240 WILD FLOWEES OF WINTER. 



The Holly (Ilex aquifolium) sturdily maintains its 

 place in many a hedgerow. I have seen its magni- 

 ficent red-berried clusters in "Westmoreland, and its 

 thick leathery leaves on Dartmoor. It is common 

 through all the Midland districts, and one of the finest 

 holly hedges I have seen skirts the Watling Street, 

 not far from the heart of England. Its name is sup- 

 posed to be a corruption of holy tree, on account of 

 its frequent use in decking churches at Christmas- 

 tide. The white flowers appear in April, though the 

 plant has far more associations with winter. 



The Ivy (Hedera helix), which puts forth its green 

 blossoms in October, now becomes a prominent object 

 among the woodlands, by the walls, and in the hedge- 

 rows, though its chocolate berries are not ripe until 

 April. The late bee, tempted from home by the warm 

 glow of a November sun, hovers round the ivy 

 flowers. The various-veined and differently-formed 

 leaves, which distinguish the ivy, are supposed to be 

 caused partly by a variation in the age of the plant, 

 as well as the different soil on which it grows. There 

 is a rapid-growing variety, known as the Irish Ivy 

 (Helix vegetata), with large foliage, instead of the 

 ordinary five-angled leaf, so well known, that poeta 



