170 THE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
the parasite as commencing its life on the foster-parent by pene¬ 
trating the bark of the latter with its own true radicles; these 
radicles, too, can spread, and bud out at the surface of the foster¬ 
parent for some distances from the insertion of the parasite, thus 
throwing up suckers after the manner of elms, robinia, and 
other rhizomatous, or running rooting trees. 
That the nature and growth of the foster-parent would exert 
great influence on the parasite would naturally be expected, and 
hence perhaps the partiality of the latter for certain trees over 
others, for though it is found by experiment that mistletoe can 
be made to grow on a large variety of trees, it is nevertheless true 
that, in the field, lots of contiguous trees will be altogether 
missed, while others will be found, though at great distances 
apart, to be laden with the mystic boughs. But, curiously 
enough, it seems that one sort of tree is chosen in one district, 
and another in others. Thus, in Gloucestershire we have seen 
the black poplar laden with mistletoe for long stretches, where 
the apple orchards were hardly attacked. At Hampton Court 
the lime is its favourite resort. In Hereford, Worcester, and 
Gloucester the usual nidus is the apple-tree, and though in the 
two latter counties the pear-tree abounds to the extent of whole 
orchards devoted to it, we have never seen the mistletoe in a 
pear, though our friend Mr. Lees has recorded it as rarely met 
with. Here one of the most interesting points of inquiry is 
that of the infrequency of mistletoe on the oak. 
The oak is found everywhere—intermixed with orchards— 
whole forests of it, hedge-rows and scattered trees in the midst 
of orchards, and yet the mistletoe in the oak is a rarity. We 
have been repeatedly asked, “ Is mistletoe found on any trees 
beside the oak?” as though oak was its most natural foster¬ 
parent, and yet though the oak abounds in most mistletoe dis¬ 
tricts, the number of this tree on which the parasite has been 
found can be counted on the fingers. The following, as given 
by Hr. Bull, of Hereford, is a— 
List of Existing Mistletoe Oakjs. 
Eastnor Park, Herefordshire; Tedstone Delamere, Hereford¬ 
shire; the Eorest of Heerfold, Herefordshire; Frampton-on- 
Severn, Gloucestershire; Sudbury Park, Chepstow, Monmouth¬ 
shire ; Burningfold Farm, Dunsford, Surrey; Hackwood Park, 
Basingstoke, Hants; and on an oak near Plymouth. 
Small as is this list, yet there is reason to think that it would 
be difficult to add to it. Mr. Lees, in writing upon this subject, 
has the following remarks : 
“ The mistletoe in the oak is undoubtedly a great rarity, and 
