56 CHAPTER VII. 



The leaves sometimes remain on this tree 

 through the greater part of the Winter, and fading 

 to a rich brown, " form a pleasant contrast to the dark 

 green of the Ilex Oak and the glaucous foliage of the 

 Olive ; while in the Spring the young shoots, clothed 

 with a reddish brown pubescence, become an 

 additional element of beauty in the woods." 



The Ilex Oak or Holm Oak (Q. Hex) is remark- 

 able for having two different sorts of leaves. When 

 dwarfed by bad ground, or cropped and kept low, it 

 bears hard prickly foliage. In fact it is difficult to 

 realise that this scrubby bush belongs to the same 

 species as the tree which spread its cool shade over the 

 clear fountain of Bandusia. 



The leaves are frequently discoloured by the larvae 

 of Lithocolletis messaniella, a moth. No foliage stands 

 the sea air better, or forms a better screen. Though 

 cut back by the salt spray, the Ilex Oak will hold its 

 own ; witness those battered trees which border the 

 path on the Peninsula of St. Jean. The acorns take 

 two years to ripen. 



Professor Boulger, from whose interesting and 

 beautifully illustrated book I have taken several facts 

 about the Ilex Oak, says that the tree is difficult to 

 transplant, because in favourable ground a long tap- 

 root is formed, quite devoid of lateral branches. 

 QuercAis Ilex is wild as far north as Nantes. 



The Cork Oak (Q. Suber, Fig. 22) is common at 

 Hyeres, near Grasse, and in the Esterel, but is rare at 

 Nice and Mentone. This tree ripens its acorns in the 

 first season. The bark is removed from the tree at 

 intervals of from six to ten years, after it has attained 

 about thirty years of age. Cork previously collected 



