590 BIRDS IN CONNECTION WITH PLANTS. [^OctobeV, 



other hand, is quite on the high-road, and most accessible, as 

 well as forming a most excellent centre of operations. 



Cambridge, August 23, 1858. 



HISTORY OF BIEDS I^ CONNECTION WITH PLANTS. 



I have often asked questions in ' Notes and Queries/ published 

 by Bell and Co., Fleet Street, and received some answers ; but I 

 think upon subjects of plants and vegetable physiology the ' Phy- 

 tologist ' is a better medium of intercommunication. As a lover 

 of Natural History, I always desire to test as far as possible the 

 truth of statements written and published to the world upon that 

 subject. We often find in works on ornithology reference made 

 to trees, fruits, and flowers, for the truth of which, when ques- 

 tioned, we may properly apply to the botanist. 



In reading Mudie's ' Feathered Tribes of the British Islands,' 

 I find he gives the following account of the Missel-thrush : — " It 

 is called missel-thrush because it missels (soils) its toes with the 

 viscid, slimy juice of the Mistletoe-berries, of which it is very 

 fond in the winter, and the Mistletoe gets its name because it 

 soils the toes of the bird." 



After reading this I remembered that many questions had 

 been asked in the ' Phytologist ' respecting the derivation of 

 common names of plants, and I venture to ask, but am fearful 

 of the result, whether Mr. ]\Iudie will be any help to your readers 

 upon the derivation of the word Mistletoe. 



Some of the writers on ornithology tell us that the bird took 

 its name from the plant, but Mr. Mudie says the plant took its 

 name from the bird. I should say, if either is to have priority 

 in creation, the plant has the better claim. I venture to suggest 

 that both are wrong, and that the Mistletoe has its derivation 

 from the Saxon, as stated in our dictionaries, and the bird has its 

 name missel-thrush, synonymous with storm-thrush, because it 

 always sings before storm and rain, or " mistle,'' i. e. rain, ac- 

 cording to the Belgic or Low Dutch. The natural instinct of the 

 bird enables it to feel that the rain sets in motion the snails, 

 grubs, and other insects on which it feeds, and therefore it makes 

 known its joy by singing. It is a common remark of country 

 people that this bird pei'ches on the high branch of a tree, and 



