II. mil or I'.kow'Tii is I'I.asts 3i<> 



associated 1\\- the same habit (jf i^nowth, we are led 

 to the coiichisioii that there is sonic difference after 

 all in the- nioialit)- of i)lants I Ilerc, for example, 

 we are confronted with a !-;roiip of plants that differ 

 entirel)' from those we ha\e hitherto examined. 

 The mistletoe, which is the commonest type, is 

 certainl}- lower in the social plant-scale than the 

 l)erchin<4; orchid, the latter with its leaves and 

 rootlets being enabled to earn its own livinf^, 

 while the mistletoe sends its roots down into the 

 soft sap of the branch upon which it is growin^,^ 

 and there is no other name for it — steals its 

 means of livm<^^ and growing from the substance 

 of the poor tree upon which it pre}'s. It is true 

 it does, in a half-hearted kind of way, assimilate a 

 little gaseous food for itself, but the sickly metallic 

 hue of its leaves is evidence that e\en in this respect 

 it is shirking its proper duties of nutrition. 



If we desire t(j study the curious habits of 

 parasitic plants, the two examples referred to in 

 a pre\ious chapter, the clover-dodder and the 

 yellow rattle, will afford good examples, the 

 latter jilant being easil\- obtainable in fields 

 where the pasture is poor and scant)'. \'ery 



