34 



The Florists^ Review 



DECEMBliU 11, lUH . 



FAVORITES NOW AT CHRISTMAS. 



Held Sacred in Ancient Times. 



r;\ ci\ line kimw-. 111' iiiiirsc, tlillt holly 

 :iihl mist Ic'tiM' .-lie 1 c'L;;ii<lr(l as the spe- 

 cial I'liililciiis 111' < liiisi mas, llii' must aji- 

 ]ii ii]iii;i1r 111' .all ilicMii at iiiii^ I'm' tlif in'- 

 , aMi'ii, lull w liy ail' tliry mi iivi^iiiclcil'.' 

 A ici( hi i-'^iic i>( tlir Missiiiiii r.dtaiiioal 

 Car-li'ii I'.iilirt ill i:i\is till' JH-t a\ailal»lf 

 ,Mi-\\ii In that .|iii'>ti(iii aihl -^iiiiiilirs 

 ntliiT lilt I'lcst iiiL; ill I'di ni.at idii ahout 

 tli('--c l'a\iiii1i' (ji'i-orat i \ I' mat I'l i.a Is. 



M(ill\ .ami iiiistlctuc. s.ays tiio iiullctiii, 

 arc iiiMjiai alily associated with the 

 (,'iiiist iii.as season, not only on ;ii'coiint 

 ol' liicir beauty and iMTsi>t m. e during' 

 the wintei' nmntlis, Imt lieraiise ffoin 

 cailiest. linns thc^e two plants ii.avc, liy 

 tradition, iiccn linked with the iilc (d' 

 I'hrist. 'i'he must plausiliK- mij^in for 

 the edmmiin name of holly is th.at it is 

 ,a coriiiptiim ol' iioly, ,and tin' (iciinaii 

 name ot' ' ■ ( 'hiist thorn " " pcrpcl nates the 

 le;;eml that lr;i\es of this tice were 

 ii'-i'd to t'loni the ''I'lown of tiiorns." 



Supposed Efficacy of Mistletoe. 



The mi^th'tiie, amnn;,' in.'Miy other 

 woMils. ha> Irnpo'iitiy lircn let'i'i'ied to 

 as tlh' niie I'riim whieh tin' i-i(i>s \vas 

 maiU'. i'i'e\ioiis tn tin- r i inilixion- so 

 runs tlie IcLrend it was a splendid I'or- 

 est ti'ec, its disgraceful use i-.-iiisiui: it to 

 assume it-- jirescnt iiunildr ji;i i.'i-it n' 

 haldt. 



l.diiL; 1m fure the ('hii-tian fi:i, how 

 e\er, hully and mistletiie wnc sinuded 

 out .'IS |ilantsol spcri.al siL,niilii-anri'. The 

 Uruids styled the mistletoe aa "all 

 lieai,'' ;i-^ it w;is consideri'd an antidote 

 t'oi' all di-e.'isc, and i'\ on tn the j. resent 

 day in snme hica'ities the \irtni'^ of its 

 wdod art' hiL;lil> ri'L;;i rdcd. In Sweden 

 :i liiiL;"'!' tint: id' mistletoe is snjipii--rd t<> 

 ]i!( \(nt sickness, .and in l''r;iiice .amulets 

 of thi- pl.ant were miudi wnrn. < ul[icp- 

 per speaks ol' mistletoe ;is ' ' ^ooll lOr the 

 Ljrict' ol' the sinew, itch .-ind toothache, 

 tlu' Idtini,' id' mail dn^s ;iiid \i'nomou'< 

 lioasts, ' ' and Sir Tlmma- I'.iowii .alludes 

 to its I'lTicacy in cases of i jolepsy. 



Ancient Beliefs Ahout Holly. 



At Iiom.'in weihiin;.;^, hnlly wreaths 

 weie sent as tokens ul' cioi;:i at iilat ion , 

 ;uid icma I k;ili|e stories i Mmernin;.,' the 

 powers ol' this tiee ;i le recorded li\' 

 riinv. In llidl.'ind's ! r;inslat inn nf 

 I'liiiv '- • • lli-tioie iif the W Ol Id, ' ' ]ad)- 

 lished ill Idol, is t'oiiiel the foliowin;,': 



•'In tuuchinLT tlie llnly or lluh'ei' 

 Tree, it' it he pl;intei| ahout ;in house, 

 whether it 1m' within a city or standing 

 in the count ly, it serxctli for .'i cnuiiter- 

 (di;irm and kee|K'th away all ill spells or 

 inch.ant nients ,'iiid defends the house 

 from liLihtninu. I'y t h.-i^oi .as .'illii'met h 

 th;if the ijow.r of tlii- tree will cause 

 w.ater to stand .'ill upon .-(n ice, ;ilso th.at 

 if a st.'ilf ma.je tiiereof. if a man do 

 tliuiX it .at any lic;ist wliat soevei-, al- 

 thnuirh it ch.anci'th to liLiht short t'or 

 default of stri'mjt-li in liis arms who 



iIiiiil; i', will iioi with st ;i ndirii,'-^ etch for- 

 w;iid ;ind mil from the place whore it 

 fell upon the e;irth ;iiiil a |ii)i'o,a(di near 

 to the lieast .'i t'ores;iid ; (d' so admirable 

 a n;it lire is the llcdy Tree. " 



Varieties of Holly. 



To most jM'ojile there ;in' but two 

 kinds of holly, the J'luropi'aii, ilex 

 Aijiiifoliiini, .and the American, Ilex 

 o(i;ic;i. The bot.anist, however, I'ccoj^- 

 iii/es o\er I 7o species, which I'aui^e I'rom 

 I lu' north temperate to the south teni- 

 pei.ate /one .-ind .-ire found on e\i,'ry con- 

 lineiit. <>f tlii- number, about lifteen 

 occur in North Ameiic.a, altliouL;h only 

 li\i' of these woiiM be cl;is--ed as trees, 

 and but three of the l;itler ai'c i'\ er- 

 _;ieen. Indeed, a considerable L^roup of 

 the hollies shed their leaves in the win- 

 tel', just like other deciduous tices; but 

 tli.at the e\erL;reen li;ibit u ;is cunsidorcd 

 a ti\ei| charactei'ist ic ni' this plant is 

 well attested b\ the ipiaint old haij^'lish 

 proverb of the conliiined picv aricator, 

 of whom it was s.'iid: ■'lie lees m'Ncr 

 but when the lioUen is ;,neeii.'' 



.lapan ;ind t'liin.-i have thirty oi forty 

 species, some of which .'ire bcdni; intro- 

 duced into this c(mntr\' lor ornamental 

 jiUJioses. I'he home o! the hollx', so tar 

 as number ol' species is concerned, m.av 

 lie considei id to be northern Ida/.il, 

 wheie about liall' the known foinis oc- 

 'ur wild. I'hiiope has but a single sjie- 

 cies, but this delii iem-y is made up bv 

 theie beiiii; o\er JoO dilleient \arieties 

 of lle\ Aipiifolinm at least 1he\-.areso 

 1 i'l;,'! ide.l by holt icii It iirists, but there 

 seems to be siiuie evidence th;it a pai't 

 of these forms ni;iy ha\e oiininated 

 from the ('.•inary lsl;iiid s|iecies. Ilex 

 pl.atv |ih\ lla, rather than the true I'diro 

 pean holly. 



Holly That Bears No Berries. 



That only some trees bear berries is 

 ■ liie to the f;ict that in the holly the 

 se\es ;iie distinct; tlu! female, or pistil- 

 late llowers, which produce tlu; fruit, oc- 

 cur on one tiee, while the pulleu-bearin^" 

 lloweis are on a sepai'ale tree. Care 

 shoiihl be taken, therefore, in planlinj^ 

 iiollies desired for the bc'rries, to secure 

 only female trees. W'hiK' it is belie\ed 

 that the first piinted notice of this dif- 

 ference ill sex was communicat(!d t-y 

 .Martyn in the lliitish ivoyal Socictv 

 Transactions, aitoiit the middle of the 

 eiohteenth century, if must hava^ beeii 

 known to the country people lont^' before 

 this, siiici' the term ''he and she 

 hollies'' is (piite old. 



Although the usu.al c(dor ol" the ber- 

 ries is red, it is not umaimniou to have 

 varii'ties in this country and elsowheie 

 that produce p;do yidlow fruits, and 

 even white berries ociair occasiiuiallv as 

 a spoit. 



Economic IJses of Holly 



l!cononiic;i liy, .aside from its use l<e, 

 decor.ation, the holly is usel'ul for fui- 

 nishino- a wood, which, because of i*s 

 white color and even texture, is in ^ri-at 

 demand i'or use in carviiii^ and scroll- 

 work. J'"ornii'ily, when binlliine was aii 

 .Ht'iieial use, the inner bark of the holly 

 furnislu'd the principal source of this 

 jiruduct, and the lierbalists of a century 

 or two auo relied u[ioii this [ilant fie' 

 the cni'e of in;iny ;i complaint. Perhaps 

 one (d' the most novel remedies was it< 

 .ajijilicat ion in the cure of chilblains, tlo 

 method bein^ to whip tin? affected pa:' 

 with freshly i.;atliereil iiolly lea\os until 

 the blood llowed. Ilex I'a! a^uense-. 

 w idelv distributed in South Ameiii.i, 

 fiirnisiies the malf' or l'arai;uay tea an.i 

 is in L;i'eaf demand by the natives of 

 the country in which it is found. The 

 bevel, ■i;;e pi'e|iared fioni the leaver I'l 

 tins holly has a consiik'r:ible stirnulutin;; 

 ' IVect. .and the drink holds the pla -e of 

 tea auii cot'fee auioni^ the natives. 



Mistletoe, Native and Foreign. 



As in the case of the holly, so with 

 the niistletoi', there is a distinct Anier- 

 ic.'in and liuropeau variety. From a 

 botanical -i a ndpoinl , the difference be 

 iween the two I'ornis of mistletoe .. 



C. C .PoIIvvorth Finds Lycopodivim De.u in the Wisconsin Woods. 



