Holly, Yew and Box 



/. 221, it is stated that " Dr Rousseau of Paris, 

 who published a paper in the Transactions of the 

 Medico- Botanical Society of London, recommends 

 a decoction of Holly leaves and bark, as well as 

 a new principle extracted therefrom and called 

 ilicine, as equal to and sometimes better than 

 quinine.' 1 



The uses of the timber have been previously 

 referred to, together with other economic pro- 

 perties of the tree. 



Variation in the Sex of Flowers 



The difference of sex in the flowers of the Holly 

 has at one time or another attracted considerable 

 attention. Thomas Martyn, B.D., F.R.S.^ Regius 

 Professor of Botany at the University of Cam- 

 bridge, upwards of a century ago edited an 

 edition of Philip Miller's Dictionary of Plants 

 in 1797, and in it he claims that his father first 

 noticed the difference in sex of Holly flowers, 

 for he says, " the difference in sex was first 

 noticed by my father in his garden at Stretham 

 in Surrey ; he had many of these trees which 

 before he had possession of the place were shorn 

 into round heads ; he emancipated them from 

 their slavery, pruned them and trained up their 

 leading shoots ; seeming glad to be released from 

 their shackles, they quickly shot up into goodly 

 trees and soon rewarded him with this discovery 



44 



