1 71 6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



it is better to keep them in sand until the following spring, as is done with haws. 

 When sown the beds should be covered with leaves, fern, or branches, to keep out 

 the frost and drought until they begin to germinate. A rich light soil is best to 

 encourage rapid growth when young, and after two years in the seed-bed the seedlings 

 should be transplanted in the month of May with as little damage as possible to the 

 tender roots. I have found that the seedlings grow faster under a wall with a north 

 aspect than in the full sun. At four years old the seedlings should again be trans- 

 planted, and the strongest of them, which may then be 2 to 3 ft. high, can be planted 

 out, either in early autumn if the soil is cool and moist enough, or just before growth 

 commences in May. In the latter case a mulch will be desirable, as they suffer from 

 drought after transplanting, and in my experience it is never wise to transplant 1 

 hollies between November and the end of March. 



In forming holly hedges care must be taken to have the ground thoroughly 

 clean and deeply dug beforehand, and to keep the young plants free from grass and 

 weeds, which often choke the young trees. For want of this precaution, and even 

 in spite of it, deaths occur on dry or poor ground which may permanently ruin the 

 regularity of the hedge ; and a great deal of money and time are wasted by planting 

 holly hedges and not attending to them afterwards. Holly bears pruning well, and 

 requires attention when young to make a regular and even hedge, and as the growth 

 of the different varieties is very variable, it is important that all the plants should be 

 from the same source. 



When variegated hollies are required, they are budded or grafted ; and as this is 

 an operation requiring time, experience, and suitable stocks, it is better to purchase 

 the varieties from a nursery. Messrs. Fisher, Son, and Sibray, of the Handsworth 

 Nurseries near Leeds, have long been celebrated for their hollies, which may be 

 transplanted successfully, if due care is taken, up to 5 or 6 ft. high. 



The holly, though an indigenous species, suffers from cold in very severe 

 winters, as in 1838, when the thermometer fell at Chiswick on 20th January to 

 - 4J Fahr. Lindley 2 states that the holly in this year " was extensively affected in 

 several places in the middle and north of England ; this plant, however, offered very 

 different powers of resisting cold, some of the varieties proving much hardier than 

 others, and, according to Mr. M'Intosh, those which are variegated more so than 

 the plain kinds." In 183 7- 1838 /. balearica was not in the least hurt about London. 2 

 Moreover, in 1905, when the temperature at Kew fell to 2 Fahr. on 8th February, 

 none of the varieties of /. Aquifolium seems to have suffered. 3 



Remarkable Trees 



The holly occurs in woods and copses throughout the greater part of the British 

 Isles, ascending 4 to 1000 feet in the Highlands, but seems to be commonest and of 



1 Cf. Gard. Chron. 1848, p. 99. * In Trans. Hort. Soc. ii. 226, 275 (1842). 



' Cf. Kew Bull. 1896, p. 9. 



4 Moss, in Tansley, Brit. Veg. 126 (191 1), states that " the holly is found in almost every oak wood on the Pennines, but 

 although it sometimes produces flowers it rarely fruits." This is due no doubt to the altitude and prevalent low temperature 

 in these woods, 



