1&68. ] 
AMERICAN AG-RICURTTJRIST. 
VARIEGATED ivy. —(Hedera maculata major.) 
Parasitic Plants,—The Mistletoe. 
The European Mistletoe, (Viscum flavescens,) 
is familiar to us from the frequency with which 
it is mentioned in literature, and the legends and 
superstitions connected with it. With the Dru¬ 
ids it was, when collected at the proper time, a 
charm against diseases; to this day it is hung 
up among Christmas decorations, and kissing 
under it is a custom, though we are not inform¬ 
ed that it is one confined to that particular time 
and place. Our American Mistletoe, though it 
differs from the European in some points in the 
structure of the flowers, bears a general resem¬ 
blance to that, and would no doubt prove 
equally efficacious in the particulars above men¬ 
tioned. The botanical name of our plant is 
Phoradendron flavescens. The generic name is 
from the Greek for thief and tree, and has refer¬ 
ence to the habits of the plant, which lives by 
stealing its food. Our plant is found from New 
Jersey and Illinois to Texas, and perhaps fur¬ 
ther south, and other species are common on 
the Pacific coast. It is a true parasite, that is, 
it is not only attached to tiie tree, but penetrates 
its substance and lives upon its juices. We have 
mosses and lichens, and in the tropics there are 
man 3 r orchids, ferns, and others, that grow up¬ 
on the branches of trees, but derive their suste¬ 
nance from the atmosphere; these are not prop¬ 
erly parasites, but epiphytes. The epiphyte is 
simply a lodger, while the parasite has both 
board and lodging. The Mistletoe produces a 
small, one-seeded berry, which is exceedingly 
viscid and sticks with considerable tenacity; this 
property enables it to adhere to the branches 
of trees, to which it is probably conveyed by 
birds. The seed, thus 
attached to the bark, 
germinates and throws 
out its radicle, which 
fixes itself to the bark 
and ultimately pene¬ 
trates it, and the plant, 
finding nourishment in 
the sap of the tree, 
develops itself. The 
stems grow from nine 
to eighteen inches long, 
are much branched, 
woody, but rather brit¬ 
tle. The leaves, (which 
endure all winter,) are 
from three-fourths to 
over an inch long, 
leathery in texture, and, 
with the stems, of a yel¬ 
lowish-green color. The 
flowers are small and 
greenish, the staminate 
and pistillate being on 
different plants. The 
engraving, taken from a 
Maryland specimen that 
was somewhat injured 
in transportation, shows 
the shape of the leaves, 
the general habit of the 
plant, and the manner 
of its attachment to the 
branch of an oak. 
Where it occurs abund¬ 
antly, it is of course in¬ 
jurious to the tree upon 
which it feeds; in some 
parts of the South and 
West it has destroyed 
valuable forest trees. 
We have seen it, in some instances, so abundant 
as to completely hide the foliage of the tree which 
served as its host. We have not known of our 
species proving, as does the European, injurious 
to orchards, although it might readily become 
so, as it is not very particular as to the kind of 
tree upon which it feeds, and seems very much 
at home on the Wild Cherry. The late Doct. 
C. W. Short, of Kentucky, informed us that a 
few unusually severe winters completely exter¬ 
minated it in his locality, but that after a few 
years it again appeared as abundantly as ever. 
Variegated-leaved Ivies. 
The use of Ivy as a house plant has often been 
advocated in these pages. The ease with which 
it is propagated from cuttings, the pleasing shape 
of its foliage, its rich and healthy looking green, 
its patience with all sorts of treatment, and the 
interesting associations connected with it, make 
it a plant every way desirable as a household 
pet and ornament. In the climate of New York 
it does tolerably well against walls out-of-doors, 
but it gets badly cut back in severe winters, 
though in Pennsylvania and farther south, it 
seems to be quite at home, and flourishes finely. 
Of late years the forms with variegated leaves 
have become very popular in Europe, and the 
catalogues give over twenty named varieties. 
Some of these are of great beauty, especially 
those that have well-defined margins of yellow 
or clear white, in marked contrast with the 
deep green of the rest of the leaf. Some of the 
finest varieties do not succeed well in the open 
air, even in the more genial climate of England, 
and with us we shall probably find that we must 
grow even the most robust of them indoors. 
There is a great difference in these variegated 
sorts. Variegation, at any rate, may be looked 
upon as a sort of disease, and the more “ pale 
and interesting” the specimen the more pet¬ 
ting it will require. But there are some that, 
while retaining their pleasing markings, have 
a vigor of growth that well adapts them for 
house" culture. Mr. George Such, of South Am¬ 
boy, N. J., an enthusiastic florist, always on the 
look-out for novelties, has tried a great many of 
the variegated Ivies, and out of the whole lias 
found two forms that he considers worth prop¬ 
agating. One of these seemed to us so beauti¬ 
ful that we had an engraving made of it, and 
our artist has given the best representation that 
is possible with black and white. The leaves 
are finely mottled with yellowdsh-green and pure 
yellow, and have none of the sickly look so 
common in variegated plants. The specimen 
had apparently all the vigorous growth of com¬ 
mon Ivy, and like that, put out an abundance of 
aerial roots along the stem, enabling it to be 
propagated with the greatest ease. The varie¬ 
gated Ivies should be grown in rather poor soil, 
as they are liable to revert to their green state 
if fed on too rich food. If any branch shows 
markings better defined or different from the 
rest of the plant, it should be propagated. 
Violets and Primroses. —A lady who was an 
invalid last winter wrote to us of the pleasure she 
derived, during her long imprisonment in the 
house, from sundry pots of Violets and Chinese 
Primroses. We intended to earlier call atten¬ 
tion to the value of these as window plants, 
but they may now be had already potted of 
