By John Williams, Esq. 



357 



I shall conclude these observations on evergreen fences, 

 by remarking, that the Holly does not succeed well, if trans- 

 planted at any other season of the year, than the end of 

 April or beginning of May ; at this time, the buds are just 

 breaking open into leaf, and I have rarely failed of success, 

 in transplanting small or even very large old trees ; I 

 believe also, that it is not generally known, that the berries 

 of this tree are not ripe till March or April. Those, there- 

 fore, who are desirous of raising young Holly plants should 

 gather the berries at this time, and bury them in the 

 ground till the following spring, when they may be sown 

 in drills, where the young plants will grow to the height 

 of four to six inches the first season.* The objection 

 usually made to planting Holly, is, the great length of 

 time it requires to raise a fence ; however, I have not 

 found it so : if a little care is taken to keep the plants 

 free from weeds, during the first two or three years, till 

 they are well established in the ground, their growth af- 

 terwards is very rapid. I hope to see this shrub gene- 

 rally planted in the neighbourhood of gentlemen's houses, 

 parks, and plantations; the great protection it gives to 

 game, and its cheerful appearance, added to its security 

 as a fence, always growing thick with branches close to 



* Sometimes none of the seeds vegetate, and when this is the case, there is 

 reason to believe, the vital principal in the seed is destroyed by the severity of the 

 frost. My gardener informs me, that the seeds sown in drills immediately after 

 the berries are gathered, have succeeded better with me, than those which were 

 buried during the summer in a heap ; if this be the fact, it appears as though 

 some fermentation takes place when the berries are buried in a considerable 

 quantity, which destroys their vitality. 



