Mistletoe in our Forests. 181 



MISTLETOE IN OUR FORESTS. 



By D. McAl'pine. 



Owing- to rupi'esentations made by the Warang-a Shire Council 

 regarding' the damage caused by the spread of mistletoe in the 

 State forests, the Director of Agriculture requested me to furnish a 

 short report on the subject. That report has been substantially 

 reproduced here, as considerable interest has been manifested in the 

 matter. 



Though it is not an easy matter to get rid of the mistletoe once it 

 has gained a footing on our forest trees, a knowledge of its nature 

 and history gives a clue to the methods necessary in order to cope 

 with it. 



Like any other tlowering plant, the mistletoe grows from a seed, 

 and these seeds are carried about from tree to tree by birds. So well 

 recognised is this, that one Australian bird is generally believed to 

 be the exclusive agent in the dispersal of the mistletoe, and it is 

 called, on this account the Mistletoe-bird. This pretty little SM^allow, 

 Diccmim., is also called the Flower-pecker, and none are found in 

 Tasmania, probably because no mistletoes grow there. Some 

 observers assert that other birds, especially the Honey-eaters, also 

 serve to distribute the seed. It is not necessary to explain how the 

 bird extracts the see&, with its sticky covering, from the berry, but, 

 as this seed-covering is very sweet, it is relished by the birds just as 

 it is by schoolboys. The seeds then pass through the alimentary 

 canal of the bird, and are deposited on some twig or branch, under 

 the most favorable conditions of heat, moisture and manure for 

 successful germination. They may also germinate without passing 

 through the body of the bird, as, for instance, when the bird cleans its 

 beak it may deposit the seed. The slightest crack in the bark will 

 allow the young roots to ])enetrate, and then the mistletoe sucks the 

 sap of the branch on which it is ])arasitic. 



()f course if we could get rid of the seed-carriers, the birds, that 

 would largely reduce the mischief; but, I ]n'esume it is not 

 expedient to shoot the birds. 



The only practicable way to get rid of it would be, as they do in 

 orchards, to have the infested branches entirely removed, before the 

 mistletoe has had time to spread to any great extent. To break off 

 the plants themselves is worse than useless, for it only induces the 

 part that is left to send out vigorous roots, and get a firmer hold of 

 the tree. In Germany, and other countries, official notice is annually 

 given for the extermination of the mistletoe, and this work of 

 removing the infested branches could be undertaken at the same 

 time as the thinning-out was being done. 



