THE POTENTILLA. 
265 
being closely covered with Ivy as if it were a 
mat of it. Nothing is so sure as its growth, 
for no matter how barren the ground under 
the tree, it will progress so that the roots are 
but well provided lor. It has another good 
eifect ; it kills all sorts of weeds and other 
vegetation wherever it assumes the lead, and 
when thoroughly established, begins to grow 
upwards, that is, assumes a shrubby habit at 
the joints. It has this great advantage over 
other underwood, it derives its chief nourish- 
ment far from the barren place which it 
covers, and other underwood has to live on 
the place it has to cover. The Berberis 
Aquifolium and varieties will live almost on 
nothing, and under the most impenetrable 
shade. The St. John's Wort, common Laurel, 
and some other subjects, will exist in bad 
soil, but the Ivy grows vigorously and 
healthily even if the ground it has to pass 
along and cover were solid stone. It is worth 
any body's while to try the experiment in 
any barren place ; but let the root be at the 
edge of the starvation space, and so get the 
nourishment it requires, while its branches 
will fare as well on a surface of hard gravel 
as it would on a brick wall ; and we have all 
seen Ivy many feet from its ground root, 
wandering over all sorts of surfaces, from the 
rough bark of a tree, to the hard smooth sur- 
face of a stone wall. There is not a more 
obedient servant than Ivy, but he is a bad 
master ; he will conquer whatever he lays 
hold of, if it be an oak or a stone wall ; 
nothing can resist his grasp. The roots will 
insinuate themselves into crevices of stone, 
and raise a ton weight by the mere operation 
of swelling ; but nothing was ever more com- 
pletely under control. It may be directed 
any where, and be made to cling to any thing. 
It may be grown up a stump, to form its own 
head like a tree, or be made to cover a wall like 
a curtain, or the earth like a carpet. In short, 
it is a magnificent evergreen, adapted for a 
thousand purposes, trainable in any shape, and 
not half valued, because its worth is not half 
known. Nothing was ever more true than 
the line of the song, — 
"A rare old plant is the Ivy green." 
THE POTENTILLA, 
This is one of those plants which do not 
attract much attention in their original state, 
but which have been rendered desirable by 
the improvements that have been made by 
seeding. The best of the family was the 
PoterUilla Hojiwoodiana, which was origi- 
nally found in a bed of stools, and was sup- 
posed by some to have been a sporting branch 
of one of the best old ones, but by others far 
mc re likely to be right, it was considered to be 
a self-sown seedling, a natural cross between 
a light and a scarlet. It is, as growers well 
know, a rich salmon-coloured flower, and very 
pretty in form and habit. 
This flower, to be perfect, should be com- 
pletely circular and slightly cupped, blooming 
abundantly, completely above the foliage, on 
very thin but stiff wiry, branches. The 
colour, as in all other flowers, is purely a 
matter of taste, but the most in repute are the 
most brilliant. Each bloom should be the 
size of a half-crown piece. 
The culture of the Potentilla has been 
quite neglected, except that it is found among 
the collections of herbaceous plants, and 
merely one of a hundred subjects thought but 
little of by gardeners. A collection of them 
in a bed, with the flowers well contrasted, 
would be a very showy object, and the follow- 
ing selection has been recommended. 
Atrosanffuinea, deep crimson. 
Thomasii, rich yellow, large. 
Insignis, bright yellow. 
Russelliana, crimson scarlet. 
I'^urmosa, rose. 
3Ienziesii, rich crimson. 
M^Nahiana, crimson and white. 
0' Brienii, orange. 
Ruhra-Aurantia, red and orange. 
JIo])7voodiana, -pink and white, (salmon, &c.) 
Brilliant, rich bright scarlet. 
Plantii, yellow centre, scarlet border. 
These are calculated to make a pretty little 
collection to begin with, and contrast one 
with the other well for colour. This plant, 
like many others, would grow best in good 
rich loam, without any other dung than had 
fallen to its share when it was in pasture 
land ; and as a general rule, nothing beats this 
soil for flowers. Beds should be formed four 
feet wide, and any length the number may 
require. They should be planted in three 
rows down the bed ; the rows should be nine 
inches from the side, and the same from row 
to row. There are few subjects that look 
more pleasing or more showy. They will do 
three years without replanting, but when 
done, the roots should be parted, so that there 
be a good heart and a bit of root to each. 
After watei'ing them in, to settle the earth 
about the roots, they may be left to take care 
of themselves, all but cleaning ; they must be 
weeded from time to time, but that is all they 
require. It is a plant well worth growing 
from seed for the chance of a new variety, 
and if the before-mentioned varieties were 
placed in one bed, all the seed saved from the 
bed must afford the very best chance of 
novelty, because all the colours, being placed 
to grow in one bed, will be crossed by the 
insects, and no two can be crossed without 
making very singular combinations. When 
