36 
NATURE NOTES 
white horehound and southernwood (old man). Rue and halm will grow well in 
a moist heavy soil, whilst angelica, mint, chervit and pennyroyal revel in a wet 
one. All whose names are printed in italics are wild, or have wild allies. Sweet 
basil is not hardy, and can only be grown outdoors during summer. All herbs 
should be tied in bunches and dried slowly in a cool place, not in the sun or 
before a fire. 
Hale End, Chingford. C. NICHOLSON. 
NATURAL HISTORY QUERIES, 
138. Mistletoe. — The mistletoe is so well known that few people think 
of the wonderful process of its growth, or even of its mythological history. Do 
you think any of your readers could explain the chemical changes which the seed 
goes through in the passage through the mistletoe-thrush’s body — and the nature 
of its combination with the sap of the tree in which it takes root ? I think this 
would be most interesting. The apple, the poplar, the lime and the may, are 
the trees I have found it growing on — does it ever now grow on the oak ? 
The Warnaford, Oxford. C. J. Maurice 
January 7 , igo8. 
[When the seed does pass through the digestive system of the bird, which is 
by no means necessary for its germination, there is no reason to suppose that it 
undergoes any chemical changes whatever. The parasite has often been stated 
to become grafted upon the sap-wood of the host ; as however, it is its roots 
which penetrate this wood, more detailed observations of the initial stages of the 
process, which would be difficult to make, would be of interest. There are 
upwards of a dozen oak trees in Great Britain on which mistletoe is growing. 
The following extract from The Field will probably interest you. — E d. N. W.] 
Cultivation of Mistletoe. 
The amateur who essays to grow mistletoe generally makes two mistakes, 
either of which courts certain failure. The first is to select for propagation 
mistletoe berries which are unripe, and the second to make an incision in the 
bark of the branch which is chosen as a suitable position for placing the berry. 
Mistletoe berries being mostly in evidence at Christmas time, most people 
suppose, and perhaps naturally, that that season is the best for making the 
experiment ; but a little thought would convince any sensible person that it is 
quite unreasonable to expect the seed to take hold at a time when the sap of the 
foster-parent tree is dormant, apart from the fact that the seed of the mistletoe is 
quite unripe at Christmas. 
This important stage is not reached until some months later, when, unfor- 
tunately for human experiments, mistletoe berries have been so thinned by the 
birds that they are difficult to discover. The berries, if protected from the birds, 
will hang on till the beginning of summer, at which time they are ripe for 
propagating purposes. It is only necessary to squash the berry with the thumb- 
nail on the smooth bark of a young branch, when the seed will become securely 
attached by the natural glue in which it is embedded. In a few months’ time 
two or three small horns will be seen protruding from the three-cornered seeds, 
and these, turning inwards towards the bark, will attach themselves to it, and in 
time penetrate to the branch itself. 
It may be necessary to cover the seed with some material which, while 
admitting light and air, will protect it from being interfered with by inquisitive 
birds. A sloping branch is the best to select, so that the excessive moisture of 
rain or dew does not remain in the neighbourhood of the seed. The latter is apt 
to be washed round by heavy rain to the under side of the bough, and some 
people place it in this position at the outset in order that it may better escape the 
notice of the birds. 
“ Ea.st Sussex. 
