136 CONVERSATIONS ON THE 



and quality. It is very good for making the 

 wheels of pulleys, and ship blocks ; but lig- 

 numvitas is still better. The holly is much 

 used by engravers on wood, too, for the blocks 

 on which they cut their engravings." 



" Do you know what bird-lime is ?" 



" I never saw any, Uncle Philip, but I have 

 read about it ; it is a sort of sticky paste, I 

 believe, that they use in England, and some 

 other places, to catch birds with, alive. They 

 smear it over the branches of the trees, and 

 when the birds alight on them, they stick fast, 

 and cannot fly away." 



"Very true; well, the best bird-lime is 

 made of the inner bark of the holly ; it is first 

 pounded into a paste, and then left in a 

 cellar, or some cool place, to ferment : after it 

 has fermented, the paste is washed, to clear it 

 from the fibres, and then mixed with a little 

 sweet oil, and kept in tight bottles or pots till 

 it is wanted for use." 



" Uncle Philip, are the berries as good to 

 eat as they are pretty to look at ?" 



" No, by no means ; on the contrary, they 

 have some medicinal properties : but there 

 are so many other medicines that are more 

 easy to take, and much more certain and safe 



