154 THE MISTLETOE. 



Those beautiful little creatures the Wheatear and Pied Wagtails are 

 very numerous, the limestone walls furnishing them with continuous perching 

 places, on which they are constantly displaying their graceful movements. 



The Old Hall, Knostrop, Leeds. 



THE MISTLETOE, (VISCUM ALBUM.) 



BY J. Mc'lNTOSH, ESQ. 



At page 154 to 158 of vol. i, of "The Naturalist," we have recorded 

 some interesting notes on this singular parasite. We would now beg to 

 draw the attention of our readers to the etymology of the word Mistletoe, 

 which we extract from "Willis's Current Notes of the Month," by the 

 Kev. T. E. Brown, who writes as follows : — 



"The Saxon is Mis-tel-ta, the signification of which cannot be ascer- 

 tained in that language. By taking away the verbal part ta, we have the 

 German, Danish, and Swedish mis-tal, the Mistletoe. 



The Gaelic name for this plant forms a singular link and clue to its 

 real meaning; it is uile-ice, the Mistletoe, the all-heal, c lus sior waine a 

 tharuingeas a bhith o phlannt eile, an evergreen tree that draws its 

 existence from another plant. It evidently refers us to the Saxon Se 

 Hoeland, the Healer, the Saviour of mankind. 



The Saxon mis-tel-ta is a compound of three Sanscrit words, namely, Mas, 

 Vishnee, (the Messiah;) tal, (a pit, Metap, the womb;) and tu, (motion, 

 to or from;) therefore Mistalta comprises the whole of the time from the 

 conception to the birth of our blessed Saviour, and seems to have been 

 subsequently applied to him during his helpless infant state; of this I 

 think I have a proof in a painting of the holy family in my possession, 

 where the top of Joseph's staff is encircled with, I believe, the Loranthus 

 Europceus in blossom, (see description of this plant below,) and what 

 seems to be explanatory of the wrong translation of ta into toe, is, that Mary 

 holds one of the great toes of the infant gracefully between her fore-finger and 

 thumb. Another proof is, if I mistake not, in Guperi Harpocrates, where 

 a peculiar amulet is described in the words of Kercher, 'Capsula est in 

 forma cordis, et fructum foliumque Persece mentiens! I forbear to comment on 

 the word cordis, it is sufficient for my purpose to notice that under the 

 feet of the infant Horus or the Messiah, Habia digito prementem,' is a plant 

 resembling the Mistelta. 



The ivy and Mistletoe being evergreens, denote everlasting life through 

 faith in the promised Messiah; and its dependence on a tree for sustenance, 

 etc., has its mystical meaning, and when found on the king of trees, the 

 oak, would be considered as the most sacred of its kind, and would 



