reflexed. Berry smooth, and black, internally whitish and mealy, 
with from 3 to 5 seeds. The whole plant is somewhat aromatic, 
especially the young' climbing branches; and a vpry fragrant resin 
exudes from the old stems when bruised. 
There is a variety, called Irish Ivy, which has much larger leaves, 
and is of very rapid growth, and on that account is much cultivated 
for hiding unsightly walls, buildings, &c. 
The Ivy begins to flower about September, and continues flower- 
ing, if the weather is open, till the middle or latter end of December, 
as was the case last year, 1832. In consequence of its flowering so 
late, it is much resorted to by bees and flies, when little other food 
is to be had. The berries increase during the winter, are fully 
formed in February, and ripen in April, furnishing food for wild 
Pigeons, Blackbirds, Thrushes, &c. in the spring. Sheep are said 
to be fond of Ivy, it is considered a warm and wholesome food for 
-them, and in snowy weather shepherds cut down branches of it for 
their flocks to browse on. — Cato directs, that in a scarcity of hay, 
cattle should be foddered with it. — It was held in great esteem by 
the ancients, and with it they formed the Poetic Garland. Bacchus 
is represented crowned with Ivy, to prevent intoxication ; and 
Homer describes his heroes as drinking out of a cup made of the 
wood. The fruit bearing branches of it, are used, with Holly, to 
decorate churches and houses at Christmas. The leaves are said to 
ease painful corns if applied to them ; and in the Highlands an 
ointment is made from them to cure burns. The branches, being 
very full of leaves, are sometimes made use of by gardeners to pro- 
tect the blossoms of Apricot, Peach, and Nectarine trees, from the 
cold winds of February and March. 
The roots are used by leather-cutters to wet their knives upon; 
and when large, boxes, and even tables, are made of them. 
The Ivy is not, as some have supposed it to be, a parasitical plant, for it de- 
rives its nourishment from the soil in which it grows, by means of roots which 
it sends into the earth, and not by those fibres by which it fixes itself to other 
bodies for support; this may be proved by cutting the stem through, above the 
ground, when it will be found that the part above the separation will die. This 
method of destroying it is often practised by the woodman, from an idea that 
it is injurious to the trees on which it grows ; but, according to the facts and 
observations of Mr. Repton on the supposed Effects of Ivy upon Trees, pub- 
lished in the 11th volume of the Transactions of theLinnaaan Society, it appears, 
that instead of its being injurious to the trees which support it, it is often bene- 
ficial to them, and that its growth deserves to be encouraged ra ther than checked. 
Mr. Curtis observes, that few people are acquainted with the beauty of Ivy ; 
when suffered to run up a stake, and at length to form itself into a standard, 
the singular complication of its branches, and the vivid hue of its leaves, give it 
one of the first places amongst evergreens in a shrubbery. 
In the Language of Flowers, Ivy is an emblem of Fidelity in Friendship. 
It is the badge of the Scottish Clan Gordon. 
'll A Sp ha e Ipir'^p unctifo'rmis, Grev. FI. Edin. p. 362, and Hyste'rium folii'colum, 
Var. He'deree, Grev. Scot. Crypt. Flora, t. 129. f. 1, are parasitic on dead 
leaves of the Ivy. The first is very common ; the latter rather rare, at least in 
the neighbourhood of Oxford. 
