64 



glutinous that it is difficult to place them right and keep them 

 there without pressing on the seed; many experiments have 

 doubtless failed from want of care in this respect. Some persons 

 have used with advantage a covering of moss and bass to protect 

 them still further from injury and to keep them damp. An old 

 tree in a damp situation wiU render the success of the experi- 

 ment still more probable. 



The best time for sowing the seed is January or February, 

 the young plant is at first very slow in its growth, and will 

 spend one, and sometimes two years, in the formation of roots 

 only, before sending out any regular stems. 



Mistletoe can also be artificially propagated by grafting or 

 budding, and with still greater certainty by inarching, but it is 

 very unnecessary ia this county to adopt either of these plans. 



The Continental experimentalists do not seem to find much 

 difficulty iu making Mistletoe seeds grow. M. Du Hambl made 

 a long series of experiments with regard to its mode of propaga- 

 tion, and succeeded on all trees but the fig, the oak, the hazel, 

 and the juniper. lie could always make the seed germinate, 

 even on earthen pots, stones, dead pieces of wood, or even upon 

 the ground, but though the radicles would shoot out freely at 

 first they quickly died, shewing that it was a true parasite and 

 would only grow upon trees. 



M. DuTEOCHTET provcd by a series of delicate experiments 

 that they do not obey the usual law of plants in germinating, 

 by at once directing their radicles towards the centre of the 

 earth, but alway direct them towards the centre of any object 

 against which they are grown. He caused Mistletoe seeds hang- 

 ing from threads to germinate on all sides of round balls, and in 

 cases even when the ball was of metal, the radicles were directed 

 towards the centre of the ball, and not towards the earth — that 

 is, the seeds beneath the ball directed their radicles upwards, 

 those at the top sent them downwards, and those at the sides 

 horizontally. 



