JANUARY. 19 I 



mild day. The thrush is commencing his tune ; ! 

 *:.he storm, or missel thrush, sings loudly from 

 the mistletoe ; the wren unites her voice ; and 

 that sweetest of birds, the lark, is far up in the 

 blue sky, pouring out a strain of melody from 

 a joyful heart. 



But we cannot, in noticing the vegetation of 

 January, omit the holly and the mistletoe ; for , 

 though their flowers ai'e not now in bloom, yet 

 they are so much more noticeable from their 

 berries than their blossoms, that they seem to 

 belong to the wdnter. The holly {Ilex aqid- 

 foliiim) intersperses its dai-k leathery leaves, 

 sharp with spines, among the bare branches of 

 many a hedge-row. "Whole forests and woods 

 of this beautiful evergreen, flourish in several 

 parts of our country ; and some fine spots of 

 clustering hollies may be seen in Medwood ; 

 Park, in Staffordshire. This plant was once 

 called scarlet oak ; and our present word, holly, ; 

 is a corruption of holy-tree, by which name it ' 

 was formerly known, on account of its old use I 

 in decking churches at Christmas time. In ; 



• • • 



many parts of England it is very common in i 

 the hedges ; and Carrington, among the other j 

 plants of Dartmoor, notices 



" The holly pointing to the moorland stonn, 

 Its hardy fearless leaf." 



The flowers of this shrub appear in April. 

 They arc white, and look as if cut out ot 

 wax. The holly wood, which is very hard and 

 white, is used by turners ; and the boxes and 



