May 1, 1SCS.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



107 



portion of the body is, to use " B. C.'s " own words, 

 capable of indefinite extension), that then the ex- 

 treme portion of the tail is practically never-dying." 

 Of course the fact could only be proved mathe- 

 matically by observations carried on through count- 

 less generations. 



"B. C." holds a different opinion, and he is perfectly 

 welcome to it; but 1 cannot help once more asking, 

 wherein lies the difference between my statement, 

 "If so and so happens," &c, or his "Very likely 

 we shall find both of them undergoing new segmen- 

 tation, or quite as likely both may have perished ? " 

 Surely these latter words imply as much doubt, and 

 are as well fitted to " stultify " any prior reasoning 

 as my poor little " if " ! 



I must own to two verbal errors in my account, 

 due to hurried writing. The first is an Hibernicism, 

 as I speak of " exceptions to a universal law. " The 

 other is mentioning Nais as if it was an exclusively 

 " marine " genus. 



The objections made to my somewhat sensational 

 title by Mr. Stewart in the February number of 

 Science-Gossip, are founded gii the supposed fact 

 that artificial slips and cuttings invariably die out 

 altogether within a limited, though unknown, 

 period ; ergo, the divisions of Nais must do the 

 same. Eor my own part, I must confess myself to 

 be of the number of those who do not believe in the 

 wearing out of varieties propagated by cuttings. At 

 any rate, I am confident that the subject needs closer 

 and more accurate observation than has yet been ac- 

 corded to it, before it can be used as evidence in re- 

 spect to what takes place in the domains of Nature. 



Clifton. W. W. Spictr. 



THE HOLLY TREE. 



A EE W words in defence of this beautiful old 

 -*-*- English tree, for such it may, I think, without 

 much error be termed, since, if not actually in- 

 digenous, it has been naturalized from days unre- 

 corded, and is now considered by most writers to 

 be a native of Great Britain. 



I observe that one of the contributors to Science- 

 Gossip says the poisonous properties of the berries 

 are not so widely noticed as they should be in 

 different works, but I cannot at this moment call 

 to mind any botanical book of my acquaintance which 

 does not mention them as possessing powerfully 

 emetic and other dangerous qualities. We all know 

 that strong emetics taken unadvisedly are often 

 fatal ; still, like most poisonous plants, it has its 

 virtues, and in skilful hands can be made of great use. 

 There is a bitter substance in the leaves of the 

 Holly, known to medical men as Ilicine, which 

 possesses a most valuable febrifuge action. It is as 

 efficacious as quinine, and far less expensive ; indeed 

 many persons consider, as it is slightly sedative, 

 that it is a safer remedy in some cases than cin- 



chona, for it mitigates the sensibility of various 

 organs, where quinine would be likely to increase 

 it. To Dr. Roussea belongs the merit of discover- 

 ing this medical principle in the Holly leaves, but 

 Ray, Gerard, and other older writers, allude to 

 the remedial virtues of the berries, and prescribe 

 ten or twelve of them as being " good against the 

 colic." If Holly berries are hurtful to children, 

 they decidedly are not so to monkeys : my little pet 

 delights in them. I took him out on the lawn 

 yesterday, and he sprang up into the branches of a 

 splendid Holly tree, and eat considerably over the 

 prescribed dozen before I could entice him down 

 again. 



Holly wood is used by turners in the making of 

 "Tonbridge ware." It is a very hard, fine wood, and 

 polishes beautifully. A gentleman, a friend of mine, 

 rather devoted to his lathe, made some very charm- 

 ing ornaments of it, and afterwards stained them 

 black : they looked exactly like ebony. 



Birdlime too is made from the Holly bark. What 

 boy does not know this fact ? — that is, unless boys 

 are altered in their habits since I was a little girl ; 

 I, in those days, often assisted in making it. 



I never see a Holly tree in full winter array with- 

 out thinking of old Evelyn's description of the 

 hedge he planted by Peter the Great's advice at 

 Say's Court : "Glittering with armed and varnished 

 leaves, blushing with natural coral." By the way, 

 writing of" armed " leaves reminds one of Southey's 

 lines to the Holly, — 



Below a circling fence its leaves are seen 



Wrinkled and keen. 

 No grazing cattle through their prickly round 



Can reach to wound ; 

 But as they grow where nothing is to fear, 

 Smooth and unarmed the pointless leaves appear. 



The idea is very poetic, but plain matter of fact 

 tells a different tale. The young leaves of the 

 Holly are unspined, because the spine comes with the 

 age of the leaf ; hence as the topmost leaves are the 

 most juvenile, they are unarmed, while the lower ones 

 are armed. Poets often run off with a popular fallacy, 

 and clothe it in exquisite language. I was amused 

 last week by some lines in which our yellow garden 

 crocus is, because of its " golden hue," gifted by 

 the author with the saffron-producing qualities of 

 the Crocus sativus. 



It would be well if others would follow Mr. New- 

 lyn's example in drawing attention to different 

 poisonous plants. The deadly Aconite, for instauce, 

 how general it is in cottage gardens, and almost every 

 cottager I have ever spoken to on the subject has 

 been ignorant of its dangerous properties. Then 

 there is the Thorn-apple. I actually found some 

 leaves of this most virulent plant amongst a basket 

 of spinach which my gardener had picked, and my 

 cook was going to dress for dinner one day. 



Helen E. Watnev. 



