As regards the difference in the leaves, although it is true that in the gardens we have a smooth and unarmed variety, however dwarf the specimen may be, yet in wild examples the smooth leaves will, for the most part, only be found on the upper parts of tall trees; the poet, then, has been as true to Nature as graceful in art in the poem of which the following lines form a part:— Below, a circling fence, its leaves are seen Wrinkled and keen. No grazing cattle through their prickly round Can reach to wound; But as they grow where nothing is to fear, Smooth and unarmed, the pointless leaves appear. _Southey._ In growing hedges, the clipping to keep them within bounds helps to keep the holly spinous at any age. Evelyn further descants upon the excellency of holly for hedges; and as the following remarks are so truly practical, we quote them in this place:— The holly is an excellent plant for hedges, and would claim the preference to the hawthorn, were it not for the slowness of its growth while young, and the difficulty of transplanting it when grown to a moderate size. It will grow best in cold, stony land, where, if once it takes well, the hedges may be rendered so close and thick as to keep out all sorts of animals. These hedges may be raised by sowing the berries in the place where they are designed to remain, or by plants of three or four years’ growth; but as the berries continue in the ground near eighteen months before the plants appear, few persons care to wait so long; therefore, the usual and best method is to plant the hedges with plants of the before-mentioned age. But where this is practised, they should be transplanted either early in autumn, or deferred till toward the end of March; then the surface of the ground should be covered with mulch near their roots, after they are planted, to keep the earth moist; and if the season should prove dry, the plants should be watered, at least once a-week, until they have taken root, otherwise they will be in danger of miscarrying, for which reason the autumnal planting is generally preferred to the spring, especially in dry grounds. Columella’s description of a good hedge is highly applicable to one made of holly, “Neu sit pecori, neu pervia furi.” Of the rind of this tree birdlime is made. Alas! in vain with warmth and food You cheer the songsters of the wood; The barbarous boy from you prepares, On treacherous twigs, his viscous snares; Yes, the poor bird you nursed shall find Destruction in your rifled rind. If we except the Privet, the examples of plants in our third group are quite unfit for hedge purposes, as they are entirely without offensive armature. Privet hedges are not unfrequent in gardens, where they are useful for boundaries, blinds, and to act as shelter, but as a farm hedge-plant it is quite useless.