THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, August 24, 1858. 
822 
the softest and most pleasing green, both in summer 
and winter, and the open trellis - work between the 
arches will be covered with Roses and other deciduous 
climbers. The clothing of the arches will be of Irish Ivy 
complete, and being trained, as they well know how best 
to train at the Crystal Palace, nothing of the kind can 
look more rich, nor be better furnished. Perhaps they 
will run a fringe of Roses along each side of every 
arch, perhaps not; but the foundation is laid for using 
the Virginian Creeper among the Ivy in a manner 
that is not adopted anywhere else, except at the 
Experimental G-arden, and at the vicarage of St. 
Mark’s, Surbiton ; at least, as far as I know of. This 
way is, not to allow the Ivy and the Creeper to light 
one another, and hurt both in the struggle; but to 
make the Ivy the master or mistress, and the Vir¬ 
ginian the servant. The use and intention of the 
Creeper is the glow of deep rich purple which the 
leaves give in the autumn; and the larger and more 
healthy they are, the richer will be the contrast be¬ 
tween the Ivy and themselves. To make a servant of 
the Creeper, it is cut back to one or two eyes every 
winter, and a space of from ten to fifteen feet in height 
is left free all the winter, to be clothed with the “ long- 
rod system,” the summer growth of the Creeper ; every 
inch of this ten or fifteen feet to be cut back to the 
bottom eye at every pruning. But the thing is more 
easy to do than to describe, and we must just give 
an idea of it. 
Suppose the wall of a house two stories high, or 
twenty feet high, more or less, to be covered with 
Ivy and the Virginian Creeper which is always a 
great ornament to the Ivy; the Creeper is in the 
manner of an old Vine, and much like one, covering 
the space as much as the Ivy itself; both are strug¬ 
gling for room and mastery, and every young shoot of 
the Creeper is obliged to be pruned in to the surface 
of the Ivy as fast as it grows out and hangs over the 
Ivy, or like the spurring system on an old Vine against 
a house. On that system, the leaves of the Creeper are 
not more than half the size they would grow to, if the 
Creeper was treated like a Vine on the long-rod system, 
and, of course, not more than half so handsome in the 
autumn. The summer spurring gives four times more 
trouble to keep right than the latter system; for the 
long-rod system requires no cutting, nor tying, nor any 
sort of attention the whole summer. As fast as it grows 
the clasping tendrils take hold of the Ivy, and the 
large succulent leaves shade the Ivy to its advantage. 
By the time the top of the long rods of the Creepers 
reach up to the proper height, the leaves lower down 
are beginning to change, and the whole soon becomes 
of the richest purple hue; after that, frost-fall and 
freedom to the Ivy till next June, July, and August, 
according to its height above the close pruning of the 
Creeper, which pruning is done as soon as the leaves 
are down. 
Let us next suppose a strong plant of the Vir¬ 
ginian Creeper to reach the bottom of one of the 
arches of the Crystal Palace; it is cut just at the 
springing of the arch,—say two to each arch all round. 
At the next growth, the strongest shoot, or eye, only, 
is allowed to grow farther that way, and when that 
shoot reaches the crown of the arch it is brought down, 
and trained quite horizontal to the opposite bottom 
corner of the arch, and is fastened there, and stopped. 
These horizontal shoots remain there as long as 
the plant lives ; the side-shoots from them will be 
annually trained over the Ivy, and cut back to the 
horizontal every winter. But this is all supposition, 
as I have not the pleasure of knowing Mr. Milner, 
who directs the out-door works, nor any of his foremen. 
I never yet had the smallest hint, nor anything pointed 
out to me, out of the Palace itself. But that is the 
best way by many degrees of treating Ivy and Vir¬ 
ginian Creepers together; and, as they do most things 
in the best way there, I conclude this training will not 
be an exception. The pillars next the arches, and 
from which they are supported, are now clothed with 
luxuriant Ivy up to, or near, the springing of the 
arches ; and there are several Virginian Creepers about, 
which make my story self-evident. 
There are also Roses, mostly of the Ayrshire breed, 
Hop plants, Glycine, Honeysuckles, Sweet Clematis, or 
Clematis jlammula , and three or four other Clematis, 
•—as Viticella, Hendersonii, and the like. All these 
are to run up to cover the sides and the roof between 
the arches ; and there is another set of dwarf trainers 
to cover the low trellis-work next to the walk, which 
trellis is not much over four feet in height. Over this 
trellis, we have views of all parts of the garden from 
round the top of the mount; also of the inner part of 
the top itself. A most beautiful arrangement, when it 
is all complete by the growth of the covering. 
This low trellis is in three divisions to each opening, 
on the outer side of the walk, and each division is nine 
or ten feet wide, and planted with one kind of plant. 
The inner side is in large divisions of eighteen or 
twenty feet each, and each of these is also planted with 
one kind of plant,—a good school to learn the best 
plants to train in very exposed situations, besides 
seeing the Italian style of training. Therefore, it is 
well worth while to name the plants. The inner side 
of the walk first, in which are twelve openings, to cor¬ 
respond with the twelve arches above. Ho. 1, is 
covered with variegated Ivy ; 2, Roses, hybrid Chinas 
probably; 3, Cotoneaster microphylla, which no cold 
will impair; 4 , Berberis ; 5, Roses ; 6, Clematis Sie- 
holdii; 7, Honeysuckle, and old China Rose ; 8, green 
Ivy ; 9, common China Rose ; 10, Honeysuckle ; 
11, Roses ; and 12, Forsythia viridissima. The twelve 
outer divisions are each in three parts, of about nine or 
ten feet each, and are thus planted. Ho. 1, Ryrus 
Japonica, first division; Roses , middle division; and 
Ryrus Japonica, the last division; 2, same way, with 
Andromeda axillaris, or one like it, Roses and Andro¬ 
meda repeated; 3, the two ends with Lecesteria for- 
mosa, and Roses between; 4, the ends with yellow 
Yew, and Roses in the middle; Weigela rosea, Roses, 
and Weigela ; 6, Cotoneaster microphylla, Roses, and 
third division repeated Cotoneaster ; 7, first and last 
division, Ryrus Japonica, or Cydonia Japonica, with 
Roses in the centre division ; 8, Magnolia conspicua, 
or one very like first and last divisions, and Roses 
between; 9, Reutzia corymbosa, twice, and Roses 
between; 10, the Yew-like plant called Taxus ad- 
pressa, twice, and Roses between,—very good; 11, 
Spiraa ariafolia two end divisions, and ‘ Roses in 
the middle division ; and 12, Weigela repeated, and 
Roses between. How, all these climbers and trainers 
are planted very systematically, with a view to their 
effect and uses, when they are full grown ; and it re¬ 
quired a long head to make the arrangement as it is. 
Yet I have met on the spot with excellent men, and 
good gardeners too, who could not see, nor allow, that 
there was any design at all in the whole thing, that 
there was no meaning in it, and that the whole mount 
was a “jumble.” 
How, I may not have hit on the exact way it is in¬ 
tended to finish all the training, when the whole is , 
covered ^ by the climbers ; but, if there is a “ sermon 
in trees, I am sure I am not far from the text. 
The fronts of the shrubberies, woods, and wilderness, 
are four, if not six times, better planted this year than 
they were last season, because there are four or six 
times less of scarlet used in the said planting, and be¬ 
cause other tints of scarlet than that of Tom Thumb is 
used,— Nosegay Geraniums also. If one-fourth of 
