CHAP. I. 



iJANUNCULA^CE^. CLE'mATIS. 



237 



and also Winch, assert that it is not indigenous in the north of England, 

 which we believe to be the fact. It is common in France and Germany, and 

 is found in the south of Sweden, but not in Denmark, 



History. This species appears to have been first recorded by Theophrastus, 

 as Athragene and also as Kiematis ; and it has been since frequently mentioned 

 by botanists, under various names, given in our list of synonymes, from the 

 time of Dioscorides to the days of Linnseus. 



Properties and Uses. Du Hamel states, that the French gardeners not only 

 use the twigs of this plant instead of withs, for tying up their plants, but that, 

 after stripping them of their bark, they make very neat baskets of them 

 {Traite des Arbres, Sfc, 1st edit. 1755, p. 175.) j and they also make of them 

 beehives and a variety of other articles of the same kind. The twigs are in the 

 best state for making these articles in winter ; and their flexibility is increased by 

 holding them to the fire before using them. Desfontaines says that the young 

 shoots are not corrosive wdiile they are tender and herbaceous, and that in the 

 south of France they feed cattle with them in that state, and eat them pickled 

 in vinegar. It is also'said, in the Dictionnaire General des Eaiix et Forks (vol. i. 

 p, 649.), that a very good paper has been made from the feathery part of the seed. 

 Professor Burnet observes that C. Vitalba is used in medicine as a rubefacient 

 in case of rheumatism j and that the dried leaves of the plant form a good 

 fodder for cattle, though they [we presume, the matured ones] would poison 

 the animals if they were eaten in a fresh state ; hence affording a good example 

 of the rule which predicates the volatile nature of their acridity, {Outlines of 

 Botany, vol. ii. p. 338.) The shepherds, in someparts of England and Germany, 

 often cut pieces of the old wood of this plant, which they light at one end, 

 and smoke like a pipe of tobacco. In gardens and plantations the plant is 

 valuable for the rapidity with which it may be made to cover naked walls, 

 unsightly roofs of sheds, or low buildings and arbours ; and also to shelter 

 exposed situations, and for a variety of similar purposes. It is interesting both 

 when in flower and when in seed ; and the seeds remain on the greatest part 

 of the winter. 



Soil and Situation. It is generally found on chalky or calcareous soils, 

 and. seldom, if ever, under the dense shade of trees. On the contrary, 

 when it grows up among bushes, it generally spi*eads over their upper surface, so 

 that its leaves and flowers are fully exposed to the'influence of the light and air. 



Propagatio7i and Culture. It is readily propagated by seeds, which often 

 remain eighteen months in the soil before they germinate. It will root by 

 layers ; but the plant being common in a wild state throughout Europe, it is 

 seldom cultivated in nursery gardens. 



1 7. C. viRGiNiA^NA L. The Virginian Clematis. 



Identification. Lin. Ama5ii., p. 275 ; Willd. Sp., 2. p. 1290. ; Lam. 



Diet., 2. p. 43. ; Micl:. Fl. B. Amer., 1. p. 318. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 



4. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 5. 

 Synonymes. C. canadensis trif blia rfepens Tottrn.; C. canadensis 



Mill. Diet, No. 5., Salisb. Prod., 371.; C. cordif&lia Moenck. 



Supp. 104. ; the broad-leaved Canada Virgin's Bower; Clematite 



de Virginie, Fr.; Virginische Waldrebe, Ger. 

 Engravings. Pluk. Mant., t. 389. f. 4. ; Alb. Acad. Ann., 1. p 79. t. 



7. ; Den. Brit (the male plant), t. 74. ; En. PI., f. 7978.; and our 

 fig- 13. 



Spec. Char. Flowers panicled, dioecious. Leaves 



ternate ; leaflets cordate, acute, grossly-toothed, 



or lobed, (Don's Mill., i. p, 5.) Flowers greenish 



white, fragrant. June to August. 1767. Height 



15 ft. 

 Variety. 



-A C, w. 2 hractedta Dec, The bracted Virginian 

 ; Clematis. — " Leaflets ovate-lanceolate , 



entire." C. bracteata Moench. Sujyp., 103. 

 Description. The general appearance of this plant is like that of C. Vitalba ; 

 but it is less robust in all its parts, and less ligneous in its stems and branches; 

 and it is also somewhat more tender. Miller states that, on this last account^ 



