MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 125 
rents will prove amply sufficient for the object, even on the 
liberal scale projected. The monuments of the liberality of 
individual citizens are numerous in our midst—they are dedi- 
cated to moral, educational, benevolent, and artistic purposes, 
and not only beautify, enrich, and ennoble the city, but ex- 
hibit an attachment to her interests and a pride in her pros- 
perity that insure the fulfillment of the great destiny to 
which her past and present progress points.’’ 
THE AMERICAN HOLLY FOR ST. LOUIS 
Of the many evergreens that dominated the Garden flora 
of former days, the holly is the only representative genus 
that has withstood the smoky atmosphere of St. Louis. The 
main garden still retains the original groups and individual 
specimens planted by Mr. Shaw, and while the foliage and 
berries are darker than plants grown in the country, due to 
discoloration by smoke, the trees are in a remarkably healthy 
condition. For a city evergreen the holly is therefore recom- 
mended above all other evergreens on account of its smoke- 
resisting quality (see plate 16, also plate 1 in January, 1920, 
BULLETIN ). 
The American holly, Ilex opaca, is a slow-growing plant 
found in varied kinds of soil. In the Northern and Southern 
states the largest specimens are found in poor, sandy loam. 
In the woods of Massachusetts they are abundant on southern 
slopes densely covered with deciduous trees, the low branches 
of which protect the hollies from exposure. In the South 
the plants are stronger and mature into specimen trees much 
quicker than in the North, and it is from this source that 
the Christmas supply of holly is generally obtained. 
When selecting hollies for planting in the garden the fact 
should be borne in mind that they are generally dioecious in 
habit, that is, the sexes are on separate trees. It is therefore 
necessary that the male and female trees be planted close 
together to allow pollination by action of either wind or in- 
sects, otherwise there will be an absence of the ornamental 
berries. As hollies are slow-growing trees, large specimens 
should be obtained if immediate effect is desired. These sub- 
ject themselves readily to transplanting providing a few 
precautions are followed. The best time to remove them is in 
the fall just before the ripening of the wood, or in the spring 
just before the appearance of the new wood, the latter perhaps, 
being the best owing to the lateness of our falls. The essen- 
tial factor at the time of transplanting is the defoliation, and 
fully two-thirds of the leaves should be removed to reduce 
