RRP LRP PPP LD DP PA PPD DN NINA NA NANA NP NA NAN ANA We 
like Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin, they just grew. 
No chemical fertilizer had been used or any ma- 
nure from the heap which grew larger each year 
by the old barn. They had never been hoed or 
cultivated and the two cows that had the run 
of the meadow did the mowing. 
There was no farming on the island such as I 
knew in New Jersey for most everyone made a 
living from the sea. Some folks had gardens where 
the only fertilizer used was an occasional fish 
placed under a hill of corn with sea weed as a 
mulch. I wanted to feed those Hollies so I caught 
a few fish and spent hours of hard work carting 
sea weed a half-mile up hill. I placed most of 
the material under the tree with bright red berries, 
but Aunt Lucy had me gather it up and put it 
under the tree that had never fruited. It seemed 
that each spring when those Hollies bore blos- 
soms (male trees bear much heavier than female) 
she held high hopes that the barren Holly would 
have berries at last. You see, neither she nor I 
knew it was a male tree so she felt that love 
and care should bring to pass her greatest am- 
bition—to have both Hollies bear berries. As a 
last gesture she willed that after death her ashes 
be spread under that barren Holly. 
HOLLIES IN MAINE 
The time I spent working around those Hollies in 
Maine had much to do with making Holly my life 
work. Those two wonderful specimens growing 
without aid of science way north of the accepted 
Holly district made me feel ashamed of acknowl- 
edging defeat and I went home to the farm more 
determined than ever to grow Hollies. Mother had 
a big farm dinner ready, but I held everything up 
while I made a quick inspection of the few scraw- 
ny little trees I loved so much. 
I found less opposition than expected to my de- 
cision to renege on the promise I made father 
that I help with farm work and no more fooling 
around with Holly. Friends wanted to help and 
it would have been easy to start in again right 
where I had left off but I made up my mind to do 
something radical and sought help from an entire- 
ly different source—Mother Nature. Most of us 
spend too little time on nature study. Environ- 
ment has much to do with this, for there are few 
virgin forests now. This is especially true in our 
metropolitan areas, but there is also much truth 
