512 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART 1J1, 



Henry VI., and preserved in the Harleian MS., No. 5396.; in illustration 

 of which it nuist be observed, that the ivy, being dedicated to Bacchus, was 

 used as a vintner's sign in winter, and hung outside the door. 



" Nay, Ivy, nay, it shall not be I wys ; 



Let Holy liafe the tnaystry, as the mancr vs. 



Holy stolid in the halle, fayre to behold ; 



Ivy stond without the dure ; she ys full sore a cold. 



" Holy and hys mery men they clawnsyn and they syng. 

 Ivy and huf niaydenys they wepyn ami they wryng. 

 Ivy hath a lybe; she laghtit with the rold, 

 .So mot they all hafe that wyth Ivy hold. 



" Holy hath bervs as red as any Rose, 

 They foster the hunters, kcpe hem from the doo. 

 Ivy hath bcrys as black as any slo ; 

 Thcr com the oule and ete hym as she goo. 



" Holy hath byrdys, aful fayre flok, 

 The Nyghtyngalc, the Poppyngy, the g.ayntyl I.avyrok. 

 Good Ivv ! what byrdys ast thou ! 

 Non but the Howlet that 'Howl How I'" 



Stowe, in his Siirvci/ of London, published in 15f>8, says that, in his time, every 

 man's house, the parish cluirches, the corners of the streets, conduits, market 

 crosses, &c., were decorated with holme (holly), ivy, andbayes,at (Jhristmas. 

 The disciples of Zoroaster believed that the sun never shadows the holly 

 tree; and the followers of that philosopher who still remain in I'ersia and 

 India, arc said to throw water impregnated with holly bark in the face of a 

 child newly born. In the language of flowers, the holly signifies foresight. A 

 great number of curious carols, and other verses, ancient and modern, referring 

 to the use of the holly at Clhristmas, will be found in Forster's Perennial 

 Calendar, p. 727. ; and an elegant poem by 8outhey, alluding to the circum- 

 stance of the lower leaves of large plants being spinous, while the up|)er arc 

 entire, is printed in Dr. Johnston's Flora of Berwick ujwn Tweed, vo\. i. p. 40. 

 Soil and Situation. The holly attains tiie largest size in a rich sandy loam ; 

 but it will grow, and even thrive, on almost any soil, provided it is not over- 

 charged with moisture. Cook says, it does best on soil somewhat gravelly ; 

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

 not almost anv sort of barren ground, hot or cold, and often indicates where 

 coals are to be found ; a proof that it will grow both on lime and clay : in 

 short, the holly is found on all soils, except in bogs or marshes. The forest 

 of Needwood, which contains so many fine hollies, is on a free loamy soil, in- 

 clining to sand rather than to stiff clay ; the largest hollies in the New Forest 

 are on gravelly soil, on a substratum of chalk or clay. The largest hollies in 

 Buckinghamshire, Kent, and Surrey, are in loam on chalk ; the hollies at 

 Tynini;ham are on deep alluvial sand ; those in Aberdeenshire, on granitic 

 clay. The holly does not grow at very great elevations in Europe ; and it 

 is always found in a most prosperous state when somewhat shaded by 

 deciduous trees, but not overtopped by them. The most favourable situation 

 seems to be a thin scattered wood of oaks, in the intervals of which, as at 

 Needwood and New Forest, the holly grows up, at once sheltered, and par- 

 tially shaded. At the same time, the holly will grow completely beneath the 

 shade and drip of other trees ; for which reason it is equalled as undergrowth 

 by no other evergreen shrub or tree, except the box. The common laurel 

 will also grow under the drip and shade of other trees ; but it is more tender 

 than either the box or the holly, and soon becomes naked below. 



Propagation and Culture. In the days of Evelyn, it was customary for 

 planters to collect seedlings of trees of different sorts from the woods ; and 

 this was more especially the case with the holly, on account of the length of 

 time the seed lies in the ground before it comes up. " Of this noble tree," 

 Evelyn says, "one may take thousands of young plants, four inches long, out 

 of the woods (growing amongst the fallen leaves), and so plant them ; but this 

 should be before the cattle begin to crop them, especially sheep, who arc 

 greedy of them when tender. Stick them into the ground, in a moist season, 



