Holly. ... Foresight. 
The Holly, with its scarlet berries, is the most beau¬ 
tiful of the evergreens that have been used for ages to 
adorn the churches of old England, during the Christ¬ 
mas season. It is an ornament to the woods, stripped 
bare by the rude breath of winter; its berries serve for 
food for the little birds that never leave us, and its 
foliage affords them an hospitable shelter during the 
cold season. Nature, by a seeming forethought, has 
been careful to preserve the verdure of this handsome 
tree all the year round, and to arm it with thorns, that 
it may furnish both food and protection to the innocent 
creatures which resort to it for shelter. It may be 
added, however, that from the bark of the common 
Holly, when fermented and washed from the woody 
fibres, is made the bird-lime which is used for catching 
small birds. 
With Holly and ivy, 
So green and so gay, 
We deck up our houses 
As fresh as the day; 
With bays and rosemary, 
And laurel complete, 
And every one now 
Is a king in conceit. 
Poor Polin’s Almanac, 1695. 
