164 ILEX AQUIFOLIUM. 
regarded as a symbol of foresight, and was considered by the ancient Romans 
as an emblem of "peace and good-will." The disciples of Zoroaster believed 
that the sun never shadows the holly-tree ; and the followers of that philosopher, 
who still remain in Persia and India, are said to throw water impregnated with 
the bark of this tree in the face of a newly-born child. A number of curious 
carols, and other verses, ancient and modern, in reference to the holly, will be 
found in Forster's "Calendar;" and an elegant poem by Southey, alluding to 
the circumstance of the lower leaves of large plants being spinous, while the 
upper ones are entire, is printed in Johnston's " Flora of Berwick upon Tweed," 
from which we make the following extract : 
O reader ! hast thou ever stood to see 
The holly-tree? 
The eye that contemplates it well perceives 
Its glossy leaves, 
Ordered by an Intelligence so wise, 
As might confound the atheist's sophistries. 
Below, a circling fence, its leaves are seen, 
Wrinkled and keen ; 
No grazing cattle through their prickly round 
Can reach to wound; 
But, as they grow where nothing is to fear, 
Smooth and unarmed the pointless leaves appear. 
In ancient times, Pliny tells us that " Tiburtus built the city of Tibur near 
three holly-trees ; over which he had observed the flight of birds that pointed 
out the spot whereon the gods had fixed for its erection;" and that these trees 
were standing in his own time, and must, therefore, have been upwards of 
twelve hundred years old. 
Soil and Situation. The holly, according to Loudon, attains its largest size 
in a rich, sandy loam ; but it will grow, and even thrive, in almost any soil, 
provided it is not overcharged with moisture. Cook says, it does best on soils 
somewhat gravelly ; Miller, that it prospers on gravel over chalk ; and Boutcher, 
that it refuses not almost any sort of barren ground, hot or cold ; in short, it is 
found on all soils, except in bogs or marshes. The largest hollies at Surry and 
Kent, are in loam or chalk ; those at Tyningham are on a deep, alluvial sand ; 
and those in Aberdeenshire, on granitic clay. The most favourable situation for 
the holly, in England, is said to be a thinly scattered wood of oaks, in the inter- 
vals of which, it grows up at once sheltered and partially shaded. Yet it will 
thrive completely beneath the shade and drip of other trees ; for which reason it 
is surpassed, as undergrowth, by no other evergreen shrub or tree, except the box. 
Propagation and Culture. The holly may be propagated by seeds, by cut- 
tings, or by budding and grafting. As the seeds, like those of the hawthorn, do 
not come up the first year, the berries, in England, are commonly buried in the 
soil, or kept mixed up in a heap of earth for one year. Mr. Loudon recommends 
mixing the berries as soon as gathered, in a heap of earth, which should be 
turned over several times in the course of the season, to facilitate the decompo- 
sition of the pulp and husks. This will generally be effected by the autumn 
succeeding that in which they are gathered from the tree ; and they may then 
be taken, and separated from the earth, with which they are mixed, by sifting, 
and sown in beds of finely prepared soil, and covered to a depth of about a 
quarter of an inch. Thus prepared, when sown in autumn, they will come up 
the June following. A covering of half-rotten leaves, or of straw, placed over 
the seed-beds, will protect the soil from extreme heat and drought, and will 
greatly facilitate the progress of the germination. As the holly is liable to suffer 
from transplanting, it should never be kept in the nursery longer than two years 
in one place. When the seeds are to be sown immediately after gathering, 
Boutcher directs that the berries should remain on the trees till December; or, 
if they could be kept out of the reach of birds, till February or March. As soon 
