HOLLY 63 



suburban districts, as at Kew and Syon. It is of 

 quite tree growth, with rough bark, horizontally 

 arranged branches, and long catkins which appear 

 before the leaves. The peculiar fringed calyx, which 

 almost encloses the nut, is characteristic of this species. 

 When laden with catkins it is a beautiful and interesting 

 tree. 



Apart from the production of fruit, for which the 

 Hazel is well known, the long pliant shoots have a 

 special value in the making of crates, hurdles, hoops, 

 and other commodities where flexibility and tough- 

 ness are points of consideration. For garden pur- 

 poses also the Hazel is one of our most valuable 

 small-growing trees, the shoots and branches being 

 largely used in the making of pea and bean stakes, 

 as also tying material. 



Layering is the quickest way of getting up a stock 

 of the Hazel, though the nuts, when sown in a light, 

 free soil, come away rapidly and soon produce plants 

 that are suitable for underplanting. The variety atro- 

 purpurea is readily raised from suckers, and is as free 

 in growth as the parent plant. 



3^53111 Holly 



(Ilex Aquifolium) 



WE have always fought shy of recommending 

 the Holly for planting in the more smoky parts 

 of London, though in the suburbs it succeeds in quite 

 a satisfactory manner, soil, of course, receiving the 

 necessary attention. But even in the most populous 

 and smoky parts of the Metropolis the Holly is occa- 

 sionally found in a thriving condition ? as in the Poplar 



