248 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 18 , 1886 . 
THE GREAVES, SCOTFORTH. 
Scotforth is a suburb of Lancaster, and The 
Greaves is the residence of E. G. Paley, Esq., and one 
of the few gardens in the vicinity worthy of note. 
Unlike most towns in Lancashire there are no cotton 
mills in Lancaster, with their huge chimneys pouring 
forth volumes of smoke, vitiating the air and foiling 
the attempts of the cultivator. The appearance of the 
buildings in the town testify to this, and they strike a 
stranger as having been recently cleaned. Eoses thrive 
in front gardens, and Gloire de Dijon is a favourite on 
the walls of the dwellings. Clematis, Cydonia 
japonica, Berberis, Cotoneaster, Crataegus pyracantha 
and other creepers were as clean and healthy as if in 
the country, and the absence of wealthy manufac¬ 
turers, who are usually such liberal patrons of horti¬ 
culture, will account for the paucity of gardening 
establishments in the neighbourhood of the town. 
At The Greaves grapes are well grown, Golden Queen 
being unusually fine in bunch and berry, but, unfor¬ 
tunately, the inclement season prevented the bedding- 
out plants being turned out as early as usual this 
year ; the Yines were late in starting, and the Grapes 
have, in consequence, failed to put on the desired 
amber colour. Black Alicante, in the same house, was 
better finished, and were very good examples of Grape 
culture. With us, Golden Queen finished rather 
streaky at first, but for the past two seasons its colour 
has been equal to that of a Muscat. Is this rusty 
appearance of the Grape peculiar to it where the Vine 
is young, or is it experienced at any age ? In an 
adjoining house were healthy pioneers of the Orchid 
family, and when once these enter a garden they 
become favourites, and other members of the family 
rapidly follow. On a shelf at the back was a well- 
grown batch of Calanthe Yeitehi and varieties of C. 
vestita, Cypripediums, Dendrobium nobile, Cielogyne 
cristata and Oncidium sphacelatum in the body of the 
house. In another compartment I noticed good 
specimens of Tea Eoses in pots, and in an unheated 
frame were some healthy plants of Czar Violets, which 
is a treat to see in Lancashire ; and as to Marie Louise, 
I have not heard of its succeeding anywhere except at 
Holker, under the care of Mr. Fox. The conservatory, 
which is attached to the dwelling, was filled with 
Chrysanthemums, which Mr. Thomson, the gardener, 
has to either pinch or train, as space will not permit 
plants to be grown with the view of producing large 
flowers. — TV. P. Pi. 
-—■- 
THE HOLLY AND MISTLETO 
AS LEGENDARY PLANTS. 
When at Christmas time persons decorate their 
houses and churches with Holly, a practice that has 
been handed down for many generations, how few are 
aware of the great amount of tradition which has 
gathered about this remarkable plant. It is held by 
some, that the practice of dressing houses, &c., with 
Holly is a relic of Druidism. Dr. Chandler mentions 
that during the time of the Druids, priests houses were 
decorated with boughs, “that the sylvan spirits might 
repair thither, and remain unnipped by frost and cold 
winds, until a milder season had renewed the foliage of 
their darling abode. ” Mr. Folkard traces the custom 
of decorating with Holly from the Eomans, “ who were 
wont to send boughs to their friends during the festival 
of the Saturnalia, which occurred about the same period; 
and the Oaks being then bare of leaves, the priests 
obliged the people to bring in boughs of Holly and 
Evergreens.” Pliny tells us of many superstitions con¬ 
cerning the Holly, saying, in the words of his trans¬ 
lator, “as touching the Holly, or Hulver tree, if it be 
planted about a house, whether it be within a city or 
standing in the country, it serveth fora counter charm, 
and keepeth away all ill spells and enchantments.” 
Among the other remarkable things connected with the 
plant, the Eoman naturalist relates that its flowers 
cause water to freeze and repel poison, while, if a staff 
of Holly-wood is thrown at any animal, even if it falls 
short of touching it, the animal will be subdued by its 
influence, returning and laying down by it. Mr. 
Folkard relates an old English superstition, that “elves 
and fairies join the social gatherings at Christmas, and 
thus led to branches being hung up in hall and bower, 
in order that the fays might hang on each leaf and cling 
on every bough during the sacred time that spirits have 
no power to harm. ” 
The Holly or Evergreen Christmas was not taken 
down until Candlemas Eve. During the time the 
branches were hung up in dwellings, and even in stables, 
evil spirits were driven away and the spells of witch¬ 
craft had no powers to harm. In Cambridgeshire it is 
still believed by many, that if the Holly with which 
the house is decorated at Christmas is removed before 
Candlemas Day, the prosperity of the tenant will vanish 
with it, and not return before the following year. 
The Holly was formerly called Holine, said to be 
derived from the Anglo-Saxon Holeyn ; it was also 
One incident relating to the Holly is given on the 
authority of Miss Plues. She states it is related that a 
certain John di Castro, having learned the method of 
boiling alum at Constantinople, returned to his own 
country to pursue his researches in natural history. 
He found, near Tolfa, the Holly tree growing ; and as 
he had observed the same shrub to flourish in the alum 
districts of Asia, he began to search for alum beneath 
the soil. Ere long, he was able to establish profitable 
alum works. 
The first English alum works were opened in the 
Bouquet of Dried Flowers and Grasses. 
known as Hulver, or Hulfere. Chaucer writes it 
Hulfeere, and it is supposed he derived it from the 
old Norse Hulfr. The word Holly is considered to be 
a corruption of Holy Tree, the name given to it by the 
monks on account of its old use in decorating churches. 
The plant is still called Holme in Devonshire, while in 
Norfolk it is still called Hulver, as Chaucer did ; but 
the former of the two is regarded as the oldest desig¬ 
nation. Skinner suggests that this name is either 
from the English word “hold” and the Anglo-Saxon 
neighbourhood of Guisborough, in Yorkshire. Sir J. 
Challoner first observed that the foliage in that district 
was a very light green, and this suggested to him the 
presence of Alum. 
But the Mistleto is even more associated with 
legendary history than the Holly. It occupied a 
foremost place among the ancient traditions of Scandi¬ 
navia and other European countrie^, and thus it became 
invested with a peculiar interest in consequence of this 
association. It was regarded as a mystic plant, and, 
Basket of Dried Flowers and Grasses. 
“fear long”—a plant lasting long, or from “holdfair,” 
because it keeps its beauty all the year. One authority 
tells us that “ the Holly is called, in French, Le lioux ; 
in German, the Steehpalme ; in Italian, the Agrifoglio ; 
and in Spanish, theAcebo ; the two last, and the Latin 
specific name, Aquifolium, signifying needle-leaved.” 
Certain hallowed associations have grown up around 
this plant. It was formerly an article of belief that, 
unknown before, the Holly sprang up in perfection 
beneath the footsteps of Christ when he first trod the 
earth ; and that, though man has forgotten its attri¬ 
butes, the beasts all revere it, and are never known to 
injure it. 
as Schow says, “It is not a matter of surprise that a 
plant of such peculiar aspect, and which occurs in such 
a remarkable position as the Mistleto, should have 
awakened the attention of various races, and exerted 
influence over their religious ideas. It played an es¬ 
pecially important part among the Gauls. The Oak 
was sacred until then ; their priests abode in Oak 
forests ; Oak boughs and Oak leaves were used in every 
religious ceremony, and their sacrifices were made 
beneath an Oak tree ; but the Mistleto, when it grew 
upon the Oak, was peculiarly sacred, and regarded as a 
divine gift. It was gathered with great ceremony 
on the sixth day after the first new moon of the 
