HOLLY. BOXWOOD. LIGNUMVITJB. 



(Ilex.) (Buxus, Cornus, etc.) (Guajacum.) 



The woods afforded by these trees are all demanded in 

 small and very perfect pieces to fill needs for which no others 

 appear to be perfectly fitted. The holly (Ilex) grows in 

 Europe and America, where the brilliant evergreen foliage 

 and red berries have long been associated with the Christmas 

 season. The name holly is probably a subversion of ' ' Holy. ' ' * 

 The true boxwood (Buxus sempervirens] attains to some size in 

 Europe and Asia, but remains a small shrub in America, where 

 it is seldom if ever cut for wood, but is placed as a decoration 

 along the borders of walks and gardens. The wood called 

 4 ' boxwood ' ' in America is not therefore derived from the 

 ' ' box. ' ' The Lignumvitaes grow in Florida, the West Indies, 

 and on the northern coast of South America. 



Holly-wood is noted for its fine, even grain, but chiefly for 

 its smooth, ivory-white color, fitting it for the white of inlaid 

 work, for carvings and other decorations where white color and 

 fine qualities are required. The principal European source is 

 the Ilex aquifolium, while in America it is the Ilex opaca. 

 Inlaid work requires a design drawn or stencilled upon a thin 

 sheet of light colored wood such as holly. This sheet is fast- 

 ened over a similar one of darker wood and a sharp knifc 

 passed over the design cuts through both sheets alike. The 

 figures of the lighter tinted wood are inserted within the spaces 

 vacated by the corresponding figures of darker wood and vice 

 'versa. The sheet with insertions is then glued upon a " core " 

 of seasoned wood as in the preparation of ordinary veneered 

 work. (See pp. 75, 121.) Boxwood is, as stated, the name applied 

 to several woods, all noted for their fine compact structure, ren- 

 dering them suitable for very fine carvings such as are required 

 in wood- engraving. | The Eastern product as cut from the true 

 box is so highly prized as to be sold by the pound. Many of 



* " The German name Christdorn, the Danish name Christorn, and the Swed'sh 

 name Christtorn seem to justify this conjecture." 



109 



