The Japanese Jlex serrata. 
to. The black alder (J. verticillata) is 
the common red-berried shrub that you can 
find in Eastern swamps in winter. Why it 
should be called black alder, I can’t imagine. 
The leaves look something like an alder’s, 
and remain green in autumn until successive 
frosts make them turn black, and wither. 
The berries are bright red, about { of an inch 
across, and in winter seem to be more or 
less whorled (whence ‘‘verticillata’’), but 
they are really borne singly in the axils 
of the leaves. They last until February. 
The black alder is a spreading shrub, five 
or six feet high. 
tr. There is no inducement to grow the 
Japanese lex serrata, as both I. verticillata 
and J. /evigata are better. At least two 
varieties of it have been introduced under 
the name of Ilex Sieboldit. 
III. The Scarlet-Orange Group 
Orange, and yellow colored berries will 
never be as popular in winter as red ones, but 
One of two varieties introduced as I, Sieboldit 
the berries are often dull under artificial light. 
The next two have just enough orange in 
them to make them show well by gaslight 
when cut for decoration. 
12. Ipropose the name “ Piedmont winter- 
berry”? for Jlex decidua as neither ‘swamp 
winterberry” nor ‘‘short-pedicelled winter- 
berry” distinguish it from the black alder, 
with which its red-berried form is often con- 
fused. It isa smaller shrub, blooming a month 
earlier, and the tip of the leaf is rounded, 
not pointed. Both species bear most of their 
fruits on short spurs, while in the next 
species, they are axillary. The fruits of 
the Piedmont winterberry often fall by mid- 
winter, but sometimes stay until spring. 
13. The smooth winterberry (Ilex levi- 
gata) is so called to distinguish it from 
I. verticillata, the leaves of the former being 
glabrous, while those of the latter are pubes- 
cent beneath. For horticultural purposes, 
however, it should be compared with J. de- 
cidua because both have some orange in 
The small leaved variety of Ilex crenata, possibly the best hardy broad-leaved evergreen 
1906 
DECEMBER, 
their berries, and bloom at the same time. 
All three are natives of swamps, but thrive 
in garden soil. The smooth winterberry 
has the largest berries of the three (4 in. in 
diameter), and these are borne on longer 
stalks (4 to 4 in.), but they drop in autumn, 
or at least by January. The foliage turns 
bright yellow in September. 
IV. The Black-berried Group 
Both of the following have black berries that 
last until February, but they are only an 
incidental beauty. Their evergreen foliage is 
the main thing. Shelter them from winter 
sun and wind. 
14. The Japanese Ilex crenata is con- 
sidered at Philadelphia the most promising 
substitute for box as a hedge plant for 
American formal gardens. ‘Three important 
forms must be distinguished—the typical 
I. crenata and its large, and small-leaved 
varieties, (vars. macrophylla and microphylla). 
Mr. William Warner Harper says: ‘‘The 
small-leaved variety makes the bushier 
growth and is much twiggier; the leaves are 
lighter green, and more distinctly crenate, 
and the berries are very few. The two large- 
leaved forms make height much more rapidly, 
and bear abundant crops of berries. The 
smaller-leaved form is desirable for hedges 
that are not to be more than four feet high, 
but is better adapted for growing as a 
specimen.” 
The Boston experience is conflicting. 
One nurseryman declares that the small- 
leaved form is hardy at Portland, Me., 
while the broad-leaved is not hardy north of 
New Haven, Conn. Yet the Arnold Arbor- 
etum says: ‘‘The small-leaved form is much 
less desirable. Neither is reliably hardy 
near Boston. We should say that this species 
is not good for hedges and gardens here. 
The most reliable small-growing, broad- 
leaved evergreen here is Andromeda flort- 
bunda, one of the very best and apparently 
least known shrubs.” 
Ilex crenata will grow six or ten inches 
a year, when established in congenial environ- 
ment. For hedges, set two-year-old plants 
two feet apart. The floral parts are in 
fours; those of the next in fives to eights. 
15. The inkberry (Ilex glabra), which 
grows wild in sandy woods along the Atlantic 
coast from Canada to Florida, is another 
slow grower, rarely attaining three or four 
feet. The leaves are locally gathered for 
winter bouquets, and are sometimes kept in 
cellars for months, but it seems a shame to 
rob nature of slow growing evergreens. Some 
one ought to test it as a hedge plant, and find 
out its value as compared with J. crenata. 
The berries are not showy, and are nearly 
concealed by the foliage. 
CULTURE OF EVERGREEN HOLLIES 
English holly is hardy in sheltered spots 
as far north as Philadelphia, but cannot be 
expected to grow taller than a man. From 
Virginia south it may attain its maximum 
height—forty feet. 
In New York it can be left outdoors in 
partial shade and shelter, so that you may 
