ROBBERY AND MURDER. 



239 



attack are naturally small and feeble, such as the 

 Clover, etc. ; whereas the Mistletoe and its kind, 

 at any rate, are only found on plants infinitely 

 huger than themselves, and which can well afford 

 to partially sustain them. 



I said par- 

 tially, for the 

 Mistletoe bears 

 green leaves, 

 which perform 

 leaf-functions, and 

 abstract carbon 

 from the atmos- 

 phere ; so that 

 the plant provides 

 itself with starch- 

 stuffs, and only 

 lays the tree on 

 which it grows 

 under contribu- 

 tion for water, 

 and the dissolved 

 minerals the roots 

 have abstracted from the soil and passed upwards 

 into the sap. 



It is curious, however, to notice the arboreal 

 distribution of our common Mistletoe. The tree 

 on which it most rarely occurs is the Oak — so 

 rarely that the ancient Druids are said to have 



Fig. 83. — Mistletoe grafted. 



4. Section across the grain of Apple. 



5. Section across the grain of Ash. 



6. Section down the grain of Apple. 



