CLEMATIS KX?warts, 1;lr•aecrli,c, brush wood, from vine-shoot, from KXip, Han, to break). A genus of plants of the nat ural order Bannneulace:e. having four colored sepals, petals small or none, and numerous one seeded achenes. with long,. generally feathery, awns. The species, which number about 150, are herbs or shrubs, generally with climbing edemas, mostly native's of temperate climates, and much scattered over the world. They possess more or less active properties. The lung awns of some species give the plants a beautiful appearance even in winter. The flowers of many species are also beautiful. Clematis ritalba, the common traveler's-joy, is the only native of Great Brit aM, where it is common in the south, but be comes van-r toward the north, and is securely found in Scotland. The stems are capable of being made into baskets. It rapidly covers walls or unsightly objects. The fruit anti leaves are aerial and vesicant.; the leaves are used as a rubefaeient in rheumatism, and those of other species are also employed in the same way. About twenty species are indigenous to North America. and of these Clematis lirginiana, or virgin's-bower, is very widely distributed and is common along wooded river-banks and road side walls, making a very showy appearance with its graceful sprays of white flowers. Its fertile flowers are succeeded by fruit with conspicuous feathery tails. Clematis rertieillaris, with pe duncles bearing large, single, bluish-purple. and drooping flowers, is a rare species, found in rocky woods, from Maine to western New Eng land, and thence to Virginia, Wisconsin, and northwestward. Clematis viorna, popularly called leather:flower, has very thick purplish sepals, ovate or oblong leaflets, fruit with very plumose tails. and grows in rich soils in thel\lid
dle and Southern States. Clematis Pitcheri, species found along the :Mississippi from Illinois southward. has a bell-shaped calyx, dull, purplish sepals, and noticeably reticulated leaves. Clema tis ochrolenea., a rare species, found in Long Island, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, has sim ple and entire leaves, silky beneath, and fruit with very plumose tails. Among the many species seen in our gardens are Clematis •itieella, with its solitary, bell-shaped blossoms, and Clematis florida and Clematis patens, with large blue and purple flowers, natives of Japan. One of the most pleasing, an evergreen, with large white flowers, is Clematis indivisa, a native of New Zealand. Some species, as Clematis flam mule, are found in southern Europe and in the mountainous parts of northern Africa. The colors of the blossoms in this genus vary from pure white to yellow, deep purple, and ruby or scarlet. Some species are propagated by young cuttings, or by layers; others by grafting the year-old shoots in spring on the roots of common species, or they may be raised from seed in any light soil. Numerous hybrid and otherwise im proved varieties are in cultivation. A serious disease affecting clematis is due to attacks of nematode worms on the roots. The disease seems worst in houses and along protected walls. Fresh soil. or soil in which the worms are killed by heat or cold, is about the only remedy.