152 THE MUSIC OF WILD FLOWERS 



at the point. The fruit groweth upon the middle rib 

 of the leafe, greene at the first, and red as Corall when 

 it is ripe, like those of Asparagus but bigger." On 

 the cliffs near Moulin Huet Bay, in Guernsey, the 

 knee-holme is remarkably abundant, and some years 

 bears a prodigious crop of bright red berries, which 

 make a brave show among the huge boulders of dark 

 grey rock clothed with lichens of the most brilliant 

 colouring. 



But of all our native evergreens the holly, the Scotch 

 fir, the yew and the ivy are the commonest and most 

 conspicuous ; and of these, from the standpoint of 

 beauty, the foremost position must be allotted to the 

 holly. Evelyn calls it an " incomparable tree " and 

 waxes eloquent over his holly hedge at Say's Court. 

 " Is there under heaven," he exclaims, " a more glorious 

 and refreshing object of the kind than an impregnable 

 hedge of about four hundred feet in length, nine feet 

 high, and five feet in diameter, which I can show in my 

 garden at any time of the year, glittering with its armed 

 and varnished leaves, the taller standards at orderly 

 distances, blushing with their natural coral ? It mocks 

 at the rudest assaults of weather, beasts, or hedge- 

 beaters." But more beautiful than even " this rare 

 hedge, the boast of Evelyn's villa," is the holly-tree 

 growing in its native soil. Formerly this species was 

 more abundant in a wild state than it is now, and many 

 places in England are named after the " Holme, Holly, 

 or Hulver tree." At Holmwood, in Surrey, beneath 

 the slopes of Leith Hill, the holly is still plentiful, and 

 presents a fine sight in winter-time, especially in seasons 

 when berries are abundant. The same is true of the 

 New Forest, where, as Gilpin says, " mixed with oak or 



