DAYS OF THE EVERGREEN 265 



vitality of their dark, yet vivid verdure, and the aspect of 

 health and vigour which shines in them from root to topmost 

 twig. Where at other seasons they form part of the uncon- 

 sidered background, they are now the centre of the picture. 

 Their mass of deep green foliage forms a striking contrast 

 with the grey and silver of the beech trunks, the black arms 

 of the interlacing oaks, the delicate russet of withered 

 bracken, and the faded tussocks of heather and ling. In 

 years when their berries are abundant, their beauty is greatly 

 increased by the scarlet clusters shining in the winter sun- 

 light against the pale blue sky, or giving a welcome touch of 

 bright colour on the grey days. But the beauty of the 

 berries is largely due to the contrast with the deep green 

 leaves ; and even a berryless holly is a beautiful tree in its 

 mature winter vigour. 



Hollies shed their leaves about midsummer, when they 

 have done flowering. Their appearance from spring to mid- 

 autumn is less lusty and burnished than in winter, owing to 

 the contrast between the tarnished leaves about to fall and 

 the young green shoots, and the gradual development from 

 blossom to ripe berry. All evergreen leaves have a tough, 

 smooth surface, which protects them from cold, and prevents 

 the free transpiration which would be fatal to them when the 

 roots ceased to supply them with an active flow of moisture 

 in winter. This toughness makes them far more durable 

 than the leaves of deciduous trees ; and in the case of the 

 holly in England, the leaves often last for four years. As 

 only a quarter, or less than a quarter, of the leaves drop in 

 any one season, the tree is always well clothed, and is fairly 

 called an evergreen. Decay comes very slowly after they 

 fall ; and it is usually at least two years before they are com- 

 pletely skeletonised. The prickles on the leaves are formed 

 by points of the tough marginal thread, which resists decay 



