3GG TUANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH AUBORICULTUKAL SOCIETY. 



beech to a great height. The stem of the ivy had a diameter of 

 9 inches, and that of the beech 3 feet. They were thriving 

 and growing on the north side of, and not far from, the Brocken- 

 hur.st stream. Now, if we suppose that the ivy was as old as the 

 beech, it could not have retarded the growth of the tree very 

 much, I may add that this is the largest single stem of an ivy I 

 ever saw, and it is to be hoped that no over-zealous woodranger 

 has severed it since then. The bronzed leaves of the ivy are 

 much sought after at })resent for funei-al wreaths. 



Aquifoliace^e. — The Holly {Ilex aqmfolium). — This beautiful 

 and well-known shrub or small tree is plentiful in the woods 

 throughout the county, and especially in the New Forest, where 

 it is to be regretted that the Crown officials are cutting the finest 

 sticks and selling them for whip handles, &c. Abundant as a 

 wilding, yet no pleasure ground can be said to be complete without 

 a specimen tree, and the more fortunate possess a hedge, of which 

 there are many fine ones in the county, especially about Hursley, 

 near Winchester. The custom of decorating the shoi)S, houses, 

 and churches at Christmas time, is telling somewhat on the 

 numbers of the holly, as the demand has raised it into an article 

 of commerce in the larger towns. I have occasionally found a 

 specimen with yellow berries. The variety known as the " High- 

 clere Holly " (/. a. A Itaclerense) was fir.st discovered in Penwood 

 on the Highclere estate in this county. 



CoNiFER,(E. — The Juniper {Juni2)erus commionis). — Another 

 fine evergreen shrub, abundant on the bare chalky downs, pre- 

 ferring the northern slopes, such as that of Dean Hill and 

 Farley-mount Down. Two varieties, if not species, are to be 

 found. 1 do not refer to the dwarf J. nana of botanists, but to 

 the upright and the spreading varieties — the former rising 4 feet 

 to 6 feet, and in habit like an Irish yew, and the latter covering 

 the ground with a diameter of from 8 feet to 10 feet, with a 

 height of only 2 feet. The habit of the full-grown plants, as well 

 as the seedlings, are here quite distinct. At Old Lodge, in the 

 ])arish of Nether Wallop, on the borders of Wiltshire, there are 

 several acres of natui-al juni})er forming a dense iui2)enetrable 

 thicket, some of the stems being 3 inches in diameter ; but it 

 was being grubbed up when I saw it iu 1880. The juniper is 

 now of no economic use. 



The Yew (Taxus haccata). — This tree abounds all over the 

 county, and there are some splendid .s|)ecimens, such as that at 



