CULTIVATION AND AN ALTS IS OF PLANTS. 
CLIMBERS. 
Climbers proper are such as send out coiled tendrils, an inch or more in length, by 
which they lay hold of either projection or crevice, to sustain themselves as they climb. 
They, however, sometimes dispense with these tendrils when a natural support for the 
main stems has been already attained; as, for instance, when a long shoot has reached the 
summit of a house, tree, or other horizontal or nearly horizontal surface. Among them 
the most deservedly popular are perhaps the following: 
Passiflora Fordii. —Ford’s Passion-flower, so called in honor of a celebrated English florist of that 
name, is one of the prettiest and every way most desirable of the true climbers, being larger than the 
older type, P. ccerulea (p. 233), and more easily cultivated. It is preeminently a parlor plant, surpassing 
anything of the kind that has been introduced for years; it will, however, like most climbers, do well 
outdoors from early summer until frost. The very remarkable shape and appearance of the blossom, 
from which the generic name Passion-flower is derived, is still more conspicuously beautiful and well- 
marked in this variety, which has most probably been hybridized from the old P. coerulea and the later P. 
trifasciata. 
Clematis virgilliaiia. The common Wild Virgin’s Bower is known scientifically by this name, and 
it is among the finest of outdoor climbers, being well adapted to conceal unsightly objects in a lawn, yard 
or garden. (See “ Deformities Concealed,” page 333.) It is covered with large clusters of white flowers 
in July and August, which are followed by a crop of the large, plumose, grayish tufts that envelop the 
seeds, making the plant appear as if short wool-clippings had been spread all over it, thus constituting 
a very singular object in a collection. 
Clematis Sieboldii, originating in Japan and introduced thence by the well-known traveler whose 
name it bears, has very large blossoms of an azure-blue color, not unlike those of the Passion-flower. It 
is a rapid grower, and flowers constantly indoors, and, in tropical climates, out of doors. 
Clematis Jackmaiilii, so called from a florist of that name, is a hybrid from the C. Sieboldii and 
some other species of Clematis. It has a very large flower of a purplish-blue color, often five or six 
inches in width. The flowers have unusually long footstalks; hence they stand away from the stems 
and leaves, giving the plant quite a graceful and unique appearance. 
Clematis John Could Yeitcli, or “ Double Blue Clematis,” is perhaps the climax of beauty and 
grace in the Clematis tribe. The flowers are not only double and of a fine azure-blue, but they last 
longer than the others, often remaining for several weeks; and a well-grown plant sometimes gives the 
appearance of a string of blue balls, reaching from the base to the summit. 
There are perhaps not less than forty other species or varieties of the beautiful Clem¬ 
atises, all in cultivation, which may be procured from any first-class florist. 
Cobsea seandens, or Climbing Cobsea, is an extremely handsome climbing plant, with large, pinnate 
leaves, producing a dark-purple flower not unlike that of the Foxglove in shape, and blooms all summer 
out of doors.' Indoors it will bloom throughout the winter. There is a variegated sort which has the 
added attraction of varying colors in the leafage, sometimes the leaflets on one leafstalk being entirely 
white, Avhile those on the next will be the usual green. 
EccremocarptlS scaber, literally Rough Hanging-fruit, is a very beautiful climber; its leaves resem¬ 
ble some of the Ferns or the Meadow Rue, and it’has a flower which is a dull red on the top, and a light 
yellow at the bottom. The plant grows rapidly in a warm atmosphere, in or our of doors. 
Cucurbitaceae, or Gourd Family, comprise many beautiful climbers (see Lagenaria vulgaris, p. 147; 
Echinocystis lobata, p. 333). They are highly ornamental both in fruit and foliage, and admirably adapted 
to hiding unsightly places. 
TWINERS. 
Under this term are included such plants as do not shoot out tendrils like the climbers 
proper, but wind or twine their stems or leaves around supports as they mount upward. 
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