HARDY SHRUBS. 247 



in August. I. opaca is more difficult to raise from seed than I. aquifo- 

 lium. A good method is to sow in a mixture of peat and sphagnum 

 moss, made quite firm, and place in a greenhouse \\ here it will get the 

 full sun, keeping the mixture moderately wet. Plants grown for their 

 berries, or, in fact, for any purpose except for hedges, should never be 

 selected from seedlings, as there are two kinds, one with the female 

 organs, imperfectly developed, but with the stamens well formed bear- 

 ing abundance of pollen; they are the most abundant bloomers, but do 

 not bear fruit. The other kind has fewer flowers, with the pistils all 

 well formed and quite prominent in the center of the flower. The 

 stamens on the other hand seem imperfect in most cases, but doubtless 

 there is enough pollen on them to fertilize the flower, as fruiting plants 

 set seed all right a long distance away from the pistillate plants. There- 

 fore, cions should always be selected from berry-bearing plants. There 

 is a variety of 1. aquifolium with yellow fruit which is desirable. There 

 are also many kinds with curiously-formed leaves, not so popular here 

 as they are in Europe. Ilex aquifolium flowers on the growths of the 

 preceding Summer; I. opaca flowers later, and on the current year's 

 wood. The outer covering of the seeds of Holly is quite hard, and often 

 they do not germinate the same season as sown. If sown as soon as 

 ripe, in very sandy soil, and care taken to keep them from drying out 

 during the dry months of Summer, they will germinate the following 

 Spring. Sow the seed rather deep and cover with a mulching in Win- 

 ter, which covering is easily removed when freezing weather is past. I. 

 cornuta, grown in company with varieties of the English species, does 

 not come true from seed. 



I. cornuta. It would be an interesting experiment were some of our 

 Southern woodsmen to plant the Japanese Holly (Ilex cornuta) for 

 the sake of its berried branches as a Christmas Holly along with the 

 English (I. aquifolia) and the native evergreen kinds, I. opaca and 

 I. cassine. The last named is the prettiest of the three, but both 

 berries and leaves are small; the berries shrivel up too quickly and 

 sometimes fall off before they can be used. Ilex cornuta fruits more 

 freely than any of the other species. In the vicinity of Washington, by 

 the middle of December, the berries are only beginning to turn red. 

 Whether this fault would appear where the flowers expand earlier 

 in the season I cannot say. A most noticeable feature in connection 

 with the Japanese plant, the mentioning of which may be of use to 

 some one some day, is that it bears a much more abundant crop of ber- 

 ries when male plants of the English species are in the immediate neigh- 

 borhood. The hardiness of this plant is about the same as that of the 

 English kinds, probaby a little more tender. I understand it can be 

 grown as far North as Philadelphia. In Washington it stands the most 

 severe Winters without hurt, and grows much stronger than the English 

 species. 



ITEA VIRGINICA. The cultivated form of this is mucb superior to 

 plants found in the wild state. It has long racemes of rather pretty 

 greenish-white flowers. It may be propagated by division, or from 

 seeds which ripen freely. It usually grows from 2 to 4 feet high. 



