roots. iuy 



the immediate gift of Heaven, sent down to avert the 

 calamities to which he was exposed. 



The observations of Duhamel, respecting the germi- 

 nation of this singular parasite, have been formerly no- 

 ticed. Equally interesting are the experimerts of De- 

 candolle, instituted in order to ascertain the nature of 

 its connexion with the trees on which it is found, and 

 the degree of energy with which it absorbs their fluids 

 According to that learned naturalist, if a branch of the 

 Apple tree to which the Misletoe is united, be intro 

 duced into coloured water, the latter becomes tinged 

 even brighter than the portion of tree to which it ad- 

 heres. By a reversion of this experiment, he found 

 that the coloured fluid descended through the stem of 

 the parasite, tinged its radical fibres, and penetrated to 

 the wood of its supporter. His next object was to as- 

 certain if the leaves of the Misletoe, like those of oth- 

 er plants, had the faculty of elevating the sap through 

 its stems, and he found that they increased this faculty 

 in a six fold degree.* 



The last object of Decandolle, was to determine 

 whether fluids were absorbed with the greatest rapidi- 

 ty, when they passed through a portion of the support- 

 ing tree, or immediately into the stem of the shrub, and 

 it appeared that in the latter case, unless the branch is 

 uncommonly vigorous, no fluids are absorbed. 



Fruit trees are frequently invested with a minute 

 tribe of parasitic plants, which are regarded as a sign of 

 old age and decay. The experiments of Decandolle 

 teach in what way they may prove destructive, and 



* The experiments were these ; two stems of nearly equal size, 

 one naked and the other leafy, were introduced into tubes filled 

 with water, closed, and sealed at their superior extremity, and 

 having their bases plunged into mercury. The elevation of the 

 mercury denoted the ratio of their absorption, 

 11 



