1882.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
159 
The Climbing kinds of Clematis. 
The name Clematis is an old Greek one. 
Originally applied to some climbing plant, it 
now stands for a genus of the Ranunculus 
Family, of which there are, in the temperate 
regions of the world, about 100 species. As 
some of the plants are very showy and popu¬ 
lar. the botanical name is generally adopted, 
and is vastly preferable to the common 
names; “Travel¬ 
ler’s Joy,” and 
“Virgin's Bow¬ 
er,” which have 
been given to the 
common English 
and American 
species. The 
name when used 
should be pro¬ 
nounced Clem¬ 
atis and not 
Clematis — (we 
once knew an 
enthusiastic am¬ 
ateur who per¬ 
sisted in saying 
“ Clemarters. ”) 
The genus in¬ 
cludes herbace¬ 
ous erect species, 
1 to 3 feet high, 
but the majority 
are climbers, 
some of them 
very rampant 
and reaching 30 
feet or more. A 
very pleasing col¬ 
lection may be 
formed from our 
native climbing 
species, includ¬ 
ing the rather 
rare C. verticil- 
laris, with pale 
bluish flowers, 3 
inches broad, and 
several southern 
species, includ¬ 
ing the brilliant 
C. coccinea of 
Texas, most of 
which are fig¬ 
ured in former 
volumes of the 
American Agri¬ 
culturist. The 
c o m p a ratively 
recent introduc¬ 
tion of species from Japan,China, etc., and the 
labors of the hybridizers have brought into our 
gardens a set of most admirable plants. They 
have flowers from pure white to ^lie rich¬ 
est purple, and from 2 to 6 inches or more 
across. With the improvements in propagat¬ 
ing, these fine kinds may now be had at 
moderate prices and are within the reach of 
most lovers of flowers. If we were to take 
up a floral specialty, it would be these singu¬ 
larly beautiful varieties of Clematis. Aside 
from these choice hybrids, there are species 
as yet unchanged by the florist, and which 
retain their natural habit of climbing high 
and far. These are admirable for verandas 
or wherever a climber is desired, In this 
set we give the first place to our native “Vir¬ 
gins’ Bower,” (Clematis Virginiana,) which 
is seen almost everywhere after midsummer 
clambering over shrubs and trees with its 
profusion of white flowers, which are fol¬ 
lowed in autumn by the “ Old Man’s Beard,” 
as its large showy clusters of hairy fruits are 
called. It will grow 20 feet or more high, is 
to be found in most of the Eastern States, and 
is well worth cultivating. As it can be had 
for nothing, it is seldom seen except in the 
wild state. An European species, C. Flam- 
mula, is another excellent climber, with 
white and very fragrant flowers. Another 
from Europe is C. Viticella, with solitary pur¬ 
plish flowers 2 or 3 inches across. Among 
these unchanged species is one which inter¬ 
ested us much last summer, C. montana, 
from the Himalayas. While this has been 
known in England for the last 50 years, it has 
been slow in making its way in this country. 
Like the others just mentioned, it is perfectly 
hardy, grows 30 feet or more, and produces 
an abundance of flowers at each joint of the 
stem. The engraving shows a single joint 
with the flowers about one-fourth less than 
their real size. Added to the charm of their 
pure whiteness, its flowers have a most pleas¬ 
ing fragrance, making it altogether one of 
the most desirable of this group of Clema¬ 
tis. The Mountain Clematis will doubtless 
soon be among our most popular climbers. 
Cultivation of Sage—Thyme. 
Bage is one of those special crops that cir¬ 
cumstances sometimes make exceedingly 
profitable. Accounts of large returns from 
some grower’s acre or two of sage are given 
in the papers, and there is at once an interest 
in sage culture, and we receive inquiries about 
growing the crop. It should be recollected 
that sage is one of those peculiar crops for 
which the demand may be regarded as limited. 
The chief consumption is by sausage makers, 
and those who put up dried and powdered 
herbs for sale. These must have a certain 
quantity each year, and if for any reason 
there is a short supply, they will pay large 
prices to get the amount they require. But 
it is an article for which the sale, beyond 
certain limits, can not be increased. If an 
excess is produced beyond the regular de¬ 
mand, it will not keep over well, and as it 
can not be fed out, it must go to waste. 
There are two methods of growing sage. 
The New England cultivators sow the seed 
where the plant is to grow, late in May or 
early in June. Land free from stones, in 
good tilth, but only moderately manured, is 
worked as fine as possible, finishing with 
rakes after the harrow ; the rows are marked 
at 14 to 18 inches apart, and the seeds cov¬ 
ered an inch or less, using about five pounds 
of seed to the acre. The crop must be care¬ 
fully weeded, especially when the plants are 
young, but when well established they re¬ 
quire less care.—The growers near New York 
follow an entirely different method. The 
seeds are sown in a seed bed. just as cabbage 
and other plants are raised for transplanting. 
The bed being well prepared, the seed is sown 
broadcast, to be, as near as may be, half an 
inch apart, evenly raked in and the surface 
well patted down with the back of the spade. 
The seed is sown the last of April or the first 
of May, and the young seedlings kept clear 
of weeds. In July the plants are set upon 
land from which an early crop of cabbages, 
beets, etc., has been taken. The rows are 
made one foot apart, and the plants are set 
8 or 9 inches distant in the rows. In New 
England the crop is harvested in autumn, 
cured and baled for market. The New York 
growers send nearly all of the crop to market 
green, there being always a sale for it when 
bunched in this condition. If any is left un¬ 
sold, it is spread thinly to dry, and marketed 
in winter. When the plants are large enough 
to cover the ground, those in every other 
row are cut out and marketed in September, 
1 and in another month the plants in the re¬ 
maining rows spread and cover the ground 
before frost checks vegetation.—Thyme is 
, grown in a similar manner in all respects, 
and the bulk of it is also sold green, the 
demand being about equal to that for sage. 
The Leaf Beet, or Swiss Chard. 
During the season of spinach one need 
look for nothing better in the shape of 
“ greens but when the long hot days come, 
these plants soon run up to seed, and it is 
difficult to secure a supply. Among the 
several plants used to furnish midsummer 
greens is the Leaf Beet. This is by some 
considered a variety of the common beet, 
while others regard it as a distinct species 
(Beta Cida) from the South of Europe. While 
the ordinary beets develop an enormous root, 
tee mountain clematis—( Clematis montana). 
