*6o THE HOLLY. 



THE HOLLY. 



" See, Winter comes to rule the varied year, 

 Sullen and sad with all his rising train, 

 Vapours and clouds and storms." 



THOMPSON. 



I AM very partial to the holly, the yew, and the ivy. They give both 

 food and shelter to the birds; whilst their charming green foliage 

 makes us almost forget that winter has set in. The holly claims my 

 preference ; for in addition to food and shelter, it affords an impene- 

 trable retreat to those birds that take up their quarters on its branches 

 for the night. 



Our ancestors knew and felt the value of the holly hedge, when 

 the wintery blast whistled through the naked hawthorn. Hence they 

 raised it as a barrier against the north ; and on the breaking of the 

 clouds at noon, they would resort to the protection which it offered, 

 and there enjoy the sun's delightful presence. But modern innova- 

 tion, which, in nine times out of ten, does more harm than good, 

 seems to have condemned the holly hedge as a thing of stiff, un- 

 sightly form, and in its vacant place has introduced a scanty sprink- 

 ling of isolated plants. I own that I am for the warm aboreous plan 

 of ancient days ; and thus I never pass a garden where yew and holly 

 hedges grow, without stopping to admire them, and then I proceed 

 onwards with favourable notions of the owner's taste. 



But to the holly, in particular. I am so convinced of its utility 

 both to men and birds, that I have spared no pains in rearing it as 

 a shelter from the cold, when Boreas, sure harbinger of storms, sweeps 

 over the dreary waste. The deeper and richer the soil, so much the 

 better for the holly. Still, this favourite plant of mine will thrive 

 almost in any soil, and even amongst the clefts of rocks, where there 

 is scarcely any soil at all. Neither can any of the four rude winds of 

 heaven affect the perpendicular growth of the holly tree, although 

 they make an impression upon the sturdy oak itself. Thus, in this 

 neighbourhood, whilst we see the elm and the beech leaning towards 

 the east by the overbearing pressure of the western blast, we find 



