The Silver Fir tree is rich in gummy juice, which is made into turpentine and resin. Have you ever seen necklaces of pale cloudy beads, and of clear dark brown made of amber? People tell us this amber is found on the shores of the Baltic Sea, and that it is just the gummy juice which dropped long ago from some kind of Fir tree and has hardened in a mysterious way of which we know nothing.
PLATE XXIII
THE HOLLY
“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.
The Holly (1) is our most important evergreen, and is so well known that it scarcely needs any description. It has flourished in this country as long as the Oak, and is often found growing under tall trees in the crowded forests, as well as in the open glades, where lawns of fine grass are to be found.