32 THE BOOK OF CLIMBING PLANTS 



crop of fruit as a rule, and is ornamental with its 

 deeply-cut foliage. It is a better fruiter in cold neigh- 

 bourhoods than the American Blackberries, which 

 generally give larger fruit. On some sheltered walls 

 in warm neighbourhoods the low-growing R. australis, 

 which has pink or white flowers, is remarkably interest- 

 ing with its leafless, spiny branches. The double 

 rossefolius coronarius, with white blooms, is also pretty ; 

 and the showy spectabilis, which has red flowers, is 

 worthy of a good place on a wall. R. phoenicolasius, 

 the Japanese Wineberry, is very ornamental with its 

 decorative stems and branches and its bunches of scarlet 

 fruit, which succeed the small pinkish-white flowers. 

 Birds are remarkably fond of the berries. Biflorus 

 and leucodermis, known as the 66 Whitewashed 

 Brambles/' from the white bloom on their stem and 

 branches, are good plants for winter effect in the 

 shrubbery. Their flowers are white. 



Everyone knows the Winter-flowering Yellow Jasmine, 

 Jasminum nudiflorum, whose leafless, drooping branches 

 are so gay with bloom in midwinter or early spring. It 

 looks at its best when it has a background of some dark 

 evergreen wall climber, such as Ivy. Then its white 

 congener J. officinale, one of our sweetest flowers, is 

 equally well - known, while in J. humile we have a 

 pretty summer-blooming, yellow-flowered species. It 

 is easily propagated by layering or by cuttings struck in 

 a shady border under a handlight, and is the better of a 

 little thinning out of the weak branches and of cutting 

 back those which are of too great length for their 

 position. One of the most effective of our deciduous 

 foliage climbers is Aristolochia Sipho, the Birthwort, 

 whose large, handsome leaves are of striking effect on a 

 wall or a pergola, or almost in any way in which a 

 vigorous climber can be used. The curious flowers are 

 yellow and brown, but its attraction in our climate 



