166 
ILEX AQUIFOLIUM. 
expense. The proper time for clipping appears to be just after the leaves have 
arrived at maturity ; because at that season, in the holly, as in the box, the 
wound is repaired, in a measure, by the healing over, produced by the remain- 
ing sap, still in circulation. When it is desired to cultivate the holly for timber, 
it should be grown in the same manner as in close plantations, either with or 
without nurse-trees, according to the situation ; and the stems should be deprived 
of their side branches, when they are less than half an inch in diameter, to a 
certain height, say one fourth of the entire height of the tree, in order to have a 
clean trunk. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the holly is almost of an ivory whiteness, 
except near the centre of very old trunks, where it is of a brownish hue. It is 
very hard and compact, with a fine grain, and susceptible of a high degree of 
polish, which renders it well adapted for many purposes in the arts. When 
dry, it weighs forty-seven and a half pounds to a cubic foot, and is very reten- 
tive of its sap, in consequence of which, it is liable to warp, unless it is well 
dried and seasoned before being used. It readily takes a durable colour of 
almost any shade, and hence it is much used by cabinet-makers in forming what 
are technically called : ' strings and borders," in ornamental works. When prop- 
erly stained black, its colour and lustre are little inferior to those of ebony. It 
may be applied to a great number of purposes by joiners, cabinet-makers, 
turners, engineers, mathematical instrument-makers, and, next to the box and 
pear-tree, it is the best wood for engraving upon, as it is compact, and stands 
the tool well. Among its principal uses in England, at present, is, when dyed 
black, to be substituted for ebony, in the handles of metallic teapots, &e. In 
France, the young shoots and the branches are given to sheep and deer, during 
winter ; and the stronger straight shoots, deprived of their bark, are made into 
whip-handles and walking-canes. The bark of the holly contains an abundance 
of viscid matter ; and, when macerated in water, fermented, and then separated 
from the fibres, it forms bird-lime. Medicinally, the bark of this tree is muci- 
laginous, emollient, and solvent, and is said to possess strong febrifugal powers. 
The berries are purgative, and six or eight of them, when swallowed, will cause 
violent vomiting; though they are considered as poisonous to men, they form 
the food of some birds, more especially of the thrushes. 
As a hedge plant, in temperate climates, the holly forms, perhaps, the most 
impenetrable and the most durable of all live fences ; and it has this superior 
advantage over deciduous-leaved trees, that it is seldom attacked by insects, and 
will well endure the shears. Its chief objection is the very indifferent progress 
which it makes for the first few years after planting ; but, after it becomes estab- 
lished in a suitable soil, or aboiu its third or fourth year, there are but few hedge- 
plants that will surpass it in their growth. It may be carried to a great height, 
and, consequently, is well adapted for situations where strength and shelter are 
required, especially during winter, when most other hedges are deprived of thei* 
leaves. 
