162 THE MISTLETOE. 



tends toward the centre of the branch, on whichever side the 

 seed may happen to be fixed. This law, which appears 

 to be constant with this parasite, is contrary to that 

 of all other seeds of plants, which put out their radicles 

 and tend towards the centre of the earth, and not towards 

 the centre of the object on which they happen to grow. 

 Another peculiarity is, that, fix the seed to what you 

 please, whether to a living branch, or to dead wood, or 

 even to an iron nail, the radicles will grow out and meet 

 it, and will for a time remain fresh and green ; nor, in 

 fact, will they entirely perish until the ensuing spring. 



Now one word as to the kinds of trees on which it 

 is found to grow. As everyone knows, it is most fre- 

 quently found on the apple, yet it grows equally well on 

 the hawthorn, the service-tree, the poplar, the lime, the 

 willow, and perhaps also the mountain-ash ; but not 

 upon the oak, the tree of all others which it is 

 popularly supposed to affect the most. I have tried it, 

 year after year, under the most favourable conditions, 

 on healthy young oak trees ; I have sown it on shoots, 

 and branches of different years' growth, but though the 

 seed will as usual put forth its radicles, just as it will 

 upon a rusty nail, they refuse to penetrate the bark, 

 and dry up and perish by the following spring. No 

 doubt it is the tan in the bark of the oak which is 

 at fault. Some years ago there was a discussion in the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle on this very point, and I well 

 remember that two persons stated that they had either 

 seen it themselves actually so growing, or else had 

 been told so by others ; I forget exactly which, but 

 the impression left on my mind was that there was 

 quite room enough for misapprehension. At any rate, 



