.510 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



those of the Earl of Haddington, at Tyningham, and those at Collington 

 House, and at Moredun, near Edinburgh. Some of these hedges are noticed 

 in p. 103. 



Properties and Uses. As a hedge plant, the holly makes the most impe- 

 netrable and the most durable of all vegetable fences ; and it has this great ad- 

 vantage over deciduous-leaved trees and shrubs, that it is seldom liable to be 

 attacked by insects; and, if shorn, the outer surface becomes impenetrable 

 even to birds, who cannot build their nests in it. In these points of view, 

 it is decidedly the best hedge, both for the farmer and the gardener; but, if 

 the faggot wood produced by the hedge is a greater object than the advantages 

 just mentioned, which it is in some parts of England where fuel is scarce, 

 the hawthorn is preferable to the holly, the latter producing but short annual 

 shoots. The objection to the holly, as a hedge plant, is the slowness of its 

 growth ; but against this must be set its great durability and the other advan- 

 tages which it possesses. Besides, by a little extra care in preparing the soil, 

 the holly will make a complete fence as soon as the hawthorn does, under ordi- 

 nary treatment. Mr. Sang, who may be quoted as the very first authority, 

 observes, " that holly hedges are the best for making durable fences, and 

 afford the greatest degree of shelter, especially during the winter months. 

 No plant endures the shears better than the holly. A hedge of it may be 

 carried to a great height ; and, consequently, it is well fitted for situations 

 where strength and shelter are required. It luxuriates most in rich sandy 

 loam, although there are few soils in which it will not grow. After planting, 

 the holly makes but very indifferent progress fora few years; but, after it 

 becomes established in the ground, or about the third or fourth year after 

 planting, no fence whatever will outgrow the holly." (Plant. Kal. y p. 357.) 

 When a holly hedge has once become effective as a fence, no other kind 

 whatever can be kept in repair for so many years, at so small an expense. 

 Baudrillart speaks of holly hedges, in France, that are upwards of two 

 centuries old : those at Tyningham were planted about the latter end of 

 the seventeenth century. 



The wood of the holly is almost as white as ivory, except in the centre of very 

 old trunks, where it is somewhat brown. It is very hard, with a fine grain, 

 susceptible of a high degree of polish, and is readily stained with black, green, 

 blue, or red. It weighs, when dry, at the rate of 47 Ib. 7 oz. per cubic foot. 

 The veins of the wood, and its annual layers, are so small as scarcely to be 

 perceptible. It is applied to a great many purposes, in joinery, cabinet- 

 making, and turnery; in engineering, in mathematical-instrument-making; 

 and it is even used for wood engraving. It would be much more generally 

 used in veneering, in Britain, if it were more common: but large trees are 

 now comparatively rare; or, if they exist, they belong to persons who will 

 not cut them down for their timber. One of the principal uses of the wood, 

 at present, is, when dyed black, to be substituted for ebony, in the handles of 

 metal teapots, &c. : the young shoots and the branches are given to sheep 

 and deer, during winter, in France; and the stronger straight shoots, deprived 

 of their bark, are made into whip handles and walkingsticks. 



Tin- bark affords birdlime. As this article may be useful to gardeners, not 

 only for catching birds, but also for preventing snails, slugs, and caterpillars 

 from ascending the stems of plants, we subjoin directions for its manufacture. 

 " Peel a good quantity of the bark of the young shoots about midsummer ; fill 

 a vessel with it, and put to it spring water ; then boil it till the grey and white 

 bark rises from the green, which will require near 12 hours' boiling; then, 

 taking it off the fire, separate the barks, the water being first drained off. 

 Then lay the green bark on the earth, in some cool vault or cellar, covering it 

 with any sort of green and rank weeds, litter, or mats, to a good thickness. 

 Thus let it continue near a fortnight, by which time, in consequence of fer- 

 mentation, it will have become a perfect mucilage ; then pound it all exceed- 

 ingly well in a stone mortar, till it be a tough paste, and so very fine, that no 

 part of the bark be discernible. This done, wash it accurately well in some 



