192 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



or White Poplar {Populus alba) ; not common. Grey Poplar (P. caneseens) ; rare. 

 Aspen (P. Iremula) ; occasionally. Black Poplar (P. nigra) ; rare. Black Italian Poplar 

 (P. monili/era) ; very freely. Canadiau Poplar (P. Canadensis) ; very common. Onta- 

 rio Poplar (P. candicans) ; common. Pear-tree {Pyrus communis). Oak {Quercus Robur). 

 Alder {Alnus glutinosa). Bound-leaved Sallow {Salix caprea). Hawthorn {Crataegus 

 oxyacantlia) ; not uncommon. Crab {Pyrus Malus) ; general throughout the county. 

 Lime-tree {Tilia Europcea). Maple {Acer campestre). White-flowering Acacia (Jtobinia 

 PseuJacacia). Mountain Ash {Pyrus Aucuparia). Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). Common 

 White Willow {Salix alba). Hazel {Corylus Avellana). Sycamore {Aser Pseudo-plata- 

 nus). Common Dog-rose {Rosa amino). Medlar {Mespilus Germanica). Wych Elm 

 {Ulmus montana). 



" The Mistletoe also grows spontaneously on the following cultivated trees in this 

 county : — Yellow Horse-chestnut {JUsculus Jlava). Horse-chestnut {JH. Uippocastanum). 

 Western Plane {Plalanus occiilentalis). Eastern Plane (P. orientalis). American Crab 

 {Pyrus Malus Americana). Bed Swamp Maple {Acer rubrum). Upright Wych Elm 

 ( Ulmus montana erecla)." 



The favourite site of the Mistletoe is the apple-tree. In orchards examined, 

 consisting of comparatively new kinds of fruits, principally French and Italian apples, 

 the average number of trees which bear Mistletoe range from 13 to about 30 per cent. ; 

 in old, long-established orchards, the proportion varies from 30 to as high as 90 per 

 cent. ; whilst the general average from all the trees is 39 per cent, of Mistletoe-bearing 

 trees. 



Next to the apple-tree, the Mistletoe likes best the poplars, in particular the Black 

 Italian, Canadian, and Ontario. Here its luxuriant branches thrust themselves into 

 notice, as well by their contrast to the tree itself, as by their lofty situation. These 

 trees are now much planted, and no sooner do they attain any size, than a number 

 of them become inhabited by the Mistletoe. 



Why the Mistletoe should attach itself to certain trees in preference to others, is 

 not yet solved. Popular opinion refers it to some peculiarity in the bark, and seems, 

 oddly enough, pretty equally divided as to whether the Viscum prefers a smooth, and 

 hard bark, or one that is rough and porous. 



Mr. Buckman gives the following table of the comparative frequency with which 

 trees are prone to bear Mistletoe : — The various kinds of apple, 25 ; poplar, mostly 

 black, 20 ; whitethorn, 10 ; lime, 4 ; maple, 3 ; willow, 2 ; oak, 1 ; sycamore, 1 j 

 acacia, 1. — {Notes and Queries, iii. 22G.) In Herefordshire, according to Dr. Bull, the 

 proportion for the apple-tree must certainly be raised considerably, and the acacia be 

 put higher on the list. 



The Yiscum album but rarely " gains a settlement " on the oak ; as seldom in our 

 own day as in the Druidical times of old, when its very rarity heightened the veneva- 

 tion with which it was regarded when found. " Est autem id rarum admodum 

 inventum, et repertum magna religione petitur," says Pliny. In an excellent note by 

 Dr. Giles, in his translation of " Eichard of Cirencester " (p. 432), he gives the opinion 

 of Dr. Daubeny, that Mistletoe-growing oaks were exterminated after the Druids were 

 destroyed. — {Notes and Queries, vol. ii.) It is highly probable that this was the case ; 

 but since all their oaks, too, have gone centuries since, it can make no difference as to 

 its occurrence at the present time. Whatever may be the conditions necessary for the 

 germination and growth of the Mistletoe on the oak, they must be such as rarely 

 coincide, or it certainly would be much more common in this county. The oak may be 

 considered the weed of Herefordshire. Oak-timber and oak-bark form two of our 



