314 Holly. 



in winter ; besides the ornament, its shining red berries afford 

 contrasting with the lively green of its leaves ; making it in 

 more ways than one, a general favorite. Loudon tells us that 

 the common Prickly Holly makes the best of all fences, whether 

 we regard its qualities for defence, shelter, duration, or beauty. 

 The plants are raised from the seeds which require the second 

 year to sprout up after planting them ; they are then trans- 

 planted in rows and as they grow, trimmed or shorn to suit the 

 taste of each. 



Tyas remarks, the providence of an all-wise Creator is 

 shown in an admirable manner in this beautiful plant. The 

 great Hollies which grow in the forest of Needwood, bear 

 leaves bristling with thorns to the height of eight or ten feet, 

 and above this height the leaves cease to be thorn}'. There 

 the plant has no need to arm itself against enemies which can- 

 not reach it. This tree, with its dazzling verdure, is the last 

 ornament of our forests, when they are despoiled by the 

 winter's frosts and chilling blasts ; its berries serve as food for 

 the little birds which remain with us through the inclement 

 season of winter ; and it also offers them a comfortable shelter 

 amid its foliage. 



In Jesse's Gleanings in Natural History, the eloquent author, 

 speaking of the Holly, says, — The economy of trees, plants, 

 and vegetables, is a curious subject of enquiry, and in all of 

 them we may find the hand of a beneficent Creator. The 

 same care which he has bestowed on his creatures is extended 

 to plants. ^This is remarkably the case with respect to hollies : 

 the edges of the leaves are provided with strong sharp spines, 

 as high up as they are within the reach of cattle ; above that 

 height the leaves are generally smooth, the projecting spines 

 being no longer necessary. 



Dr. Southey has noticed this circumstance in the following 

 pretty lines : — 



i 



O reader ! hast thou ever stood to see 



The holly tree ? 

 The eye that contemplates it well perceives 



Its glossy leaves ; 

 Order'd by an intelligence so wise 

 As might confound an atheist's sophistries, 



