There are four ways of carpeting the ground in England with evergreen creepers that thrive under trees and shrubs. The classical effect is that of ivy, which we can reproduce even in New England, where ivy cannot be grown as a climber.

The second best effect is that of trailing myrtle (Vinca minor), which has blue, five-lobed, waxy flowers, a specimen of which can be picked almost any day in the year. Do not associate this with cemeteries. It is used by the thousand on great estates in New England, is quicker-growing than ivy, and better adapted to our climate.

Third, the London Pride (Saxifraga umbrosa) makes charming rosettes and will grow in cold, wet clay in dark, narrow passages between London houses. It may be unsuited to our climate, but I hope many of my readers will try it on a small scale in various situations, and I hereby ask some wealthy American to try to carpet a forest floor with it, as the English do.

Fourth, the Aaron's beard or the rose of Sharon often covers banks ten feet high and a hundred yards long. It makes a great sight in summer when thousands of its big yellow flowers are open. The name of this plant is Hypericum calycinum. In England it flourishes in full sunlight, but this is too much to expect from any broad-leaved evergreens in America, save yucca and a few things of minor importance. The Pacific coast ought to try this plant.

We can excel England on evergreen creepers with red berries that are attractive all winter, except, of course, when covered with snow. The best for woods are our native wintergreen {Gaul-theria procumbens) and partridge-berry (Mitchella repens). An Englishman will sometimes spend a hundred dollars to carpet a little patch of woods with these lovely plants which grow by the million in America on land worth five dollars or ten dollars an acre.

For the sea-side the best red-berried evergreen creeper is the bearberry (Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi), which thrives in full sun on sand or rock.

The climbing euonymus also has red berries, but as a creeper it is not so valuable, because it humps up every little while, in an abortive effort to climb.

There is an exquisite white-fruited creeper that is buried in catalogues under the name of Pachysandra terminalis, as an offset to which I propose "Japanese mountain spurge." It has highly characteristic leaves, dainty little spikes of whitish flowers, and quaint clusters of fat, waxy berries, which are attractive in summer.