CULTIVATION AND ANALYSIS OF PLANTS. 
commercial value, yielding the well-known tonic and antiseptic drug, calumba. The M. Canadense pos¬ 
sesses the same properties, but in an inferior degree. It is, however, grown in this country mainly for its 
ornamental flowers, fruit and leaf. 
Wistaria Sinensis, or Chinese Wistaria, is a rapid-growing twiner of superb appearance in leaf and 
flower. The flowers come in long racemes like the Lupine inverted, but larger and more waxy in texture, 
while in color they resemble the Lilac, which, however, they surpass in the delicate tintings, often pro¬ 
gressing through the various shades from a deep blue to a pearly white. There are many varieties of the 
Wistaria, but none superior to the W. Sinensis. Their size forbids their adoption as indoor plants unless 
in large conservatories. 
Pliaseolus multiflorus, or Scarlet Runner—sometimes called Spanish Bean — though most fre¬ 
quently cultivated as a vegetable, for the pod and the inclosed bean, is not to be despised as an ornamental 
indoor or outdoor twiner. It sends out long racemes of bright scarlet, butterfly-shaped flowers, which, 
contrasting with the green foliage around, produces a very pleasing effect. Many people grow it because 
of its artistic beauties, elevating it from the kitchen garden to the parlor window. 
Adlumia cirrliosa, or Fringed Adlumia, is one of the most beautiful and hardy of twining plants. 
It climbs by its leafstalks, which serve the purpose of tendrils, and grows to a height of ten or twelve 
feet in a season. The flowers come in delicate flesh-colored panicles, and succeed each other all summer. 
Jasminum officinale, or White Jasmine, is already described, page 175. 
Hnniulus lupulus, or common Hop, page 162. 
Periploca Oraeca, (literally Greek twiner), or Silk Vine, is a hardy, ornamental twiner, common 
throughout our northern States and worthy of attention. 
CREEPERS. 
This class of plants is distinguished by the property of clinging by the rootlet-like 
shoots, or sucker-like attachments, which it sends out at convenient distances, for catching- 
hold of the wall or other surface or support along which it creeps. 
Hedera Helix, or English Ivy, is perhaps the choicest of all creeping plants, and has been immor¬ 
talized in prose and verse, Charles Dickens’s almost unique contribution to poetic literature, “The Ivy 
Green,” being forevermore associated with its beauties. The permanency as well as the deep, glossy, 
green color of the leaves makes it a universal favorite. Its hardy qualities render it fit for cultivation 
almost everywhere; and it needs more protection from heat than it does from cold. It thrives best in the 
United States when planted to the north of a house, fence, or other shade. A good way to save outdoor 
Ivies in winter is to lay them down carefully along the ground, and cover with sods in their natural posi¬ 
tion, grass upward. Indoors, the English Ivy should be kept clean and shielded from an excessively dry 
heat. In ordinary living rooms, a daily damping of the leaves will prove sufficient. (See p. 174.) 
Ampelopsis Yeitchii, or Veitch’s Creeper, a distinct species introduced from Japan by the florist 
Veitch of London, is of the same genus with the A. quinquefolia, the common American or Virginia 
Creeper, but differs much in the manner of growth, the structure of the leaves, and other peculiarities. 
Its young shoots are of a rich, brown purple, and its leaves are rounded and simple, while the flower is 
inconspicuous. A peculiarity of the Veitch’s Creeper that should strongly recommend it to a more 
general acceptance, is its habit of attaching itself, without aid from its owner or mechanical contrivance 
of any kind, to whatever object is near; the young stems send out sucker-like attachments by which they 
cling to wood, stone, or indeed to any substance, however smooth. Another attractive feature of this 
Creeper is the crimson-purple coloring of its rather persistent foliage, which clings to the branches often 
until midwinter in sheltered places, presenting an appearance almost as bright and beautiful as if the 
leaves were so many flowers. 
Ampelopsis quinquefolia, already alluded to, has five leaflets with serrate edges on a common 
stalk, curling gracefully downward, and is so familiar, under the name of Virginia Creeper, as to need no 
further explanation. 
Tecoma radicans, or Trumpet-flower, has been described, page 304. 
