32 



THE HOLLY. 



THE HOLLY. 



" See, Winter comes to rule the varied year, 

 Sullen and sad, with all his rising train, 

 Vapours, and clouds, and storms." Thomson, 



I am very partial to the holly, the yew, and the 

 ivy. They give both food and shelter to the 

 birds ; whilst their charming green foliage 

 makes us almost forget that winter has set in. 

 The holly claims my preference ; for, in ad- 

 dition to food and shelter, it affords an im- 

 penetrable retreat to those birds which take up 

 their quarters on its branches for the night. 



Our ancestors knew and felt the value of the 

 holly hedge, when the wintry blast whistled 

 through the naked hawthorn. Hence they 

 raised it as a barrier against the north ;• and, on 

 the breaking of the clouds at noon, they would 

 resort to the protection which it offered, and 

 there enjoy the sun's delightful presence. But 

 modern innovation, which, in nine times out of 

 ten, does more harm than good, seems to have 

 condemned the holly hedge as a thing of stiff 

 unsightly form, and in its vacant place has in- 



