EUROPEAN HOLLY. 165 



as they are gathered, he says, " throw them into a tub with water, and rub them 

 between your hands till the seeds are divested of their thick, glutinous covering; 

 pour off the water, with the light seeds that swim, the mucilage, &c., and spread 

 the sound seeds on a cloth, in a dry, airy place, rubbing them often, and giving 

 them a fresh cloth daily till they are quite dry. If this be done in autunm or 

 winter, mix them with sand, and keep them dry till spring; but, if they have 

 been gathered in spring, let them be sown immediately." When cuttings are 

 made choice of for the propagation of the holly, they are selected in autumn, of 

 the ripened summer shoots. They are planted in a sandy soil, in a shady bor- 

 der, and covered with hand-glasses ; and they generally strike root the following 

 spring. It has been fovmd by experience, that cuttings of trees and shrubs gene- 

 rally, which are grown nearest the ground, or on the north side of the tree, and 

 so planted as to be kept moist and shaded, always take root more readily than 

 those which have been taken from the summit, and more exposed to the influ- 

 ence of light and air, the moisture and shade being the predisposing causes of 

 the production of the roots. The operations of budding and grafting may be 

 performed at the usual times and in the usual manner : but it has been observed 

 by Tschoudi, that cleft-grafting does not succeed nearly so well with the holly 

 as Avhip-grafting. In England, the stocks budded or grafted, are generally of 

 four or five years' growth ; and the grafting is performed in March, and the bud- 

 ding in July. No plant requires less care than the holly, when it is once estab- 

 lished. This species rarely needs pruning; and the varieties which have been 

 grafted or budded require little more than the removal of shoots from the stock. 

 To prepare them for removal, however, whether of a large or small size, they 

 ought to be taken up and replanted every other year. The seasons most usually 

 adopted for the transplanting of evergreens, are the spring, and in mild weather 

 in winter, although summer and autumn are generally stated to be the proper 

 times for performing that work. The principle which justifies the practice of 

 removing them in winter or spring is, that most plants are more safely removed 

 when they are in a comparatively dormant state, and when the weather is tem- 

 perate, the air moist and still, rather than dry and in motion. It is well known 

 that the greatest degree of torpidity in plants or trees exists a short time before 

 they begin to germinate or push out shoots ; consequently, as evergreens begin 

 to grow only a week or two later than deciduous trees of the same climate, the 

 proper time for transplanting them must be nearly the same. The chief dif- 

 ference to be observed is, the circumstance of evergreen trees being at no time 

 whatever in so completely a dormant state as deciduous ones; and hence, such 

 weather in winter, autumn, or spring, must be chosen for removing them, as 

 will least affect their fibrous roots and leaves by evaporation. When the holly 

 is to be planted as a hedge, if it is desirable that the growth shall be rapid, the 

 soil ought to be trenched to the depth of three or four feet. If the subsoil be 

 poor, it is recommended to dig a trench, in the direction of the intended hedge, 

 three or four feet wide, and as many deep, and to fill up the space with good 

 surface soil taken from the neighbouring ground or elsewhere. The soil in the 

 trench should be raised at least a foot above the adjoining surface, to allow for 

 settling; and along the middle of this ridge, the plants should be set from one 

 foot to eighteen inches apart. According to Miller, holly hedges should never 

 be clipped, because, when the leaves are cut through the middle, they are ren- 

 dered unsightly; and the shoots should therefore be cut with a knife close to a 

 leaf. This mode, undoubtedly, is more appropriate for hedges in gardens and 

 pleasure-grounds, where it is desirable to preserve an effect more pleasing to the 

 eye; but, as this method leaves a rougher exterior surface, and involv'cs a nnich 

 greater expense than clipping, it is unsuitable where the object is to prevent 

 birds from building in the hedges, and to maintahi effective fences at the least 



