21 



pleurem^yma in the liber as distinctly as the unenclosed ; whence it results, as 

 a master of necessity, that the bark has been enclosed since last spring, and 

 that the root of the Mistletoe, which has penetrated within two layers of wood 

 towards the pith, has grown fully a quarter of an inch within the short space of 

 at most eight months. We may conclude, therefore, that this section sufficiently 

 proves the power of the soft Mistletoe tissue to penetrate the hard wood of 

 the supporting branch. 



Another appearance, disclosed in alongitudinal section, deserves particular 

 notice, from its connexion with rhizomatous growth. Fig. 6 represents such a 

 section, showing cavities, marked "cells," filled with Mistletoe tissue. As far 

 as can be made out by an examination of such a section by reflected light, as well 

 as from the fact that very soon after the section is cut the Mistletoe tissue 

 shrinks almost entirely away, t\e tissue is of a later date than the surrounding 

 wood, and cannot have been enclosed. These cells must therefore be the result 

 of the power of the Mistletoe of sending out rhizomes. They suggest to the 

 botanist the "runners" of such plants as the strawberry, and it seems highly 

 probable that they perform a similar function, by forming centres, from which, 

 as the rhizome descends to the trunk, new plants may find their way to the bark. 

 There is one other feature disclosed in a section which must be noticed. If 

 a leaf-bud, which is protruding through the bark, be followed down by cutting 

 thin sections, it occasionally presents the following appearance :— The section 

 commences as an irregular mass, showing sometimes, at a little distance below 

 the surface, two centres, from which contorted medullary rays spring. These 

 centres, as the section descends, become more distinct, until ultimately the root 

 becomes two separate masses. It would appear from this that the roots of the 

 Mistletoe have the power of bifurcating within the branch of the tree, as well 

 as of sending down roots from the expanded crown outside the bark. 



These notes are necessarily disjointed. Any attempt to weave them, at 

 present, into a continuous history would be premature. They are merely thrown 

 out for the purpose of calling forth more observations ; and if they provoke 

 discussion and examination, they will have met with in an ample reward. 

 When observations have been multiplied and conclusions verified, the life-history 

 of this our most remaikable parasitic plant will be no unworthy addition not 

 only to botanical literature in particular, but to physiology generally (applause). 



Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.S., said that as an old student and lover of the 

 Mistletoe, not only at Christmas but at other times, he felt inclined to make a 

 few remarks on the subject. The paper just read embraced much research but 

 was of such a technical character that it was difficult to follow its details when 

 read in the field, and it required to be carefully read and considered at home. He 

 agreed with the author of the paper that the seed of the Mistletoe when germi- 

 nating generally produced two processes that attached to the tree became two 

 distinct plants, but he was not prepared to say that these plants were generally 



