136 CONVERSATIONS ON THE i 



"1 



and quality. It is very good for making the j 

 wheels of pulleys, and ship blocks ; but lig- 

 numvitae is still better. ,The holly is much ; 

 used by engravers on wood, too, for the blocks 

 on which they cut their engravings." i 



" Do you know what bird-lime is ?" I 



" I never saw any. Uncle Philip, but I have 

 read about it ; it is a sort of sticky paste, I 

 believe, that they use in England, and some • 

 other places, to catch birds with, alive. They 

 smear it over the branches of the trees, and * 

 when the birds alight on them, they stick fast, 

 and cannot fly away." 



"Yery true; well, the best bird-lime is 

 made of the inner bark of the holly ; it is first 

 pounded into a paste, and then left in a 

 cellar, or some cool place, to ferment : after it 

 has fermented, the paste is washed, to clear it 

 from the fibres, and then mixed with a little 

 sweet oil, and kept in tight bottles or pots till 

 it is wanted for use." 



" Uncle PhiHp, are the berries as good to 

 eat as they are pretty to look at ?" 



" No, by no means ; on the contrary, they 

 have some medicinal properties : but there 

 are so many other medicines that are more j 

 eas]?- to take, and much more certain and safe i 



