1G4 ILEX AQUIFOLIUM. 



regardod as a symbol of foresight, and was considered by the ancient Romans 

 as an ('ml)lem of " peace and Lrood-will." The disciples of Zoroaster believed 

 that the sun never shadows the holly-tree; and the followers of that philosopher, 

 who still remain in Persia and India, are said to throw water impregnated with 

 the bark of this tree in the face of a newly-born child. A iiiiniber of curious 

 carols, and other verses, ancient and modern, in relerence to the holly, will be 

 found in Forster's "Calendar ;" and an elegant poem by SoutheV; alluding to 

 the circumstance of the lower leaves of large plants being spinous, while the 

 upper ones are entire, is ])rinted in Johnston's " Flora of Berwick upon Tweed," 

 from which we make the following extract : 



O reader! ha.st ihnu ever stood to see 



The liollylree? 

 The eye thai ronleinplates it well perceives 



lis glossy leaves, 

 Ordered by an Inlelligeiice so wise, 

 As might confound the atheist's sophistries. 



Below, a circling fence, its leaves are seen. 



Wrinkled and keen ; 

 _ No grazing callle throueh tlieir prickly round 



Can reach lo wound ; 

 But, as they grow where nothing is to /ear, 

 Smooth and unarmed the pointless leaves appear. 



In ancient times, Pliny tells us that " Tiburtus built the city of Tibur near 

 three holly-trees ; over which he had observed the flight of birds that pointed 

 out the spot whereon the gods had fixed for its erection ;" and that these trees 

 were standing in his own time, and must, therefore, have been upwards of 

 twelve hundred years old. 



Soil and Situation. The holly, according to Loudon, attains its largest size 

 in a rich, sandy loam; but it will grow, and even thrive, in almost any soil, 

 provided it is not overcharged with moisture. Cook says, it does best on soils 

 somewhat gravelly ; Miller, that it prospers on gravel over chalk ; and Boutcher, 

 thjtt it refuses not almost any sort of barren ground, hot or cold ; in short, it is 

 found on all soils, except in bogs or marshes. The largest hollies at Surry and 

 Kent, are in loam or chalk ; those at Tyningham are on a deep, alluvial sand ; 

 and those in Aberdeenshire, on granitic clay. The most favourable situation for 

 the holly, in England, is said to be a thinly scattered wood of oaks, in the inter- 

 vals of which, it grows up at once sheltered and partially shaded. Yet it will 

 thrive completely beneath the shade and drip of other trees ; for which reason it 

 is surpassed, as undergrowth, by no other evergreen shrub or tree, except the box. 



Propagation and Culture. The holly may be propagated by seeds, by cut- 

 tings, or by budding and grafting. As the seeds, like those of the hawthorn, do 

 not come up the first year, the berries, in England, are commonly buried in the 

 soil, or kept mixed up in a heap of earth for one year. Mr. Loudon recommends 

 mixing the berries as soon as gathered, in a heap of earth, which should be 

 turned over several times in the course of the season, to facilitate the decompo- 

 sition of the pulp and husks. This will generally be effected by the autumn 

 succeeding that in which they are gathered from the tree ; and they may then 

 be taken, and separated from the earth, with which they are mixed, by sifting, 

 and sown in beds of finely prepared soil, and covered to a depth of about a 

 quarter of an inch. Thus prepared, when sown in autumn, they will come up 

 the June following. A covering of half-rotten leaves, or of straw, placed over 

 the seed-beds, will protect the soil from extreme heat and drought, and will 

 greatly facilitate the progress of the germination. As the holly is liable to suffer 

 from transplanting, it should never be kept in the nursery longer than two years 

 in one place. When the seeds are to be sown immediately after gathering, 

 Boutcher directs that the berries should remain on the trees till December; or, 

 if they could be kept out of the reach of birds, till February or March. As soon 



