*December 23, 1962 - HollyFocus on Nature
Holly
Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven.
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh
Cutchogue
GUEST WRITER:
JUDD BENNETT
To you who read this column
Judd Bennett is no stranger for
he took over this - column com-
pletely. while I was away during
the summer months. Today he
brings us an interesting and time-
ly article on the holly. ps.
The most cherished n a t u r a l
symbol of Christmas is the hol-
ly. Nothing else garnered from
the world of growing things has
the good looks and the charm
of this handsome evergreen. The
t r u l y traditional holly is, of
course, the matchless English. It
has a familiar and intimate con -
nection with man. The boughs and
berries have many and v a. r i e d
festival and religious, associations
of the longest duration. The Eng-
lish holly long before the earliest
writings of man occupied a
unique place in the lives of the
p e o p 1 e, in theitf superstitions,
myths, legends, folklore, s o n gs
and stories.
If closely compared with the
American holly, the En g l i s h
variety has a little bit more of
everything that endears Holly to
all of us. The dark green leaves
have a riches: sheen au ,are more
deeply and stiffly 'twisted while
well a r m e d mith "'tough -semi-
spines. The brilliant s,c a r 1 et
berries are in;. thicker clusters
• and they appear to glopv with a
brighter waxen gleam. 'There is
little doubt but that-. the' admired
English holly is the most beauti-
ful as well as the most beloved.
When the time comes for the
holiday fun of decorating o u
dwellings, as our forefathers have
clone for centuries, we can but
again, as of old, turn to the forest
and the woodlands. Although
seldom done now by many indi-
viduals, in the odder other times,
just being apart of the gathering
party going forth for the greens
was a joy of the season and al-
most the best of all the fun.
Wild-growing native holly is
little sought after- now because
it is extremely rare and should
really never be touched. There
now are holly farms and orchards
to fill the . demand. Few places
where it once grew remain or
are open to harvesting. T h e
wooded and bush covered hillocks
of the far eastern tip of the Island
at Montauk is one area, at least,
where one may see and walk
among live hoilies of all sizes.
Some of these trees are very im-
pressive. The mite seedlings have
an allure to test 'one's respect
for the g o o d. laws protecting
them. These sparse open groves
are in a struggle to hold on.--Most
wild trees fail to find a shelter
thick enough to keep the leaves
undamaged. Both the American
and the English , can be grown
to perfection on Long Isla n d
which is very nearly the limit
of the latter.
Still, there are a few` senti-
mental people left who insist, in
even some small way, on main-
taining delights of the old days-'
and old ways and, it is they who
go out every season for branches
of our fine laurel — for feathery
boughs of delicately blue -h u e d
cedar wonderfully ladened w i t h
pale and fragrant juniper nutlets
— for sturdy. branches of t h e
husky pines - long- staned a n d
pungent. But, later on to these
ioble woodland greens - one has
to add that touch of red tradi-
tion seems to require. When holly
'is brought forth both seasonal
colors are natural — the red and
the green and, it seems" most
likely that it was -from the holly
the Christmas holiday gained the
symbolize colors of clean f r e s h
greens and lively sparkling reds.
Holly seems to have may links
with man, even to a tea. Mate'
tea is a holly-leaf brew. H o l l y
grows as a native everywhere but:
in Australia. Perhaps the first in
Australia had a few early Christ_
mas -tides lacking holly with it's
linking ties with home. If they
did, the American "first settlers
had no such problem, for holly„
grew close at `hand. It is more
than likely the English colonists
when ashore on Cape Cod en-
countered their first Am e r ican
holly there and immediately saw
in it a relative of the one they
had left behin in England. In
the region of the Cape, holly is
a long established native and it
is not impossible that some trees
now still living were growing
there in 1620.
Years ago 'the American holly
was a much more abundant tree
in it's natural range than it is
now. Despite the, sad depletion
by wanton destruction and out -
right vandalism there are a few
individual trees which after these
many many years still remain.
Scattered throughout v a r i o u s
parts -' of the country are striking
and remarkable specimens.
Long Island for instance, has one of
the largest American holly in the in
state of New York, It is growing
on a farm near Southampton.
American holly is the hardiest
of our red-berried evergreens. If
left undisturbed this species has
a natural compact and symetrical
form: and will, under favorable
fertile conditions, attain a height
of forty to fifty feet. .Our native
holly has a smooth brownish -gray
colored bark which protects, as
acover, a tough close-g r a i ned
hard wood, bonelike and creamy
white. It lends itself to smooth
fine polishing. If stained black it
looks like an ebony. The wood
once had some few varied uses
now more or less ' limited to
scientific and musical in-
struments.
The Moist- woods within t h e
limits of Massachusetts on t he
north, where' native holly finally
becomes only a- shrub and Texas
where it becomes a stately tree,
is the natural range. As a result
of dispersal of seeds by animals
and birds, mainly the r o b i n,
American holly is often seen
growing quite happily along older
fence rows and in abandoned'
fields. It is, now, and then, but
infrequently, found in pure stands
or in growths thick enough to be
considered a grove. We have one
of this rare type on Fire Island
in the shelter of dunes.
It takes several things really
important to give holly a massive
crop of those cheering berries.
For one, the bees, mainly t h e
honey bee, must come in force
at the very time the faintly
fragrant white blossoms are open
in full potent maturity. Then, a
holly trees happen to come it
separate sexes there are demand;
for flowering trees of each to be
in bloom at the same time. Only
the female tree comes forth glor-
ified splendidly with b e r r i e s.
Another demand is for favorable
weather for the fruiting duration.
Growing well in the wild an
American holly attaining a dia-
meter of twelve inches is believed
to be very nearly one hundred
and fifty years of age. A good
many rare trees are receiving
care from individuals, societies,
and even, oddly, corporations. A
major rail line gives the huge
holly it owns the most indulgent
special care imaginable — acting
for all the world like an old hen.
This care given surely does add
to their beauty and will certainly
prolong their lives. Giving care
to an old established tree is
really a fine -human deed and
much the better good - hearted
deal than the planting of a
new one. But any regard will be
most rewarding. And, It will
nicely nurture and rekindle t h e
old spell and erbance the ageless
charm holly has for us all.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
Harry Carmer reports:
Center Moriches — Dec 7
Dovekie
Ruth Porter reports:
Center Moriches — Dec 1647
Yellow - breasted Chat
Mrs Ray. Havens reports:
Moriches — Dec 10
Yellow - breasted Chat
Lawrence Ernest reports:
Southampton — Dec 7 -10
Hairy Woodpecker
Cooper's Hawk
Noyac — Dec 7 -10
White - breasted Nuthatch (4)
Mrs. Norman Lane reports:
Southampton — Dec 4
House Finch (several pair)
Gil Raynor, Walter Terry, Henry
Haiama, Carolyn Marshall, Jack
Neill, Miles White, Bob Stuart
Judd Bennett and Paul Stouten
burgh report:
Montauk and Long Pond, Easy
Hampton — Dec 16
King Eider
Common Eider
Snow Bunting
Iceland Gull
Shrike
Rusty Blackbird
Sharp- shinned Hawk
Marsh Hawk
European Cormorant
European Widgean
Horned Lark
Catbird
Yellow- throat
Hermit Thrush
Bluebird
Cowbird
Bonaparte's Gull
Pine Siskin
Wilson's Snipe
Savannah Sparrow
Yellow- breasted