1875.] 
AMKRICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
465 
German or Parlor Ivy. 
The true Ivy ( Iledera) is one of the most 
valuable plants for in-door decoration, but it 
grows too slowly, especially when young, to 
meet the wishes of the impatient cultivator. 
VARIEGATED GERMAN IVY, 
We know of nothing ■which is more tractable, 
or more satisfactory, if time be given it, than 
the true Ivy. It will grow where there is but 
little light, and may be trained over doors, 
windows, picture-frames, and in various other 
ways that have been pointed out in former 
volumes. If one only has a few plants to start 
with, time and care will do the rest. For those 
who wish to produce an immediate effect, or 
wish some green vine to make the room cheer¬ 
ful, while the slower growing Ivy is making its 
growth, the plant known as the German Ivy is 
just the thing; indeed many are contented with 
this as the sole climber for their window-gar- 
dens. We have not been able to trace the in¬ 
troduction of the plant now so generally known 
as German or Parlor Ivy; it was scarcely 
known twenty years ago, and now it is one of 
the most popular of plants, being not only used 
to run over window frames, but as a trailer in 
hanging baskets and in vases, and is often seen 
covering an out-door screen, a use to which its 
rapid growth in summer especially adapts it. 
Though called “German Ivy,” it is neither 
“ German,” nor an “ Ivy.” Its native place is 
the Cape of Good Hope, and its botanical place 
is in the Composite, where the Sunflowers, 
Asters, Golden Rods, and a vast number of 
other well-known plants belong. Its botanical 
name is Senecio scandens, (and it has been called 
S. mikanoides,) which would be rendered as 
“ Climbing Groundsel.” The plant, so popular 
in this country, seems to be very little known 
in England. The standard English works on 
horticulture do not mention it, and the only 
reference that we find in a pretty full collection 
of such works, is in one called “ Domestic Flori- 
w 
i 
culture,” in which a large share of the illus¬ 
trations are taken from the American Agricul¬ 
turist ,, as well as many of its teachings. This 
work says: “ This is a quick-growing window- 
plant, not often met with in this country,” al¬ 
though common enough in the United States. 
The name German Ivy being eminently inappro¬ 
priate, we prefer for the common name of the 
plant Parlor Ivy, as half of the name, at least, 
is descriptive, it being eminently a “parlor” 
plant, but will grow just as well in any other 
room—even the kitchen. Its leaves bear some 
resemblance to those of the Ivy, but are much 
more delicate in texture, and more toothed on 
the margins. In ordinary cultivation it does 
not flower, a fact not to be regretted, as it 
bears clusters of rather common-looking, dull- 
yellow flowers. Indeed the only instance we 
have known of its blooming was in 1865, and 
in February of that year we gave the only en¬ 
graving of its flowers that we have seen publish¬ 
ed. Planted out-of-doors, it makes a wonder¬ 
fully vigorous growth, and will quickly cover 
a screen or trellis, but it is chiefly valued for 
in-door use. It possesses every quality that 
makes it a valuable window-plant. It grows 
rapidly, has ample foliage of a pleasing green, 
is not liable to the attacks of insects ; it may 
be kept as small as may be desired by pinch¬ 
ing, or it may be made to run all around a 
window, or, if wished, will cover a screen to 
curtain it, or it need not climb at all, but simp¬ 
ly trail from the edges of a suspended basket, 
or pot, or from a vase. Not the least of its 
merits is the ease with which it may be propa¬ 
gated, and it is a capital plant for the novice to 
use in making his or her first attempts to mul- 
cherokee rose.—( See next page.) 
tiply plants by cuttings; every joint placed in 
sand or in soil, will take root, and form a new 
plant, and if one has a single plant to begin 
with, the number can be multiplied indefinitely. 
It is to be obtained of every florist, and is sold 
at a very moderate price. The plant responds 
readily to good care, but it will stand a great 
deal of neglect—though w T e do not recommend 
it, or any other plant, on this account; the 
chief precaution to be taken is not to allow it 
to freeze; being so very succulent, it will not 
stand frost. Our remarks thus far apply to 
the ordinary form of the plant. It was the 
good fortune of Mr. J. Humphrey, a florist at 
Elmira, N. Y., to originate a variety of the 
German Ivy with distinctly marked foliage ; in* 
stead of being of the usual pleasing green, it is 
variegated in a striking manner with yellowish- 
white, all the leaves having more or less green 
in them, as shown In the engraving. This 
novelty is now in the hands of Mr. Peter Hen¬ 
derson, who is making a careful trial of it, be¬ 
fore offering it to the public. In a note accom¬ 
panying the specimen, from which the engrav¬ 
ing was made, Mr. Henderson says, “ if it will 
only grow as freely, and show the same vigor 
of the plain-leaved, it will be a most beautiful 
plant.” We quite agree with Mr. H. in his 
view of the value of the variegated German 
Ivy, and appreciate the moderation with which 
