Misletoe.
Viscus.
A singular plant, native of our own country but growing, not on the earth as other herbs, but upon the branches of trees; on which it makes a very conspicuous figure. It grows two feet high, and its branches are so numerous, and spread in such a manner, that the whole plant is as broad as tall, and appears a round yellow tuft of that diameter, quite unlike to the tree on which it grows, in fruit, leaves and bark. The main stem is half an inch in diameter; the branches divide always by twos and they easily break at the joints or divisions. The bark is throughout of a yellowish colour, though with some mixture of green on the young shootsM the leaves are also yellowish; they grow two at each joint: they are fleshy, oblong, narrowest at the bottom, and broader toward the top. The flowers are yellow, but they are small and inconsiderable; the fruit is a white berry, round, and of the bigness of a pea, this is full of a tough, clammy juice.
The leaves of misletoe dried and powdered are a famous remedy for the falling sickness. They are good in all nervous disorders, and have been known to perform great cures taken for a continuance of time.
