220 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



the margin beneath : on young plants and the lower branches of 

 old ones undulated at the edges, and •with teeth terminated by 

 strong spines, but those of the tipper branches of old trees entire 

 and Hat. Inilorescence in axillary cymes with tlie pedicels (about 

 ^ inch long) longer than any of the primary divisions, so as to 

 appear umbellate. Flowers f inch across, white, tipped with dull 

 red on the outside, frequently imperfectly dioecious. Calyx small, 

 slightly downy, with 4 ovate segments. Corolla with 4 obovate- 

 oval concave spreading petals united at the base into a monopetalous 

 corolla. Stamens 4, erect. Stigmas 4, sessile. Berries produced 

 late in the autumn, about the size of a pea, bright scarlet, with dry 

 mealy pulj:) enclosing 4 furrowed bony stones, each of which con- 

 tains a single seed. Leaves dark green, paler beneath. In gardens 

 a variety occurs with the foliage variegated with yellow. 



The Solly. 



French, Houx Commun, Bois Franc. 

 German, Gemeine Stechpalme, EukenJbawni, Christdom. 



The Holly is known to every one as the most beautiful of our evergreen trees, and 

 its bright green shining leaves and brilliant scarlet berries are associated in the minds 

 of most Englishmen with Christmas I'ejoicings and merrymakings, with joyous faces 

 and warm hearts, and with the observances of our great Christmas festival in our 

 churches and our homes. The English Holly is in some parts of Britain called " Holm," 

 or " Holm Oak," and has given the name to many villages in England near which it 

 grows : thus Holmswood and Ilolmesdale in Surrey derive their names from the 

 abundance of Holly which formerly grew there. We learn from Dr. Prior's work on 

 the Popular Names of British Plants, that Holly, or Holm, on the Eastern border is 

 called " Hollen," and that a change of the n into m formed " Holm." The Holly was 

 used in very ancient times for the decoration of churches and places of worship. The 

 custom of placing evergreens in sacred places was common long before the time of 

 Christianity, and in the ancient Jewish feasts it was constantly observed. Those green 

 boughs, however, spoken of in the old Scriptures were undoubtedly pine, fir, cedar, and 

 sprigs of box. The Holly seems first to have been introduced for religious purposes by 

 the early Christians at Rome, and was probably used for decorating the churches at 

 Christmas, because the Holly was used in the great festival of the Saturnalia, which 

 occurred about that period j and it was the policy of the early Fathers to assimilate as 

 much as possible the festivals of the Pagans and the Christians in outward forms, to 

 avoid shocking the prejudices of newly-made converts. Moreover, the Holly was con- 

 sidered by the ancient Romans as an emblem of peace and friendship, and was in 

 perfection at the time of year when the Christian anniversary was celebrated of the 

 coming of glad tidings of peace and good-will to man. The origin of this pleasant 

 custom is, however, a little uncertain, for it may be traced in several directions. The 

 Druids were accustomed to decorate their dwelling-places with branches of Holly 

 during the winter, and it is said that the sacred mistletoe was often associated with the 

 Holly in their religious observances. Dr. Chandler mentions that, during the time of 

 these priests, houses were decorated with boughs of Holly, " that the sylvan spirits might 

 rejiair thither and remain uunipped by frost and cold winds until a milder season had 

 renewed the foliage of their darlinj; abodes." lu England perhaps the earliest record 



