THE MISTLETOE. 
WILLIAM K. HIGLEY. 
FROM very early times plants, 
animals, and even minerals 
have played an important part 
in the expression of religious 
ideas and in the execution of religious 
rites. Among the plants, sacred, and 
closely allied to the mystic life of a 
portion of the human race, there is 
none more interesting and rich in leg- 
end than the mistletoe. This was as- 
sociated with religious observances be- 
fore the time of Christ and was men- 
tioned by our earliest historians. 
There are over seventy species of 
this peculiar plant. Both the American 
variety (Phoradendron flavescens) and 
the European, or true mistletoe ( Vis- 
cum album), belong to a family of par- 
asites, so called because they derive 
their nourishment entirely or in part 
from some other plant instead of taking 
it directly from the soil. Owing to the 
presence of the green coloring matter 
{Chlorophyll), in the stems and leaves, 
the mistletoe is not entirely parasitic, 
but is to a certain extent self-support- 
ing, drawing but a portion of its nour- 
ishment from the tree on which it 
grows. 
It is found both on deciduous and on 
evergreen trees. In some locations in 
Europe it is especially abundant on the 
apple tree and, if in the right climate, 
there are few tree species which are 
exempt from serving as its host. 
The mistletoe is an evergreen shrubby 
plant of slow growth, attaininga length 
of about four feet and its duration of 
life is practically that of the tree on 
which it grows. The leathery leaves 
and rugged stems are yellowish green 
in color and, in the axils of the leaves, 
are the small and insignificant flowers, 
which ripen about Christmas-tide into 
pearly white translucent berries. The 
seeds are probably distributed through 
the agency of fruit-eating birds which, 
after eating, wipe their beaks on the 
trunks and limbs of trees, leaving the 
seeds snugly planted in the crevices of 
the bark. 
In Scandinavian mythology we find 
the mistletoe used to cause the death 
of one of the favorite gods of the 
Norsemen, Baldur, the god typifying 
the beautiful, the good, and the wise. 
In this myth other friendly gods, fear- 
ing Baldur's death, with his mother, 
exacted an oath from animals, plants 
and minerals that they would not in- 
jure him. Unfortunately, however, the 
mistletoe was forgotten and Loki, the 
god of evil, knowing this fact and jeal- 
ous of Baldur's beauty, gathered a 
branch, andtakingit to Hodur.theblind 
god of brute strength, directed him 
howtoaim it. Baldur was piercedby the 
mistletoe and fell to the ground, dead. 
But it was in "Merrie England" that 
the mistletoe was held most sacred, 
most revered. The Druids, the early 
priests of the Gauls and Britons, were 
accustomed to retreat to the oak 
groves for their mystic rites. The 
mistletoe was not often found upon the 
oak, but when discovered, was the oc- 
casion of special rejoicing and peculiar 
ceremonies, being cut with a golden 
hook, and white bulls were sacrificed 
under the favored tree. We are told 
by some authorities that as the oak 
was the symbol of God, the All-power- 
ful, so the mistletoe became the sym- 
bol of man, receiving his life and sus- 
tenance from God. There are other 
interesting myths; and, in fact, the 
mistletoe is closely woven with many 
beliefs and rites of the Druids. 
At Christmas-tide the mistletoe is 
largely used for decorative purposes, 
especially in England, where the cus- 
tom is ancient, and also in our own 
land, where each holiday season finds 
more and more of this unique plant 
gracing chandelier and window, until 
we, too, may some day find our maids 
all kissed — 
"Under the mistletoe bough." 
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