88 
AMERICAN HOLLY. 
description of this single species, which sometimes grows to a great height, 
and of which the wood is employed in the arts. It is designated in all parts 
of the United States where it grows by the name of American Holly. 
I am unable to mark the northern limit of this tree with as much preci- 
sion as that of many others ; but 1 believe it does not extend far beyond 
Long Island, though it is already common in Lower Jersey. It is found in 
all the more Southern States, in the Floridas, in Lower Louisiana, and in 
West Tennessee, but it is observed to become more rare in approaching 
the mountains. On the eastern shore of Maryland, and in certain parts of 
Virginia, for instance near Richmond, where it particularly abounds, it 
grows almost exclusively on open grounds and in dry and gravelly soils : 
while in South Carolina, Georgia and Lower Louisiana it is -seen only in 
shady places, on the edges of swamps, where the soil is cool and fertile. 
Its vegetation in these situations is so vigorous that it equals 40 feet in 
height and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. 
The American Holly, in its pyramidical shape and in its brilliant ever- 
green foliage, bears a stiking resemblance to the European species, Ilex 
aquifolium. Its leaves present a slight difference, being less twisted, less 
acuminate, and of a lighter green. Its flowers are white and not conspi- 
cuous. They are succeeded by numerous red berries which remain long 
attached to the branches. Upon the trunk of old trees the bark is smooth 
and of a whitish gray color ; on the young branches it is green and shining. 
The wood of the American Holly is very similar to that of the European 
species ; they are both very heavy and compact, with a white alburnum and 
brown heart. Its grain is fine and compact ; hence it is very brilliant 
when polished. Its principal use is for inlaying Mahogany furniture : the 
black lines with which cabinet-makers sometimes adorn their work are of 
Holly dyed in the coppers of the hatter. As it turns well, it is chosen for 
light screws and for the small boxes in which apothecaries put their opiates. 
When perfectly dry, this wood is very hard and unyielding, hence it is ' 
excellently adapted for the pullies which are used in ships ; but the Lignum 
Vitæ, which is cheap and easily procured from the West Indies, is pre- 
ferred. 
The best bird-limb employed in Europe is made of the Holly. The 
inner bark is pounded into a paste which is put into pots and left to fer- 
ment in the cellar. When the process has proceeded far enough, the paste 
is washed, to separate the ligneous fibres, and preserved in close vases 
with the addition of a little oil. This substance is green, soft, and very 
viscid. It is condensed by cold and softened by heat. 
The attempt has been successfully made ofemploying the Holly for 
hedges, which are very dense and which have the recommendation of pre- 
serving their foliage through the year : but it is found in Europe that the 
Thorn and the Locust possess superior advantages ; especially where it is 
