HOLLY. 
249 
HOLLY. 
FORESIGHT. 
The providence of Nature is most admirably 
displayed in this beautiful evergreen tree, some¬ 
times rising to the height of twenty or thirty 
feet, with shining prickly leaves and white flow¬ 
ers, which grow in clusters round the. branches, 
and are succeeded by berries of a bright scarlet 
colour, containing four very hard seeds. The 
leaves form a grateful food to many animals : but 
Nature has armed them for self-defence against 
these depredators with sharp prickles: and 
it is curious to observe that the thorny leaves 
grow only on the Lwer parts of the tree where 
they are most likely to be destroyed; and that 
those above, out of the reach of cattle, invest 
themselves with smooth le ves, as if conscious 
that there they are safe. 
The Holly is an ornament to our woods, 
stripped bare by winter : its berries serve for 
food to the little birds that never leave us, and 
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