HOLLY. 
249 
HOLLY. 
ronESiGHT. 
The providence of Nature is most admirably dis¬ 
played in this beautiful evergreen tree, sometimes 
rising to the height of tw'enty or thirty feet, with 
shining prickly leaves and white flowers, which 
grow in clusters round the branches, and are suc¬ 
ceeded by berries of a bright scarlet colour, contain¬ 
ing four very hard seeds. The leaves form a 
grateful food to many animals: but Nature has 
armed them, for self-defence, against these depre¬ 
dators, with sharp prickles : and it is curious to 
observe that the thorny leaves grow only on the 
lower part 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 its foliage 
