302 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 



engaged in. The mistletoe was broken up and distiibuted 

 among the people to be taken home and hung up above the 

 entrance to tlieir dwellings as a protection against all evil. 



Only the mistletoe that grew on an oak tree was considered 

 sacred, probably this was because it so seldom grew on the oak. 



A plant on England's national tree ought to be noted, as it 

 is yet a very rare occurrence. 



When our Christian fathers found these customs too strongly 

 incorporated to eradicate, they did a wise thing. They depleted 

 them of their pagan meaning, and gave them a Christian con- 

 nection and significance, and thus the idol worship of the Druids 

 became connected' with our Christmas time. 



The mistletoe is a tree parasite, deriving most of its nourish- 

 ment from its host. It is an evergreen, but will grow on almost 

 any soft^wooded tree, whether evergreen or not. 



A small slu-ub with lanceolate leaves, small yellowish flowers 

 without stalks, and often covered witli beautiful pearl-like 

 berries in winter and spring. 



It is not difficult to propagate from seed. All one requires 

 is berries fully ripened, the proper trees, a little knowledge 

 how to proceed, and a great deal of patience. 



Take the ripe berries in April or May, and on a smooth- 

 barked branch squeeze the seed gently out of its skin, which 

 discard; the glutenous substance surrounding the germ causes 

 it to stick to the branch, and when it gets a little dry it 

 adheres firmly. The bark must not be cut or "grafted" in 

 any way. 



Choose a tree in good health, and a branch from one to three 

 inches in diameter, preferably on the south side of the tree, 

 with few or no overhanging branches to cause drip or shade. 



It is a good plan to put several berries together, as they do 

 not all come to maturity. 



In a short time the germ of the berry begins to grow, and 

 puts out a small green shoot or radicle, which turns towards 

 the branch and attaches itself to the bark by means of a regular 

 attachment disc. From the centre of this disc a small growth 

 penetrates the bark and gets as far as the wood, but no 

 further. This is called the " sinker," and is a specially 

 modified I'oot. 



