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AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Febrtjaky, 
Hollies— American and European. 
There is, perhaps, no indigenous evergreen 
tree less generally known 
than our native Holly, Ilex 
opaca. The reasons for this 
probably are, that it is found, 
in its wild state, chiefly near 
the coast, and its growth is 
so slow that nurserymen 
find but little inducement 
to raise it for sale. Indeed 
it grows so slowly, that we 
seldom see it in cultivation, 
other than as a shrub, while 
under favorable circum- 
stances it forms a tree 30 
to 40 feet high. Eastern 
Massachusetts is its north- 
ern limit, as a native tree, 
and it is found all along 
the coast as far as Florida. 
There are, or were a few 
years ago, at the Highlands 
of Neversink, the well- 
known landmark at the en- 
trance of the harbor of New 
York, some remarkable 
specimens of this tree, the 
trunks of which were as 
large as a man's body. The 
tree, when developed under 
favorable circumstances, is 
a very symmetrical one, 
with au erect trunk, of a 
light ash-gray color, and 
nearly horizontal branches. 
The leaves are of the size jf»f 
and shape of those shown ^< 
in the engraving, of a very 
thick leathery texture; they 
are sharp-pointed and their 
wavy margins bear sharp spines ; their green 
color is not so dark as that of the European 
Holly, and their surface is less shining. The 
flowers are not showy, being of a greenish 
white. These are succeeded by bright scarlet 
berries, which remain on all winter, and give 
the tree a brilliant appearance. From its intrin- 
sic beauty, as well as from the traditional asso- 
ciation of Holly with Christmas, this is one of 
the evergreens most sought after for holiday 
decorations. The wood of the tree is very hard, 
and is used for making small articles in which 
this quality is required, such as screws, whip- 
handles, etc. It is considered to take color bet- 
ter than any other wood, and is used for fancy 
cabinet work. The Holly may be raised from 
seeds, but they require to lie in the rot-heap a 
year before planting them. Where it is found 
growing wild, there are usually plenty of young 
seedlings that may be removed in early spring. 
Naturally, our Holly grows in a great variety of 
situations, and seems to flourish in both dry and 
rocky soils, and in low lands. In cultivation it 
does best in a partial shade. Were it not for its 
very slow growth, this Holly would be an ad- 
mirable hedge-plant, but we do not find it used 
for that purpose, and when met with in cultiva- 
tion, which is rarely, it is found chiefly as an 
ornamental shrub, or at most, as a small tree. 
The European Holly, Ilex aquifolium, has the 
same general character as our own, but its foli- 
age, as shown in figure 2, is of a different shape, 
and of a shining green that makes it a much 
handsomer plant. It is largely employed in 
Europe as a hedge-plant, as well as an orna- 
mental tree or shrub. There are many varieties, 
having leaves in shape and size different from 
the ordinary, as well as several with the leaves 
blotched and margined with white and yellow. 
Fig. 1. — AMERICAN HOLLY. 
Some of these striking varieties are among 
the most highly prized shrubs for the lawn. The 
Fig. 2. — EUROPEAN HOLLY. 
European Holly is not hardy enough with us, 
to be recommended for general cultivation, 
though in some sheltered localities it succeeds 
tolerably well. We have 
four other evergreen species 
of Ilex, all shrubs; these, 
except the Ink-berry, are 
mostly southern. The Black 
Alder, so conspicuous in au- 
tumn for its numerous scar- 
let berries, was formerly cal- 
led Prinos, but is now put in 
the same genus as the Holly, 
and called Ilex verticillata. 
The Use of a Straw Bed. 
Last year we gave an ac- 
count of growing potatoes 
under straw in the larger 
way, we now present the 
garden experience of" Hoo- 
sier," Rush County, Ind. : 
" Last summer I planted 
my potatoes under straw, 
just as an experiment. I 
planted the ' Peach Blows,' 
and, by the way, there no 
better potatoes. The pota- 
toes were planted in drills, 
two feet apart, the distance 
between the potatoes being 
about six inches; covered 
them with a light coat of 
soil, then about six inches 
of old straw. They came 
up finely and grew "well. 
The bugs made an assault 
on the vines, but I opened 
my light artillery — a little 
coal oil and a brushy switch 
— upon the greedy host, and 
shortly not a 'blistering imp' could be found. This 
fall, when potato digging time came round, I 
had au easy job of it. With a fork I turned 
over the straw, and there clear and blight lay 
the crimson crew. Picking them up was an 
easy matter, and soon they were beyond the 
chilly winds and withering frosts. They turned 
out exceedingly well, but the ground mice, moles, 
aud rats, left many proofs of their festivals. 
" I did not find a single decayed potato among 
the lot, a rare thing for this year, for 'King Rot' 
has swept, scourge like, over the land. Next 
year all the potatoes I plant, early and late, shall 
have a straw bed over them. The straw en- 
riches the soil, keeps it mellow, and makes an 
excellent garden plat, free from weeds and grass. 
The "Big- Tree" op California. — It is a 
singular fact that some trees make a more rapid 
growth, and flourish better in every way, in a 
country quite different from their own. Our 
most rapid growing deciduous and evergreen 
trees are foreigners, and in California, that land 
of remarkable trees, an Eucalyptus from Aus- 
tralia is found to excel in vigor any of the na- 
tive trees, and will probably become the leading 
tree of the country. In Great Britain, the 
Sequoia gigantea, the California " Big Tree," 
which with us is at best uncertain, flourishes 
remarkably. Some statistics have been pub- 
lished by the Scottish Arboricultural Society, 
giving the bight and age of trees of this species, 
in different parts of the .kingdom. Several at 
the age of five years are twelve feet high, others 
at seven years are eighteen feet, and trees ten 
years old are about twenty-one feet in hight. 
