STUDIES OF PLANT LIFE 



. 

 the Prince of Peace. The earliest notice of decking the 



churches and dwelling-houses with holly is in the reign of 

 Henry VI., by some pious but now forgotten writer a 

 chronicler of old customs who, devoutly lamenting over 

 the disuse of some observances in church matters, consoles 

 himself with the remark that " Our churches and houses are 

 decked with rosemary, holly and ivy, with other goodlye 

 shrubbes that keepe ever green; doubtless to reminde us 

 that the childe then borne was God and man, who shoulde 

 spring uppe as a tender floure to live in oure hartes, and 

 there dwelle for ever more." 



Our woody red-berried Winterberry is the nearest rela- 

 tion we have to the Holly in Ontario, but it is not prickly, 

 neither is it an evergreen. 



The crest of the Strickland family is the Holly Tree; of 

 the Gordons, the Ivy. This custom of heraldic bearings, 

 especially the crest surmounting the coat of arms, is very 

 ancient, and may be referred back to the time when writing 

 was not in use, when it formed a sort of pictorial history as 

 to the origin of the family. We find it here among Indian 

 tribes, each tribe and the members of it being known by its 

 totem or heraldic sign. Thus we have the " Eagle Tribe," 

 the Crane," the " Crow," the " Snake," etc., the figure of 

 bird, beast, tree, or reptile being the sign adopted by the 

 heads of the tribe, or chiefs, as the sign manual to be 

 appended to any deed or treaty; scratched or figured with 

 pen, charred stick, or knife, or whatever is the instrument 

 at hand, the totem is rudely drawn, and is the superscription 

 of the tribe. 



The individual name is derived from some circumstance 

 independent of the totem of the tribe; whatever object first 

 meets the eye of the child is given as a name. Thus we find 

 " Opechee " (robin), "Omemee" (wild pigeon), " Snow- 



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