744 



ILE 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



ILE 



to remain ; for when they are transplanted at that age, there 

 will be less danger of their failing, and they will grow larger 

 than those removed at a later period : if the ground, how- 

 ever, be not ready to receive them at that time, they ought 

 to be transplanted into a nursery, in rows at two feet dis- 

 tance, and one foot asunder in the rows, where they may 

 remain two years longer ; and if they are designed for grafting 

 or budding with any of the variegated kinds, that should be 

 performed after the plants have grown one year in this nur- 

 sery ; but the plants so budded or grafted, should remain 

 two years after that in the nursery, that they may make good 

 shoots before they are removed. The best time for removing 

 Hollies, is in the autumn, especially in dry land ; but where 

 the soil is cold or moist, they may be transplanted with 

 great safety in the spring. Evelyn declares, that he has 

 raised hedges four feet high in four years from seedlings 

 taken out of the woods ; and that the varieties with white 

 berries, and gold and silver leaves, may be raised from 

 seeds sown and planted in a gravelly soil, mixed with store 

 of chalk, and pressed hard down. The stocks will be fit 

 to be grafted or budded at four or five years' growth ; the 

 grafting must be done in March, and the budding in July. 

 For sowing, Boutcher directs that the berries should hang 

 on the trees till December, or, if they could be defended 

 from birds, till February or March; as soon as they are 

 gathered, throw them into a tub with water, and rub them 

 between your hands till the seeds are divested of their thick 

 glutinous covering ; pour off the water, with the light seeds 

 and mucilage, and spread the seeds on a cloth, in a dry 

 airy place, rubbing them frequently, and giving them a fresh 

 cloth daily, till the seeds are quite dry : if this be done 

 in autumn or winter, mix them with sand, and keep them 

 dry till spring; but if they have been gathered in spring, 

 let them be immediately sown ; this may be done any time, 

 during seasonable weather, in March or April, in beds of 

 loose light mould. 



2. Ilex Opaca; Carolina Holly. Leaves ovate, acute, 

 spiny, smooth, flat; flowers scattered at the base of the 

 last year's shoots. It flowers in May and June. Native of 

 Carolina. 



3. Ilex Perado ; Thick-leaved Smooth Holly. Leaves ovate, 

 with a point, unarmed, almost entire. It flowers in April 

 and May. Native of Madeira. 



4. Ilex Prinoides ; Deciduous Holly. Leaves elliptic- 

 lanceolate, acute, deciduous, serrate; serratures without 

 prickles. It flowers in July. Native of Carolina and 

 Virginia. 



5. Ilex Cassine; Dahoon Hqlly. Leaves alternate, dis- 

 tant, evergreen, lanceolate, serrate ; serratures acuminate. 

 It rises with an upright branching stem to the height of 

 eighteen or twenty feet; leaves four inches long, of a thick 

 consistence, light green : the flowers come out in thick clus- 

 ters from the sides of the stalks, they are white, shaped like 

 those of the common Holly, but smaller ; both the female 

 and hermaphrodite flowers are succeeded by small roundish 

 berries, making a fine appearance in winter ; but they have 

 not as yet produced any fruit in England. There are two 

 varieties ; one with broader leaves, the other with narrower 

 leaves, with scarcely any serratures. Native of Florida and 

 Carolina. It is tender while young, and requires protection 

 in the winter till the plants are grown strong and woody, 

 when they may be set in the full ground, in a warm situa- 

 tion, where they will endure the cold of our ordinary winters 

 very well, but must be protected from severe frost, which 

 would destroy them. It u propagated from seeds in the 

 aroe manner as the common sorts, and the seeds will lie as 



long in the ground ; they should therefore be buried a year 

 in sand ; when taken up, they should be sown in pots filled 

 with light earth, and placed under a frame in winter, and 

 in the spring the pots should be plunged into a hot-bed, 

 which will bring up the plants; they must be preserved in 

 the pots while young, and sheltered in winter under a com- 

 mon frame till they have obtained strength, when in the 

 spring they may be turned out of the pots, and planted in 

 the full ground in a warm situation. 



6. Ilex Vomitoria ; South Sea Tea, or Evergreen Cassine. 

 Leaves alternate, distant, oblong, bluntish, crenate-serrate ; 

 serratures without prickles. It rises to the height of ten or 

 twelve feet, sending out branches from the ground upwards, 

 which form themselves into a sort of pyramid ; leaves about 

 the size, shape, texture, and colour, of the Small-leaved 

 Alaternus, but somewhat shorter, and a litttle broader at 

 the base ; the flowers are produced in close whorls at the 

 joints of the branches, near the footstalks of the leaves, they 

 are white, and are succeeded by red berries, which continue 

 upon the plants most part of the winter, and, being of a 

 bright red colour, make a fine appearance, intermixed with 

 the green leaves ; from the berries continuing so long 

 untouched by the numerous birds of their native climate, 

 they are fairly suspected of having a poisonous quality. The 

 leaves of this tree are not so bitter as those of the Cassine, 

 or Cassioberry bush, especially when green, and are there- 

 fore preferred for making an infusion in the manner of tea ; 

 which the Indians reckon very wholesome, and is the only 

 physic they use in some parts. At a certain time in the 

 year they come down by droves, from a distance of some 

 hundred miles, to the coast, for the leaves of this tree, which 

 is not known to grow at any considerable distance from the 

 sea ; they make a fire on the ground, and putting a great 

 kettle of water on it, throw in large quantities of these 

 leaves, and seating themselves round the fire, from a bowl 

 that holds about a pint, begin drinking large draughts, 

 which in a short time occasions them to vomit easily and 

 freely : thus they continue drinking and vomiting for two 

 or three days, until they have sufficiently evacuated and 

 cleansed their stomachs, and then, every one taking a bundle 

 of the tree to carry with him, they all return to their respec- 

 tive habitations. This plant is generally supposed to be the 

 same as that which grows in Paraguay, where the Jesuits 

 raise a great revenue from the leaves. Native of West 

 Florida, Carolina, and some parts of Virginia. It is propa- 

 gated by seeds, sown in pots filled with light sandy earth, 

 and plunged into a gentle hot-bed, observing to water them 

 frequently until the plants appear, which is sometimes in 

 five or six weeks' time, but at other times they will remain in 

 the ground until the second year ; therefore, if they should 

 not come up in two months, remove the pots into a shady 

 situation, where they may remain till October, being careful 

 to keep them clean from weeds, and now and then, in dry 

 weather, give them a little water; then remove the pots into 

 shelter during the winter, and in March put them upon a 

 fresh hot-bed, to forward the seeds for vegetation : when 

 the plants come up, gradually expose them to the open air, 

 to inure them to the climate, yet they should not be exposed 

 to the open sun at first, but have the morning sun only, 

 placing them for some time where they may be sheltered 

 from cold winds : as they grow slowly, they should be kept 

 in pots four or five years. 



7. Ilex Asiatica. Leaves broad, lanceolate, blunt, quite 

 entire. Native of the East Indies. 



N. Ilex Cuneifolia. Leaves wedge-form, three-cusped. 

 Native of South America. 



