Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-01-14
Miss1etoe.
From the Pan Mall Gazette.

with the Druids, and its practical use in mod
ern Christmas festivities. the mistietoe Is I'M
doubtedly very curious and interesting plant
1t is naturally uneanny- looking thing; and no
doubt, the uBeanniness of its appearance and
mode of growth has had much to do with the
place 1t fills in pc ular superstitions and folk
! lore. The bongh ''g,aod non SUI seminal arbos'
Is almost the only good example of a vegetable
parasite to be found in any northern climate; So
! that it has reasonably enough attracted great
, deal OF attention from all northern peoples in
every age. Even when detached from the trunk
OF Its host. mistietoe-bough is a curious Oh
lect. with its fiat opposite pairs of succnlent
leaves, its jointed green branches, its suspicious
looking glaucous color, and its terminal twigs
abruptly ending in an unfinished Knob.
scientifically speaking, the mistietoe has az
fOrded al open battlefield for inanrnerab,e sys-
tematists. The question whether four little
leaflets in the flower were to he called petals or
caiyx-peces-n itself about as important as the
question who was Hecuba's OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
often cruelty divided the botanical world. We
now know that the mistletoe is really exactly
what each OF the cOntending parties contradict
Oriy asserted it to be. Like most other para
site plants the miStletoe derives it's origin from
family of climbers. Ii is closely connected
with those four-petalEed flowers like the cornell,
dOgwOod guelder-rose and elder. which com
pose perfect network of connecting links be-
tween many very distinct groups Of plants
These types. in fact. form a central station as 10
were, from which diverging branches run out
in every direction. Several Of the liaeS started
from this interlacing center have taken 70 climb
ing habits; among them are ivy on the one hand
and hOneysuckle on the other fboth of which
have berries much like those of mistietoel to-
gether with the little cnging ceavers and bed
straw OF our hedgerows. which are somewhat
more remotely connected with the original an
cestor. But certain allied races like the san
dalwOod family, are parasitic on the roots of
other plants. The ancestor Of the mistletOe
which was clearly intermediate between those
Two types-whence the dispute as to its proper
place III the old linear arrangement-musth have
more or less combined both habits. 1t must
have been at once a creeper and parasite. In
this way it could ascend the trunks of trees and
then fasten itself on to the soft tissues OF the
bark, at first no doubt by means of suckers.
The mstetoe has become. in the ordinary but
very incorrect language of bonatists a perfect
parasite. The means by which il has accom-
pshed this change may still be Observed in the
existing berry.
Looking closely at the top of the little white
fruit one can see four email blacklist marks. which
are the scars left behind by the four calyx- pieces
In falling eff. These scars show the place of the
plant beside such other bushes as the GO gwood
and the waytarng tree. Now, if the berry scUt
open. the inner pulp appears as an extremely
Vscid mass of slme-indeed. the very word
vlscid" is but the adjective Of Ciscunt: and from
this pulp birdiime is manufactured. Embedded
in the slime is single hard seed The use of
such an arrangement to the mistletoe is easy
enough to understand. Birds eat the berries,
and thus carry the seeds from tree to tree. Some
times. no doubt, the fruit simply clngs by its
own sticky substance to their feet or feathers.
and gets rubbed Off when they aight on another
Dough; but in other cases it is probably Swal-
lowed. and the seed then passes undigested
through their bodies In either event the plant
obtains its desired result, the placing Of its off
spring securely in proper position for germina-
ting and fastening on the tissues of it's host. For
such purpose the glutinous pulp is obviously
wen adapted. Most parasites. animal or veget-
ole, nave to produce enormous numbers of eggs
or seeds, which are simply turned l0oss any
where on the chance that one or two among
them may happen to light upon it's proper prey.
But the possession Of fruit in the shape of an
edible berry, provided with natural gum to fasten
the seed on the branches of trees saves the mis-
tletoe from any such desperate shifts as these.
So successful has it been, indeed, in getting its
young we'll started in life that like many other
0erry-bearers which trust TO birds for dispersion
it has actually been enabled to dispense with
some Of its primitive qnotum Of seeds.
lcc-'saksHg in India.
Let me now aliude TO an industry peculiar 70
the cold weather, which, except in small sta
tons distant from the rail- is fast dying out, and
that is the manufacture Of ice. When came
out in 1853. Calcutta. Madras and Bombay we're
wholly dependent on American ice. supplied by
the Tudor Ice company. and retaiied at two annas
the ser; that is. two pounds OF ice brought from
America were sold in India for Sd The mo
fatSSd CUP country was entirely dependent on
artificial ice. which could only be made where
the cold weather really felt; in all other
parts we were obliged to cool our drinks with
satpetre and sai-aTnmOniac or. during the hot
winds. by placing the bottles before the khus-
khus tattIeS. or swinging them in q basket COW
cred with wet straw. BY these appliances We
could cool our drinks down to o. deg. Fahren-
heit; or by carrying on the cooling with fresh
supplies OF salts. we could even freeze water
But the process was tedious and expensive
Science came to our aid; and sulriiurc ether aad
ammoniac machines came gradually into vogue
and latterty Cares wonderful pneumatic ma
Chine which | have seen produce ice i'm two
minutes in Temperature OF 50 deg. With these
great appliances. block-ice is now available in
districts where it could not formerly be had at
from a to annas per ser. To return to the
Old process-it depended entirely on the pro-
ductIOn of cold by evaporation, as also suffi-
cient cold weather ana the presence of the drv
west wind; the east wind being absolutely fatal
TO the production OF ice. The essentials for the
process are: l. Exposed and treeess ice fields
which are rarttioned Off into four to five feet
squares, in which two to three inches of straw
are laid down. 2. Myriads of flat, porous
earthen sauccrS six to eight inches in diameter
3. An unlimited supply Of water. 4. An army
of coolies and water. carriers. 5. The ice pit
This. the most important adjunct in the process
is very carefully constructed great pit is dug
and in it rests huge timber cone. the space
between it and the sides Of the pit being ram
med with charcoal, chat, or straw as nOn-cOn-
ductors of heat; the cone itself is lined thckly
with coarse felt or blankets and then layer of
mating; over all a straw hut, with very thick
roofs and walls and very small entrance, is
constructed. Now for the process. Whenever
the outside thermomet r reads AZ deg, then Ice
can be manufactured by evaporation Half an
inch of water is poured. over night. into the
saucers by bheesties. (watcr-carriers;) then. at
a. M, great drum is beaten at the pit to
summon the coolies, who assemble in hundreds,
each armed with scoop. with which the ice is
skllfully turned out Of the saucer into an at
tendant vessel. and well "a, 1med into it. When
full it is taken to the pit. cmptied there. and
again rammed down. Thus all the ice has a
chance OF consolidating by regulation; ai.A in a
good season thousands of pounds weight of ice
may be stored. according to pit-room available
Chambers Journal.
HOW CheapIy One Can Live.
From the American Miller.
Rread after all ic tho OH onoet 5;o& n,o ,.,