What Can Be Done to Save the Holly? 
At the approach of Christmas each year, every fond lover 
of nature is horrified and distressed at the extravagant and 
wanton destruction of our beautiful American Holly, Ilex opaca. 
It is not indigenous to all states and so car-loads are shipped from 
the East and South, where it grows abundantly, to the West and 
North. Of all the holiday greens Holly is undoubtedly the most 
popular and most sought after. Our ancestors loved it, we love 
it and we should like to feel that those coming after us may have 
an opportunity to enjoy it also. Unfortunately it will not be 
many years before it will be entirely exterminated unless we 
take serious and prompt measures to preserve it. Some states 
have passed laws to prevent its destruction (as well as that of 
other rapidly diminishing rare wild plants and flowers). Mary- 
land has such a law, passed in 1918, imposing a fine of from 
$5.00 to $25.00 and imprisonment of not less than 30 or more 
than 90 days, or both. But this law has never been enforced. 
There is a feeling among too many that vacant lands belong to 
the people at large, and they have no hesitation in invading any 
open and unprotected property and carrying off truck-loads of 
Holly, Laurel, Ground-Pine and Cedars. It will be many years 
before this vandalism can be checked. In the meantime, Holly 
is fast disappearing and we should lose no time in replacing the 
old as it disappears, with the new, both by propagation and 
transplantation. Let us induce our nurserymen to grow it in 
large quantities for* transplantation in private home gardens. 
They will do this if they can be convinced that it can be made 
to pay. While Holly flourishes best in a rather dry sandy loam, 
it will grow in almost any soil not absolutely wet. My own 
trees are planted in a garden 350 feet above sea level in a hot, 
sunny, dry location, with a clayey soil. While Holly is a 
comparatively slow-growing tree, its yearly growth is very 
considerable. My nine trees have made a remarkable growth in 
eight years. Holly is very patient of clipping, which if done 
with judgment and care is of real benefit to the tree. No tree 
or shrub to my mind gives greater pleasure or delight than the 
Holly — particularly in the winter when the ground is covered 
with snow. The view from my window on Christmas Day was 
full of beauty and interest. Great tufts of snow clung to the 
bright green leathery leaves and among the boughs perched 
four brilliant Cardinals, waiting to hop down on the improvised 
food table. Surely a picture to delight the soul of a bird or 
nature lover, and what an exquisite and ideal Christmas Tree! 
So I say, let us plant Hollies ; they will be a joy to us for 
years to come. They may be transplanted almost any time. The 
Encyclopedia Britannica, which gives more information than I 
have been able to find elsewhere about the Holly, says that 
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