514 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



easier than those which have been taken from higher parts of the tree, and 

 more exposed to the influence of light and air; the moisture and the shade 

 being the predisposing causes for the production of roots. 



After-culture in the Nursery. No plant requires less care than the holly, 

 when it is once established: the species can hardly be said even to need 

 pruning : and the varieties which have been grafted or budded require little 

 more than the removal of shoots from the stock. To fit them for removal, 

 however, whether of a large or small size, they ought to be taken up and 

 replanted every other year. 



Final Planting. When the holly is to be planted as a hedge, if it is intended 

 that the growth shall be rapid, the soil ought to be trenched to the depth of 

 3 ft. or 4 ft. If the subsoil be bad, the most effective mode is to take out a 

 trench, in the direction of the hedge, of 3 ft. or 4 ft. wide, and of the same 

 depth ; and to fill up this trench with good surfaces from the adjoining ground. 

 The soil in the trench ought to be raised at least a foot above the adjoining 

 surface, to allow for sinking; and along the middle of this ridge, the hollies 

 might be planted at 1 ft. or 18 in. apart. In some cases, the seeds may 

 be sown on such a ridge ; but that mode involves the expense of fencing 

 for a greater number of years than the mode by transplanting. By some, the 

 best mode of planting a holly hedge is said to be, to intermix it with the 

 common thorn, and, as the hollies advance, to cut the thorns out. This may 

 be a convenient mode; but it must be evidently a very slow and uncertain 

 one, and must depend so much upon the constant attention paid, to keep the 

 thorns from overpowering the hollies, and, at the same time, to keep their 

 branches sufficiently intermingled with each other to render the fence effective, 

 that we can by no means recommend it as an eligible practice. 



Season for transplanting the Holly. Much has been written in gardening 

 books respecting the proper season for transplanting evergreens ; and what is 

 remarkable is, that, while summer and autumn are generally stated to be the 

 proper seasons, the spring, and during mild weather in winter, are the seasons 

 most generally adopted in practice. The principle which justifies the practice 

 is, that all plants whatever, with very few exceptions, are most safely removed 

 when the whole plant is in a comparatively dormant state, and when the 

 weather is temperate, and the air moist and still, rather than dry and in 

 motion. Now, it is known that the greatest degree of torpidity in any plant 

 exists a short time before it begins to grow or push out shoots; consequently, 

 as evergreens begin to grow only a week or two later than deciduous trees of 

 the same climate, the proper time for transplanting them cannot differ much 

 from the proper time for transplanting deciduous trees. The chief difference 

 to be attended to is, the circumstance of evergreen trees being at no time 

 whatever in so completely a dormant state as deciduous ones; and hence, 

 such weather, in the winter, autumn, or spring, must be chosen for removing 

 them, as will least affect their fibrous roots and leaves by evaporation. This 

 \-> in perfect accordance with the practice of the best gardeners; and it has 

 been laid down as the best mode, founded on experience, by Mr. M'Nab, the 

 intelligent curator of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, and author of a valuable 

 pamphlet, entitled Hints on the Planting and general Treatment of Hardy 

 / r, #c, of which an account will be found in the Gardeners Maga- 



zine, vol. vii. p. 78. 



Culture of the Holly in useful and ornamental Plantations. Holly hedges, 

 according to .Miller, should never be clipped, because, when the leaves are cut 

 through the middle, they are rendered unsightly; and the shoots should 

 therefore be cut with a knife close to a leaf. There can be no doubt that this 

 is the most suitable mode for hedges that are to be near the eye: for example, 

 in gardens and pleasure-grounds j but, as this method leaves a rougher exterior 

 surface, and involves a much greater expense, than clipping, it is unsuitable 

 where the object is to prevent birds from building in the hedges, and to main - 

 tain effective fences at the least expense. The proper season for clipping 

 I appear to be just after the leaves have attained maturity; because 



