THE HOLLY. 533 
racters prominently displayed and noticed even 
by the most casual observer. But the loving 
student of Nature will not be satisfied with such 
@ cursory examination. He will take the Holly 
leaf in his hand, and will notice how beautifully 
its dark, glossy-green surface is relieved by the 
line of the traversing mid-vein and by the deli- 
cate lines of veinlets which diverge on the right 
and on the left diagonally towards the leaf 
margin. He will notice, too, the further relief 
afforded to the deep green of the surface of the 
leaf by the pale green of its wavy edge; now shown 
as the spine-bounded bays twist upwards, now 
hidden as they bend downwards. It is only, how- 
ever, when held against a strong light that the 
venation of the leaf can be properly seen. It will 
then be found that the branch veins are beau- 
tifully forked near their apices with a symmetry 
equalled by few other leaves in the whole of 
the vegetable kingdom. 
The flowers of the Holly appear in May, and 
are white. The fruit—in ruby clusters—ripe in 
September, and, persistent all the winter, it is un- 
necessary to describe. It remains but to speak of 
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