THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



^5 



it produced berries it could not be raised j 

 from seed. But more accurate research has 

 proved that it is easily enough propagated 

 by seeds. If the . ripe berries are rubbed j 

 against the branch of a tree so as to break 

 the skin, they readily adhere by the tough 

 tenacious, viscid juice which they contain, j 

 and in due time the seed will begin to grow, 

 and the little rootlets soon penetrate the bark, 

 and absorb nutriment from the ascending sap \ 

 of the trees, which the young plant assimilates 

 and appropriates for its own use. So greedily 

 does it suck up these juices that if colored 

 fluids are supplied to the tree, it will pass up 

 unchanged into the tissue of the Mistletoe. 

 It is also said that although the stem and 

 leaves of the Mistletoe have not the power of 

 absorbing fluids, yet if the branch on which it 

 grows be cut off, and immersed in water, the 

 Mistletoe will go on absorbing water by its 

 roots, and will continue to live for a con- 

 siderable time. A curious property of the 

 seeds of Mistletoe is that whereas in the seeds 

 of all other plants during the process of ger- 

 mination, in whatever position the seeds may 

 be placed, the young rootlets always turn 

 towards the centre of the earth, in the Mistle- 

 toe they turn towards the centre of the mass 

 to which they are attached. Thus if placed 

 upon the upper part of a branch they will 

 tufa downwards, if on the lower surface they 

 turn upwards, and if on the side of a tree 

 towards the antre of the trunk. Another 

 peculiarity is that the seeds often contain two 

 or three embryos, so that from one seed two 

 or three separate young plants may be pro- 

 duced, this has also been observed in the 

 seeds of the orange. In places where Mistle- 

 toe abounds the pearly white, waxen-like 

 berries are eagerly eaten by various birds, 

 especially thrushes, one species of which 

 (Tardus nscivorous) derives its name from its 

 predilection for the tempting fruit, and be- 

 comes an active agent n the dissemination of 

 the plant, for the viscid berries often adhere 

 tenaciously to their beaks, and in endeavour- 

 ing to cleanse them by rubbing against the 



branches of trees, as the manner of birds is, 

 the seeds stick to the bark, from which new 

 plants are ultimately developed. The berries 

 furnish a very adhesive glue, from which 

 bird lime is often made, and as it was for- 

 merly believed that the seeds of the Mistle- 

 toe had to ke swallowed bv the thrush, and 

 V 



voided with its excrement before they would 



grow, hence there is an old Latin proverb, 



" That the thrush shooteth destruction out of 



his own bowels," which has been freely 



rendered in English — 



" The thrush when he defiles the bough, 

 Sows for himself the seeds of woe." 



Although not immediately fatal to the tree on 

 which it grows, yet by preying upon and 

 intercepting the juice of the trees, and thus 

 weakening its vitality, it tends to shorten the 

 life of its host, so trees or branches on which 

 it grows become enfeebled, and prematurely 

 decay, although at first it seems to stimulate 

 their fruit-bearing powers. Hence it is said to 

 be looked on with comparative favor by the 

 tenant, but w ith well-grounded aversion by 

 the proprietor of an orchard. By the ancient 

 Druids the Mistletc e was regarded as a 

 sacred plant, that which grew on the oak 

 being most highly esteemed, and many 

 mystic rites v. ere enacted at the new year 

 when the Arch-Druid proceeded with much 

 ceremony to cut the Mistletoe with a golden 

 knife, it was carefully caught in a white 

 woollen cloth, so as never to touch the 

 ground, and after being blessed by the 

 Highpriest it was distributed amongst the 

 people, and by "them hung up in their 

 habitations, as they believe the spirits of the 

 weeds would linger amongst its evergreen 

 branches whilst the forests were leafless, and 

 in return for the shelter they would confer 

 benefits upon the inmates. Doubtless this is 

 the origin of the custom of decorating out- 

 houses with evergreens at Christmas, but the 

 first beginnings of the popular practice of 

 kissing under the mystic bough seems lost in 

 obscurity. 



(To be continued.) 



