HOLLY. 
243 
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 lower 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 leaves, 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 
