319 



Mr. Adams, of Marden, who kindly undertook to obtain for me a fair reliable 

 average of the number of Apple trees in full vigour, which bear Mistletoe in that 

 district, has sent me the following result of his examination of all the trees in six 

 different orchards. Mr. Adams was careful to select orchards in which the trees 

 had attained their full growth and were in full bearing — avoiding on the one hand, 

 orchards of very young trees, where comparatively few were affected bj' the para- 

 site, and on the other, those containing very old trees, where almost all of them 

 bear Mistletoe. 



It is the general belief amongst orchard proprietors that th Mistletoe, when 

 in moderation, injures neither the tree itself nor the fruit it bears, as used formerly 

 to be thought. It is not therefore primed out so much as would otherwise be 

 the case. Mr. Edwin Lees in his " Botanical Looker Out," goes further, indeed, 

 and thinks that the tendency in apple trees to form knots in the wood arises from 

 over-abundance of sap, and that the Mistletoe relieves the tree, as cupping would 

 do : a view so unphysiological, that I prefer to look for the true explanation in 

 the opinion of Dr. Harley, that the presence of the Mistletoe causes an increased 

 quantity of sap to be drawn up for its supply from the soil, and thus the tree would 

 not be much injured, so long as the soil was not exhausted. 



Whether the Viscum albmn shews any preference for any particular sorts 

 of Apples, is a point requiring further investigation. There are certainly some 



