DAYS OF THE EVERGREEN 273 



by a fringe of rootlets which perform a double function. 

 They hold the stem firmly to its support, and they suck up 

 moisture, and help to nourish the plant. A stem of ivy, 

 growing on a wall facing a bank of earth, sometimes continues 

 to flourish for many years, even when it is severed from the 

 root. The moisture supplied by the lateral rootlets in such a 

 damp situation is sufficient to keep it vigorous. Even when 

 growing on a tree-trunk, a stem of ivy will sometimes 

 obstinately resist execution in the same way for a year or 

 two, though it seldom holds out longer. Trees with soft and 

 deeply furrowed bark, such as elms, provide the rootlets 

 with more sustenance in this way than smooth-barked trees, 

 such as beeches or sycamores. A thick growth of ivy is 

 undoubtedly harmful to the supporting tree, both by con- 

 stricting its growth and fouling and choking the bark. In 

 most cases it is also injurious to old masonry, by splitting it 

 asunder with its intrusive stems, and overbalancing it with its 

 heavy crowns. In some instances, however, it grows so as 

 positively to compact and strengthen the wall it embraces ; 

 and it need not be condemned without a careful examination. 

 Old ivy-bushes topping ruined walls make wonderful nur- 

 series of wild life. They are refuges for the owl and bat by 

 day, and for the dove and daw, and a multitude of smaller 

 birds by night. Even the fox will sometimes scramble into 

 their crown, and lie warm in the evergreen cover. 



Firs and pines have never been natives of England in 

 historic times, though there are still some grand specimens 

 in a few Scots forests ; and thus in this country no such 

 ancient Christmas associations cling to the fir as in Germany, 

 though our adoption of the German Christmas-tree has 

 begun to implant them. But plantations of Scots pine and 

 spruce fir now cover so many thousand acres in Britain, and 

 clumps and isolated trees of both species stand so conspicu- 



