik- 

 ing in both flower and fruit 



plants set out in permanent quarters the 

 middle of May. 



If you wish to furnish the children with 

 some amusement, grow the squirting cu- 

 cumber {Ecballium Elaterium). This vine 

 throws its seeds at a person upon the 

 very slightest touch. In foliage and gen- 

 eral makeup it greatly resembles the cu- 

 cumber. Usually it is treated as an annual 

 and trained to a fence. 



Another great favorite with children 

 is the wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata) 

 which has prickly, inflated vessels. It 

 is also useful as a quick screen, but its 

 leaves turn brown very early. The vine 

 is an annual. 



The bottle gourd is not only an effective covering 

 to a post or dead tree, but the fruits are useful 



