The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-12-25
A STUDY OF THE
KISSING BERRY.
The Mistletoe Has Been Regarded
With VeneratiOn for Ages and
Generations Gone Have Kissed
Under its BOughs.

OH the nistIetoe bought How many
are the legends and fables that cluster
round it. How often have we heard or
the Druids and their ancient cereno-
MES, and how little 90 We Ie1aeulDeA
of the detailsl
some parts of the ceremonies are
perhaps best left undescribed, but the
following account, as given by Plny,
is sufficiently minute and not unlnter-
esting:
The Druids held nothing more sa-
cred than the mistletoe and the tree
that bears it. SuppOSing always thaL
tree to be the robur," according to
him. The mistletoe, however, is but
rarely found upon the rObur, and When
found is gathered with rites TepIete
with religious awe Il 9
made all due preparation for the sac
rifice and banquet beneath the trees
they bring hither two white bulls, the
horns of which are bound then for the
first time clad in a white rope, the
priest ascends the tree and cuts the
mfstIetOe with d golden sickle, Wnlch
is received by others IN Whlte clodh-
TTbev then immediate the victims, offer
ing up their prayers that God will rem
der this gift of his prOp1uOuS 70 tnOSe
10 whom He has so granted II
It was also supposed to De the EN-
bOdiment of lightning, probably De
cause the branches are fOrked. ana was
frequently in times far later than those
of the Druids. planted near hoIneSteaus
10 protect them from fire. So precious
indeed sacred, were the oak ana the
mistIetoe considered to be, that DIRE
full calamities are described by several
writer's as overtaking those who recK-
lessly destroyed them No.
Then. again, another authority, "Au-
brey's Natural History and Antlgul ne
of Surrey" informs US that 10 Cul
lakewood is unfortunate There was AT
Norwood one oak that had mlstletoe,
a timber tree, which was felled about
1857. Some persons cut this mlsIletoe
for some apothecaries in London; and
sold them quantity for ten snllllhgS
each time, and left only one branch re
naming for more to Sprout out one
fell lame shortly after; soon after each
of the others lost an eye, ana ne thal
felled the tree, though warned OF these
misfortunes of the other men, Would
Notwithstanding. adventure 10 90 H.
and shortly afterward broke his leg; as
If the Hamadryads had resolved to take
an ample revenge for the injury done
TO their venerable and sacred oak.
This is a depression Let US on TO
the woods again, and study our mistle-
toe We find that there are different
varieties of it; some pendent, some
erect in habit; some with narrow, 9th
ers with wider leaves. An instance has
been known of two varieties, one up
right, the other dropping in habit, be-
ing found on the same part OF the same
branch, and the effect was most pc
culiaT.
There is a tragic legend about our
plant. a Teutonic myth which tells how
Bladder, demi-gOd, was almost per
feet, in learning and all virtues, being
indeed so pure that no unclean thing
was allowed to come into his presence.
His mother, Freya, hearing that it was
prOphesied that he should die, made all
things on earth, such as fire, water,
beasts, metals, trees and sickness, VOW
that they would not 1nJure her son.
Becoming thus apparently invulnerable,
he was the object of envy with all his
contemporaries. one of whom, the
wicked LOte, grudging him his exemp-
ton, ascertained by subtety that no
vow had been taken from the mistle-
toe, since that plant grew on other
trees and not upon the earth and was,
moreover, too slender and young to
take an oath. Therefore the wicked
Lote aimed at Balder a dart made of
mistletOe wood and slew him, to the
great grief of Freya, who in her de-
spair requested his delivery from FIa-
des- Her petition was granted on con-
dition that everything on earth would
assent TO it Everything on earth did
assent, with the exception of one old
woman, who was supposed to have been
LOte in disguise"
From Balder to PIiny seems a start
ling transition, but the latter author
has something to tell US about our plant
so decidedly tinged with fable that his
seems the proper place to recount it
rms writer has been dlSCOurSing about
the bOX-tree, and declares that "on the
north side it produces mistletOe: on the
south hyphear-" Hyphear, be it under
stood. is to be considered as a some
what similar parasite.
As regards the mistletoe, Plfnv has
some yet more astonishing statements
to make. In the course of his obsarI-a :
tions upon it he remarks that 1tb9+
which grows upon trees which lose their
leaves, loses its leaves as wen. vbiIs
on the other hand, that which grows
upon eVergreenS always retains SC
leaves. In whatever way the seed r,,s-1
have been sown. it will never come -
anything unless it has been first svval
lowed by birds, the wood pigeon more
particularly, and the thrush: such heinz
the nature of the plant that it will NOT
come TO anythlng unless the seed is
nrst ripened IN the crop of the bird -
The latter notion. that birds are of+a,
the means of dispensing and DroDa OF
ing the seed, is no doubt c0rTect
enough but, Of course. their interyev
ton is by no means absoI1IteII1 j,,,Sj-
pensable, as anyone whose garden 80
tains an apple tree can prove for him
self. ---4
It seems rather hard on these "sma1s
foEvles" to read the next instant tFst
these same berries on which fbeT- 80
are a most Mt matter to make lime
OF TO entrap and catch birds vfthaII -
Pliny believed in the medicinal viz
tues of the fruits. which he said -,
an antidOte against all poison. x.-t7i1o
Gerarde, though mentioning the Gle,
nous character OF the preparation ar75s
that 1T hath been most credfl71ie =.
ported unto me, that fewe of the 1,s-
ries of AiisseltOe bruised and Strained
into ole and drunken, hath presentII-
and forthwith rid grievous and sore
stitch" 9S-
Famous in fable projected by Hama
dryads. esteemed by Outrageous used
as a decOratiOn-the mistIetoe boupb
IS not 50 unimpOrtant as it might seem
at a hasty glance. Its history stretches
far, far back, and is lost in obscuritv
It is strange, quaint plant, and as we
handle it to-day. hanging it I'D per
chance in a similar manner but with
far other significance to that with
which our remote ancestors handled it.
we do not wonder that curious legends
should have gathered around it.