Folklore of Adams County

Folklore from Adams County Illinois (3rd Edition, 2002, from 1935 and 1965 Editions)

By Harry Middleton Hyatt [Ed. by John Schleppenbach]

Table of Contents CLIMATE (1-948) WEATHER SIGNS (1-889) Sun - Moon - Star - Colored Sky - Rainbow (1-122) Clouds - Lightning - Thunder - Storm (123-185) Wind - Whirlwind - Rain - Snow (186-293) Freeze - Frost - Thaw - Mist - Fog - Dew (294-329) Bubbles - Water Level - Spring - Well - River (330-336) Weather on Special Days and during Various Seasons (337-372) Blackberry - Cocklebur - Clover - Corn (373-392) Dandelion - Flower - Grass - Milkweed (393-400) Mushroom - Onion - Purslane - Raspberry (401-410) Tree: Bloom - Foliage - Bark - Moss - Gall (411-428) Nuts: Acorn - Beechnut - Hazelnut - Hickorynut - Walnut (429-433) Weed - Vegetable - Violet - Wheat (434-438) Insect - Ant - Bee - Butterfly - Caterpillar (439-469) Cricket - Fly - Gnat - Hornet - June Bug (470-481) Lightning Bug - Locust (Cicada) - Snail - Spider (482-499) Tumblebug - Wasp - Woodtick - Worm (500-509) Crawfish - Eel - Fish - Turtle - Frog - Toad - Snake (510-548) Bird - Blackbird - Bluebird - Blue Jay - Buzzard (549-572) Crow - Dove - Wild Duck and Goose - Hawk (573-586) Meadow Lark - Owl - Parrot - Phoebe - Quail (587-605) Redbird (Cardinal) - Robin - Snipe - Snowbird (Junko) (606-619) Sparrow - Swallow - Thrush - Whippoorwill (620-629) Chicken - Crowing Rooster - Duck - Goose (630-679) Guinea - Peacock - Pigeon - Turkey (680-692) Bat - Bear - Beaver - Cat - Cow - Dog (693-752) Ground Hog (Woodchuck) - Hog - Horse and Mule (753-777) Mouse - Mole - Muskrat - Rabbit - Raccoon and Opossum (778-794) Sheep - Skunk (Polecat) - Squirrel - Weasel (795-807) Human: Bone - Ear - Feet - Hair - Head - Nose - Stomach (808-821) Chimney - Door - Floor - Gate - Window (822-829) Carpet - Camphor Bottle - Chair - Clothesline (830-833) Glassware - Lamp or Lantern - Kettle - Tobacco - Pipe (834-837) Iron Objects - Washcloth or Sponge - Waterpipe (838-840) Fire - Smoke - Soot (841-852) Food - Cooking - Eating - Drinking (853-866) Burning Brush - Shutting and Opening Gate (867-868) Flying Kite - Moving Day - Picnic - Preventing Rain (869-873) Singing in Bath - Stopping Swing - Telephone - Umbrella (874-878) Kicking up Rug - Shoes Squeaking - Person Falling (879-881) Women on Street - Baby Carriage - Washing and Cleaning (882-887) Fireworks - ammunition - Battle during War (888-889) PROTECTION AGAINST LIGHTNING (890-907) INFLUENCE OF WEATHER ON CROPS (908-948) PLANTS (949-1329) FARM AND GARDEN RULES (949-966) CLOVER - GRASS - WEEDS (967-1011) FLOWERS (1012-1082) VEGETABLES (1083-1208) Time of Day for Planting (1083-1093) Planting by the Zodiac (1094-1125) Planting in the Moon (1126-1135) Planting according to Wind (1136) Planting at Blossom-Time (1137-1139) Special Planting Days (1140-1168) Sex and Planting (1169-1170) Temper and Planter (1171-1173) Planting Rhymes (1174-1177) Planting Incantations (1178-1186) Miscellaneous Beliefs (1187-1208) CORN -OATS -WHEAT (1209-1249)

TREES -SHRUBBERY - VINES (1250-1329) ANIMALS (1330-2582) SMALL FORMS OF AIR AND LAND LIFE (1330-1529) Insect - Ant -Bedbug - Bee - Butterfly (1330-1379) Caterpillar - Centipede - Cricket - Doodle Bug (1380-1404) Dragon fly - Flea - Fly - Grasshopper - Katydid (1405-1424) Lady Bug - Lightning Bug (Firefly) - Locust (1425-1435) Lice - Moth - Snail - Spider (1436-1522) Tumblebug - Wasp - Worm (1523-1529) AQUATIC ANIMAL LIFE (1530-1543) Sea Shell - Oyster - Crayfish (1530-1536) Fish - Gold fish - Minnow - Perch (1537-1543) FROG - TOAD - LIZARD - SNAKE - TURTLE (1544-1617) BIRDS (1618-1771) Birds - Blackbird - Bluebird - Blue Jay - Canary (1618-1660) Cedar Waxwing - Crow - Dove - Eagle - Hawk (1661-1687) Kingfisher - Martin - Owl - Parrot - Phoebe (1688-1723) Quail - Redbird - Robin - Sparrow - Swallow (1724-1758) Turkey Buzzard - Whippoorwill - Woodpecker - Wren (1759-1771) CHICKEN -HEN -EGGS -ROOSTER (1772-1975) DUCK - GOOSE - GUINEA - PEACOCK - PIGEON - TURKEY (1976-2001) WILD ANIMALS (2002-2061) Bat - Guinea Pig - Mice - Rabbit - Raccoon (2002-2044) Rat -Skunk - Squirrel - Flying Squirrel (2045-2061) CATS (2062-2219) DOGS (2220-2319) FARM STOCK IN GENERAL (2320-2339) STOCK BREEDING (2340-2354) SHEEP (2355-2360) HOGS (2361-2399) COWS (2400-2478) HORSES AND MULES (2479-2582) BIRTH AND INFANCY (2583-3533) WHO WILL HAVE A BABY (2583-2623) NUMBER OF CHILDREN YOU WILL HAVE (2624-2639) TWINS AND TRIPLETS (2640-2660) DETERMINANTS OF SEX (2661-2720) BIRTHMARK (2721-2886) Cause of Birthmark (2721-2837) Prevention of Birthmarks (2838-2849) Removal of Birthmarks (2850-2886) CONTRACEPTIVES -ABORTION -MISCARRIAGE (2887-2913) GESTATION (2914-2951) Labor Pains - Afterbirth - Caul - Naval Cord (2952-3037) Premature Birth - Stillborn (3038 - 3040) Posthumous Child - Seventh Son (3041-3050) DIRECTIONS FOR CONFINEMENT (3051-3067) TIME OF BIRTH (3068-3107) PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BABIES (3108-3137) CARE OF INFANT (3138-3352) Layette - Cradle - Moving Baby about House (3138-3210) Baby Taken on Visit - Visit to Baby (3211-3244) To Give Baby Curly Hair - Haircut for Baby (3245-3261) Baby’s Nails Trimmed - Measuring Baby (3262-3271) Baby tickled - Picture of Baby (3272-3278) Baby and Mirror - Disposition of Baby (3279-3305) Baby’s Health - Slobbering Baby (3306-3332) Baby Falling out of Bed (3333-3336) Learning to Walk and Talk (3337-3352) DENTITION (3353-3419) First Appearance and Number of Teeth (3353-3360) Teething Remedies (3361-3419) LACTATION (3420-3484) Caked Breasts - Weaning - To Dry up Breasts (3420-3484) BAPTISM -NAMING -SPONSORS OR GODPARENTS (3485-3510) DETERMINATION AND DIVINATION OF CHILD'S FUTURE (3511-3533) THE HUMAN BODY (3534-4523)

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS (3534-3549) HEAD-FOREHEAD-CHEEK- CHIN-FACE-NECK (3550-3583) HAIR (3584-3814) Quantity of Hair - White or Grey Hair (3584-3606) Light and Dark Hair - Red Hair - Curly Hair (3607-3640) Cowlick - Crown - Beard and Mustache - Washing Hair (3641-3671) Cutting Hair - Combing Hair - Disposal of Hair (3672-3791) MOUTH - LIPS - TONGUE (3792-3814) TEETH (3815-3858) LAUGHING - CRYING - YAWNING - WHISTLING - SPITTING (3859-3900) SINGING (3901-3927) SPEAKING (3928-3980) EARS (3981-4014) EYES - CROSS-EYES (4015-4069) NOSE - SNEEZING (4070-4179) BACK - BELLY - BUTTOCKS SHOULDER - ARM - ELBOW (4180-4203) HANDS - FINGERS (4204-4285) FINGER-NAILS AND TOE-NAILS (4286-4374) LEGS -KNEES -ANKLES -FEET (4375-4415) MOLES ON THE BODY (4416-4477) BEAUTY (4478-4523) FOLK MEDICINE (4524-7213) SICKNESS AND HEALTH (4524-4638) General Remedies (4524-4582) Sickbed (4583-4635) Healer (4636-4638) AMPUTATIONS AND SURGICAL OPERATIONS (4639-4649) APPENDICITIS (4650-4654) AURAL AFFLICTIONS (4655-4686) Earache (4655-4678) Hearing and Deafness (4679-4686) BACKACHE AND LUMBAGO (4687-4698) BITES AND STINGS Dog Bit - Insect Bite or Sting - Snake Bite (4699-4744) BLEEDING Cuts - Nosebleed (4745-4831) BOWEL TROUBLE (4832-4846) BURNS (4847-4860) CHILLS (4861-4897) FEBRILE DISEASES (4898-4967) Fever - Malaria - Measles (4898-4949) Scarlet Fever - Smallpox - Typhoid Fever (4950-4967) FEMALE DISORDERS (4968-4992) FOOT AND HAND AILMENTS (4993-5177) Ingrowing Toe-Nail - Sweaty Feet - Frostbitten (4993-5019) Sore Feet - Foot or Hand Cramp or Pain - Corns (5020-5144) Swelling - Gout - Splinter - Nail Wound - Sprain (5145-5177) GOITRE (5178-5232) HEADACHE (5233-5300) MUMPS (5301-5310) MUSCULAR COMPLAINTS Crick - Hiccough - Sideache - Swimming Cramps (5311-5365) NERVE MALADIES (5366-5402) Hysteria - Nervousness (5366-5368) Neuralgia - Neuritis - Shingles (5369-5402) OCULAR MATTERS (5403-5510) Bi-Colored Eyes - Blindness - Cataract and Growth (5403-5411) Cross-Eyes - Pink Eye - Particle in Eye (5412-5421) Sore or Weak Eyes - Sty - Sun Pains (5422-5510) PAROXYSM Colic - Epilepsy - Spasm - Piles (5511-5603) PULMONARY AFFECTIONS Lung Trouble - Pneumonia - Tuberculosis (5604-5639) RESPIRATORY DISTURBANCES Asthma - Catarrh - Hay Fever (5640-5676) RHEUMATISM (5677-5804) SKIN COMPLICATIONS (5805-5904) Blister - Chafing - Chapping - Eczema - Erysipelas (5805-5827) Freckles - Hives - Itch - Pimple - Poison Ivy (5828-5890)

Rash - Scrofula - Tetter - Thrush (5891-5904) SLEEP DIFFICULTIES (5905-6004) Insomnia - Snoring - Sleep-Talking (5905-5948) Sleep-Walking - Night Sweat - Nightmare (5949-6004) SORE AND BEDSORE (6005-6039) STOMACH DISORDERS (6040-6071) THROAT INFIRMITIES (6072-6219) Cold - Cough - Croup - Diphtheria (6072-6147) Sore throat - Tonsilitis - Whooping Cough (6148-6219) TOOTHACHE (6220-6261) TUMOR - CANCER - BOIL (6262-6293) URINARY PROBLEMS Bed Wetting - Kidney Trouble (6294-6325) WART ORIGINS (6326-6335) WART DOCTOR (6336-6340) WART CURES (6341-7051) Apple - Bacon - Baking Soda - Bean - Beef (6341-6452) Bone - Bread - Broomstraw - Button (6453-6476) Castor Oil - Chalk - Chicken - Cloth or Rag (6477-6508) Corn - Counting - Crossroad - Dandelion (6509-6574) Dead: (6575-6610) Cemetery - Grave - Tombstone - Coffin - Corpse - Funeral Bell - Candle - Procession Dish Rag - Dog - Dress - Elder - Hair - Horse (6611-6675) Match - Meat - Milkweed - Moon - Nail (6676-6718) Needle - Onion - Osage Orange - Paper (6719-6764) Pea - Peach - Pebble - Penny - Pin - Pork (6765-6821) Potato - Raisin - Ring - Rock - Saliva (6822-6891) Salt - Shoe - Soap - Snow - Spoon - Stick (6892-6906) Straw - String and Thread and Yarn - Teeth (6907-6975) Tomato - Tree - Turtle - Water - Wishing (6976-7000) Miscellaneous Wart Cures – One Each (7001-7051) Beet - Menstrual Blood - Breath (7001-7003) Burning - Cow Manure - Cross sign (7004-7006) Dew - Dime - Dishwater - Elm - Fingernail (7007-7011) Fly-Flea-Flue - May Flowers - Friday - Frog (7012-7015) Grapevine - Hazel - Hickory - New House (7016-7019) Jimson Weed - Lamp Wick - Lemon - Lime (7020-7023) Liver - Negro - Nickel (Coin) - Nightshade (7024-7027) Pencil - Pin - Peroxide - Pine Board (7028-7030) Potato Bug - Rice - Rubber Band - Sand (7031-7034) Sassafras - Scissors - Silver - Snail Shell (7035-7038) Soot - Sow Urine - Spider Web - Splinter (7039-7042) Suet - Sword - Silver Thimble - Toad Urine (7043-7046) Toenail Parings - Toothpick - wild turnip (7047-7049) Own Urine - Green Walnut (7050-7051) WHITLOW: FELON - RING-AROUND - RUN-AROUND (7052-7066) WORMS AND RINGWORM (7067-7095) YELLOW JAUNDICE AND GALLSTONES (7096-7114) MISCELLANEOUS CURES (7115-7213) Dead Bone - Diabetes - Dropsy - Drunkenness (7115-7126) “Fallen Palate” - “Falling-Off” or “Flesh-Decay” (7127-7132) Heart Trouble - Insanity - “Livergrown” (7133-7155) Kernel - Wen - Mole (7156-7167) Pain - Paralysis - Peritonitis - Poison (7168-7179) Rupture - Seasickness - Trainsickness - Stuttering (7180-7196) Sunstroke - Swallowing - Venereal Disease - Vomiting (7197-7213) DREAMS (7214-8376) DREAMS MADE TRUE (7214-7239) INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS (7278-8376) Sky - Water - Land (7278-7398) Flowers - Provender - Vegetables - Fruit - Trees (7399-7481) Insects - Worms (7482-7517) Fish - Frog - Toad - Turtle - Snake (7518-7561) Bird - chicken - Duck - Goose - Pigeon - Turkey (7562-7626) Eggs - Feathers (7627-7650) Animals - Ape - Bear - Cat - Cow - Dog (7651-7694) Donkey - Elephant - Goat - Hog - Horse (7695-7733) Lion - Mice - Mule - Rabbit - Rat - Sheep (7734-7749)

Birth - Baby - Children (7750- 7771) Man - Woman - Negro - Family - Blood (7772-7821) Eyes - Face - Feet - Hair - Skin - Teeth (7822-7854) Sickness and Health (7855-7885) Anger - Fight - Quarrel - Friend (7886-7900) Crying - Laughing - Singing - Kissing (7901-7921) Naked - Clothes - Personal Ornaments (7922-7977) Wedding - House - Household Equipment (7978-8054) Fire-Stove - Smoke - Ashes - Matches (8055-8076) Food and Drink (8077-8121) Waving - Climbing - Crawling - Falling - Flying (8122-8138) Riding - Running - Traveling - Walking (8139-8149) Vehicle - Road - Lost - Crowd - Meeting (8150-8173) Letter - Mailman - Telegram - Money (8174-8215) Thief - Policeman - Prison (8216-8225) Pastimes (8226-8248) Religious Matters (8249-8269) The Dead - Coffin - Grave - Cemetery (8270-8343) Murder - Hanging - Headless (8344-8349) Miscellaneous Dreams (8350-8376) WISHES (8377-8798 194 GENERAL PRINCIPLES (8377-8387) WHEN A WISH MAY BE MADE (8388-8798) Sun - Moon - Star (8388-8432) Thunder - Lightning - Rain - Rainbow (8433-8437) Water - Bridge - Reflection in Water (8438-8450) Plant Life (8456-8506) Double Almond - Apple - Beans or Peas (8456-8462) Boy Britches - Clover - Corn - Dandelion (8463-8484) Flower - Fruit - Hay - Lettuce - Lilac (8485-8498) Love Vine - Maple - Onion - Peach (8499-8502) Persimmon - Potato - Vegetable - Wheat (8503-8506) Insects: Butterfly - Lightning Bug - Spider (8507-8512) Frog (8513) Birds: (8514-8541 Bluebird - Buzzard - Owl - Redbird - Robin - Dove - Whippoorwill - Woodpecker Chicken: (8542-8559) Gizzard - Heart - Egg - Wishbone Cat - Dog - Horse - Mule (8560-8594) Mouse - Rabbit - Squirrel (8595-8599) Human Body (8600-8798) Hunchback - Ear - Eyelash - Face (8600-8606) Head - Hair - Combing - Red-Headed Woman (8607-8619) Hand and Fingernail (8620-8624)200 Blister - Bruise - Bump (8625-8626) Wooden Leg - Toe - Tooth - Sneeze (8627-8637) Simultaneous Speech (8638-8644) Clothes (8645-8693) Dress: Turned Up - Backward - Wrong Side Out (8645-8654) Hat - Shoe - Shoestring - Stocking - Garter (8655-8666) Pin - Hairpin - Ring (8667-8693) Household Matters (8694-8741) Going to Bed and Getting up (8694-8706) Sweeping - Broom - Mop (8707-8711) Eating - Birthday Cake - Pie - Coffee - Tea (8712-8720) Dish Rag - Towel - Knife - Fork - Spoon (8721-8729) Saw - Scissors - Thimble - Salt - Pepper (8730-8736) Coal - Match - String - Lamp - Letter (8737-8741) Automobile - Baseball - Button - Your double (8742-8748) New Friend - Three Hour Service - Hill Climbing (8749-8753) Horseshoe - Strange or New House - Forgetting (8754-8774) Key - Lucky Strike - Nail - Negro Wedding (8775-8783) Penny - Dime - Machinery - Schoolhouse - Sidewalk (8784-8791) Park Bench - Freight Train - Wagon - Woman or Man (8792-8798) LOVE BELIEFS AND RITES (8799-9894) FROM SKY AND WATER AND LAND (8799-8912) Moon and Stars (8799-8829) Water in: Glass - Pan - Cup - Tub (8830-8853)

Molten Lead in Water (8854-8857) Drinking Water: Swallowing - Spilling - Throwing (8858-8866) Well - Spring - Running Water (8867-8895) Ground - Pebbles - Sand (8896-8912) LOVE SAYINGS AND PLANTS (8913-9080) Clover (8913-8943) Weeds Mostly (8944-8963) Cattail - Dandelion - Mayapple - Milkweed (8944-8952) Mistletoe - Holly - Plantain - Mullein - Thistle (8953-8963) Flowers (8964-8984) Bouquet - Daisy - Hollyhock - Ivy (8964-8972) Live-For-Ever and Love Vine (8973-8977) Old-Man-Plant - Rose - Sunflower - Zinnia (8978-8984) Vegetables: Beans - Cucumber - Cabbage - Onion (8985-8990) Peas - Potato - Sage - Turnip (8991-9004) Grain - Hay - Straw: Corn - Rye - Wheat (9005-9020) Berries: Gooseberry - Colored Berry - Twin Berry (9021-9024) Nuts: (9025-9034) Acorn - Buckeye - Beechnut - Chestnut (9025-9029) Coconut - Hazelnut - Nutmeg - Walnut (9030-9034) Apple - Lemon - Trees (9035-9080) ANIMALS AND LOVE BELIEFS (9081-9216) Insects: (9081-9094) Butterfly - Measuring Worm (Caterpillar) (9081-9084) June Bug - Lightning Bug - Mosquito (9085-9087) Spider - Tumble Bu - Wasp (9088-9094) Snail - fish - Frog - Toad - Snake (9095-9102) Birds: (9103-9143) Canary - Dove - Hawk - Humming Bird (9103-9119) Owl - Redbird - Robin - Turkey Buzzard (9120-9139) Whippoorwill - Unspecified Birds (9140-9143) Poultry: Chicken - Goose - Peacock - Pigeon - Turkey (9144-9174) Rabbit - Cat - Dog - Cow - Horse - Mule (9175-9216) HUMAN BODY AND LOVE-LORE (9217-9333) Head - Hair - Eye - Ear - Nose (9217-9247) Nosebleed - Sneezing - Cheeks - Teeth (9248-9259) Hiccough - Blister - Kiss - Chin - Shoulder (9260-9276) Breast - Belly - Mole - Shiver - Skin (9277-9281) Elbow - Hand - Fingers - Fingernails (9282-9319) Toenails - Knee - Leg - Feet - Big Toe (9320-9333) SIGNS FROM LOVE ITSELF (9334-9344) Love and Marriage: Loving Same Man (9334) Thinking of Beau - First Date (9335-9337) Lovers’ Quarrel - Three Weddings - First Marriage (9338-9344) Love Letter (9345-9373) HOUSE AND ENVIRONS AND LOVE (9374-9832) The Building (9374-9396) First Night in House - Bedroom - Papering - Stairs (9374-9384) Through Window - Cellar Door - Rain Barrel (9385-9389) Circumambulating House - Gate - Fence (9390-9396) Household Equipment (9397-9476) Bed - Candle - Chair - Clock - Ladder (9397-9423) Lamp - Mirror - Paper and Naming - Photograph (9424-9454) Knife - Fork - Spoon - Table (9455-9476) Match and Fire (9477-9494) Food and Drink (9495-9548) “Dumb Supper” or “Silent Supper” (9549-9584) (1) Set-Table Variant (9549-9561) (2) Egg Variant (9562-9575) (3) Salt Variant (9576-9584) Cleaning (9585-9625) Bath - Dish Water - Mop - Broom and Sweeping (9585-9619) Washing Clothes - Ironing - Bed Making (9620-9625) Sewing (9626-9681) Thimble - Thread - Ball of Yarn - Needle (9626-9646) Scissors - Pin - Hairpin - Safety Pin - Button (9647-9681) Clothes (9682-9759) Dress - Pants - Shirt - Necktie (9682-9712)

Stockings - Socks - Garters (9713-9732) Shoes - Shoe Strings - Hat (9733-9759) Clothing Accessories (9760-9877) Apron - Gloves - Handkerchief - Purse - Penknife (9760-9796) Ring - Earrings - Beads - Breastpin - Hairbrush (9797-9820) Nailfile - Watch - Cuff Links - Umbrella (9821-9877) SAYINGS ABOUT LOVE FROM WALKING FORTH (9833-9877) LOVE BELIEFS AND PASTIMES (9878-9894) MARRIAGE (9895-10340) WHOM TO MARRY (9895-9917) Birthday - Physical Considerations (9895-9910) Disposition - Name (9911-9917) PROPOSAL (9918-9922) ENGAGEMENT (9923-9941) TIME OF WEDDING (9942-9979) WEATHER AT WEDDING (9980-9997) BRIDAL ATTIRE (9998-10113) Material - Color - Borrowed - Old and New (9998-10037) Making - Preview - Care - Veil (10038-10064) Slippers - Ornaments - Ring - Flowers (10065-10113) THE WEDDING (10114-10209) Dressing for - Affected by Death (10114-10139) To and From Church - At Altar (10140 - 10194) Bridal Kiss - Tears at Wedding (10195-10209) WEDDING FESTIVITIES (10210-10301) Things Thrown - Presents - Feast (10210-10268) Charivari - Entering New Home - First Night (10269-10301) MARRIED LIFE (10302-10340) CLOTHING AND DRESSING (10341-11154) SEWING (10341-10636) Time to Sew - Mending (10341-10406) Thimble - Thread - Needle - Scissors (10407-10490) Pin - Hairpin - Safety Pin - Button (10491-10636) FOOTWEAR (10637-10817) Shoes - Shoestrings - Stockings - Socks - Garters (10637-10817) DRESS -PETTICOAT -PANTS -SHIRT -COAT -NIGHTGOWN (10818-10977) Color - New - Gift and Loan (10818-10858) Time of Wearing - Order of Dressing (10859-10879) Backwards - Wrong Side Out - Crooked (10880-10909) Upturned Hem - Exposure - Tear - Stain - Hole (10910-10956) Ravel and Basting - Care of Clothes (10957-10977) HAT AND CAP (10978-11021) CLOTHING ACCESSORIES (11022-11154) Apron - Gloves - Handkerchief - Purse - Beads (11022-11079) Belt - Breastpin - Earrings - Charm - Locket (11080-11096) Ring - Birthstones - Gems - Eyeglasses - Umbrella (11097-11154) HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES (11155-12644) CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIRS (11155-11169) TOOLS - NAIL - LADDER (11170-11216) RENTING OR BUYING (11217-11222) MOVING (11223-11350) FURNITURE (11351-11506) Unspecified - Bed - Bric-a-brac - Chair (11351-11415) Clock - Watch - Curtain - Shade - Mirror (11416-11480) Picture - Photograph - Table - Trunk - Key (11481-11506) KITCHEN AND DINING-ROOM ARTICLES (11507-11704) Knife - Fork - Spoon (11507-11633) Bread Knife - Butcher Knife - Pocket Knife (11634-11653) Dishes - Glassware - Oil Cloth (11654-11680) Pan - Skillet - String - Kettle - Bucket - Pitcher (11681-11688) Tablecloth - Napkin - Toothpick (11689-11704) HEAT AND LIGHT (11705-11778) Match - Fire - Stove - Ashes - Candle - Lamp (11705-11778) DRINK AND FOOD (11779-11999) Water - Alcohol - Wine Making - Coffee - Tea (11779-11866) Tobacco - Salt - Pepper - Sugar - Vinegar (11867-11972) Jelly - Preserves - Pickles - Sauerkraut (11973-11999)

BAKING (12000-12047 COOKING (12048-12116) EATING (1217-12209) HOLIDAY MEAL (12210-12239) SOAP MAKING (12240-12249) BATH (12250-12274) DISHWATER -DISH RAG -DISH TOWEL (12275-12348) MOPPING AND SCRUBBING (12349-12363) SWEEPING AND BROOM (12364-12499) WASHING CLOTHES (12500-12536) IRONING (12537-12564) BED MAKING (12565-12581) GOING TO BED AND GETTING UP (12582-12644) SOCIAL RELATIONS (12645-14394) GOING FORTH (12645-13007) Company - At the Door (12645-12694) In and Out Different Doors - Through Window (12695-12712) Up and Down Steps (12713-12724) Stubbing - Stumbling - Tripping (12725-12747) Stepping over Person (12748-12755) Two Pedestrians Separated - Hello and Goodbye (12756-12785) Journey - Finding a Horseshoe (12786-13007) RETURNING HOME FOR FORGOTTEN ARTICLE (13008-13101) READING AND WRITING (13102-13151) Letters - Chain Letters - Pen - Ink - Pencil (13102-13141) Book - Newspaper - Bible (13142-13151) LOSS AND GAIN (13152-13176) Presents - Lost Articles - Theft (13152-13176) Law - Numbers - Money (13177-13270) BUYING - PAYING - SELLING (13271-13289) WORK AND BUSINESS (13290-13339) OCCUPATIONS (13340-13413) Barber - Miner - Sailor - Circus - Theatre (13340-13413) SPORTS - PASTIMES - GAMES (13414-14118) Marbles - Kite - Horseshoes - Dancing (13414-13430) Boxing - Football - Basketball - Baseball (13431-13562) Fisherman - Hunter - Gambler - Craps (13563-13868) Horse Race - Playing Cards - Fortune Telling (13869-14085) CHILDREN AT PLAY (14086-14118) RHYMES (14119-14253) RIMED RIDDLES (14254-14394) DEATH (14395-15415) TOKENS OF DEATH (14395-15079) Moon - Star - Rain - Rainbow (14395-14402) Plants (14403-14452) Bean - Beet - Cabbage - Carnation - Carrot (14403-14408) Clover - Corn - Cucumber - Cypress Vine (14409-14414) Flowers - Kale - Onion - Lettuce - Mustard (14415-14424) Sage - Bush - Tree (14425-14452) Snail (14453) Insects (14454-14472) Bee - Butterfly - Black Bug - Cricket (14454-14460) Blowfly - House Fly - Lightning Bug (14461-14463) Locust (Cicada) - Dragon Fly - Spider (14464-14472) Snake - Bat (14473-14482) Birds (14483-14612) Blackbird - Blue Jay - Buzzard (14483-14487) Chimney Swift - Crane - Crow (14488-14491) Dove - Wild Goose - Hawk - Owl (14492-14528) Phoebe - Pigeon - Quail - Redbird - Robin (14529-14563) Sapsucker - Sparrow - Swallow (14564-14574) Whippoorwill - Unspecified (14575-14612) 363 Poultry: (14613-14738) Chicken - Guinea - Peacock (14613-14647) Animals (14648-14738) Mouse - Groundhog - Rabbit - Rat - Squirrel (14648-14654)

Cat - Dog - Hog - Cow - Horse (14655-14738) Human Body (14739-14801) Ear - Eye - Tears - Nails - Cut (14739-14748) Hair - Combing - Hand - Headache (14749-14761) Laughing - Measuring - Neck - Nosebleed (14762-14766) Sneezing - Simultaneous Speech - Forgetting (14778-14797) Teeth - Urinating - Whistling (14798-14801) Clothes (14802-14859) Sewing - Thread - Needle - Scissors (14802-14813) Garment: New - Falling - Black (14814-14819) Dressing - Shoe - Shoestring - Washing Clothes (14820-14847) Hat - Breastpin - Hairpin - Pin - Ring - Umbrella (14848-14859) House (14860-14884) Addition - Moving - Chimney - Brick (14860-14866) Door - Gate - Wall - Window (14867-14884) Tools (14885-14893) Ax - Hatchet - Hoe - Ladder - Nail (14885-14893) Rake - Rope - Saw - Shovel - Spade (14894-14899) Furniture (14900-15079) Bed - Sweeping - Broom - Candle (14900-14929) Chair - Rocking Chair - Clock - Dish (14930-14966) Glassware - Icebox - Lamp - Auto Light (14967-14975) Electric Light - Mirror - Musical Instrument (14976-14991) Picture - Person’s Shadow - Stove - Ashes (14992-15016) Window Curtain - Shade (15017-15018) Food and Drink (15019-15051) Going Forth (15052-15072) Pastimes (15073-15079) DEATHS FOR THE YEAR (15080-15088) DIVINATION OF DEATH (15089-15100) DEATHBED (15101-15126) DROWNED BODY (15127-15136) DEATH AFFECTS WEATHER (15137-15151) HOUSEHOLD ARRANGEMENTS AT DEATH (15152-15188) False Report of Death (15152) Animals during Death in the House (15153-15167) Clock - Mirror - Picture (15168-15188) PREPARATION FOR BURIAL (15189-15211) Coffin Maker - Undertaker - Shrouding (15189-15211) Coffin - Crape - Flowers - Pallbearers (15212-15244) Property of the Dead - Time of Burial (15245-15260) How Long Spirit Lingers - Limber Corpse (15261-15266) Withered Hand - Smiling Corpse (15267-15269) Suffering Corpse - Photograph of Corpse (15270-15272) Grief for Dead - Ill of the Dead (15273-15289) Fear of Dead - Mourning Clothes (15290-15306) On Way to funeral - Late for Funeral (15307-15312) Leaving Anything at - Funeral Service (15313-15319) FUNERAL PROCESSION (15320-15344) Animals an - Riding in - Stopping (15320-15344) Meeting - Watching - Counting Cars of (15345-15371) RELUCTANT CORPSE (15372-15376) GRAVE AND CEMETERY (15377-15415) Orientation of Dead - Water in Grave (15377-15380) Accident at Grave - Leaving Grave (15381-15391) Cemetery Visit - Stepping on or over a Grave (15392-15408) Future Grave - Tombstone - Exhumation (15409-15415) SPIRITS (15416-15639) TO CALL SPIRITS (15416-15419) THE SPIRIT SPEAKS (15420-15454) Through Animals - From Leaves and Trees (15420-15429) Out of the Wind - In Whispers (15430-15432) Using Normal Voice - A Command (15435-15438) Person’s Name - Sending Presentiments (15439-15449) Writing Message - With Song - By Prayer (15450-15454) SPIRIT NOISES (15455-15543) Crying - Groaning - Laughing - Cracking (15455-15466) Breaking - Falling - Unloading - Running Stick (15467-15483) Dragging - Hitting - Rapping - Rattling - Shaking (15484-15517)

Scratching - Digging - Rolling - Dripping - Ticking (15518-15528) Ringing Bell - Making Music - Walking (15529-15543) ATTACKED BY A SPIRIT (15544-15580) Hand of Spirit - Light Put Out (15544-15550) Door or Window Opened or Closed (15551-15558) Chair Rocked - Bedclothes Disarranged (15559-15570) Nose and Toes Pulled - Hair Jerked (15571-15572) Face Stroked - Shoulder Touched (15573-15575) Body shaken - Leg Kicked - Person Grabbed (15576-15580) SPIRITS GUARD HIDDEN TREASURE (15581-15606) DEMON RIDER (15607-15611) DEVIL TALES (15612-15616) BLOOD OF THE MURDERED (15617-15624) Haunted Instrument of Death (15617) Indelible Stain - Redder During Rain (15618-15622) Continues to Drip - Cries Out (15623-15624) LAYING THE GHOST (15625-15639) Bible - Blessing - Divine Name - Crossroad (15625-15630) New Lumber - Moving - Mustard Seed (15631-15633) Salt - To Cross Water (15634-15635) Fulfill Last Wish - Bury Unburied Body (15636-15639) SECOND SIGHT (15640-15851) SEERS (15640-15644) SUPERNATURAL ANIMALS (15645-15673) MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS (15674-15719) Bright Light - Colored Light - Fire Ball (15674-15705) Candle - Lamp - Lantern - Lightning Flash - Star (15706-15719) APPARITIONS CONCERNED WITH DEATH (15720-15786) Angel of Death - Strange Undertaker (15720-15724) Weird Priest - Vision of the Cross (15725-15730) Fateful Black - Ghostly White (15731-15745) Phantasmal Winding Sheet - Uncanny Crape (15746-15755) Unearthly Flowers - Spectral Coffin (15756-15772) “Spiritual Wagon” - Phantom Funeral (15773-15780) Unnatural Grave - Eerie Tombstone (15781-15786) SPIRIT SEEKING GRAVE BEFORE DEATH (15787-15790) HEADLESS SPECTRE (15791-15793) WRAITH (15792-15851) WITCHCRAFT (15852-16537) ORIGIN OF POWER (15852-15897) Caul Born - Four-Jointed Finders (15852-15853) Evil Eye - “Two-Headed Nigger” (15854-15856) Witch Power Inherited - Sold to Satan (15857-15862) How to Conjure - “Black Cat Bone” (15863-15873) Diabolic Music Master - Devil Book - Curse (15874-15883) Hair-Ball - Witch-Ball - Witch-Bag (15884-15886) Healer’s or Witch Doctor’s Bag - Salt Bag (15887-15889) Hoodoo Ball - Hoodoo Bottle - Hoodoo Bag (15890-15894) “Hand” - “Talking Hand” (15895-15897) DO-IT-YOURSELF WITCHCRAFT (15898-16086) A WITCH'S LIFE (16087-16110) SUPERNATURAL DISTANCE IN WITCHCRAFT (16111) IMMOBILITY OR ARRESTATION A SPELL-CAUSED CONDITION (16112-16119) WITCHES CAN MAKE THEMSELVES INVISIBLE (16120-16123) SHAPE CHANGING BY WITCHES (16124-16160) Witch in Shape of Cat - Deer - Dog - Fly (16124-16145) Horse - Pig - Rabbit - Snake - Indefinite Shape (16146-16160) ZOOANTHROPY AND POSSESSION (16161-16166) LIVE THINGS IN YOU (16167-16177) BEWITCHED ANIMALS (16178-16185) Black Bug - Lice - Potato Bug - Rat - Chicken (16178-16185) Duck - Goose - Guinea - Hog - Cow - Horse (16186-16241) WITCH IN THE CHURN (16242-16254a) WITCH WREATH (Bewitched Feathers in Pillow or Bedtick) (16255-16323) Feathers in Circular Form (Normal Shape) (16255-16284) Feathers in Various Forms (16285-16310) Feathers with Other Articles (16311-16323) PROTECTION AGAINST WITCHES (16324-16536) To Avoid Bewitched

Flee From Witch - Don’t Let Witch In (16324-16325) Never Touch Bewitched Article (16326) Beware Gift of Three - Third Answer (16327-16330) Throw Away Bewitched Article (16331) Give Away Bewitched Article (16332-16334) Return to Witch Bewitched Article (16335) Recover from Witch Bewitched Article (16336) Change Position of Bewitched Article (16337) Never Lend to Witch (16338) Evil Spell Broken by Animal and Plant (16339-16347) Witch Counteractants: Boiling - Cutting - Sticking (16348-16357) Burning Kills Witch’s Work (16358-16375) Problems Puzzle Witches (16376-16393) Broom - Backwards - Circumambulation (16376-16385) Measuring - Upside Down - Inside Out (16386-16389) Knots - Black Coat - Shoes (16390-16393) Witch Detergents: Flour- Salt - Pepper - Vinegar (16394-16425) Water a Remedy in Witchcraft (16426-16429) Steel Conquers Witch Spells (16430-16453) Awl - File - Fork - Knife - Spoon (16430-16439) Hatchet - Horseshoe - Nail - Scissors (16440-16453) Silver Keeps Witches Away (16454-16464) Whipped Witches Never Bother You (16465-16469) Shoot a Witch in Self Defense (16470-16480) Scatologic Methods to Repulse Witches (16481-16499) Spitting - Obscenity - Animal Manure (16481-16487) Human Excrement - Urine (16488-16499) Professional Witch Hunters (16500-16505) Religion a Guard Against Witchcraft (16506-16536) Bible - Cross - Holy Water - Prayer (16506-16521) Sacred Names - Blessed Medals - Priest (16522-16536) THE DEATH OF A WITCH (16537)

1 CLIMATE (1-948) WEATHER SIGNS (1-889) Sun - Moon - Star - Colored Sky - Rainbow (1-122) 1. A hazy sun early in the morning indicates rain; a clear sun, fair weather. 2. They say a red sun has water in its eye. 3. At dawn in summer a red sun means a sultry day. 4. If the sun comes up like a ball of fire and immediately disappears behind clouds, it is a sign of rain before ten o’clock that morning; if such a sun disappears behind clouds later in the morning, it is a sign of rain anytime that day. 5. If a morning sun draws water, rain will fall that night; if an afternoon sun draws water, rain will fall next day. 6. A dull sunset is attended by bad weather. 7. You may depend on a clouded sunset foretelling stormy weather and an unclouded sunset foretelling serene weather. 8. "If the sun goes pale to bed, It will rain tomorrow it is said; If the sun should set in gray, The next will be a rainy day. " 9. After a cloudy sunset there will be three rainy days; after a cloudless sunset, three sunny days. 10. The significance of a glowing sunset is a storm. 11. Throughout the summer a sun that glows at sundown will be succeeded by sultriness next day. 12. Sunshine on Monday; sunshine all week. 13. Interpret a cloudy sunset on Monday as rain before Friday. 14. If the sun on Tuesday sets among clouds, expect rain before Friday night. 15. The sun setting behind clouds on Wednesday is a token of rain before Sunday. 16. A concealed sunset on Thursday denotes rainless weather until Sunday. 17. A cloudy sunset on Friday turns the weather colder. 18. If on Friday the sun sets in a blaze, it will bring rain before Monday morning say some; before Monday night say others. The contrary is also believed: if on Friday the sun sets in clouds, it will bring rain before Monday morning say some; before Monday night say others. 19. A flaming sunset on Friday; a rain before Tuesday night. 20. Each Saturday during the year the sun shines long enough for a virgin (the Virgin?) to dry her shirt. 21. Each Saturday during the year the sun shines long enough for a workingman to dry his shirt. 22. Yearly there are three Saturdays on which the sun will not shine. 23. On Sunday a murky sunset means rain before morning. 24. An unclear sunset on Sunday is a forecast of rain before Wednesday. 25. There is never any sunshine on Good Friday. 26. Although its appearance may be brief, you will always see the sun on Easter. 27. No matter how much rain or how overcast the sky during a rainy season, the sun will appear every fourth day, if only for a minute; that is, the sun never hides for more than three days. 28. Some regard a solar halo as an indication of rain before night, but others contradict this by reciting: "Circle or ring around the sun, Rain none." 29. Morning sun dog, colder weather; afternoon sun dog, warmer weather. 30. In summer a sun dog warns you of cooler weather; in winter, chillier weather or a blizzard. 31. The meaning of a sun dog north of the sun is rain from the northwest; south of the sun, rain from the southwest. 32. If a sun dog is seen on each side of the sun, a severe storm will arrive during the night. 33. A sun dog on each side of the sun in the morning is a portent of milder weather; in the afternoon, harsher weather. 34. Two sun dogs in the east denote cold weather. 35. An eclipse of the sun is followed by five successive days of rain. 36. "When the moon is wet, No rain you get; When the moon is dry, A rain is nigh." 37. Weather prophets prophesy twelve months ahead by observing the first change of the moon in January: if it occurs during the day, a wet year; if during the night, a dry year. 38. A moon changing in the morning is the beginning of unsettled weather; in the afternoon, settled weather. 39. A moon that has changed during the night will commence a wet season; the nearer the change to midnight, the sooner the rain. 40. If the moon changes while the wind is in the east, disagreeable weather will follow. 41. According to some, a moon becoming new on Monday notifies you of fine weather; according to others, this is a notice of rain for forty days. 42. Two full moons within the same month give us rain. 43. Five phases of the moon in any month reverses the weather for thirty days. 44. An uncloudy moonrise reveals clear weather for the next twenty-four hours. 45. If a Friday moonset is bright, rain will come before Tuesday. 46. "If moon red be, Of water speaks she." 47. "A pale moon doth rain, A red moon doth blow; A white moon doth neither rain nor blow." 48. A red-tinged girdle about the moon betokens rain in summer and snow in winter. 49. A moon with a blue cast is a sign of rain. 50. A moon veiled by vapor is a foreshadow of different weather within the next twenty-four hours. 51. If the horns of the moon are hidden on the third or fourth day, a rain is imminent. 52. If the first new moon in January lies on its side or back (horns upward), predict a wet year; if on its belly (horns downward), a dry year.

2 53. If in the spring a crescent moon hangs crossways (stands on one or both horns), a wet spring is signified. 54. If in the spring a crescent moon hangs like a cradle (rests on its back), the summer will be dry. 55. If the points of the moon curve downward, water is running out of the apron (a wet month); if upward, the apron withholds the water (a dry month). However, some reverse these meanings: in the former, the apron has already been emptied (a dry month); in the latter, the apron now full will soon empty itself (a wet month). 56. If the ends of the moon extend downward, water is pouring over the lip of the dipper (a wet month); if upward, the dipper retains the water (a dry month). Nevertheless, one explanation is sometimes substituted for the other. 57. If the tips of the moon tilt downward, much water will flow under the bridges (a wet month); if upward, the water now flowing beneath the bridges will be reduced to a mere trickle (a dry month). But in each case, the opposite interpretation is also held. 58. If an Indian cannot suspend his powder-horn (or shot-horn) from the moon, it presages a wet month; if he can, a dry month. Notwithstanding, these presages are at times interchangeable. 59. If you are unable to hang a dipper on the edge of the moon, a wet month may be predicted; if you are able, a dry month. Yet, one prediction is occasionally exchanged for the other. 60. A moon standing on its horns will within three days begin a wet spell lasting the whole month. 61. If the upturned horns of a moon lying on its back lean toward the northwest, you can look for a chilly month with rain. 62. A moon slung low in the south during February will introduce thirty days of agreeable weather. 63. Watch for cold weather when the moon is in the north, warm weather when the moon is in the south. 64. "Circle or ring around the moon, Rain soon." or "Ring around the moon, Brings a storm soon." 65. A halo about the moon foretells rain next day say some, within three days say others; the time frequently being determined by the size of the halo: the smaller the halo, the sooner the rain. 66. During cold weather a lunar halo discloses warmer weather; during warm weather, colder weather. 67. If there are two moon-rings, it will snow within twenty-four hours. 68. As many rings as the moon has, so many will be the days until rain. 69. The appearance of stars in a moon-ring bodes a change of weather. 70. If stars appear in a moon-ring, each star will represent one day until the weather changes. 71. If a moon-ring has stars, the number of these stars will enumerate the foul days approaching. 72. If the moon does not have a ring and yet several nearby stars are grouped about it in an irregular circle, you may prepare for rain. 73. "When the stars begin to huddle, The earth will soon become a puddle." 74. If stars twinkle brightly, radiant weather is at hand. 75. Stars that sparkle and seem larger than usual in summer are fore-casting rain; in winter, a sharper temperature or frost. 76. A multitude of stars means pretty weather and a scarcity of stars means falling weather. 77. If the Big Dipper is upside down, there will be rain; if right-side up, no rain. 78. One expects a continuation of excellent weather after the Milky Way has glittered with unusual brilliance. 79. The direction in which the Milkmaid's Path (Milky Way) points will be the course of the wind on the fallowing day. The name Milkmaid's Path is not often heard. 80. In whatever direction a star shoots, the wind will blow next day. 81. Meteors (called shooting stars) in greater number than usual signify unpleasant weather. 82. A deep-blue sky is always an indication of beautiful weather for the rest of the day. 83. If on a gloomy day there is a patch of blue sky the size of a handkerchief, the weather will soon clear. 84. If on a gloomy day there is a patch of blue sky large enough to make a pair of britches for a Dutchman, the weather will soon clear. 85. If on a gloomy day there is a patch of blue sky large enough to make a shirt for a sailor, the weather will soon clear. 86. Rain is in the air when a faint greenish hue overspreads the sky. 87. "An evening red and a morning grey, Make a fair fair day. " 88. "Evening red and morning grey, That's the sign we'll have a fair day." 89. "Evening red and morning grey, Two sure signs of one clear day." 90. "Evening grey and morning red, Will pour rain on the pilgrim's head." 91. "An evening grey and a morning red, Send the shepherd wet to bed." 92. "Evening red and morning grey, Will set the traveler on his way; Evening grey and morning red, Will pour the rain down on his head. " 93. "Evening red, morning grey, Speed the traveler on his way; Evening grey, morning red, Bring down rain upon his head." 94. "Evening grey and morning red, Send the traveler back to bed; Evening red and morning grey, Send the traveler on his way." 95. "If at morning the sky be red,

3

96.

It bids the traveler stay in bed." "Red at night, sailor's delight; Red in the morning, sailor take warning."

or "Red in the morning, sailors take warning; Red at night, sailors' delight." 97. "Red at night, shepherd's delight; Red in the morning, shepherd's warning." 98. "Red at night, soldiers' delight; Red in the morning, soldiers are mourning." 99. A leaden sky at daybreak in summer will be replaced by intense heat later that morning. 100. A pinkish sky in the west at night is an omen of rain. 101. A red sky in the morning signifies blustery winds. 102. After you have seen a rosy sky, make preparations for a hailstorm. 103. At sunset a transparent sky with a scattering of small red clouds is a promise of fair weather. 104. If at sunset a ruddy sky reflects from clouds in the east, a change of weather is near. 105. To have a blazing sky reflect against clouds in the south at sunset denotes rain. 106. If a fiery sky at sunset is reflected on clouds in the north, storms and high winds can be expected. 107. From clouds with a golden glow at sunset pleasant weather is presaged. 108. Yellow in the sky at sunset is a portent of rain. 109. In the sky at sunset pale yellow portends high winds. 110. "Rainbow in the morning, Farmer take warning." 111. "Rainbow at night, Fisherman's delight." 112. "Rainbow at night, Sailors' delight; Rainbow in the morning, Sailors take warning." 113. "Rainbow in the morn, Sailors warned." 114. "A rainbow at night, Is a shepherd's delight; A rainbow in the morning, Is a shepherd's warning." 115. "Rainbow at noon, More rain soon." 116. "When you see a rainbow before noon, That is the sign of rain soon." 117. "You may look for rain soon, If there's a rainbow before noon." 118. Despite the foregoing rhymes, many persons think of a rainbow as indicating clear weather for the rest of the day. 119. A rainbow anytime during the day is a boding of rain next day. 120. If a rainbow appears in the east, the weather will be dry according to some, wet according to others. 121. If a rainbow appears in the west, the rain will soon resume. 122. If a person sees a double rainbow (one arched at a distance above the other), it will rain three days during the following week. Clouds - Lightning - Thunder - Storm (123-185) 123. Rain-clouds appearing before moonrise will drift away as soon as the moon rises, but rain-clouds after the moon has risen always remain. 124. "Morning wonders, Evening blunders." 125. "Open and shet, Is a sign of wet." 126. Morning clouds opening before seven and closing soon afterward foretell rain before eleven. 127. Light fleecy clouds produce rain only; heavy rough clouds, rain accompanied by wind. 128. Thin streaked clouds will eventually collect rain. 129. Clouds with streamers pointing upward carry rain. 130. Small white clouds indicate rain within three days. 131. Buttermilk clouds are rain-bearers. 132. "Dominicker sky, Storm close by." (Dominicker = Dominique = barred) 133. "Horses tails and fishes scales, Make sailors spread their sails." 134. Clouds resembling a mare's tail presage rain. 135. "A mackerel sky, Never twenty-four hours dry." 136. "A mackerel sky, Never (leaves the earth) three days dry." 137. White drift-clouds often called "sheep" are a rain warning.

4 138. A thunderhead --- a white drift-cloud darkened at one end usually known as the head --- is always a rain-carrier; so when you observe clouds of this type cropping up singly from the horizon all day, finally joining each other in a mass that seems to seethe, you may look for wet weather during the night or next day. 139. If clouds bunch together to form a tree --- formerly described as a "cloud-baum" or "cloud-tree" by some of the old-time Germans --- a rain is impending. 140. "I remember one day I wanted to go somewhere real bad and the weather was bad, and grandmother said, 'It will soon stop raining and clear up and you can go, for the clouds are going east, for it never fails.' If you get up in the morning and it is storming, or if a real bad fog, if the clouds go east, it will clear up that day. And I got to go that day." 141. Monday clouds portend cloudy weather two more days that week. 142. Sheet lightning at night foretells hotter weather and therefore is generally referred to as heat lightning. 143. If it lightens in the north during the day, expect an immediate rain; if at night, a downpour within twenty-four hours. 144. Three consecutive nights of lightning in the north will bring rainy weather. 145. During the day, lightning in the northwest betokens rain at once or that night; after sunset, rain before morning. 146. Northeast lightning is considered by some an omen of rain within twenty-four hours; by others an omen of dry weather. 147. Dry weather always accompanies lightning in the east. 148. To see it lighten in the south is an indication of a drought. 149. February lightning forecasts a frost sufficient to kill on the corresponding date in May. 150. Lightning in March means unseasonable weather all year. 151. Lightning in December means a cold spell. 152. "Thunder before seven, Rain before eleven." 153. If you hear thunder before seven in the morning, seven thunderclaps will be heard before night. 154. "Thunder in the morning, Is a sailor's warning." 155. "Thunder before noon, Showers in the afternoon." 156. Northwest thunder means rain within forty-eight hours. 157. Autumn thunder, warmer weather; winter thunder, colder weather. 158. October thunder will be followed by milder weather. 159. If it thunders in November, there will not be any cold weather until after Christmas. 160. Late November or early December thunder does not change the weather. 161. December thunder makes the weather colder. 162. To have thunder in December is a forecast of frost in May. 163. After thunder and lightning on New Year's Day comes a cold snap. 164. The date of Thunder in January will be the number of spring days during May. 165. January thunder indicates an April frost. 166. If there is thunder in January, predict a May frost; hence, as many times as it thunders, so many will be the frosty days. Further, the date in May will correspond to the day in January; the fourteenth of each month being frequently cited as an example of this correspondence. 167. A January thunder; a June frost. 168. A January thunder; a June flood. 169. February thunder denotes a May frost; the date of the former denoting the time of the latter --- consequently, as many thunders as are in February, so many will be the frosts of May. In particular, for corresponding dates, either the sixth or the last day of each month is mentioned. 170. Thunder in February; snow in May. 171. If it thunders in February, it promises a cold spell say some; if it does not thunder in February, it promises a cold spell say others. Occasionally these contradictory opinions refer to late February thunder. 172. On whatever day it thunders in February, on a similar date it will thunder in May. 173. Early March thunder brings cooler weather. 174. March thunder ends wintry weather. 175. Thundery weather in March is a sign of a cool summer. 176. While trees are bare, thunder or lightning, or both, signifies chillier weather; after trees have leafed, milder weather. 177. If while trees are leafless there is thunder or lightning, or both, six more weeks of cold weather may be expected. 178. A spring thunder proclaims a cold spell. 179. Winter is ended by the first thunder of spring. 180. The worst storms follow an east wind. 181. Severe storms in winter are from east to northeast. 182. If the first spring storm is from the north or southwest, all subsequent storms will come from the same direction. 183. If a storm subsides before sunset, next day will be fair; if during the night, next day will be cloudy. 184. Stormy weather on Friday; clear weather on Saturday. 185. A Friday storm will reappear before Monday. Wind - Whirlwind - Rain - Snow (186-293) 186. Wind from the east and warm weather are companions. 187. An eastern wind is followed by rainy weather in summer and by snowy weather in winter; soon say some, within thirty-six hours say others. 188. In early winter or late spring an easterly wind precedes a rain or a snow. 189. Three days of wind from the east terminate in rain. 190. If an east wind veers to the northwest and rain fails to accompany it, there will be no wet weather for a week. 191. A south wind is accompanied by warm weather. 192. It never rains while the wind is southerly and the sky cloudy. 193. Summer rains are regularly produced by south-to-east winds; and as a consequence, we have this local saying: look for rain when you smell the paper-mill ---the latter being located south of Quincy.

5 194. The south wind veering to the northwest portends bad weather. 195. If a wind blows three days in the south, it will afterward blow three days in the north. 196. There is never any rain during a west wind. 197. It will not rain during a west wind and a cloudy sky. 198. Cold weather attends a west wind. 199. Northern winds are always cold. 200. Rain does not fall during a north wind; accordingly a north wind springing up will drive rain away. 201. A northeast wind in winter is the forerunner of a big snowstorm. 202. "Wind in the east, Sailors feast; Wind in the west, Sailors distressed." 203. "When the wind is in the east, 'Tis neither good for man nor beast; When the wind is in the north, The skillful fisher goes not forth; When the wind is in the south, It blows the bait in the fish's mouth; When the wind is in the west, Then 'tis at the very best." 204. "The south wind brings wet weather; The north wind, wind and cold together. The west wind always brings us rain, The east wind blows it back again." 205. The quarter of the wind at five o'clock in the morning on New Year's Day will be its direction three times that year. 206. In whatever direction the wind blows on New Year's morning, it will blow every twenty-four hours (or will not shift for more than twenty-four hours) during the next forty days. 207. The course of the wind on New Year's Day will be retraveled every forty-eight hours, for a few minutes at least, throughout the following forty-eight days. 208. If the wind before sunrise on New Year's Day is from a certain point, during the next two months you will not find it out of that point for more than forty-eight hours. 209. For the next three months the wind will not deviate from its path on New Year's Day. 210. As the direction of the wind is on New Year's Day, so will it be mostly all year. 211. If the wind comes from the south on New Year's Day, it will come from the south every day during January. 212. A southern wind on New Year's Day will return every three days all winter. 213. On New Year's Day a southerly wind begins forty days of clement weather. 214. Wind in the south on New Year's Day means a dry summer; wind in the north, a wet summer. 215. If the wind is blowing from the northwest on New Year's morning, for forty days it will continue from that direction. 216. The direction of the wind on Good Friday will prevail during the next forty days. 217. Either a north or a northwest wind on Good Friday will be succeeded by six weeks of inclement weather. 218. From whatever direction the wind blows on Easter, it will blow for the next six weeks. 219. The direction of the wind on Easter will be its direction during the forty days that follow. 220. Wind in the northeast about six o'clock on Easter morning foretells seven weeks of rain. 221. On March 10 the direction of the wind will remain unchanged for forty days. 222. If in April a northeast wind shifts to the northwest and returns to the northeast, you may look for rain with hail. 223. The direction of the wind on the Ember Days of September (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after the fourteenth) determines the weather for winter: if it blows from the north, expect a closed winter; if from the south, an open winter. 224. On September 21 a south wind indicates a light winter; a north wind, a heavy winter. 225. The quarter of the wind on September 21 governs its prevailing direction for the next six months. 226. If on the first three days in November the wind travels from the south (provided the weather is warm say some), the winter will be mild. 227. The direction of the wind on the first three days of December shows whence the wind will blow during the three following months. 228. A whirlwind as a rule will indicate dry weather, but at times it is thought by some to be an indication of rain. 229. Whirlwinds in the spring mean a droughty summer. 230. If you see a whirlwind traveling downstream, rain is imminent. 231. Years ago steamboat men on the Mississippi River used to say a rain going upstream (south to north) would be back again (north to south) within three days. 232. East rain continues for three days. 233. Dry weather follows a shower that threatens and does not keep its threat. 234. "Rain in the morning, Sailors take warning." 235. "Early morning rain and an old woman's dance are soon over." 236. An early morning rain stops before noon. 237. "Rain before seven, Stop before eleven." 238. A rain starting at three o'clock in the afternoon will last until three o'clock next afternoon. 239. Monday rain never stops until it has rained for three days. 240. On Monday a rain signifies three rainy days before the end of the week. 241. Rain on Monday (morning say some); rain every day that week. 242. "Rain on Monday, Sunshine next Sunday."

6 243. Rain on the first Monday of the month presages three Monday rains for the month. 244. A rainy Friday; a rainy Sunday. 245. If rain falls on Friday, there will be no rain before next Friday. 246. Sunday rain is a sign of rain for seven consecutive Sundays. 247. If it is raining on the first Sunday of the month, it is going to rain every other Sunday that month. 248. If it is raining on the first Sunday of the month, it is going to rain every Sunday that month. 249. If the first day of the month has a rain, the month will have fifteen rainy days. 250. Rain on these three days ---the first two days of the month and the last Friday of the preceding month ---is a portent of a wet month; however, some say this applies only when Friday happens to be the final day of the previous month. 251. A rain on January 1 forecasts seven rainy New Year's Days in succession. 252. Wet weather on New Year's Day is an omen of a rainy January. 253. On one of the first three days of January a rain betokens a wet February. 254. A wet Palm Sunday will be followed by seven weeks of rain. 254a. A wet Palm Sunday means a sunny Easter. 255. If it rains on Good Friday, it will rain the seven following Sundays. 256. If it rains on Good Friday, summer will be hot and dry. 257. If it rains on Good Friday, there will not be much rain the remainder of the year. 258. Rainy weather on Easter will not cease for seven days. 259. An Easter rain means wet weather for the next six Sundays. 260. An Easter rain means rainy weather for the next six Sundays and ten Mondays. 261. Wet weather on Easter remains until Ascension Day forty days later. 261a. If it rains on an Easter falling on April Fool's Day (April 1), it will not rain for seven Sundays. 262. Rain on March 10 (called "forty riders day") means rain for forty days. 262a. After a rain on May 1, you may predict twenty rainy days for the month. 263. If it is raining on June 1, it will rain fifteen days before clearing off. 264. Rain on July 1 brings seventeen rainy days that month. 265. A rainy July 1 denotes rain, or rain off and on, for the next three weeks. 266. If on St. Swithin's Day (July 15) it rains, the forty days thereafter will be wet. 267. Rain on the first day of dog days is succeeded by forty rainy days. 268. Much rain in October; much wind in December. 269. A rainy October; a windy January. 270. A wet and cloudy November 1 is an indication of a wet winter. 271. If late in the fall or early in the spring it rains for several days and then the sun comes out white, there will be snow before the season ends. 272. Look for colder weather to follow a rain that becomes thick and heavy. 273. If raindrops are large (the size of a quarter according to some), it will soon stop raining. 274. Large raindrops betoken dry weather. 275. If during a hard rain the drops are large, three successive days of rain may be expected . 276. That rain does not continue long, during which the drops adhere to any of the following: bushes, clothesline, wires, windows, and screens of doors and windows . 277. A rain making bubbles on the ground shows the weather will soon clear. 278. Rain bubbling on the ground warns you of showers for the next three days. Some say this is true only of a Monday rain. 279. When a rain spatters, it is merely a shower. 280. "A sunshine shower, Never lasts an hour." 281. If the sun shines during a rain, it signifies rain next day. 282. At whatever time it rains while the sun is shining, it will rain at the same time next day. 283. Three rainy days for the week are foretold by a rainbow that appears during a rain. 284. Large snowflakes, short snowstorm; small snowflakes, long snowstorm. 285. If all snow melts on reaching the ground, the storm will be a flurry only. 286. If all snow melts on reaching the ground, except occasional patches in fence corners and other sheltered places, it will soon be snowing again. 287. If after a snowstorm you find snow sticking to the sides of trees, it will snow again within a few hours. 288. Examine trees after it has snowed: snow only in the forks means more snow soon; snow only over the top branches, no more snow. 289. If it is snowing and the sun comes out, expect snow next day. 290. As many days as there are between the first snow and Christmas, so many will be the snows that winter. 291. The date of the month on which we have the first snowfall will be the number of winter snows. 292. Snow on March 1 can be followed by snow anytime during the next thirty days. 293. If it snows in May, look for an early summer and a late winter. Freeze - Frost - Thaw - Mist - Fog - Dew (294-329) 294. A freeze on February 22 is a sign of forty more freezes. 295. If it freezes on March 6, it will freeze on the fortieth day thereafter --- April 15. 296. A freeze on March 10 may be followed by freezing weather anytime during the next forty days. 297. If it freezes in Christ's grave (while Christ was in the grave, Good Friday to Easter), it can freeze anytime during the forty days that follow. 298. "If there is ice in November that will bear a duck, There will be nothing thereafter but sleet and muck." 299. If geese on November 11 walk over ice, they will walk in mud at Christmas. 300. A white frost is a rain omen. 301. Three successive white frosts mean a rain. 302. A frost clinging to trees late in the morning foretells snow.

7 303. Frost during the light of the moon does not nip plants or fruit-tree blossoms; during the dark of the moon it does. These explanations are at times reversed. 304. Plants are not harmed by frost while the wind is from the north, but they are harmed by frost while the wind is from the south. 305. After March 15 a frost never damages plants. 306. If there is no killing frost in September, there will be none until after October 15. 307. If any day of September is cold but without frost, we will have no frost until the same date in October. 308. The ground thawing in December indicates a thaw every month during winter. 309. If it thaws enough for water to run down the ruts in a road during the first three days of January, an open winter may be predicted. 310. A January thaw betokens a wet July. 311. If the ground is frozen on St. Matthias Day (February 24), it will soon thaw; if the ground has thawed by that day, it will freeze again; hence the rhyme: "St Matthias breaks the ice; If no ice, he makes ice." 312. Three misty mornings in succession warn you of rain. 313. Mists in March are followed by frosts in May. 314. A muggy day without the slightest trace of a breeze is a token of a thunderstorm. 315. Early in the morning a clear atmosphere with little or no humidity promises a fine day. 316. If some distant object seems unusually clear, a rain is close; the clearer the object, the closer the rain. 317. If you hear a train whistling at a greater distance than usual, it portends rain. 318. If a train whistle sounds dull, look for rain; if sharp, nice weather. 319. A foggy morning will fade away; a foggy afternoon will stay. This may be an old rhyme. 320. They say, "Whatever goes up must come down." Therefore, if a fog in the morning fades away without rising, the weather will be good; if the fog rises, the weather will be bad. These interpretations are often interchanged. 321. A morning fog lifting early is an omen of rain; lifting late, a clear day. 322. The day on which a fog occurs in January will be the date of a frost in May; thus, as many foggy mornings as there are in January, so many frosty mornings will there be in May. 323. The number of fogs in August determine the number of snows in winter. 324. If fogs in August are light, a light winter may be expected; if they are heavy, a heavy winter. 325. Much autumn fog; much winter snow. 326. No dew in the morning is a forecast of rain say some; say others: "When dew is on the grass, Rain will never come to pass. " 327. A light dew in the morning will be followed by rain; a heavy dew, by splendid weather. 328. Some say the lack of dew for three mornings brings rain, whereas others say rain is brought by three dewy mornings. 329. Heavy dews in March; heavy fogs in August. Bubbles - Water Level - Spring - Well - River (330-336) 330. Bubbles rising from marshy ground or from stagnant water in an old pond are a warning of rain. 331. If in a seep-hole, spring or well, the water-level rises, or if water is found in a dry seep-hole, rain will soon appear. 332. Foam on the water in a river or creek (brook) signifies rain; therefore this is also a sign of high water. 333. Sediment floating near the surface of a river or stream foretells an immediate rise in the water. 334. A rising stage in the river during November denotes a high stage all winter. 335. If the river piles driftwood on its banks in March, the river will unpile it in June. 336. It is an old belief along the Mississippi that, when the river breaks up in the spring, high water will rise to the top of the ice jams. Weather on Special Days and during Various Seasons (337-372) 337. All signs fail in dry weather. 338. Rain never falls while the ground is wet in dry weather. 339. Friday is the "foulest of the fair" --- either the best or the worst day of the week. 340. Whatever the weather is on Friday, that will be the weather until the following Friday. 341. Whatever the weather is on Friday, that will be the weather all next week. 342. The weather on New Year's Day rules the weather of the three following months. 343. As the weather is on the first three days of January, so will it be during the three months of winter. 344. As the weather is on the first three days of January, so will it be the entire year. 345. The weather during the first twelve days of January will control the weather for the whole year. 346. New Year's Day occurring on Sunday presages a dry summer. 347. The cold days of February will be the warm days of March; contrariwise, the warm days of February will be the cold days of March. 348. February always has one week of good weather. 349. If March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion; if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. 350. "Years ago my father used to say it was an old saying: ‘If March comes in a raring, She'll go out a tearing'." (Not tear from eye, but to tear cloth, etc.) 351. A dry May is followed by a wet June. 352. Hot weather during the first week of August means a white winter, but cool weather on these days means an open winter. 353. Cool August nights reveal hot weather for September. 354. A chilly August, a cold February; a sultry August, a mild February. 355. Raw weather on All Saints' Day (November I) and All Souls' Day (November 2) warns you of the approach of winter, but fair weather on these days will last for six weeks.

8 356. According to some, a fair November II, which is also cold and dry, forecasts an open winter; according to others, bad weather on this day also forecasts an open winter. 357. As the weather is on November 21, so will it be all winter. 358. The weather of November 25 will be the weather of February. 359. November weather is duplicated during March. 360. The weather on the first three days of December regulates the weather for the three winter months. 361. A white Christmas, a green Easter; a green Christmas, a white Easter. 362. A warm Christmas, a cold Easter; a cold Christmas, a warm Easter. 363. An early Easter, an early spring; a late Easter, a late spring. 364. A cloudy Easter will be followed by seven weeks of cloudy weather. 365. If the weather on Ember Days is fair, three months of good weather will follow; if the weather on these three days is rainy, the following three months will be wet. 366. The weather on the first three days of any season decides the weather for that season. 367. A long autumn; a long winter. 368. A warm autumn; a cold winter. 369. A cold winter, a hot summer; an open winter, a cool and rainy summer. 370. A hot summer, a cold winter; a cool summer, a mild winter. 371. A winter beginning early will be long and cold, beginning late it will soon end. 372. A hard winter; an early spring. Blackberry - Cocklebur - Clover - Corn (373-392) 373. Blackberries that ripen late are an indication of a hard winter. 374. As long as the top bur on a cocklebur bush stays green, so long will there be no frost. 375. After the burs of a cocklebur bush have started forming, you need not worry about frost for six weeks. 376. When the top burs of the cocklebur bush have ripened, winter is at hand. 377. The ripening of the very top bur on a cocklebur bush signifies an exceedingly bad winter. 37? You will always find clover blossoms closed just before a rain. 379. Clover on first coming up will in some years be found with its leaves curled back; this is a token of a backward spring. 380. Twisted-up corn blades denote rain. 381. Corn blades twined about the stalk mean rain. 382. If corn silk is abundant, a cold winter is portended; if scanty, a warm winter. , 383. If corn silk has a light texture, look for a light winter; if a heavy texture, a heavy winter. 384. If corn husks are thin, a moderate winter may be expected; if thick, a harsh winter. , 385. If the corn husk tightly enfolds the ear, winter will be severe; if loosely, winter will be mild. 386. If the corn husk entirely conceals the ear, predict a closed winter; if the tip of the ear protrudes through the corn husk, predict an open winter. 387. If corn husks are pointed, it foretells a hard winter; if blunt, a good winter. 388. If corn husks are long, a long winter is approaching; if short, a short winter. 389. If corn cobs have scattered grains (a few here and there), prepare for an uneven winter (weather changing from one extreme to the other and sometimes doing this overnight) ; if corn cobs are full-grained, prepare for a normal winter. 390. If the kernels on corn cobs are in crooked rows, an irregular winter will follow; if in straight rows, a regular winter. 391. Red corn is followed by a rigorous winter. 392. If while cutting corn in the autumn the ears fall to the ground as soon as you hit the stalk, deep snows will fall during the winter. Dandelion - Flower - Grass - Milkweed (393-400) 393. Dandelion blossoms shut just before a rain. 394. To have dandelions bloom in January is an omen of clement weather for the rest of winter. 395. Flowers just before a rain are always more fragrant. 396. Flowers remaining open all night and having a stronger fragrance than usual forecast rain. 397. The blooming of flowers late in the autumn presages a bitter winter say some; a mild winter say others. 398. If a flower blooms twice during the year, a sharp winter is revealed. 399. Grass that remains green into late autumn is a portent of a warm winter. 400. The autumnal air filled with cotton from milkweed pods indicates no snow on Christmas. Mushroom - Onion - Purslane - Raspberry (401-410) 401. A lot of mushrooms popping up overnight warns you of rain. 402. Mushrooms in November disclose a light winter. 403. Thin onion skins in autumn signify a mild winter; thick onion skins, a cold winter. 404. To discover the dry and wet months of the year: "Take twelve onions all the same size, then cut a hole in the top of each onion, then fill each top with the same amount of salt, then lay each onion in a straight row on a table. You must lay them the way the sun rises and sets. You must do this on Christmas Eve between eleven and twelve. And don't let anyone go near the table after you have put them there. Get up on Christmas morning early and go to the onions and say January, February, March, April and so on. Then look at each onion. Some onions will have water running out of them and some will be dry. The onions that have water running out of them will be wet months; and the dry onions, dry months for the coming year." 405. The wet and dry months of the year may be divined as follows: "Take twelve onions. Name each onion after one of the months. Cut off the tops of the onions and gouge out a cup in each one. Let the onion stand until water gathers in the cups. The onion and the corresponding month which has water in the cup will be a rainy month. Do this on New Year's Day. "

9 406. "On New Year's Eve take the middle slice [core] out of an onion. Do this to twelve onions. Put salt all over them, naming each month. In the morning it will tell the wet and dry months of the year: if the salt don't melt on them, it will be a dry month; the one that the salt melts on, it will be a wet month." 407. "My father used to try to see what months would be wet or dry. He took six onions on New Year's Eve just at twelve o'clock, cut them in half to make the twelve months, then put salt over them. In the morning he looked to see which were wet months and dry ones. The salt will all melt and make water run out of the onions that are the wet months. If there is no water on the onions, they are the dry months. You must name each [half] onion a month. 408. Halve an onion, sprinkle water on one half, and plant the two halves near each other: if the watered half comes up first, the weather that summer will be rainy. 409. The blooming of pursley (purslane) is an omen of rain. Tree: Bloom - Foliage - Bark - Moss - Gall (411-428) 410. "If raspberries bloom twice in one year and some of the blossoms produce fruit, it is a sign of a very mild winter. But never pick any of these second-crop berries; you will have bad luck." 411. Contrary to the preceding belief; if a fruit tree has two crops the same season, it means a harsh winter. 412. If a fruit tree blooms twice the same year (does not have two crops as in the preceding beliefs), it means a harsh winter. This is also said of flowering shrubbery, especially of the snowball bush. 413. If tree leaves curl up to form cups, rain will soon fill the cups. 414. If tree leaves with silvery or whitish undersides turn upside down or inside out, rain is on its way. The cottonwood, elm, maple, oak and willow are ordinarily named; also the following plants: bean, clover and grape. 415. If tree leaves turn up on Monday, a rain will turn up before Sunday. 416. Stand at the foot of a tree after it has leafed in the spring: if you can see the sky through the leaves, a pleasant summer may be predicted; if you cannot see the sky, a hot and dry summer. 417. Heavy foliage, heavy winter; meagre foliage, meagre winter. 418. Tree leaves turning yellow in August warn you of an early autumn. 419. The curling up tree leaves before they fall in the autumn is a sign of an open winter. 420. An early falling of leaves denotes an early winter. 421. Leaves still hanging on the branches in late October and early November foretell much snow that winter. 422. If trees are not stripped of leaves before November 11, a raw winter is betokened. They say the same thing about grapevines. 423. If in autumn the tops of trees are bare but leaves hang on the sides, prophesy a mild winter; if they have fallen from the sides but remain on the tops, a severe winter. 424. Dead branches dropping from trees in fair weather are a rain warning. 425. A hard winter always follows the appearance of moss on the South side of trees in autumn. 426. If in the autumn you open an oak ball (an oak tree gall) and find a worm, it denotes a warm winter because the worm is naked; but if the oak ball contains a fly instead of the larval worm, it denotes a cold winter because the fly is covered with hair. 427. Sycamore trees with smooth white bark in the autumn indicate an open winter. 428. The looseness or tightness of sycamore bark in the autumn shows what kind of weather we shall have: peeled easily, a loose winter; peeled with difficulty, a tight winter. Nuts: Acorn - Beechnut - Hazelnut - Hickorynut - Walnut (429-433) 429. Dry beechnuts on November 1 portend a disagreeable winter. 430. If walnuts drop early, watch for an early autumn. 431. If walnut or hickory nut hulls are loose, winter will be open; if they are tight, winter will be closed. 432. If walnuts or hickory nuts have thin hulls, a thin winter is presaged; thick hulls, a thick winter. 433. Either Nature or God is thought to provide for the wants of wild animals and birds by an abundance of wild fruits and nuts before a cold winter and a scarcity of them before a warm winter. These foods, given in separate sayings, are mentioned as: acorns, beechnuts, wild blackberries, wild grapes, hazelnuts, hickory nuts, walnuts and weed seed. Weed - Vegetable - Violet - Wheat (434-438) 434. Tall weeds in autumn; deep snows in winter. Specifically, from time to time, they mention the bitterweed; perhaps because of a bitter winter. Here again, as in the previous belief, this is a provision for wild animals and birds --- to keep the snow from covering the seed. 435. When vegetables in the spring begin to wilt, a long dry spell is near. 436. Long-tailed vegetables --- beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes and turnips --- have longer tails before a hard winter. 437. Violets flowering in October betoken a mild winter. 438. If wheat remains the same color as when it was threshed, a light winter is coming; if the grain darkens, a rigorous winter. Insect - Ant - Bee - Butterfly - Caterpillar (439-469) 439. The mating of insects in August is a presage of a delayed autumn. 440. As soon as you observe insects carrying material for nests, you will know that cold weather is not far away. 441. An unusual activity among ants will be succeeded by rain. 442. Ants herding together and running about in circles warn you of rain. 443. Look for rain after you see ants traveling in a straight column. 444. If piss ants approach your door early in the week, rain will arrive before Sunday. 445. The appearance of red ants announces the arrival of spring. This belief is sometimes expressed: there is never any frost after red ants have appeared. 446. Summer arrives while the first ants are throwing up their mounds. 447. If ants raise the sides of their mounds higher, rain is in the air. This belief is sometimes given: open ant mounds foretell rain. 448. If ants increase the size of their mounds at the beginning of July, they are enlarging the tunnels of their nests in expectation of an early and severe winter.

10 449. To kill an ant or to tread on an ant-hill, intentionally or unintentionally, causes a rain. 450. Bees stay in or near the hive before a rain and make journeys only when the weather will continue fair; so, more bees entering than leaving a hive betokens rain; and further, if they crowd into the hive all at once, a bad storm will accompany the rain. 451. The swarming of bees always occurs just before a storm. 452. After bees have buzzed about in March, preparations may be made for a cold spell. 453. The first bumblebee humming about your door will tell you cold weather has gone and warm weather has arrived. 454. If bees drone about as late as September, they are storing up additional honey against a long winter. 455. An early hatching among butterflies in the spring is followed by excellent weather. 456. Autumnal butterflies proclaim immediate cold weather. 457. Yellow butterflies during autumn presage a frost within ten days that will tint the leaves with the same color. 458. November butterflies are an indication of an open winter. 459. Late-autumn caterpillars are an indication of a very mild winter. 460. Some say a large number of caterpillars in autumn signifies a cold winter, but others say this is a sign of a warm winter. 461. If a caterpillar comes to your door in August or September and tries to enter, winter will be cold; if the caterpillar merely crawls about your door and does not try to enter, winter will be mild. 462. If in autumn the front half of a caterpillar is large and the back half small, the first half of winter will be colder than the second half; and conversely, if the front half of a caterpillar is small and the back half large, the second half of winter will be colder than the first half. 463. If the autumnal caterpillar is of one color, an open winter may be forecasted. 464. Dark-colored caterpillars in the autumn mean a harsh winter and light-colored ones a light winter. 465. During the autumn you are warned of a severe winter by black caterpillars and of a mild winter by yellow caterpillars. 466. If the head of the autumnal caterpillar is black, the early part of winter will be cold; if the center of the body is light-colored, the middle of winter will be light; and if the tail is black, the end of winter will be cold. 467. If caterpillars during autumn are dark-brown in the central part of the body and yellow at each end, all of the cold weather will come in the middle of winter. 468. If there is a speck of yellow on the nose of the autumnal caterpillar, the earlier part of winter will be cold; if on the tail, the latter part of winter. 469. If a yellow stripe runs down the back of the autumnal caterpillar, expect cold weather for the middle of winter. Cricket - Fly - Gnat - Hornet - June Bug (470-481) 470. The killing of a cricket brings rain that day say some; the day following say others. 471. Kill a cricket and it will rain within three days. 472. If you hear crickets chirping, it is an omen of rain. 473. If crickets chirp louder than usual, or loudly at night, they are informing you of rain. 474. If crickets chirp in the house, the weather will become colder. 475. A large number of flies about the house denotes rain. 476. Expect rain soon, when flies begin biting --- or bite harder or oftener than usual. 477. When flies start to drop from the ceiling, autumn and cold weather are approaching. 478. "If you see those little yellow flies hopping from one flower to another in the fall --- they call them henschrecken in German, I don't know what they call them in English --- that is the sign of an open winter. " 479. Gnats appear in swarms just before warmer weather with rain. 480. If hornets build their nests low, a mild winter will follow; if high, a hard winter. This is also believed of mud-daubers. 481. The person who kills a June-bug causes a rain. Lightning Bug - Locust (Cicada) - Snail - Spider (482-499) 482. If lightning-bugs (fireflies or glowworms) fly high, there will be dry weather; if low, wet weather. 483. A great many lightning-bugs in June foretells a hot summer. 484. Noisy locusts (cicadas) are a warning of a dry spell. 485. A locust (cicada) singing after sunset is forecasting hot weather for next day. 486. After you have heard locusts (cicadas), it will be six weeks till frost. 487. Snails seen in large numbers are a token of rain. 488. If you kill a spider, it will rain within twenty-four hours. 489. If you kill a spider on Friday, it will rain on Sunday. 490. If you kill a spider on Sunday, it will rain on Monday. 491. Many spiders in the house; much rain soon. 492. Spiders desert their webs before a rain. 493. If you notice outdoor spiders mending their webs, there will not be any rain that day. 494. Spider webs floating in the air mean rain. 495. Some say a great many spider webs on the grass is a prediction of rain; others say dry weather. 496. Large spiders trying to get into the house all summer signify an extremely cold winter. 497. An Indian summer is foretold by spider webs on the trees in autumn. 498. In September more spider webs than usual presages an early winter with cold weather. 499. "The cobwebs are webbing up tight the first week of September this year; you can look for a very cold and long winter. For a mild winter they should web up in the first week of October." Tumblebug - Wasp - Woodtick - Worm (500-509) 500. That year in which tumblebugs are numerous will be a year having a severe winter. 501. If you see a tumblebug pushing his dung-ball, an exceptionally harsh winter can be expected. 502. Wasps attempt to enter the house as cold weather approaches. 503. It is said by some that a summer of many wasps will bring a winter of much snow, but by others this is said to apply only when wasps are numerous in autumn.

11 504. "My husband went blackberrying day before yesterday and found a tick, and he said, 'We need a rain.' If you find a woodtick, stick a pin through it and stick it on the side of a wall or tree and it will rain in twenty-four hours. So he stuck a pin through it and stuck it on a maple tree, and we had a pour-down of rain before twenty-four hours." 505. If a person sees worm holes in the ground or a large number of worms crawling about, rain will fall within twenty-four hours. 506. Those who live along the banks of the Mississippi say worms coming to the surface of the ground in early spring denote high water for the river. 507. One of the things showing the arrival of spring is worm holes in the ground. 508. If worms live near the top of the ground in late autumn or early winter, good weather is indicated for winter; if deep in the ground, bad weather. 509. "I was walking down Tenth Street, Friday morning, and the ground was just full of worms, and I said, 'Oh, look at the worms! ' An old German woman was hanging over the fence and said, 'Lady, that is the sign of a very mild winter, for fishing-worms on the ground during the autumn indicates an open winter."' Crawfish - Eel - Fish - Turtle - Frog - Toad - Snake (510-548) 510. A great number of crawfish quitting the water for land is a rain sign. 511. The catching of an eel warns you of a rise in the river, because eels are caught only before high water. 512. Eels in greater number than usual during the spring betoken high water. 513. If fish swim near the surface of the water --- or gold fish in a bowl wash their faces or suck air --- rain is signified. 514. If fish flop up in the water, you can look for rain; the more the flopping, the larger the storm. 515. A fish-box is either an open crate built of slats narrowly spaced (something like a rectangular chicken coop) or a solid-board box full of augur holes, so that the fish cannot escape; and each, until the lumber becomes water-logged, is weighted down into the water by a heavy stone to keep the fish alive. If on raising a fish-box the fish flounder about and beat against the wood, it means higher water for the river. 516. Fish failing to roll with the first rise of the water in spring indicate a higher stage for the river. Particularly applied to buffalo and carp while spawning, rolling is a lazy undulating motion near the surface of the water. Years ago before game laws, and even after them, this was the time when fishermen waded out into the shallow backwater of the river to spear fish with a gig; an ordinary pitchfork often being used. 517. If you kill a turtle, there will soon be lightning and thunder. 518. Frogs heard in March are an omen of an early spring. 519. As soon as you hear the male frog croaking, you will know that spring is here. 520. After the first frog croaks, you will look through glass (a thin sheet of ice) before spring. 521. After the first croaking of frogs in spring, you will look through glass three times (see three more freezes) before summer. 522. "The man that brings us whipped cream said he never plants anything until the frogs have croaked three different times, because there will be killing frost until they do. He said they have only croaked once this spring and we will have two more killing frosts; says this is a sure sign and always depends on it." 523. Frogs croaking during the day are calling for rain; it will soon come. 524. If frogs croak long and loudly at night, rain is at hand. 525. A tree toad trilling in a tree is a forecast of rain. This animal is also known as a tree frog or rain frog. 526. A tree toad that trills about ten o'clock at night will bring rain. 527. A small frog clinging to the well chain is a rain portent. 528. You can divine the weather by filling a glass half-full of water and placing into it a small frog and a little wooden ladder: if it is going to rain, the frog will stay at the bottom of the glass; if the weather is to be fair, the frog will climb up on the ladder. 529. An exceptional number of toads at one time is followed by rain. 530. You cause a rain by killing a frog or toad. 531. When we were children, whenever we had a dry spell, my father would say, 'Children, go out and find all the toad-frogs you can, kill them and put all their bellies up so it will rain.' We did, and it would rain." 532. If snakes appear before February 1, you are warned of an early spring. 533. Snakes in great numbers during the spring foretell a dry summer. 534. More snakes than usual during the day is an indication of rain. 535. To have a snake cross your path betokens rain. 536. Snake tracks in the dust of a road mean rain within twenty-four hours. 537. The tracks of a snake that has zigzagged back and forth across a road signify rain within several days. 538. If snakes abandon the water, rain soon follows. 539. If snakes along the river abandon the water for high ground, high water is denoted; the higher the ground, the higher the flood stage. 540. Along the river, especially in the sloughs, when one sees snakes on tree limbs over-hanging the water or on partly submerged logs, rain may be expected soon. 541. To see at anytime or anywhere a stretched-out live snake is a storm warning. 542. If you kill a snake and let it lie on the ground, it will rain before morning. 543. If you kill a snake and lay it on its back, it will rain soon; before sundown according to some. 544. If you kill a black snake (in dry weather only say some) and hang it up; it will rain before morning. 544a. "If you kill a snake and hang it up on the fence with his belly up, it will storm like hell in five hours." 544b. "One morning on our way to school in the country years ago we found some black snakes, and we hung them up by their tails in a row on the fence, and it just poured down before we went home from school." 545. If you kill a black snake, skin it and hang the skin on a fence; it will rain. 546. If you kill any kind of snake, skin it and nail the skin to the barn; it will rain. 547. As a weather divination, kill a snake: if it remains on its belly, the weather will be fair; if it rolls over on its back, the weather will be wet. Some add: unless the snake is still belly-up at sunset, it will not rain. 548. As a weather divination, kill a snake and throw it up into the air: if the reptile falls, or after falling remains, on its belly, the weather will be fair; if on its back, wet. Bird - Blackbird - Bluebird - Blue Jay - Buzzard (549-572)

12 549. Birds eating a great amount of food in the morning mean rain. 550. Birds always oil their feathers just before a rain. 551. When you see a multitude of small birds dusting themselves, they are preparing for a storm within three days. 552. If birds sing during a rain, the weather will soon brighten. 553. Caged birds singing in the morning before they are uncovered are a presage of a bright day. 554. A bird that flies back and forth in its cage is forecasting a storm. 555. Clear weather is foretold when birds venture far out over the water; stormy weather, when birds remain near the shore. 556. The flight of birds in a southerly direction, no matter how short the distance, is a signal for falling weather. 557. Mating among birds in August tells of a late winter. 558. If birds depart for the South during early September, the winter will be long and cold. 559. The call of a spring bird late in winter is a token of colder weather. 560. Spring is ushered in by the first blackbird. 561. Blackbirds flocking together always announce a change of weather: in summer, a rain; in winter, a snow. 562. Before a snow you will always see a large flock of blackbirds on the ground. 563. As soon as blackbirds gather in a cornfield, you may make ready for winter. 564. One harbinger of spring is the first appearance of a bluebird. 565. On hearing the first bluebird of the season, expect a rain soon. 566. If you see a bluebird, it denotes good weather next day. 567. A bluebird near your house in the morning brings a rain before night. 568. Blue jays just before a storm become excited and cry repeatedly. 569. The male blue jay is supposed to have a peculiar but indescribable note which it uses only preceding a storm. 570. As a herald of spring, wait for the first buzzard. 571. If a turkey buzzard is sailing through the air, the weather will turn warmer. 572. A buzzard in flight is always a sign of rain. Crow - Dove - Wild Duck and Goose - Hawk (573-586) 573. The cawing of a crow early in the morning foretells fair weather for the day. 574. If the caws of crows are remarkably loud and incessant anytime during the day, rain is near. 575. One flying crow presages a bad storm; two flying crows presage a mild storm. 576. Three crows are an omen of rain. 577. A large flock of crows signifies a change of weather; in summer, a rain; in winter, a snow. 578. The calling of a rain crow (the black-billed cuckoo) is followed by a storm. 579. If a rain crow calls late in the evening, next day will be rainy. 580. There will be neither freeze nor frost, after doves have cooed in the spring. 581. Doves that coo constantly and are more restless than usual warn you of rain. 582. A dove cooing in a tree is a rain omen. 583. If on their southward migration wild ducks or wild geese fly high, prepare for a warm winter; if low, a cold winter. 584. If wild ducks or wild geese start South in early autumn, an early winter is betokened; if in late autumn, a late winter. 585. If wild geese along the river are restive in daytime and clamorous at night, they are preparing to go South because winter is at hand. 586. A soaring hawk indicates clear weather. Meadow Lark - Owl - Parrot - Phoebe - Quail (587-605) 587. A meadow lark singing before sunrise means rain that day. 588. If an owl hoots in the morning, colder weather is coming. 589. If an owl hoots about two o'clock in the afternoon, rain may be expected. 590. If an owl hoots just at dusk, rain is signified. 591. If an owl hoots anytime during the day; it will storm within twenty-four hours according to some, within forty-eight hours according to others. 592. If an owl hoots in daytime while sitting on a fence, rain is in the air. 593. If a number of owls hoot at the same time in daylight, a change of weather will follow. 594. If during the day an owl hoots among trees on high ground or back in the hills, it warns you of dry weather; if down in the timber along a branch or creek, wet weather. 595. If you can just about hear the far-off hooting of an owl, you may look for rain. 596. "I was in the shoe-repair shop Monday and a farmer came in and said to another man, 'I knew we were going to have this big change in the weather, for last night two old owls were hollering around my house between midnight and one o'clock. I told my wife it would be warmer in twenty-four hours, for it never fails that we don't have a change in weather, if two old owls holler around midnight!" 597. "Just last week we had an owl cry in the day. My husband said, 'Look out for a snowstorm!' An owl crying in the day in the late fall is a sign of a snowstorm. The next day we had a big snowstorm." 598. A chattering parrot is an indication of rain. 599. The call of a pewee (phoebe) foretells the nearness of a storm. 600. In winter the call of a phoebe informs you of warmer weather. 601. If you hear quail whistle, it is going to rain. 602. Quail whistling before two o'clock in the afternoon signify rain. 603. If a flock of quail crosses your path, a rain is three days away. 604. If quail are numerous in the autumn, an open winter may be predicted; if scarce, a hard winter. 605. If quail are hatched as late as September, it foreshows a late winter with mild weather. Redbird (Cardinal) - Robin - Snipe - Snowbird (Junko) (606-619) 606. Redbirds seen in winter denote a cold spell or a blizzard. 607. Early spring is presaged by a redbird that sings in January.

13 608. A redbird singing early in the spring forecasts cold weather. 609. If a redbird near your house calls incessantly, it is calling for rain. 610. The call of the redbird before fair weather is pretty, pretty. 611. The call of the redbird before rainy weather is variously given: squirt, squirt and wet, wet and wet weather, wet weather. 612. Watch for a rainy summer and autumn following a spring in which the redbird calls wet year, wet year. 613. If at the beginning of each flight a redbird flies up, clear weather is indicated, if it flies down, wet weather. 614. If while watching a redbird it flies away to the right, colder weather approaches; if to the left, warmer weather. 615. If a redbird flies high, it betokens good weather; if low, bad weather. 616. Spring arrives with the first robin. 617. Rain is on its way when robins do one of three things: hop along the ground, sing on the ground, and fly close to a house. 617a. If a robin rests on the ground with one wing spread out, expect rain within twenty-four hours. 618. Winter is broken by the first cry of the snipe. 619. Snowbirds flying along a fence (years ago this meant the now obsolete rail fence and the almost obsolete osage orange hedge) or near a grove of trees are a sign of colder weather within twenty-four hours. Sparrow - Swallow - Thrush - Whippoorwill (620-629) 620. If sparrows mate in March, there will be six more weeks of cold weather. 621. Sparrows will collect into large flocks just before the weather turns colder. 622. Sparrows collecting into large flocks mean an early autumn. 623. The first swallow is a messenger of spring. 624. If flying swallows undulate in circles near the ground, rain is near. 625. If swallows fly low, it means wet weather; if high, fair weather. 626. There is an old Indian saying about cliff swallows: if they bore nest holes high in the clay of the bluffs along the river, expect high water that year; if these holes are low, expect low water. 627. After the thrush has arrived in the spring, frosts are finished. 628. "In the year of 1914 we were out in the country and it rained fourteen days straight and we could not get home. On the night of the fourteenth day my brother came running in and said, 'It will be clear tomorrow, for there is a whippoorwill singing out in the tree.' And it was a fine day. If a whippoorwill sings at night, it is sure to be a clear day the next day. " 629. "An old saying of my mother on the farm was: when the whippoorwill hollers, sign of dry weather; unless it chucks just before he hollers whippoorwill, that means rain. " Chicken - Crowing Rooster - Duck - Goose (630-679) 630. "If chickens roll in the sand, Rain is at hand." 631. Predict rain when you notice chickens picking up little stones. 632. Chickens refusing to leave the henhouse in the morning warn you of rain. 633. If it is raining in the morning and chickens refuse to leave the henhouse, it will soon clear off; if they leave the henhouse, it will rain the entire day. 634. If during fair weather chickens begin to huddle together or search for sheltered places, rain is imminent. 635. If chickens seek shelter at the beginning of a rain, it will be a shower only; if they do not seek shelter, the rain will last all day. 636. The singing of chickens in a rain is followed by fine weather. 637. If chickens fly up on something during a rain and preen their feathers , the rain will soon stop. 638. Chickens standing with their tails to the wind are an omen of rain. 639. A storm is approaching when chickens run about flapping their wings. 640. If chickens after dark sit on a fence and flap their wings, rain will fall before morning. 641. Chickens huddling together outside the henhouse instead of going to roost betoken rain. 642. "If a hen goes singing to bed, It will get up with a wet head." 643. If chickens go to roost early, the weather next day will be good; if late, it will be bad. 644. If chickens are roosting high, the following day will bring clear weather; if low, stormy weather. 645. If high roosts in winter are sought by chickens, colder weather is near. 646. Much cackling among hens but no eggs denotes a rain or a storm. 647. Broody hens in January foretell a hot dry summer. 648. If chickens moult in August, prophesy a hard winter; if in October, an open winter. 649. If the moulting of chickens starts in the front of their bodies, the first half of winter will be cold; if at the rear of their bodies, the second half of winter will be cold. 650. Heavy feathers on chickens indicate heavy weather during the winter. 651. If in the autumn the lining of a chicken gizzard is removed with difficulty, a severe winter may be prophesied; if with ease, a mild winter. 652. If at anytime during the year a chicken gizzard is easy to clean, good weather will follow; if difficult, bad weather. 653. If you can see through the breastbone of a freshly killed chicken, it signifies clear weather; if you cannot, foul weather. 654. If in the autumn the soft end of a young chicken's breastbone is dark, look for a cold winter; the darker the bone, the colder the winter. 655. "If a cock goes crowing to bed, It will rise with a watery head." 656. A rooster crowing between roosting-time and midnight presages rain; but, within this period, commonly expressed are various times: between seven and eight, around eight, near nine, about ten, and at midnight. 657. In winter the weather becomes colder after a rooster has crowed about nine o'clock at night. 658. The crowing of a rooster about four o'clock in the morning is a storm token. 659. The crowing of a rooster before noon indicates a change of weather say some, but others say a rooster crowing anytime in the middle of the day indicates a change of weather. 660. "If a rooster crows in the morning,

14 It is a sailor's warning; If he crows at night, It is a sailor's delight." 661. Irrespective of the weather today, a rooster crowing before sunset tells you the weather tomorrow will be the same. 662. A rain during which a rooster crows never lasts long. 663. After a rooster crows on a rainy morning, a fair afternoon can be expected. 664. Prepare for a long dry spell after a rooster crows while it is raining. 665. If a rooster crows on a rainy night, look for good weather next day; if on a clear night, wet weather. 666. If a rooster crows while on the ground, it is a sign of foul weather; if while off the ground, nice weather. 667. If a rooster crows early in the morning while sitting upon a fence, it will rain before breakfast; anytime that day according to some. 668. If a rooster anytime during the day jumps up on a fence or gatepost and crows, a rain is indicated. 669. You are warned of rain by a rooster crowing on the roof of your house. 669a. If a rooster in February stands on a cow-manure pile and crows, the weather will change within twenty-four hours. 670. If a duck flaps its wings continually, rain is in the air. 671. An exceedingly loud quacking among ducks is a forecast of rain. 672. Unquiet geese portend rain. 673. "I was staying at a woman's house about thirty years ago and the geese roosted under the house. About twelve o'clock one night, after we were asleep, all the geese went to hollering and making such a noise I said, 'What is wrong?' She said, 'Oh, nothing, we are just going to have a big storm. When the geese take on like that after night at twelve o'clock, sure sign of a big storm.' And we did get it in the morning." 674. If geese raise up and flap their wings while swimming, a rain will arrive soon. 675. If a goose after it has dusted itself gets up and flaps its wings, a rain is not far away. 676. Inspect your geese after they have gone to roost and the direction toward which their heads are pointed will be the quarter of the wind next day. 677. If the breastbone of a November goose is thick, expect a thick winter; if thin, a thin winter. 678. If in autumn a goose has a white breastbone, we will have a mild winter; if a dark breastbone, a cold winter. 679. If you find a long breastbone in an autumnal goose, a long winter is denoted; if a short breastbone, a short winter. Guinea - Peacock - Pigeon - Turkey (680-692) 680. To have guineas cry endlessly is a presage of rain. 681. Guineas crying in the afternoon signify rain. 682. If while standing on a post a guinea endlessly cries poor trash, a rain is foretold. 683. A peacock always struts just before a rain. 684. The cry of a peacock portends rain. 685. If peacocks run about in confusion while crying, rain may be forecasted. 686. Late in the winter an extraordinary amount of crying by peacocks shows that cold weather has ended. 687. Pigeons returning slowly to their loft are an indication of rain. 688. If pigeons fly high, it foretells fair weather; if low, falling weather. 689. There will be a change of weather after pigeons become fitful and coo without ceasing. 690. You will always see turkeys hopping up and down before a rain. 691. If turkeys roost in the top of a tree, good weather is betokened; if on the lower limbs, a change of weather. 692. If turkeys in winter climb to the highest perch, it will be cold; if they stop in the middle of the roost, not very cold; and if they remain on the ground, not cold at all. Bat - Bear - Beaver - Cat - Cow - Dog (693-752) 693. Bats searching for a refuge are a portent of rain. 694. A loud and ceaseless squeaking among bats while they search for a refuge (an indoor refuge particularly) warns you of rain. 695. If bats are flitting high, wet weather soon follows; if low, dry weather. 696. Bears in autumn provide against a cold winter by storing up more than the customary amount of food. 697. Beavers in autumn build a large lodge for a cold winter or a small lodge for a mild winter. 698. A cat basking in a February sun will hug the stove in March. 699. The rolling of a cat outdoors in the sun is a sign of rain. 700. A cat lying on its back is rain omen. 701. A cat that sleeps with its head low is presaging a rain. 702. If a sleeping cat lies in front of a fire and has its nose turned upward, the weather will become colder. 703. If a cat sits with its back or tail to the fire, colder weather is signified. 704. One interpretation of sneezing by a cat is a rain; an ordinary rain say some, a misty rain say others. 705. Another interpretation of sneezing by a cat is a fog followed by rain. 706. It is an omen of rain, when a cat sneezes while its head rests on the floor. 707. To have a cat sneeze and then wipe behind its ears means rain. 708. If a cat washes about the ears, or back of the ears, or above the ears, rain may be predicted. 709. If a cat washes its entire face, look for rain. 710. If a cat washes its face, rain will come from the direction towards which the paw moves. 711. If a cat washes itself, fair weather either will appear soon or continue. 712. If a cat washes itself in snow, that snow will vanish within twenty- four hours. 713. If a cat while washing itself licks upwards, clear weather is at hand; if downwards, rainy weather. 714. If a cat licks against the fur instead of with the fur, it betokens bad weather. 715. If a cat is sitting in the sun and licking the bottom of a front paw, there will be rain before dark. 716. If a cat scrubs its bottom along the floor, it will soon storm. 717. As soon as you see the hair of a cat bristling without cause, take precautions for a bad windstorm.

15 718. High winds are indicated, after a cat becoming frisky dashes about wildly or climbs trees. 719. If a cat chews grass, a rain approaches; the earlier in the day the chewing, the sooner the rain. According to some: if the grass is chewed before noon, the rain will arrive during the night. 720. If near a river you observe a cat moving her kittens to higher ground, it denotes high water. 721. Rain always falls soon after a cat gets into the house. 722. A cat and dog getting along well together is a storm warning. 723. Considerable lowing among cattle forecasts rain. 724. If a cow kicks backwards while being milked in the morning, rain may be expected. 725. "When a cow tries to scratch her ear, It's the sign that rain is very near." 726. The significance of a cow thumping her ribs with her tail is rain. 727. If a cow raises her tail over her back and runs, a storm within twenty-four hours is indicated. They say this belief came from the Indians, who had an identical belief about buffaloes. 728. Calves romping about in a playful mood mean a change of weather. 729. Falling weather is imminent when cattle become capricious and fight each other. 730. If cows sniff, or stretch out their necks and sniff, or raise their heads and look up into the air, a storm is brewing. 731. When you see cattle sniffing the air and crowding together with their heads away from the wind, expect a storm. 732. An unexpected returning of cows from the pasture portends a rainstorm in summer or a snowstorm in winter. 733. If cows refuse to go to the pasture when they are loosed in the morning, it signifies rain; before noon according to some, before night according to others. 734. Cows lying down in the barnyard or pasture during the morning foretell rain before night. 735. The huddling of cows --- when first let out to graze, say some; at any time during the day, say others --- is an indication of a storm. 736. A cold winter is revealed by cattle staying close together in the autumn. 737. Cows remaining near the stable in November warn you of a hard winter. 738. Dogs shedding their hair in autumn is a sign of an open winter. 739. Watch for rain, if you can smell a dog's skin. 740. "I know one morning our neighbor was fussing. I said, 'You can put your wash out by eleven o'clock --- if it is raining and a dog washes itself before seven, it will clear by eleven --- for our dog was washing hisself this morning before seven o'clock.' And when eleven o'clock came she was hanging up her wash." 741. If you see a dog eating grass, it will rain soon. 742. If a dog while eating grass changes his position frequently, rain is in the air. 743. A dog chewing or chasing his tail presages rain. 744. It is going to rain, if a dog sits on his tail. 745. Stepping on a dog's tail will cause a rain. 746. Rain is denoted by a dog rolling on his back. 747. After a dog rolling on the ground has turned over three times, there will be a storm. 748. If a dog lies on his back with feet up in the air, prepare for stormy weather; moreover, the storm will come from the direction toward which his nose points. 749. A dog that becomes sportive and darts about all day is foretelling a windstorm. 749a. To see a dog lying in a draught is a sign of warmer weather. 750. If a dog howls while company is leaving your house, it indicates a windstorm. 751. If a dog howls and looks down to the ground, we will have a rain. 752. If a dog howls at the moon in summer, a rain is foretold; if in winter, a snow. Ground Hog (Woodchuck) - Hog - Horse and Mule (753-777) 753. If a ground-hog sees his shadow on February 2, spring is at a distance; four weeks, or six weeks, or eight weeks; if he does not see his shadow, spring is very near. The four-week period is rare . 754. If a ground-hog sees his shadow on February 2, seven weeks of rain are foreshadowed. 755. If a ground-hog sees his shadow on February 2, it foreshadows rain for the seven following Sundays. 756. If a ground-hog lays aside little food in the autumn, a mild winter may be prophesied; if much food, a cold winter. 757. After hogs run here and there squealing, look for a change of weather. 758. Look for falling weather after hogs rush about holding cornstalks or sticks or straw in their mouths. 759. If hogs in autumn pick up dried weeds and shake them, look for a stormy winter. 760. Look for the approach of winter after hogs in autumn pull hay or straw from a stack and begin making beds. 761. Hogs in autumn constantly looking to the north signify the nearness of winter. 762. If you slaughter hogs early in the autumn and the lungs are clear, you are warned of a light winter; if the lungs are streaked, a hard winter. 763. If hogs are slaughtered in autumn and the small part of the milt lies toward the head of the carcass, it is the sign of an open winter; if the large part of the milt lies toward the head, a severe winter. At times one hears this belief differently expressed: if the milt of hogs slaughtered in autumn ends in a blunt point, it means a cold winter; if the milt tapers to a point, a warm winter. Milt is usually called melt and rarely spleen. 764 If hogs are slaughtered in early winter and the small part of the milt lies toward the head, the worst part of winter is to come; if the large part of the milt lies toward the head, the worst part of winter is over. 765. After horses have stretched out their necks and sniffed the air, you may predict a rain. 766. A horse rolling on the ground foretells a change of weather or a storm. 767. A mule rolling on the ground at mid-day foretells a storm before night. 768. Horses become fidgety just before a windstorm. 769. Horses are unusually frolicsome for several days preceding a storm. 770. If horses or mules gallop about playfully for some days, cold weather is approaching. 771. Horses running with their backs to the wind denote a storm. 772. Horses staying close together in a corner of the pasture or under a tree with their backs to the wind denote rain --- often before night.

16 773. If in summer a mule refuses to eat or drink, and stands looking over the barnyard or pasture gate with his head toward the house, a drought may be expected. 774. To hear more clearly than usual the tread of horse hooves on the road is a warning of rain. 775. If horses in the stable are sweating and switching their tails, a rain is at hand. 776. The hair of horses becomes curly and rough just before a rain. 777. If in late winter horses begin to shed their hair, spring will arrive early; if they do not shed any hair, spring will be delayed. Mouse - Mole - Muskrat - Rabbit - Raccoon and Opossum (778-794) 778. An exceptional scampering about by mice will be followed by rain. 779. It is a token of a cold winter when field mice store a large quantity of corn in their burrows. 780. If the mound of a mole-run is higher than usual, the animal is burrowing deeper to escape dry weather. 781. If a mole burrows deeply and therefore casts up a high mound, an early autumn is forecasted. 782. A mole coming to the top of the ground in winter discloses an early spring. 783. You will never see a muskrat cutting corn stalks and carrying them underground, unless a hard winter is coming. 784. As soon as the muskrat starts to build its house, cold weather is on its way. 785. Built by the muskrat in autumn a small house reveals a mild winter and a large one a bitter winter. 786. "We are going to have deep snows this winter because all along the rivers and creeks the muskrats are building their houses two stories high; and that is a sure sign of a lot of deep snows for winter, if the muskrat build their houses high." 787. If a muskrat nest is deep in the ground, expect a harsh winter; if near the surface of the ground, an open winter. 788. If muskrats build houses in shallow water, it betokens a warm winter; if in deep water, a cold winter. 789. A muskrat building away from the water denotes a flood. Some say the water will rise just up to the entrance of the house and no further. 790. If while on a hunt during the winter you find rabbits in the open fields, warmer weather is signified; if in brush piles only, colder weather. 791. If your dogs chase out of a brush pile a rabbit which circles round and finally returns to the same hiding-place, the weather is turning colder. 792. Thin raccoons in autumn indicate a mild winter and fat ones a hard winter. 793. "My grandpa after the first snow would always go out to see if he could find 'coon or 'possum footprints, so he would know if we were going to have lots of snow and a cold winter. You can always tell by the first snow, if we will have a hard winter. After it snows, go out and see if you can find 'coon or 'possum footprints: if you find them, we will not have much snow or cold weather; if you don't find any prints, look for a good cold winter. " 794. The first raccoon tracks show that winter has ended. Sheep - Skunk (Polecat) - Squirrel - Weasel (795-807) 795. Sheep crowd together near a fence before a storm. 796. Sheep leaving the pasture and seeking the fold foretell a storm. 797. If sheep wool is heavy, predict a severe winter; if light, a mild winter. This is also said about the heaviness or lightness of all animal fur. 798. After sheep turn their backs to the wind, a cold spell may be predicted. 799. A skunk odor in the air is a rain omen. 800. A skunk nest deep in the ground forecasts a harsh winter with deep snows. 801. If squirrels are active or chase each other up and down trees, it warns you of unsettled weather; if they are inactive, settled weather. 802. The gathering of nuts by squirrels is followed by bad weather. 803. As a rule squirrels hoard nuts in the autumn, but you will see them also hoarding grain before a hard winter. 804. If the squirrel has hoarded a small quantity of nuts, there will be an open winter; if a large quantity, a bitter winter. 805. If squirrels bury their nuts deep in the ground, a cold winter is presaged; if under the fallen leaves or near the surface of the ground, a warm winter. 805a. "I know we will have a very cold January and February this year because the squirrels built their nests real large and very deep this fall. When they build small ones and not deep, sign of a warm January and February. 806. Baby squirrels found in open nests during the latter part of February betoken an early spring. 807. The cry of the weasel will bring rain. Human: Bone - Ear - Feet - Hair - Head - Nose - Stomach (808-821) 808. "I can always tell when it's going to rain; I always feel lazy the day before." 809. Broken bones ache before a rain. 810. You can foretell a rain by the joints or bones of your body becoming stiff or paining. The same thing is said of rheumatic pains. "When I was a boy, a German teacher (in a Quincy parochial school) asked, 'Where do we get the rains?' A boy got up and said, 'From grandma's bones because every time grandma's bones ache, it rains'." 811. A ringing in your ear is a rain sign. 812. When your feet hurt, it will rain soon. 813. Painful corns mean rain or a thunderstorm. 814. An itching on the sole of your foot signifies rain in summer and snow in winter. 815. If your heel itches, rain is not far away. 816. If frostbitten feet itch, snow may be expected. 817. If in winter your toes are burning, a snowstorm is approaching. 818. "Curls that kink and cords that bind, Sign of rain and heavy wind." 819. There will be a change of weather after your head has itched. 820. Your nose itching three times within an hour is an indication of rain within twenty-four hours. 821. An uneasy stomach always tells you of an advancing storm. Chimney - Door - Floor - Gate - Window (822-829)

17 822. A singing chimney is warning you of a change in the weather. 823. If the wind sweeps down the chimney, cold weather will soon follow. 824. A door sticking to the jamb means rain. 825. As soon as an oiled floor begins to sweat, you will know that a rain is imminent. 826. If a gate opens and slams incessantly, cold weather is denoted. 827. Rattling windows are a token of a change in the weather. 828. If windows stick to the frames, rain may be forecasted. 829. Moisture on the windows at dawn indicates cold weather in winter and fair weather in summer. Carpet - Camphor Bottle - Chair - Clothesline (830-833) 830. The carpet on the floor has a dampish feeling before a rain. 831. Prepare for stormy weather after a camphor bottle grows cloudy or the camphor rises in the bottle. 832. Chairs creaking louder than usual signify rain. 833. A clothesline becoming taut foretells rain. Glassware - Lamp or Lantern - Kettle - Tobacco - Pipe (834-837) 834. The sweating of glassware --- a water pitcher in particular --- is a presage of rain. 835. If a lamp or a lantern has an unceasing flicker or sputter, it denotes rain in summer and snow in winter. 836. By the sweating of a teakettle you are warned of rain. 837. You may expect rain, if one or more of the following things happens while you are smoking: your pipe smelling stronger than usual, wheezing, becoming hot and sticky, and drawing badly. Iron Objects - Washcloth or Sponge - Waterpipe (838-840) 838. The stove or any iron object rusting overnight during fair weather portends rain. 839. If a wash rag or a sponge does not dry out rapidly after it has been used, rain is in the air. 840. If water pipes start to sweat, a rain is betokened. Fire - Smoke - Soot (841-852) 841. A fire failing to burn presages a change of weather. 842. If during the summer a wood fire simmers, it will rain; if during the winter a wood fire flutters or sighs, it will turn colder. 843. What a fire may do before a snow is variously described: crackles, sizzles and spits; coals or embers pop out of the fireplace or stove; and the stove itself cracks. 844. Firelight reflected on the woodwork of a room is a warning of cold weather. 845. A change of weather is indicated, if the stovelid turns red immediately after a fire has been started. 846. If on lifting up a stovelid the soot on the bottom burns off, look for rain in summer and snow in winter. 847. If soot drops to the ground or back down the chimney, rain is coming in summer and snow in winter. 848. If smoke rises into the air, we will have clear weather; if it falls and clings to the ground, rain in summer and snow in winter. 849. Chimney smoke clinging to the ground in the morning brings a storm before night. 850. Smoke going down a stream will be followed by rain. 851. Fair weather will continue or come, if smoke pours in white clouds from a railroad engine. 852. To have smoke puff from a stovepipe into the room is a forecast of snow. Food - Cooking - Eating - Drinking (853-866) 853. If you eat in a water-closet, rain will soon appear. 854. If all the food at the table is consumed or none of it is wasted, the weather next day will be fair. 855. To take the last piece of bread on the plate is an omen of rain. 856. A person dropping a piece of buttered bread that falls upside down on the floor is a sign of rain. 857. If coffee bubbles cling to the side of the cup instead of floating at the center, rain is at hand. 858. Milk or cream souring in the night means a thunderstorm next day. 859. If you drop a fork, then a spoon, and the latter lies across the former, it is going to storm. 860. If a knife is dropped, then a fork, and they lie crossing each other, a storm may be expected. 861. Either to spill salt at the table or to drop it on the ground betokens rain. 862. Salt becoming damp and lumpy in the saltcellar is a sign of rain. 863. Sparks of fire on the bottom of the teakettle denote rain. 864. A singing teakettle will warn you of rain. 865. Teakettle water evaporates quicker than usual just before a rain. 866. If food dries quickly while being cooked, beans and potatoes especially, a rain is impending. Burning Brush - Shutting and Opening Gate (867-868) 867. It will rain after you burn brush. 868. To keep shutting and opening a gate will bring rain. Flying Kite - Moving Day - Picnic - Preventing Rain (869-873) 869. If you start to fly a kite and it soars straight up into the air at once, the weather will remain clear; but if the kite flies to one side or goes into a tailspin, the weather will soon change. 870. Moving-day is always a rainy day. 871. Never plan a picnic until the very day you want it; in this way you can keep rain away. 872. Preparation for rain scares it away. 873. A rain is scared away or stopped by turning upside down all buckets and similar receptacles in the yard.

18 Singing in Bath - Stopping Swing - Telephone - Umbrella (874-878) 874. To sing in your bathroom is an indication of rain. 875. Stop your swing with your feet and there will be rain soon. 876. The replacing of a telephone receiver upside down on its hook signifies rain. 877. Watch for rain after somebody opens an umbrella in the house. 878. Carry an umbrella on a cloudy day and you will scare rain away. Kicking up Rug - Shoes Squeaking - Person Falling (879-881) 879. If in walking about the house you accidentally kick up a carpet or a rug several times, a rain is foretold. 880. If your shoes squeak as you walk, a storm is approaching. 881. If a person falls down while walking, it means a storm; a large storm, if the person is large; a small storm, if the person is small. Women on Street - Baby Carriage - Washing and Cleaning (882-887) 882. If you see many women walking on the street, rain is on its way. 883. If you see many women pushing baby-buggies, a rain may be predicted. 884. Clothes not taking starch on washing-day is a portent of rain. 885. It always rains after windows have been washed. 886. Do not wash windows on moving-day; it will surely rain. 887. As soon as you have finished washing and polishing your automobile a rain will arrive. Fireworks - ammunition - Battle during War (888-889) 888. July 4 is always rainy, because so much ammunition and fireworks is shot off in the air. 889. A battle in wartimes always creates a thunderstorm. PROTECTION AGAINST LIGHTNING (890-907) 890. The safest place to be during a storm is near a spot once struck by lightning; it never strikes the same thing twice. One exception, however, proves the rule: if any object has been hit twice, mineral will be found there just beneath the surface of the ground. 891. To protect your home against lightning, make an apron on Sunday and just before a storm hang it against the outside of the house. 892. A home may be protected during a storm by throwing an ax out into the yard; this supposedly cuts the storm in half so that it will pass on each side of the house. Sometimes, and also to divide the storm in a similar manner, the head of an ax is struck down into the ground and left there. 893. You will not be struck by lightning, if during a storm you wear your belt twisted. 894. If you burn blessed candles while it is storming, your house will be safer. 895. Protect your house during a storm by burning palm branches blessed on Palm Sunday. 896. A piece of blessed palm burned in the stove on Palm Sunday protects your house all year against lightning. 897. Your house can be protected against lightning, if you throw your scissors out into the yard during a storm. 898. As a protection against lightning, during a storm a spade may be thrown out into the yard. 899. Wear your suspenders twisted during a storm and lightning will not strike you. 900. "A woman would always take a stick of wood, when she would see a storm coming, and stick this stick of wood in the fire and let it get to burning, then take this burning stick out in the yard and hold it up over her head, and swing it around three times to make the storm go around." 901. The person who counts ten between a flash of lightning and a peal of thunder will never be hit. 902. If you count as fast as possible between a flash of lightning and a peal of thunder, the final number will indicate how many miles distant the bolt struck. 903. "Fourteen years ago a section-boss was fixing a railroad track down near Pearl, Illinois, and it started to storming. He started to running up and down the track cursing his men and the rain, because his men could not get the track done. And the lightning struck him stone dead. This is so, for I was living with my mother there because my husband was out of work. The Lord killed him [the section-boss] because he cursed all the time. And this is another story that happened the year I was living with my mother at Pearl, Illinois, and this is so. There was an old man, that lived on the Illinois River, got mad because his son went out in the rain. He was so mad that he went out in the rain, cursing the rain and storm, and said, 'Rain on me for a while.' While he was standing out in the rain, cursing the lightning, it hit some tree close by and it knocked him down. He was so mad he got up and curse and said, 'Knock me down again.' The lightning hit close again and did knock him down again. This time he didn't get up for a long time, and when he did get up, said he would never curse God or the lightning again, and was a better man." 904. If a man sits on a fence and curses, he will be struck by lightning. 905. "My aunt always would put an egg, that was layed on Easter, in the top of the house on a rafter, little end pointing east, so the lightning would not strike the house." 906. "I remember when I was a little girl I went to a Low-Dutchman's house and he had a horseshoe on a rope hanging from all four corners of his house. I wanted to know what they were for. And he said, 'My father back in Germany did that to keep the lightning from striking the house and that is why I am doing it'." 907. "This is an old saying --- I am eighty-six year' old and was born in this house and lived here all my life --- I have heard my father say, and seen him do it, if a storm: go out to the rail fence, take off a rail and turn it up, to turn the storm away." INFLUENCE OF WEATHER ON CROPS (908-948) 908. If the weather on New Year's Day is so mild that a turtledove coos, you may expect a good harvest that year. 909. If the weather is fair on the night of January 1, it reveals the coming year as one of abundance. 910. If water drips from the eaves of a house on New Year's Day, an excellent crop year is indicated. 911. Rain and sunshine together in February means a bountiful harvest for the year. 912. A thick coating of ice on the trees in February is a sign of a large fruit crop.

19 913. Sleet in February is followed by a fine apple crop. 914. A fertile year is foretold by violent north winds in February. 915. If the ground-hog sees its shadow on February 2, the fruit that year will not be wormy. 916. Sunshine on February 2 fills the barns and cellars. 917. Do not expect any peaches during the year in which thunder is heard on February 12. 918. If it thunders both in February and March, crops will be abundant --- especially fruit crops. 919. Thunder and lightning in March denote much fruit and plenty of grain. 920. Early thunderstorms bring wonderful crops. 921. "Winter's thunder, Summer's wonder." 922. If there is thunder and lightning before leaves appear on the trees, old and young will be hungry. 923. Ice remaining long on the trees in winter is an indication of a good fruit year. 924. A wet spring; a well-stocked cellar. 925. A Good Friday rain is worthless. 926. If you can wet a handkerchief with rain on Easter, look for a fine crop year. 927. There will not be any grapes the year it rains on Easter. 928. March winds and April rains bestow great blessings in May according to some, for the year according to others. 929. A wet cold April will fill the wine kegs in the cellar. 930. Cellars are filled and cattle fattened by a cold wet April. 931. A wet April; a heavy wheat crop. 932. Rain on May 1 ruins blackberries. 933. The name blackberry winter is given to cold weather in May, because it makes a good blackberry crop. 934. They say blackberry frost when blackberries are first in full bloom, because there will be either no more frost or not enough frost to kill. 935. A farmer can rely upon a cool dark May giving him full crops. 936. A cold wet June practically spoils the whole year. 937. On June 2 a rain signifies a poor crop of blackberries. 938. A dry June, much corn; a wet June, no corn at all. 939. Grapes are ruined by rain on July 4. 939a. "If walnuts fall faster than squirrels can store them away, look for a big wheat crop next year." 940. An excellent crop year, corn in particular, will follow a November thunder. 941. December sleet foretells a splendid crop of peaches. 942. If the first snow falls on soft ground, we will have a small harvest; if on hard ground, a large harvest. 943. Heavy snows in winter signify a heavy crop of wheat. 944. Snow on Christmas indicates fruit in profusion. 945. Look for a good crop year, if Christmas comes during the increase of the moon. 946. If the wind blows from the south on Christmas, there will be fine peaches that year. 947. A great quantity of ice between Christmas and New Year's Day is a sign of an abundant crop of fruit. 948. If on New Year's Eve the wind shakes fruit-tree branches well, there will be much fruit that year; if the branches are not shaken, no fruit that year. PLANTS (949-1329) FARM AND GARDEN RULES (949-966) 949. If you spread manure over the ground during the light of the moon, it will either dry up and blow away or fail to decompose; if daring the dark of the moon, it will sink down into the soil and decompose. 950. Put manure on the ground in March daring the dark of the moon and the soil will be enriched. 951. Manure can be made a more effective fertilizer by spreading it on the ground before eleven o'clock in the morning, letting it lie six days, and covering it with leaves on the seventh day. 952. Never thank anyone for a plant or seed; neither plant nor seed will thrive. 953. You will not be successful with plant slips unless you steal them. 954. The plant from which a person steals slips will soon die. 955. "Every spring when we were not sure if we could plant anything, my husband would go to the woods to look for the whiteoak trees: if in buds, he would go home and plant; and if not, he would wait until he would see buds. We often went out to South Park when we didn't want to go to the country." 956. An unfavorable time for planting anything is the thirty-first of the month. 957. Plant seed as soon as the soil has been prepared or you will not have much success with them. 958. To make anything grow, spit into the hole that has been dug for it. 959. A man said his wife's grandmother had a green hand; everything she planted would grow. 960. "I call it a real example of superstition and set it down as such, and as one I have often met, that people believe in the planting hand. Some persons are supposed to have a mystic gift like second sight, the power to make things grow." 961. Anything planted in the Name of God will flourish. 962. Many years ago during pioneer days a settler near what is now a small town in the county planted his seed by saying God bless the seed. That year he did not get any crop. Next year a man living near him planted seed and said God damn the seed. And the neighbor reaped a large harvest. 963. Everything planted by a pregnant woman does well. 964. The person who leaves an unfinished row when planting will be unsuccessful with whatever has been planted. 965. It is unlucky to gather anything out of the garden after dark. 966. The sign of the knee (knees = Capricornus) is a bad time for gathering a crop.

20 CLOVER - GRASS - WEEDS (967-1011) 967. Clover sown on the dark of the moon will produce a heavy crop; on the light of the moon, a scanty crop. 968. If you sow clover during the light of the moon, there will be no crop the second year or thereafter. 969. The best time for sowing clover is a no-moon day --- the twenty-four hour period between the changes of the moon. 970. A farmer who sows the seed in the sign of Cancer will obtain clover able to withstand the coldest winter. 971. If you pick a four-leafed clover, another will grow in its place. 972. For most persons, the picking of a four-leafed clover means good luck; for a few, bad. "Thirty years ago my son-in-law and I were walking through the grape arbor, and looking down we found seven four-leafed clovers. We picked them; my son-in-law taking four home and I three. This was Sunday afternoon. On Monday afternoon my son-in-law went fishing with three other men and they all got drowned in the river. The following Tuesday my husband died. So I think four-leafed clovers very unlucky. "They say a four-leaf clover brings you good luck. I don't believe it does. Several mornings ago I was on my way to work, I found three four leaf clover on my way. I had worked at this place four years. I was very glad finding the four-leaf clover, told my girl friend would have some luck soon. The good luck I had when I got to work I was layed off, so I don't think four-leaf clover are lucky any more." 973. "Blessed is the eye that seeth a four-leafed clover, And cursed is the hand that plucketh it." 974. To search for a four-leafed clover is unlucky; you must find it by chance to be lucky. 975. If you tell anybody about your finding a four-leafed clover, you will lose your luck. 976. Always pluck a four-leafed clover and keep it pressed in a book for luck. 977. Let the finder of a four-leafed clover press it in a Bible and good luck will follow. 978. Good luck can be had by plucking a four-leafed clover and keeping it over the door. 979. A person finding a four-leafed clover must wear it to be lucky. 980. To be lucky with a four-leafed clover, it mast be worn in your shoe; the left say some, the right say others. 981. Your four-leafed-clover luck lasts only so long as the clover remains in your shoe. 982. Never pull off a four-leafed clover in May; it will bring misfortune. 983. A four-leafed clover gathered on the first of May brings you good luck, provided you do not lose the leaf. 984. Whoever finds a four-leafed clover will soon find something else. 985. The finding of a four-leafed clover is the sign of receiving or inheriting money. 986. If you wear a four-leafed clover in your shoe, money will come to you. 987. Either the discovery or the plucking of a five-leafed clover causes bad luck. 988. To avoid bad luck after a five-leafed clover is discovered, the leaf must be pulled off and thrown away. 989. As an avoidance of bad luck caused by discovering a five-leafed clover, you must pull off the leaf and throw it over your left shoulder. 990. Bad luck that comes from a five-leafed clover can be avoided by giving the leaf away; but the recipient of your gift becomes lucky. 991. You become lucky by pulling off a five-leafed clover, provided you give it to another person, who in turn will have good luck after the leaf is given to someone else; but misfortune will overtake the final receiver of the gift. 992. The person who discovers or picks a five-leafed clover will soon be disappointed. 993. Prepare for a journey after you discover a five-leafed clover. 994. Do not preserve a five-leafed clover; it denotes sickness. 995. A six-leafed clover is twice as lucky as a four-leafed clover. 996. The meaning of a six-leafed clover is money soon. 997. "Years ago they would say the grass would get a better stand, if you would sow your seeds on a windy day." 998. To forestall weeds and to secure the grassiest lawn or meadow possible, the seed should be sown during the light of the moon. 999. Whoever mows grass on the light of the moon will soon be mowing it again, for grass is best mowed on the dark of the moon. 1000. Choose the dark of the moon under the sign of Leo as the proper time to mow grass so that it will not grow so fast. 1001. If in each hand you hold a seed-bearing grass stall, then place the seedy heads so that they cross inside your mouth, and jerk the stalks outwards between your clinched teeth, the number of seed left on the stalks will tell you the time of day. As a matter of fact, this rite was primarily a practical joke played by older children against their younger companions; the purpose being to leave a large quantity of seed in the victim's mouth. 1002. The person who finds a four-bladed piece of grass will soon find something of value. 1003. If weeds are cut during the dark of the moon, they will not come up again. 1004. The sign of the heart (Leo) is the best time to get rid of weeds. 1005. You can kill weeds by cutting them on May 21, 22 and 23. 1006. Weeds cut during the first three days of June stop growing. 1007. To destroy thistles, cut them on June 27. 1008. A farmer who cuts weeds on the first day of dog days will not be bothered by them again that season. 1009. It causes bad luck to let weeds grow near your house. 1010. Jimson weeds in the yard are lucky. 1011. Always pick up a piece of nettle or branch from any thorny plant pointing toward you; it will bring you good luck. FLOWERS (1012-1082) 1012. As a general principle, flowers, especially house plants, are planted in the morning; the earlier, the better. But sometimes, flowers having tubers, such as dahlias and tulips, are planted in the afternoon; the later, the better. 1013. Pansies to be beautiful and to grow tall should be set out or the seed should be sown in the morning at six o'clock and thereafter always watered at that time. 1014. It is said of flowers planted in the sign of the Twins (Gemini): all of them will bloom, the blossoms will be more beautiful, a greater number of the seed will sprout, and the plants will thrive twice as well. Further, when this sign is called fingers --- either a part of or a substitute for the sign arms (Gemini) --- flowers of a vining variety will have longer vines. 1015. You can obtain excellent results by planting vines in the sign of Cancer.

21 1016. Flowers planted in the sign of the bowels (Virgo) will "run all over the garden like loose bowels" according to some; but according to others, flowers planted in this sign will "be like locked bowels and not open up." Also, when this sign is called flower girl (Virgo), flowers are planted for plenty of blossoms. 1017. Anything kept as a winter plant should be planted in the sign of the thigh (Sagittarius); it will keep better. 1018. Tuberous flowers do well, if planted during the sign of the lady with a jug in her hand (Aquarius); but occasionally this sign, when called Waterman, is considered a bad planting-time for all flowers --- the tubers become water-logged and rot before germinating. 1019. A gardener obtains large beautiful flowers, always in bloom and laden with blossoms, by planting them during the increase of the moon; flowering-plants being transplanted and vines also set out at this time. Conversely, flowers planted while the moon decreases either will not do so well or will fail to flower; and planted at this time, climbing vines will not grow at all. 1020. If you plant flowers during the full moon, expect magnificent blossoms and double the usual quantity. 1021. To be certain that your flower slips will develop good roots, the plants must be slipped in the dark of the moon. 1022. Do not set out climbing vines when the horns of the moon are turned downward; the plants will never grow. 1023. Splendid flowers can be had by planting them during the light of the moon in the sign of the fingers --- either a part of or a substitute for the sign arms (Gemini). 1024. Sweet peas planted on St. Patrick's Day grow better say some, have lovelier blossoms say others, and emit more fragrance say still others. 1025. Plant sweet peas on St. Patrick's Day before sunrise and you will always have Success with them. 1026. Flowers planted on the first of May bloom twice as well. 1027. "I always do this to get pretty flowers and plenty of bloom; plant them on the first day of May before sunup." 1028. Glorious roses are procured by setting out the plants on May 25. 1029. Always plant dahlias on the last week of May late in the afternoon when the moon is dark to be successful with them. 1030. Be sure your flowers are planted during May on the light of the moon in the sign of the Twins (Gemini) to make them luxuriant. 1031. From flowers planted on Green Thursday (Maundy Thursday) all kinds of colors may be expected. 1032. Good Friday is a suitable planting-time for sweet peas. 1033. Roses planted on the last day of June will always bloom the following June. 1034. Never plant flowers on Sunday; you will be unsuccessful with them. 1035. If your birthday occurs during the planting-season, it will be the best time to plant flowers. 1036. No flower planted by a menstruating woman will ever amount to much. 1037. If somebody gives you a flower slip, plant it while thinking of a dead person and it will flourish. 1038. Five pennies buried in the pot containing a house plant make the flower bloom profusely. 1039. To have flourishing ferns, always water them from the bottom upwards and never from the top downwards. 1040. Petunias will flower abundantly, if the seed are planted in the early morning and the plants always watered at this time. 1041. Gorgeous ferns may be raised by sprinkling them with the water in which a menstrual cloth has been washed. 1042. The water rinsed from the first diaper of a newborn baby is good for watering flowers. 1043. "I had a hop vine. Every year one side would be just full of hops and the other side of the fence would be bare. Someone told me about the red string, so I tied a red string around the side that didn't have any hops and left the string on, and the next year my hop vine was full on both sides." 1044. Shake flower plants while there is a rainbow and when they bloom the blossoms will be speckled with different colors. 1045. If in the spring someone gives you a flowering plant and you plant it and it blooms that season, you will have good luck. 1046. Spring flowers that bloom again in the fall foretell a sorrowful winter. Similarly, a bridal-wreath bush flowering out of season is an omen of misfortune. 1047. May flowers taken into the house cause bad luck. 1048. It is considered lucky to keep a living plant in your bedroom at night. 1049. All flowers should be removed from the bedroom at night, for they are unhealthy. 1050. Some patients object to flowers, particularly cut ones, in the sickroom; flowers remind them of a funeral. 1051. Years ago the use of autumnal leaves for decoration in the house was supposed to be unlucky. In recent years they have sometimes been considered lucky. 1052. Nine autumnal leaves kept under your bed makes you lucky all winter. 1053. It is unlucky to keep cut flowers or autumnal leaves in the house after they have wilted or faded. 1054. Never keep Christmas "greens" or a Christmas tree after New Year's Day; bad luck may be expected. 1055. Yellow flowers in your room will bring you misfortune. 1056. The person who is given a bouquet of yellow flowers will soon receive unexpected money. 1057. If a buttercup held beneath your chin casts a reflection against the skin, you are fond of butter. 1058. Buds on a Christmas cactus should never be counted; they will soon fall off and the plant will not bloom. 1059. If in the autumn a daisy blooms in your yard, you will move into another house in the spring. 1060. If in the autumn a dandelion blooms in your yard, you will take a long journey in the spring. 1061. If you blow a dandelion seed-ball with one strong breath, the number of seed left tells you the time of day. 1062. To tell the time of day, a person blows a dandelion seed-ball three times and counts the seed that remain. 1063. A child when playing out of calling-range can by blowing a dandelion seed-ball discover whether or not he should return home: if all the seed fall off, his mother wants him immediately; if some of the seed stay on, play may be continued. 1064. After you have blown against a dandelion seed-ball, watch the direction in which the seed fly and they will show you where to seek your fortune. 1065. If you tickle anyone's chin with a dandelion and he laughs, he likes butter; if he does not laugh, he dislikes butter. 1066. If you hold a dandelion under someone's chin and can see a yellow reflection upon the skin, that person has a taste for butter. 1067. If you rub a dandelion against the bottom of your chin and yellow adheres to the skin, you like butter. 1068. The person who accepts the gift of a fern will never settle down in life. 1069. It is unlucky to have ivy growing in the house. 1070. Carry a piece of life-everlasting (live-forever) for a long and healthy life. 1071. If lilac blossoms are few, it means a poor-crop year; if many, a good-crop year. 1072. Either to reset a live-forever vine or to have one on your property is unlucky. 1073. Morning-glories are lucky when grown over your kitchen window or anywhere against the house.

22 1074. "My mother would never let a piece of myrtle (a plant commonly grown in cemeteries) grow in her yard. One day I brought a piece home and she threw it over the fence; said it would bring trouble and sickness to our house." 1075. If in the country a wild rosebush springs up outside the door, the family living at that house will soon be rich. 1076. "Mrs. E. has a plant, that someone gave her thirty-nine years ago for good luck, called the sea onion, and it has little onions that come out on the sides of it. She gave me one little onion for every member of our family this morning and told me to plant them, that we would all have good luck, for it was good luck to have that plant in your house. " 1077. Always keep sunflowers in your garden for luck. 1078. Sunflowers in your yard are healthy. 1079. A tuberose, sometimes thought to bloom only once in seven years, is an unlucky flower; some thinking the blossom has the waxy appearance of death; others, that it emits an odor of death. 1080. Pick the first violet of spring, keep it in your pocketbook, and you will be lucky. 1081. Never let anyone give you a piece of wandering Jew vine; bad luck will come to your house. 1082. "A depression flower [so called because it was in vogue about 1932 during the Great Depression as an inexpensive table ornament] is a lump of coal in a dish, with salt over it, and bluing and mercury; and in no time you will have pretty blue flowers from the bluing, pink flowers from the mercury, and white flowers from the salt. Some people have very pretty dishes. They were all the go last year." VEGETABLES (1083-1208) Time of Day for Planting (1083-1093) 1083. To make the plants thrive, seed for crops maturing aboveground --- beans, peas, and similar vegetables --- should be planted during the morning so that they will rise out of the ground with the rising sun; seed for crops maturing below ground --- beets, carrots, and similar vegetables --- should be planted during the afternoon so that they will sink down into the ground just like the sun sinks after passing the meridian. 1084. Commoner than the preceding belief is the rule that all vegetables must be planted during the morning --- "My mother always said they would grow with the day, if planted in the morning; if you planted in the afternoon, they would go down with the night." 1085. Some say vegetables planted in the morning mature sooner than those planted in the afternoon. It is generally said these crops will come two weeks earlier; beans and peas usually being specified. 1086. The quality of the crops sometimes depends upon the time of day when the seed are planted: turnips sown in the afternoon will be bitter, but turnips sown in the morning will be sweet and more palatable. 1087. For crops likely to be molested by bugs --- cucumbers, melons and potatoes --- the best planting-time is before sunrise. 1088. You can protect vegetables against bugs by planting the seed after sunset. 1089. "I have been a farmer in early days and know this is so, for I did it: plant your potatoes before sunup and they will all be the same size; plant them any other time and they will be all sizes." 1090. To plant beans before nine o'clock in the morning makes them tender when cooked. 1091. Various times during the morning, in addition to those already mentioned, are thought to be suitable for planting vegetables: between nine and twelve, between eleven and twelve, and exactly at noon. 1092. Plant turnips in the evening about six o'clock and they will not be tough or stringy. 1093. Never work your potatoes until after sundown and you will always have a good crop. Planting by the Zodiac (1094-1125) 1094. Vegetables ripening aboveground --- beans, peas, tomatoes, and the like --- should be planted when the sign of the Zodiac is going up, to make the plants bushy instead of growing to stalk and root; vegetables ripening underground --- beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, and the like --should be planted when the sign of the Zodiac is going down, to prevent these tuber- bearing plants from growing to tops, and to keep onion and potato sets in the ground. 1095. Every vegetable planted in the sign of the head (Aries) grows to stalk say some, but others say you can obtain large onions with small tops by planting the sets at this time. 1096. Never plant any vegetable in the sign of the Twins (Gemini); you will get two small vegetables instead of a large one. Cabbage planted at this time grows double-headed. The only exception to this rule is when you want small-sized cucumbers for pickles. 1097. Several reasons are given for the choice of the sign Twins (Gemini) as an excellent planting-time for vegetables: you will secure two yieldings, you will secure two for the one you would have had had you planted at a different time, and you will secure two for each blossom. 1098. If you plant the seed in the sign of the arm (Gemini), you will gather as many cucumbers to a vine as you have fingers on your hand. Conversely, cucumbers planted in any other sign will run to bloom and not amount to anything. 1099. If you plant the seed while the sign is descending from the arm (Gemini) towards the fingers --- here, the lower part of the sign arms --- you will pick more beans from each vine than you can hold in your fingers. This planting of beans in the down-sign violates the rule given in 1094, but the purpose here is to procure more beans by keeping the bushes near the ground instead of letting them grow to tops. 1100. Seed planted in the sign of the arm (Gemini) will produce vegetables as long as your arm. Beans and cucumbers are generally selected for examples. 1101. You will not dig one smooth potato from a patch that was set out in the sign of the Twins (Gemini). 1102. As a good instance of how the astronomical designations for the signs of the Zodiac and their anatomical equivalents do not always correspond in symbolism, we have the sign Cancer: when this sign is called breast, it has nourishment and thus becomes a fine planting-time for beans, cucumbers, and peas; but when this sign is called Cancer, an uncontrollable element enters which makes these vegetables run wild and grow to vines only. 1103. Beans planted in the sign of the Crab (Cancer) move backwards in a circle like a crab and do not come up. A rare name for this sign is crawfish. 1104. "One time my husband wanted to plant a gallon of onion sets. I said, 'Don't plant them now, the sign is in the Crab [Cancer] and you will not be able to keep your onions in the ground; they will crawl out all the time.' He said, 'Hell! I am not planting my onions in the Crab, I am planting in the ground,' and did. After a few days, every morning when he went out to see his onions, they were out of the ground. One morning he said, 'I will give you fifty cents, if you can keep those onions in the ground.' I took the fifty cents. I didn't tell him, but after he went to work I pull up every onion and planted them, for it was the right sign; and they stayed in the ground --- didn't have any more trouble with them crawling out of the ground."

23 1105. Since the crab lives in water, Cancer is a moist sign and therefore an excellent planting-time to make vegetables withstand a drought. 1106. Cucumbers planted in the sign of the Crab (Cancer) will not be bothered by bugs. 1107. Any vegetable planted in the sign of the heart (Leo) will grow well according to some, but according to others it will rot before maturing. In particular, this is a bad planting-time for cabbage. 1108. Bugs will not disturb the vines of potatoes set out in the sign of the heart (Leo) . 1109. If the seed are planted in the sign of the bloom, flower, flowers, flower girl, lady with a branch, lady holding a branch, lady holding a flower --- all of these meaning the sign Virgo --- plants such as beans and peas will grow to flowers, and plants like kohl-rabi and turnips will grow to seed instead of heading; but, when this sign is called bowels (Virgo), potatoes will yield a large crop. 1110. Beans planted in the sign of the flower-girl (Virgo) will bear until frost. 1111. The sign of the Virgin (Virgo) is an unfavorable sign for transplanting vegetables such as cabbage and tomatoes. 1112. Cabbage and tomatoes are often planted or transplanted in the sign of the Scales (Libra) for size. 1113. The Scorpion (Scorpio) is a moist sign and consequently a favorable time say some for planting any vegetable likely to be damaged by drought; but others say, when this sign is called groins, more than half of the seed will rot. 1114. Select the sign of the thigh (Sagittarius) for planting beans and cucumbers. This sign, when called Bowman, is a fitting time to plant potatoes. 1115. Radishes are planted in the sign of the thigh (Sagittarius) to make them solid. 1116. You can secure large radishes by planting the seed in the sign of the thigh (Sagittarius) as it is going down. 1117. The knee (Capricornus) is a splendid planting-sign say some, but others say seed planted at this time will rot. I1118. If you plant beans in the sign of the Goat (Capricornus), they will be so hard and tough that you cannot cook them. 1119. Carrots, parsnips, and the long radish, planted in the sign of the leg or legs (Aquarius) will be long and smooth. Potatoes are also set out at this time for size and firmness. 1120. Do not plant seed in the sign of the Waterman (Aquarius), for they will decay and never come up. 1121. The best time to plant crops which grow underground --- beets, carrots, onions, and potatoes --- is the sign of the feet (Pisces). 1122. Beans and peas are sometimes planted in the sign of the feet (Pisces) to keep the bushes low and hence to obtain more beans and peas. 1123. In planting potatoes the sign of the feet (Pisces) should be avoided; the matured potatoes will be covered with excrescences like toes. 1124. Plant beans in the sign of the Fish (Pisces) for long nice pods. 1125. Always hill cucumbers or set out potatoes in the sign of the Fishes (Pisces), because that is a watery sign and thus the vines will neither wilt nor dry out. 1126. Vegetables that ripen aboveground should be planted in the light of the moon; vegetables that ripen belowground should be planted in the dark of the moon. Planting in the Moon (1126-1135) 1127. Lettuce is planted during the dark of the moon to keep the plants from running to seed. 1128. Potatoes are planted during the light of the moon for clear or smooth skins. 1129. If you want seed to grow quickly, plant them while the moon is rising. 1130. The first day of the new moon is the best time for planting all vegetables. 1131. Set out cabbage when the moon is half full say some, one third full say others. 1132. Seed planted when the moon is full will not do well believe some, but others believe seed planted at this time will give you vines full of beans or peas with full pods. 1133. The light of the moon and the sign of the Twins (Gemini) is the best time for planting beans, peas, and tomatoes; they will bear until frost according to some. Cabbage and tomato plants should be transplanted at this time. 1134. If you plant the sets in the dark of the moon and the sign of the thigh (Sagittarius), you will get smooth firm potatoes; if you plant the sets in the light of the moon and the sign of the thigh, you will get flowers and no potatoes. 1135. The seed for all root crops do well when planted during the dark of the moon and in a sign from the lower part of the body. Planting according to Wind (1136) 1136. Be sure the seed is planted while the wind is blowing and your carrots will root well. Planting at Blossom-Time (1137-1139) 1137. Apple-blossom time is the proper date for planting beans, melons and pumpkins. 1138. Cucumbers should be planted while cherry trees are blooming. 1139. When peach trees are in bloom is the time to plant beets, carrots and tomatoes. Special Planting Days (1140-1168) 1140. Plant cabbage on Friday in the new moon and it will not be harmed by frost. 1141. A good crop of potatoes can be obtained by planting the sets on the last two days of the month regardless of the weather. 1142. The seventeenth and eighteenth of the month are potato-planting days. This is also the time for transplanting sweet potatoes. 1143. One of the best times to plant potatoes is election-day in the spring. 1144. Although it is said all vegetable seed may be planted on Good Friday, beans and potatoes are specially named. 1145. St. Patrick's Day is a favorite day for planting peas and potatoes, and for transplanting plants raised in a cold-frame. 1146. Onions do well when planted on the twenty-first of March. 1147. Lettuce should be planted on the fourth of April according to some, the fifth of April according to others. 1148. Potatoes grow well when planted on the tenth of April; as some say, one hundred days from the first of January. 1149. If cucumbers are hilled on the first three days of May, they will bear themselves to death. 1150. To be successful with cucumbers or watermelons, plant them on the first of May before the sun rises. 1151. On the first of May before sunrise plant cucumbers or watermelons while wearing your nightclothes and the vines will not be attacked by bugs. 1152. "I always did this to have large melons: on the first day of May put a washtub over your head before sunup, then go plant watermelon seeds; your melons will grow as large as that tub."

24 1153. "An old colored woman, who was a girl during the Civil War, told me this: if you want to have good gourds, take gourd seeds on the first day of March, put the seeds in a rag, then put the rag in an old shoe, then put the old shoe in an old stump and leave it there. On the first day of May plant the seeds before sunup and you will have fine gourds." 1154. "My father always did this: plant watermelons on Sunday in May and hoe them every Sunday; you will have fine melons." 1155. She said, "Always plant potatoes on the eleventh day of May and you will have swell potatoes; will keep well." 1156. Late potatoes ought to be planted in the last dark moon of June. 1157. You will never fail with beans planted during the sign of the Twins (Gemini) in June. 1158. Cucumbers hilled on the first Sunday in June will not be buggy. 1159. A gardener secures long cucumbers by planting them on June 21 --- the longest day of the year. 1160. If you plant cucumbers on the longest day of the year (June 21), they will not be infested by insects. 1161. Sow turnips on the fourth of July, wet or dry. 1162. July 15 is the time to plant winter carrots. 1163. Turnips should be sown on the twenty-fifth of July, wet or dry. 1164. St. Lawrence Day (August 10) is chosen as a planting-time to make turnips either large or sweet. 1165. The sowing of turnips should be completed before August 20. 1166. Wet or dry, August 25 is a turnip-planting time. 1167. Autumn turnips will be sweet and keep all winter; if the seed are sown in August, wet or dry. 1168. Insects will not infest cabbage hoed during dog days. Sex and Planting (1169-1170) 1169. Let a man plant onions, potatoes, turnips ---anything maturing underground --- and they will grow twice as large as those planted by a woman. 1170. Large radishes are grown, if as you drop each seed you call out the name of some woman with fat legs. Temper and Planter (1171-1173) 1171. Only a person with a violent temper can raise peppers. 1172. To make peppers hot, the seed must be planted while you are angry. 1173. "I knew this to happen more than once: never plant onions if you have a temper, for they will be so hot you can't eat them." Planting Rhymes (1174-1177) 1174. "Plant squash in May, They run away; Plant squash in June, There will be plenty soon." 1175. "Plant pumpkin seeds in May, And they will all run away; Plant pumpkin seeds in June, And they will come soon." 1176. "Plant pumpkin seeds on the first day of June, And you will have pumpkins soon." 1177. "Plant cucumbers on the sixth of July; You will have cucumbers, wet or dry." Planting Incantations (1178-1186) 1178. "A woman I know, when she plants potatoes, always said In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost to every potato, so she would get a big crop." 1179. If you fail to plant your potatoes on St. Patrick's Day, set them out on Good Friday, saying as you drop each cutting Praise be to St. Patrick, and they will ripen as quickly as had they been planted at the earlier date. 1180. You must say while planting parsnips As long as my arm and as thick as my wrist. 1181. While sowing radish seed you must say As long as my arm and as thick as my leg. 1182. "My mother always said, when she was planting radish seed, with each seed would say As long as my arm and as thick as my thigh, and she never failed in having nice ones." 1183. This couplet may be repeated when turnips are sown: "As round as my head and as big as my thigh, And one for the neighbor that lives nearby." 1184. To get large cabbage, you must say while dropping each seed As round as my head and as big as my butt. 1185. "In planting lettuce I always say Three seeds for the birds and three for myself." 1186. "When I plant lettuce I always say Some for my neighbor, some for the bugs, and some for me and I always have plenty." Miscellaneous Beliefs (1187-1208) 1187. All vegetables do better, if gourds are planted in the garden. 1188. "An old saying of my mother's was: only fools could raise good gourds." 1189. If you plant onions and tomatoes in the same garden, both will do badly say some; but say others, if you plant an onion and then a tomato in the same row, or have alternate rows of onions and tomatoes, the latter will do well. 1190. Similar to the preceding belief, commoner, and usually as a jest, they say onions and potatoes should be planted alternately in rows; the onions will get into the eyes of the potatoes, make them cry, and thus provide continual moisture. 1191. Scatter ashes over your garden on Ash Wednesday and bugs will not molest your vegetables or flowers. But the following practice is unusual: 'My husband has done this for years on Ash Wednesday, puts ashes all around our house, and we never had a bug. This year he forgot and we are sure getting water-bugs. My husband said the other day he bet he would not forget to put the ashes around the house next Ash Wednesday."

25 1192. "I always do this every morning after my plants are up, to keep the bugs off: get a bucket of cow manure, put water over it, then take a maple switch with leaves on, dip down in this bucket, and sprinkle over your plants every morning." 1193. Pour water over egg shells in a jar, let this stand for three days, and then sprinkle it over vegetable and flower plants as a germicide. 1194. Years ago it was thought that whipping potato-bugs off potato vines would make them stay away. 1195. Also years ago a few potato-bugs were put in a bottle, hung up in the chimney, and then a fire was started; this made it so hot for the other bugs remaining in the patch that they had to leave. 1196. By planting three nasturtium seed in each hill of cucumbers you keep bugs away from the vines. 1197. A great many potato-bugs on the vines indicates a large number of potatoes. 1198. Two expressions are heard about the consequences from sowing mustard seed in your garden: either you will experience more trouble that year than you have ever had in your life, or, before summer ends you will shed more tears than you eat greens. 1199. Carry an onion in your pocket for luck. 1200. It is unlucky to transplant parsley. 1201. The transplanting of parsnips brings misfortune, so always throw away the plants thinned from a row. 1202. "I remember when I was living up in the North Bottom below Ursa. A man found a little potato up where the bloom should be. If you find a potato up where the bloom is, it is very bad luck. It is very seldom you find one, and they are just a small potato --- size of a marble. You must never pick that potato; for if you do, you will have seven years bad luck. I said, 'Don't pick that potato; nothing but bad luck.' He went and picked it. And he had nothing but bad luck for seven years. He started in to losing his stock, his grain went bad, just everything went wrong after he picked that potato. Even lost his farm before the seven years was up. My mother said never to touch one, if you saw one." 1203. A small potato may be carried in the pocket for luck. 1204. "It's an old saying of my mother: never keep a pumpkin in your bedroom overnight; very bad luck." 1205. "My grandmother would not let anyone reset sage; said it was very bad luck. It was all right if it came up from the seed, but never reset plants after up." 1206. If sage must be planted in your garden, you can prevent bad luck by planting the seed somewhere else and transplanting the plants. 1207. Your best horse will die the first year you attempt to raise sage. 1208. Never give sage plants to anybody; you and that person will soon quarrel. CORN -OATS -WHEAT (1209-1249) 1209. Corn planted during the increase of the moon grows quicker and yields more than corn planted during the decrease of the moon. 1210. Choose the dark of the moon as a planting-time for corn and it will have a better chance of surviving a drought. 1211. Plant corn on a dark moon to make the ears grow near the bottom of the stalk where they will be within reach and easily picked. Sometimes corn is planted at this time for large ears. 1212. "My husband always planted his corn in the sign of the arm (Gemini); you will get more corn and larger ears." 1213. Planted in the sign of the Twins (Gemini) on a light moon, corn bears ten bushels more to the acre. 1214. If you plant corn in the sign of the Crab (Cancer), the seed will whirl around and around like a crab and never sprout. 1215. You will gather no corn from seed planted in the sign of the Virgin (Virgo); it grows to blades and tassels. 1216. The sign of the Scorpion (Scorpio) is a good time for planting corn. 1217. Tall stalks with full ears are obtained by planting corn in the sign of the thigh (Sagittarius). 1218. March 26 or 27 is a favorable planting-time for corn. 1219. Never plant corn during the first three days of May; the seed will be unproductive. 1220. "Out here about ten miles from Quincy a farmer was in town [Ursa] and they were talking about the weather and if time to plant corn. He wanted to plant his corn but didn't know if the sign was right. While talking, a woman came in with eggs and heard them talking and said, 'I will tell you a good sign to plant corn. You go home, take down your pants, sit your ass down on the ground for five minutes, then get up, and if you don't take cold next day, it is time to plant your corn." 1221. "An Indian sign of my fathers was to plant your corn when the lightning- bugs come, for a good crop. I never plant my corn until I see a lightning-bug. This is Sunday, July 6. I saw my first lightning-bug this morning, so I will plant my corn Monday. It is a little late, but I know I will have a good corn crop." 1222. It is time to plant corn when you hear the first call of one of the following birds: dove, thrush and whippoorwill. 1223. The arrival of the woodpecker is a signal for planting corn. 1223a. "Another good Indian sign, I always watch for them [wrens], is to plant your garden when the first wren comes, to have a good garden." This is also a corn-planting time. 1223b. As soon as dogwood trees are in bloom you may plant your corn. 1224. Told to the early settlers by the Indians, perhaps the commonest sign for planting corn was, and still is, the time when the leaves of certain trees reached the size of a squirrel's ear. In the river bottoms, along the banks of creeks, on the bluffs, and through the hilly sections of the county, these trees were the elm, hickory and white oak; but over the prairie, the tree was the osage orange. 1225. "An old Indian man years ago told my grandfather that whenever the elm-tree leaves got the size of the squirrel's foot, it was time to plant corn, that the Indians went by that sign." This was also said of hickory leaves. 1226. Some farmers plant corn in rows north and south; other farmers plant corn in rows east and west. 1227. Seed for corn must be planted in the proportion of one male grain to two female grains, which are taken respectively from male and female ears: the former ear tapers to a point at the top or growing end, the latter ear has both ends blunt. 1228. "When my mother would plant corn she would always say Here is some for the worms, some for the neighbors, and some for myself, and she would always have a plenty." 1229. Use the following couplet while planting corn: "One for the blackbird, one for the crow; One for the mole and two to grow." 1230. While planting corn you may recite One for the cutworm, one for the birds, one for the rats, one for the thief, and one for myself. 1231. A man who planted corn on the shares always dropped two grains for the partner, one for himself, and three for the mice and rats. 1232. "In planting corn or wheat, I say: 'One for the cutworm,

26 One for the crow; Two to plant, And two to grow'." 1233. This rhyme may be recited as you plant corn: "Two for the crow, Two to rot, And two to grow." 1233a. "I always take four grains of corn and drop them in a hole and say: 'One for the squirrel, One for the crow, One for the earth, One for to grow'." 1234. "My aunt would always plant corn and she would say Three for the hill, four for the crow, and two for the cutworm. The cutworm thinks he has plenty when he takes two, the crow thinks he has had the hill when he takes three, and that leaves four to the planter." These nine grains, three threes, are sometimes divided equally. 1235. After planting the first row of corn, name it for some good-natured person and you will have a heavy crop. 1236. "Mr. P. told me, when he was a boy his father would always make him take the cobs from the corn they were planting and throw them over in a field to rot. If you would burn the cobs, your corn would burn up in the summer when it was growing." 1237. There is no corn-growing weather until after Whitsunday. 1238. "Whenever the black-locust trees are full of blossom you will have a good corn, wheat and oats crop that year. That is an old Indian sign and I always go by them --- my father did." 1239. If while husking you find a blue-spotted ear of corn (sometimes known as Sally corn), you will be lucky. 1240. A farmer sowing oats in the light of the moon reaps long full grain. 1241. Sow oats in mud, wheat in dust, both in the light of the moon, and you will reap a good crop. 1242. Much oats will be reaped from seed sown on March 27,28, and 29. 1243. Oats sown after April 10 grows to straw. 1244. "My father every year always looked for the [letter] W on the lower leaves of the growing oats. He found one before the American and Spanish [Spanish-American] War and one before the[(First] World War." 1245. Drill in your wheat north and south when the sign of the Zodiac is up, to harvest an excellent crop. Wheat drilled this direction withstands cold weather better say some; but others prescribe east and west so that the sun cannot shine along the rows, thus melting the snow. 1246. Wheat should be sown during the increase of the moon. 1247. Farmers sometimes sow wheat when the crocus blooms. 1248. In sowing wheat by hand years ago some farmers would say Here's five for the rabbits, five for the moles and mice, five for the birds, and the rest for myself. 1249. A small nut crop means a small wheat crop and a large nut crop means a large wheat crop. Acorns, butternuts or hickory-nuts are usually named. TREES -SHRUBBERY - VINES (1250-1329) 1250. To be successful with trees, plant or transplant them in the light of the moon. This general rule is occasionally contradicted by choosing the dark of the moon for the planting-time; and with fruit trees, these contradictions are sometimes combined as follows: the light of the moon produces more fruit, the dark of the moon better fruit. 1251. If fruit trees are set out when the moon is full, they will always produce a full crop. 1252. Set out fruit trees in the evening under a new moon and you will have success with them. 1253. Fruit produced by trees planted in the autumn during the sign of the weight (Libra) is large and smooth. 1254. Pears from trees planted in the sign of the Fish or Fishes (Pisces) are long, smooth and nice to peel. 1255. Cherry trees do well when planted in March on the light of the moon. 1256. May 25 is a good time for setting out fruit trees. 1257. Never plant a tree where another stood; it will not thrive. 1258. A tree or bush will prosper, if during the planting you name it after some prosperous person. 1259. "My-uncle planted two fruit trees and he named one for my brother and one for me [a woman]; and the one he named after me didn't grow at all, and the one after my brother you could just see it grow. If you plant fruit trees, name them after a man instead of a woman and they will grow twice as fast." 1260. Some people think a tree grows better, if into the hole dug for the planting you bury one of the following articles: a bone, an old bucket, an old shoe, a potato, and a large white stone. 1261. "Mr. K. told me a man on his block had a cherry tree and it would always bloom, but he would not get any cherries. He told him to hang the tree full of old bottles. He did. And that year he got two crates of fine cherries." 1262. "I had an old yellow plum tree, it would bloom all the time but would not bear. One day a lady came to our house and said, 'Hang all the old buckets you can find on that tree and it will bear fruit.' We got all the old buckets we could find and hung on the tree, and we had all the plums we could take care of after that." 1263. Hang elder leaves on fruit trees to keep insects from injuring the fruit. Elder leaves are also scattered over cabbage plants for the same purpose. 1264. "We had a blue plum tree for ten years and it never had a plum on it. It would just bloom all the time. One day my grandson Rex came to see me and he was playing out in the yard, and he took a hatchet and hacked into the tree. My son said, 'Why Rex, why did you do that? for you will kill grandma's tree.' And the next year that tree was full of the blue plums." 1265. "My plum tree didn't have any fruit on for years, and this year I put a horseshoe in the tree and I have so many plums I have to give them away." 1266. "I had a pear tree that bloom every year and never had a pear on it, so someone told me to drive nails in it, but not to drive them straight around, just to drive one here and there and a little higher, never right around. I did this in the fall, and the next year the tree was full of pears." 1267. A nail driven into the north side of the trunk revives a dying tree.

27 1268. If a fruit tree is unproductive, during the autumn drive three rusty nails into the trunk near the ground and you will get a crop next year. 1269. After setting out a fruit tree, urinate against the trunk every day to make it fruitful. As a substitute for this, and more convenient for a woman, the chamber pot may be emptied around the tree each morning. 1270. "My father did this to his pear tree that didn't bear, and that year he got three bushels of pears: if a tree don't bear, slice the bark down all around and it will bear the next year, for fruit trees get bark-bound sometimes." 1271. Fruit trees are made more productive by scattering ashes about them on Ash Wednesday. 1272. On Ash Wednesday break a twig from each tree and an abundant crop of fruit will be harvested that year. 1273. To make fruit trees prolific bearers, they must be shaken on Good Friday. 1274. Good Friday is the proper date for spraying fruit trees. 1275. If you prune fruit trees in the light of the moon, they will not die; if in the dark of the moon, they will bleed to death. These beliefs are sometimes reversed. 1276. By pruning trees on a full moon they will be laden with fruit. 1277. Grapevines pruned just before the full moon and in the sign of Cancer will not be bothered by birds or worms. 1278. Each year pick the first blossom on the tree and you will get a large crop of fruit. 1279. "One year I was at my uncle's and the cherry trees were white with bloom. I said, 'You will have a lot of fruit.' My uncle said, 'We will not have any cherries because they are blooming in the dark of the moon; no good, they will fall off.' And he didn't get many cherries that year." 1280. A tree blooming twice in the same season will die that year. 1281. A tree blooming twice in the same season means much sickness that fall. 1282. Occasionally a tree that blooms twice in the same season is considered a sign of bad luck; which, however, can be avoided by picking off the blossoms. 1283. If you estimate or count the unmatured fruit on a tree, it will drop off before ripening. 1284. "My husband in the spring always put old horseshoes in the fruit trees; it will make the fruit hang on the trees." 1285. You can prevent apples from falling off the tree by driving a nail into the trunk. 1286. Five nails driven into the trunk prevent the fruit from falling off the tree. 1287. "My father did this when fruit was dropping off: drive those old- fashion square iron nails in the tree to hold the fruit on the tree. Never use wire nails; it must be the old iron nails." 1288. Good maple sugar will not be secured unless you tap the tree in January during the light of the moon. 1289. Harvested in the light of the moon, fruit keeps well say some; but others say the dark of the moon is the better time for harvesting fruit to make it keep. Similarly, if one harvests fruit during the full moon, it will stay full --- not wither or rot. 1290. Apples falling in the light of the moon are bruised more than those falling in the dark of the moon. 1291. Soft rot attacks apples that fall in the light of the moon; dry rot attacks apples that fall in the dark of the moon. 1292. Never allow a pregnant woman to shake a fruit tree at harvest-time; it will be barren next year. 1293. A woman who touches a fruit tree while in her courses will kill it. 1294. It brings good luck to plant a cedar tree in your yard and have it live. 1295. Do not plant a cedar tree where it can cast a shadow on your house, for you will be unlucky. 1296. Anyone who plants an oak tree in the yard will have good luck. 1297. Persimmon trees near the house are unlucky according to some, lucky according to others. 1298. Poplar trees in the yard bring trouble. 1299. Nothing but misfortune can be expected from planting a weeping willow tree in your yard. 1300. Timber or brush is best killed when Cut in the dark of the moon; the killing being done by girdling the tree or driving nails into the trunk. Likewise, if you girdle a tree on the dark of the moon, it will die from there down; if on the light of the moon, it will die from there up and sprout again at the roots. This is the usual principle, but some say you will be more successful by cutting trees in the light of the moon. 1301. An Ember day is the best time to kill brush, shrubbery, and trees. 1302. You can kill a tree by driving a spike into it on the first of May. 1303. Hedge, shrubbery, sprouts, and trees die when cut during the first three days of June. 1304. Trees felled on June 18 or 19 do not sprout again. 1305. The longest day of the year, June 21, is the best time for felling trees. 1306. Always fell trees on one of the following days in June: 21, 22, or 23. 1307. To keep sprouts from sprouting again, grub them out in June during the dark of the moon. 1308. A hedge should be grubbed out on the first day of July. 1309. The sign of the heart (Leo) in July is an excellent time for felling trees. 1310. Brush or trees cut from the seventh to the fourteenth of August will die; the thirteenth often being considered the most suitable of these days. 1311. Almost everything --- brush, osage orange especially, shrubbery, sprouts, and timber --- dies when cut in the dark of the moon during August. 1312. White-oak posts chopped during August in the dark of the moon are supposed to last twice as long. 1313. Cut on the full moon in August, brush does not sprout again. 1314. Briers, shrubbery, and trees are easily killed in the sign of the heart (Leo) during August; further, the stumps will rot within a year. 1315. Timber hewn in August lasts longer, because sap still remains in the wood. 1316. If you hew hickory during the autumn in the dark of the moon, worms will not bore into the wood. 1317. Hewing trees while the sap rises will make the wood wormy. 1318. My father always cut his trees for posts and pickets in October so they would season good, and cut his trees in November for wood to burn --- said it would hold fire better. Never cut trees for wood to burn in the spring, for the sap is going up and the wood will burn right away. " 1319. It is unlucky to cut down a cedar tree. 1320. Lightning strikes the locust more often than any other tree according to some, the walnut according to others; the oak coming next. 1321. Do not burn cedar wood, for you will have bad luck. 1322. To burn grapevine prunings is unlucky. 1323. Never burn sassafras wood --- some say inside the house, others say anywhere --- bad luck will befall you. 1324. "I will not burn any cutting off of a tree, bush or vine. I always put them in some corner of the yard and let them rot, for I think it is bad luck to burn them."

28 1325. "My father will not burn a fruit limb in the stove for anything; sure sign of some disappointment." 1326. "Wind in the west, Brush will burn best; Wind in the south, Brush will burn out." 1327. Long pine needles are a sign of a heavy berry and fruit crop. 1328. "My brother always carries a buckeye in his pocket to get money." 1329. "I always carry three buckeyes in my pocket to always have money. My grandfather did this through the Civil War, my mother did this, and I am carrying three buckeyes too." ANIMALS (1330-2582) SMALL FORMS OF AIR AND LAND LIFE (1330-1529) Insect - Ant -Bedbug - Bee - Butterfly (1330-1379) 1330. If the sun shines during the first spring rain, there will be "lots and lots of bugs" that year. 1331. The person who kills an ant or steps on an ant mound will be unlucky. 1332. Ants inside the house mean good luck. 1333. If ants build a nest near your door, you may expect good luck. 1334. If all at once a great many ants approach or invade your house, bad luck is indicated. 1335. A family never comes to want while there are ants on the property. 1336. If you keep an open bottle of ammonia on the floor in the center of the house for three days, at the end of that time all bedbugs will be gone. 1337. To make up a warm or unaired bed in the morning brings bedbugs. 1338. Always clean your bed on St. Patrick's Day and it will not have bedbugs that year. 1339. "When I was young I always cleaned my house on Ash Wednesday so I would not be bothered with bedbugs and it worked fine." 1340. The bed a person cleans in the dark of the moon never has bedbugs. 1341. As a remedy against bedbugs, gather fern leaves in June and throw them under the bed. 1342. Fern leaves gathered during the last two days of June and put under the bed drives away bedbugs. 1343. Boil horse-hoof scrapings and use this liquid in washing a bed infested by bedbugs. 1344. One rids a house of bedbugs by catching three and turning them loose in a new house that is being built. 1345. An effective germicidal wash for bedbugs is made, if you urinate into a bucket and let the urine stand seven days before using it. 1346. It is unlucky to see more bees enter than leave the hive. 1347. Bees will abandon the hive before any family misfortune. 1348. You can prevent bees from swarming by putting urine in the hive. The same thing may also be done to keep a swarm of bees home after it has been hived. 1349. You can prevent bees from swarming by shaking a cow-bell over the hive. 1350. You can prevent bees from swarming by using a mirror to reflect the sun into the hive. 1351. "If bees swarm in May, They're worth a ton of hay." 1352. "A swarm of bees in May, Is worth a load of hay; A swarm of bees in June, Is worth a silver spoon; A swarm of bees in July, Is not worth a fly." 1353. Unless bees swarm during the dark of the moon, you will have a difficult time in hiving them. 1354. Noises such as ringing a bell, shooting a gun, shouting, and beating on tin pans will make bees land while swarming. 1355. After a swarm of bees flies over your head, you may look for good luck. 1356. A swarm of bees flying over your head between sunset and sunrise is unlucky. 1357. To have a strange swarm of bees settle on your farm or garden is lucky; and particularly so, when they rest upon the house or enter any crevice of it; and luckier yet, if you can hive them. 1358. Money will come to the person upon whose farm or garden a strange swarm of bees settles. 1359. Never move bees from their hive to another one except on Friday; you will be unfortunate. 1360. Bees carried across water will die. 1361. If a honey bee or a bumblebee flies into your house, good luck may be expected; but if you kill the bee, bad luck. Always let the bee remain a few minutes before chasing it out; or better still, let the bee fly away voluntarily. However, some consider a bee in the house unlucky; but to be so, it must get in through a door. 1362. If a bee flies into your house and you let it stay, you will soon receive money. 1363. Bumblees buzzing about you are bringing you money. 1364. Whoever while picking flowers is pestered by bees will soon get money. 1365. After a bee has buzzed about your head three times, you may expect money. 1366. A bee flying into the house indicates a visit from a stranger. 1367. If a bumblebee stays at your door a long time and persists on entering, someone you have not seen for a great while will soon visit you. 1368. Good news is brought by a bee attempting to enter your house. 1369. Hasty news follows a bee that comes into your house and buzzes around. 1370. It is an omen of good news when a bumblebee pesters you. 1371. If you are standing and a bee suddenly begins to buzz about you, it denotes news: if the bee is yellow, good news; if the bee is dark, bad news --- the darker the bee, the worse the news. 1372. To kill a butterfly is unlucky; very unlucky, if it is killed by pulling off the wings. 1373. When a butterfly rests on your shoulder, it is a token of good luck.

29 1374. "Just last week a butterfly came to my door and kept flying up and down the door outside, and that day I got company from out of town; inside the door would be company from in town." 1375. A butterfly that enters the house and lights on you foretells a visitor. 1376. After a butterfly gets into your house, you will be visited by a woman. 1377. The significance of a butterfly getting into your house is a visit from a stranger. 1378. If the first butterfly seen in the spring is white, you will be healthy and happy that year; if yellow, unhealthy and unhappy. 1379. If in the morning you see a white butterfly, you will soon go to a wedding; if a black butterfly, to a funeral. 1380. To kill a caterpillar (by stepping on it say some) causes bad luck. Caterpillar - Centipede - Cricket - Doodle Bug (1380-1404) 1381. The person who sees a fever-worm (a pale-yellow caterpillar) will be unfortunate, but this misfortune can be averted by spitting three times. 382. As a method for obtaining good luck, keep a caterpillar confined until it has changed into a butterfly. 1383. The killing of a thousand-legger (centipede) brings good luck, provided you kill it with the palm of your hand. 1384. The chirping of crickets is always a good sign; some say they are telling you of future success. 1385. Some say only a cricket that chirps after you have gone to bed makes you fortunate. 1386. It is an indication of good luck whenever a cricket enters your house. 1387. "My grandmother said it was lucky to have crickets in the house; but if they move around, some bad luck will come." 1388. Let a person on finding crickets in the house put one of them under the front doorstep for luck. 1389. Crickets getting into or singing in the house signify money or prosperity. 1390. A cricket heard in the room after you have gone to bed signifies company. 1391. If a cricket chirps near or in a house, the occupants will soon move. 1392. Sickness is foretold when a cricket suddenly stops calling and leaves the house. 1393. Never kill a cricket; it will make you very unlucky. 1394. "I always sweep the crickets out; never kill them, for the others will come and eat up your woolen clothes." 1395. The person who kills a cricket will have his clothes eaten by the mate of the dead cricket. Similarly, the cricket killer will always find two holes eaten in his clothes; one for the dead cricket and the other for the living avenger. 1396. If their owner kills a cricket, cows will give bloody milk. 1397. "I am seventy-five years old and this is an old saying of my grandmother: if you kill a cricket, your teeth will all rot out." 1398. A doodle bug (larva of a dragonfly) will obey you, if you recite: "Doodle bug, doodle bug, Come out of your hole; Your house is on fire, And your children are burning up." 1399. You can force a doodle bug out of its hole by repeating: "Doodle, doodle, doodle, Your mother and grand-daddy are dead." 1400. To bring a doodle bug out of its hole, pronounce this rhyme: "Doodle bug, doodle bug, stick out your horns, And I will give you ten bushels of corn." 1401. If a person speaks this couplet, a doodle bug will show itself: "Doodle bug, doodle bug, come out of your hole; If you don't, I'll beat you as black as a mole." 1402. Stoop down over a doodle bug's hole and say until the bug appears: "Doodle up, Johnnie Brown, doodle up, Johnnie Brown, doodle up, Johnnie Brown." Then, after the bug has appeared, if you want it to return into its hole, these words must be said: "Doodle bug, doodle bug, go down; Go down, Johnnie Brown, go down." 1403. As a device for making a doodle bug leave its hole, the following incantation may be used: "Doodle up, doodle up, doodle up. " The bug will again conceal itself, if the incantation is changed to: "Doodle down, doodle down, doodle down." 1404. "When I was a boy, I would get down on the ground and whistle and whistle down one of these doodle bug's holes in the ground, and they would crawl out to see what I wanted." Dragon fly - Flea - Fly - Grasshopper - Katydid (1405-1424) 1405. "My father said never to kill a snake feeder (usually called snake doctor, i.e. a dragon fly); if you did, something bad would happen to you." 1406. A flea found on your hand is the sign of a letter. 1407. Flies about your door are lucky. 1408. If you have no flies about the house and all at once a large number of them appear, misfortune may be expected. 1409. Years ago it was sometimes said that you committed a sin or became unlucky by killing a house fly, but modern knowledge about the fly as a germ carrier, has made this belief obsolete. 1410. It is lucky to have a live fly in the house at Christmas; but the person who kills this fly, sometimes called a Christmas fly, will be very unlucky. 1411. A live fly found in the house on New Year's Day means good luck all year. 1412. One fly killed brings ten flies to its funeral. 1413. Kill the first fly seen in the spring and you will soon go on a long journey. 1414. Where flies go (especially when they gather near a door), money always follows. 1415. Money is denoted by flies staying in the house all winter.

30 1416. Good news will be heard after a fly (usually a large one) buzzes about and pesters you. Such a fly is occasionally known as a news fly. 1417. If a fly keeps lighting on your nose, someone wants to see you. 1418. A horsefly buzzing three times round your head betokens good news. 1419. Somebody (often a stranger) desires to meet or to talk with the person whose face is persistently annoyed by a fly. 1420. If flies keep flying against your house, you may look for visitors. 1421. A grasshopper spits a brown juice called tobacco juice when you hold the insect and repeat this rhyme: "Spit tobacco juice, And I'll turn you loose." 1422. To make a grasshopper spit brown juice, put the insect on the back of your hand and say If you don't spit tobacco, I will cut your head off. 1423. Expect good news after you see a large number of grasshoppers near your door. 1424. Do not kill a katydid; you will have bad luck. Lady Bug - Lightning Bug (Firefly) - Locust (1425-1435) 1425. A lady-bug will leave you, if you say: "Lady-bug, lady-bug, Flyaway home; Your house is on fire, Your children will burn." 1426. Use this incantation and a lady-bug will depart: "Lady-bug, lady-bug, Fly away home; Your house is on fire, Your children are alone." 1427. Drive away a lady-bug by reciting: "Lady-bug, lady-bug, Fly away home; Your house is on fire, Your children are burning; All except little Ann, And she crawled under the marble stone." 1428. After you have recited the following words, a lady-bug will flyaway: "Lady-bug, lady-bug, Your house is burning, And your children are crying." 1429. Bad luck will come to the person who kills a lady-bug. 1430. To have a lightning-bug enter the house indicates visitors. 1431. The meaning of a large number of lightning-bugs near your house is company. 1432. "A man had a bucket of locusts up in the Relief Office [for the poor of Quincy] this week and said we are going to have war, because every locust had a letter W on its wings, and that is a sure sign of war." For the benefit of the "believer," this saying, No.1380 of the first edition of this book, was collected about 1934. 1433. The letters W W on the wings of a locust mean war and want. 1434. If locusts have the letter P on their wings, it is an indication of peace. 1435. A locust bearing the letters P P on its wings signifies peace and plenty. Lice - Moth - Snail - Spider (1436-1522) 1436. Be careful about getting sand in your hair; lice will generate on your head. 1437. To rid yourself of lice, take one of them into the graveyard and shoot it and the others will leave. 1438. Place in a coffin three lice from your head and the corpse will carry away the others. 1439. Moths flying near cream or milk turn it sour. 1440. This rhyme is sometimes spoken to a snail: "Snail, snail, come out of your hole, Or I'll beat you as black as [a piece of] coal." 1441. A snail will draw in its head, if you repeat this couplet: "Snail, snail, put in your head, Or else I'll beat you till you're dead." 1442. Speak these words and a snail will stick out its head: "Snail, snail, poke out your horn, And I will give you a barrel of corn." 1443. You will always be lucky in a house where snails stay near the door or down in the cellar. 1444. If you drop salt on a snail, it will melt into a green spot. 1445. On the first of May a snail caught by the horns and thrown over your shoulder gives you good luck all year. 1446. Sweep your house in the dark of the moon and spiders will not enter it. 1447. When a woman sees a spider weaving a web, it shows that a new dress is being woven for her. 1448. A spider killed while crawling on a woman's arm brings her a new dress. 1449. If a woman finds a spider on her dress, a new dress may be expected. 1450. A person seeing a spider run down its web in the afternoon will soon travel. 1451. If a spider crawls towards you in the morning, it is a sign of a quarrel that day. 1452. No matter what a spider is doing, seen at night it is a sign of peace. 1453. To see a spider spinning its web in the morning makes you successful in business or any undertaking that day. 1454. Anyone killing a spider on a bed will soon be sick in that bed.

31 1455. Never kill a spider; your pride or self-esteem will be killed. 1456. By killing a spider some say you slay an enemy; others say you slay a friend. It is also said you will never conquer your enemies. 1457. If you walk into or through a spider web, you will soon meet a friend. 1458. As a general rule, anytime a spider crawls towards you, it denotes company. However, some say the spider must crawl towards you in the morning, others say in the evening. 1459. If a spider spins before your face or swings down on its thread in front of you, look for a visitor; a welcome one say some. It is also said you will greet a bosom friend unexpectedly. 1460. If a spider drops on its thread in front of you and stays down, it means a visit from a relative who will stay a long time. 1461. If a spider comes down on its thread in front of you, a person of the opposite sex having hair the color of the spider will call on you. 1462. The significance of a spider getting on you is a guest. Some say this guest will be an old friend. 1463. If you see a spider crawling on your bed, a stranger is coming; but if you kill the spider, the stranger will not come. 1464. If you see a spider crawling on a bed, a stranger will soon sleep in that bed. 1465. A spider that crawls up the door is a token of an approaching stranger. 1466. A spider beginning to weave a web in the doorway betokens a welcome caller. 1467. If you find a spider crawling on or hanging over your table (while you are eating, say some), it foretells that someone (a stranger say some) will share the next meal with you. 1468. The person who sees a spider making its web in a window will soon entertain guests. 1469. If a spider weaves down in front of you, somebody wants to speak to you. 1470. To have a spider drop down in front of you and then climb up its thread is a warning of a disappointment. 1471. After a spider crawls on you, good news will be received. The spider must not be killed. 1472. A spider seen at noon indicates good news; provided you do not kill the spider. 1473. The usual interpretation for a spider dropping down in front of you is good news. However, it is also said: if a spider drops down in front of you and climbs up its thread, you will hear good news; but if the spider continues downward to the floor and does not climb up its thread, you will hear bad news. 1474. A spider dropping down in front of you is an omen of a letter; but if you kill the spider, you will not get the letter. It is also said you will not get the letter unless the spider climbs up its thread. 1475. Some say a spider must drop down in front of you three times to bring a letter. 1476. If you are in bed and a spider lets itself down from the ceiling directly above you, it signifies a letter. Similarly, a spider hanging over your head or spinning a web overhead, no matter what your posture, is the sign of a letter; a large one say some. 1477. If a spider runs over the floor and you do not kill it, expect a letter. 1478. You can obtain a letter by killing a spider in the palm of your hand. Some require that this must be a spider caught while spinning its web downwards. 1479. Another method for obtaining a letter is to catch a spider and burn it. 1480. The meaning of a spider on your window is a letter. 1481. A person walking through a spider web soon gets a letter. 1482. If a spider runs over your head, a letter will soon arrive; from the direction in which the spider was running, add some. 1483. The person on to whose shoulder a spider lowers itself will soon receive a letter. 1484. If a black spider crawls on you, a black-haired person will send you a letter. 1485. If a spider swings down in front of you, a letter will come from a person whose hair is the color of the spider. 1486. If a spider swings down in front of you and remains down, a letter will come from a man; if the spider returns up its thread, from a woman. 1487. If a spider (usually a small one) comes down in front of you, or spins its web towards you, or hangs over your head; you will acquire money --- soon, or within three days, or in a letter. 1488. A small red spider is called a money spider. To see one of them brings you money; provided you do not harm the spider say some. 1489. To find any kind of spider on your clothes is an indication of money. 1490. You can secure money by catching a spider and keeping it alive in your pocketbook. However, some say you must catch a spider on you; others say a spider spinning its web. It is usually said you will have money only so long as the spider lives. 1491 Never capture a spider running away from you; you will be unlucky in money matters. 1492. "I will not kill a spider I find alive on Friday. I always put it in a piece of paper [white paper is usually prescribed] and put it in my pocket so I will get money before the day is over." 1493. If you step on a spider, someone will soon give you money. 1494. As a general rule, it is unlucky to kill a spider; hence the following rhyme: "If you wish to thrive, Leave the spider alive. " or "If you wish to live and thrive, Let the spider walk alive." or "If you want to live and strive, Let the spider go alive." or "If you wish to live and strive, Let the spider run alive. " 1495. Only a spider killed in the house or one found on your person causes bad luck say some. 1496. The killing of a black spider or a baby spider is particularly unlucky. 1497. Some say you may kill a spider anytime during the day without causing bad luck. 1498. In spite of the four preceding beliefs, it is occasionally considered lucky to kill a spider; provided, according to some, it is killed in the morning. 1499. Three different times of the day are thought to be exceptionally unlucky for killing a spider: some say in the morning; others say during the afternoon; and still others say at night.

32 1500.

"If you see a spider in the morning, It is a warning." 1501. "If you see a spider in the morn, It'll bring you sorrow and harm; If you see a spider at night, It will bring you joy and delight." 1502. A spider seen at noon is lucky say some; unlucky say others. 1503. If a spider approaches you in the morning, it denotes good luck say some; sorrow say others. 1504. The person who sees a spider spinning its web in the morning will be lucky. 1505. If a spider spins a web from the ceiling in the morning, good luck is signified; if in the afternoon or at night, bad luck. 1506. To awake in the morning and discover that a spider has spun a web in your room during the night is lucky. 1507. It is unlucky to have a spider spin its web across your kitchen door. 1508. A person passing through a spider web will be lucky say some; unlucky say others. 1509. If a person sweeps down a spider web in the house, good luck may be expected say some; bad luck say others. 1510. "I will never disturb a spider web; I think it very bad luck, for the spider web was what saved Jesus's life." 1511. Wait until the spider has left its web and then you may sweep it away without incurring bad luck. 1512. A spider coming down on its web before you is generally considered lucky, but sometimes this is considered unlucky. 1513. If a small spider hangs down in front of you, it means good luck; the smaller the spider, the better the luck. 1514. A brown spider suspended before your face is a token of good luck. 1515. If a white spider falls down in front of you, look for good luck; if a black spider, bad luck. 1516. If a spider (a black one in particular) falls down in front of you and then goes up its thread, you will be lucky. Nevertheless, some say this is unlucky. 1517. Never walk under a spider that is falling down; you will have bad luck. Always drive the spider up its thread before walking under it. 1518. A spider on you or on your clothes foretells good luck. 1519. As a method for securing luck: catch a black spider, wrap it up in a piece of brown paper, lay this package on the left side of your breast against the skin, and let it remain there until the spider dies. Some say the spider must be caught while it is crawling on you or dropping down in front of you. 1520. A live spider wrapped in a piece of paper and put under the inner sole of your right shoe gives you good luck; provided the spider is still living after the third day. 1521. Worn in either shoe a spider dead or alive makes you lucky. 1522. An old Negro woman who years ago worked as charwoman in the former red-light district on lower Broadway said, "A sporting woman always puts a spider in her right stocking, if she finds one, for good luck that day." Notwithstanding, some say the left stocking may be used. Tumblebug - Wasp - Worm (1523-1529) 1523. "My grandfather said it was bad luck to see a tumblebug crawling in the rain." 1524. Bad luck is caused by killing a wasp. 1525. A wasp flying into the house is a good omen. 1526. It is lucky to have wasps build a nest in a window, on the porch, or under the eaves of your house. 1527. In years past when sidewalks were constructed of brick, the innumerable earthworms that crawled up through the spaces between the bricks after a heavy spring-rain were frequently thought to have fallen from the sky. 1528. If a fishing-worm is cut in half, each part will crawl away and become a whole worm. 1529. After you see the first worm in the spring, you will take a long trip; the longer the worm, the longer the trip. AQUATIC ANIMAL LIFE (1530-1543) Sea Shell - Oyster - Crayfish (1530-1536) 1530. Hold a sea shell to your ear and you can hear the sea roaring. 1531. Oysters are not good to eat except during a month that has the letter R in its name. 1532. By keeping a piece of oyster shell in your pocketbook, luck and money can be had. 1533. A crawfish pinching one of your toes will not let loose until it thunders. 1534. Anybody finding a crawfish with one claw will be lucky. 1535. It is lucky to find a crawfish having one large claw and one small claw. 1536. There are two precious stones in the head of a crawfish; one may be carried for luck. Fish - Gold fish - Minnow - Perch (1537-1543) 1537. Fish sometimes fall from the sky during a rain. 1538. "I had a friend that didn't believe this: never to put uneven goldfish in a bowl, for the odd one will always die. So she put five goldfish in a bowl and it was no time until one died, leaving only the four." 1539. Goldfish in the house are lucky say some; unlucky say others. 1540. "If you have goldfish in your house, you will be ailing all the time until you get them out." 1541. Always buy your goldfish, for accepting them as a gift will cause you bad luck. 1542. Minnows come by spontaneous generation. The old argument, one formerly submitted as an infallible proof of this belief, asserted that a creek will dry up completely during a drought and yet minnows always reappear immediately after the first rain. 1543. Two bones from the head of a white perch, one lying just behind each eye, are considered lucky; unusually lucky when worn by a fisherman. FROG - TOAD - LIZARD - SNAKE - TURTLE (1544-1617) 1544. During a rainstorm frogs sometimes drop from the sky. 1545. If in the spring you see a toad before seeing a snake, you will be lazy all year; if you see a snake before seeing a toad, you will be lively all year. 1546. The croaking of frogs at midnight on a battlefield will be followed by a battle within three days.

33 1547. A frog killed is the sign of a new enemy made. 1548. The farmer who kills a frog or toad may expect bloody milk from his cows. 1549. After you have killed a frog or toad, your cows will give buttermilk. 1550. To kill or step on a toad makes your cows go dry. 1551. Never kill a toad; your house will catch fire. 1552. Whoever kills a toad will stump his toe and stumble; before the end of the day say some, before midnight say others. 1553. If you kill a frog, you will soon lose your best friend; by death say some. 1554. By killing a frog or toad you make yourself unlucky. 1555. You can become lucky by carrying either the jawbone or breastbone of a tree toad. 1556. "I always do this every spring for luck; spit on the first toad you see." 1557. "We used to have our yard full of bullfrogs and we had all kind of luck; now we have no bullfrogs and we have nothing but bad luck." 1558. A toad may be kept in your cellar for luck. 1559. If you kill a lizard (salamander) that lives at a spring, the spring will dry up. 1560. Snakes can be created by letting horsehair remain in water; each hair eventually will become a snake. Rain water and tail hair are usually prescribed. Hair from a grey horse makes this transformation gradually, but hair from a black horse is completely transformed at the end of nine days. 1561. The first thunder of the year awakens snakes. 1562. March thunder wakes up snakes; they appear in April. 1563. During a dry year you will see "lots and lots" of snakes. 1564. If you cut up a joint-snake, the pieces will unite and the snake will crawl away. 1565. A hoop-snake, having raised its tail and curved it forwards until the tip can be grasped by the mouth to form a circle, often rolls like a hoop along the ground; but usually the snake prefers to roll down a hill. In the latter case, if the tail strikes a tree, the tree will die. Some call this reptile a horned-snake because the end of its tail, a sort of stinger, is pointed and hard like a horn. 1566. Very rare is the coachwhip --- a snake that chases a person and whips him. 1567. There is a long, slim, bluish snake with glassy eyes, which is called a milk-snake because it sucks a cow. A cow will become so attached to this snake that she will hold back her milk at night. Similarly, most snakes seem to be fond of sucking cows, especially the common blacksnake: "We sure did have a time with the blacksnakes when we were on the farm. The cows do like the snakes to suck them; would rather have a snake any day than a calf to suck." 1568. A woman had a cow and sold milk to customers in the neighborhood. One day a little girl came to report that her mother would no longer buy the milk because it was bloody. So the owner, who had been unaware of this trouble, tested separately each of the cow's tits and discovered two of them giving bloody milk; and blood in the milk, unless the cow is bewitched, always shows that a cow has been sucked by a snake. Eventually, she had to have the cow killed, for the animal is never any good after a snake has been sucking her. 1569. Sore tits in a cow often come from having been bitten by a snake that has sucked them. 1570. Never kill a snake that has been sucking a cow; the cow will go dry. 1571. "My aunt lived over in the Bottom. She had a little baby about three years old. It was not very strong and every day she would put it out in the yard in the sun to play. One day this child came in the house saying, 'Pritly, pritly' — the child could not say, 'pretty'. And the mother looked and screamed at the same time, for a snake was following the child in the house. The child had a piece of bread in her hand and the snake was just ready to take a bite, when her mother slap the child's hand and grab her up, afraid the snake would bite the child. She called to her husband to come and kill the snake; told him it was eating the child's bread. The husband pick the snake up and threw it out the door without killing it. My aunt said, 'Why didn't you kill it? ' He said, 'Do you want your child to die? If I had of killed the snake, we would of lost our child; for it is a very old saying, if a snake eat anything you have and you kill the snake, you will die'." 1572. If you find a snake drinking milk from a cup out of which some of the milk was previously drunk by a child, always let the snake escape; for if the snake is killed, the child will not live long. 1573. After a snake has drunk milk from a cup out of which a child was drinking milk, let the child take another drink of the same milk. This will make the child a snake charmer. 1574. "My daughter was very fond of snakes. When she was a little girl she would catch every snake she would see and put them in bottles. She would play with them all the time just like a girl would with her dolls. We were always afraid she would be bitten by a snake, because we could not keep her from picking up every snake she saw. Her father told her he would whip her if he found her with another snake. One day he took all of her snakes and killed them. When she came home, all of her snakes was gone out of the bottles. She came to me crying and wanted to know what happened to her snakes. I told her ask her father. Her father told her he had killed them. She said, '0h, father, you didn't kill little Jodie?' That was her pet snake. 'I did, I killed every one, and I don't want to catch you with any more or I will hide you.' But we could not keep her away from snakes. Time went on and she started again picking up snakes. This time the hoopsnake. She would hold them up over her head, holding a hoop over her head. She even went to the county fair with a hoopsnake, holding it up over her head. She showed snakes in shows. I always thought after that, that when my daughter was a little girl a snake must of charmed her, for she always liked snakes and was never bitten by one." 1575. A snake charms its victim before striking. 1576. Rattlesnakes will always shake their rattles three times to warn you before they attack. 1577. A rattlesnake will never strike a small child. 1578. If a child plays with a snake and you kill the snake, the child will soon die. 1579. Gourds grown in the garden will rid your property of snakes; they do not like the smell of this vegetable. 1580. To protect yourself against snakes at night when camping, lay a braid of horsehair (from the horse's tail say some) or a rope on the ground so that it circles you completely. Snakes cannot cross over either article. 1581. "Years ago I lived in a house down in the Bottoms where the place was just full of rattlesnakes. You could never go out in the yard unless you would see snakes everywhere. I had several small children and was afraid they would get in the house, so I took old rubber and shoes and put them all around the house and set them on fire to let them burn up, because where old shoes and rubber burn, a snake will never cross over the ground. And we didn't have any to get in the house." 1582. If you kill the first snake you see in the spring and burn it in your yard, all the snakes on your farm will leave . 1583. The snake-doctor (dragon fly) warns a snake when danger is near. 1584. A snake will swallow her young in times of danger, and when the danger has passed, the small snakes will crawl out of the mother's belly. This is said to be especially true of black snakes. 1585. If a snake is killed during the mating season, its mate will come to the body; before sunset say some, before noon next day say others.

34 1586. The last part of a snake to die is its tail. 1587. A snake never dies until sunset. 1588. "Years ago I was working for a man for seven long years and we got along fine until one day his brother and wife came to see him. Several days after they were there I went out the front door and a big black snake was lying across the path. I said to his brother, 'Will you kill that snake for me?' And he did. I lost my job that week. If I had of killed that snake I would of conquered my enemies and got to stay, but the brother and wife got to stay over me letting him kill the snake." 1589. Do not kill a snake that runs away from you; it is some enemy running away and you will have good luck by letting matters rest as they are. 1590. You can conquer your enemies by killing a snake and burying it near your door before sunset. 1591. The person who kills a snake in May will subdue his enemies for twelve months. 1592. To kill the first snake of the season is to overcome your worst enemy say some, but others say this act overcomes all your enemies that year. Occasionally, to fail in killing the first snake means your friends will turn against you. 1593. If the first snake you see in the spring is dead, either you have no enemies or someone else has killed your enemies for you. 1594. If a person kills the first snake of the season, it brings good luck all year; if a person does not kill the first snake of the season, it brings bad luck all year. Both the positive and negative aspects of this belief have been modernized: if your automobile runs over the first snake of the season, you will be lucky all year; if the snake does not die after your automobile has run over it, get out at once and kill the snake to prevent being unlucky all year. 1595. A snake seen while crawling is unlucky; a snake seen at rest is lucky. 1596. If you see a snake at rest and it is curled up, one of your best friends is an enemy. 1597. Three snakes killed on the same day by the same person give him good luck. 1598. The killing of a snake is a cause of sorrow. 1599. If a snake crosses your path, bad luck may be expected. The contrary is sometimes believed. 1600. "Whenever my grandma would have a snake to cross her path, she would always turn and look at the sun to keep from having bad luck." 1601. Before crossing over snake tracks in the dust of a road, always draw a cross on them for luck. 1602. It is unlucky to see a large blacksnake. 1603. "One day I went somewhere and I saw five snakes. When I got home I told my mother-in-law and she said, 'Oh, I am so sorry, for that is trouble in the family.' And it was no time until my husband and I separated." 1604. After you have met a snake, you will meet an ill-tongued person. 1605. If a snake gets into the house, an enemy is trying to harm you. 1606. A snake getting into a tent on the battle grounds denotes the approach of enemies. 1607. Never pick up a skin cast by a snake in early spring; you would be picking up a lot of trouble. 1608. You may catch a rattlesnake (the older, the better), remove its rattles, and carry them in a small bag on your body to ward off all forms of bad luck. Sometimes these rattles are carried in a pocket or pocketbook for luck. 1609. Rattlesnake rattles kept in a violin make the instrument easier to play say some; better toned say others. 1610. Do not chase a blacksnake out of your yard or away from your farm or kill it; you will have good luck so long as the snake stays. 1611. Beware of being bitten by a turtle; it will hold on until sunset. 1612. If a turtle bites you, it will not let go until there is thunder. 1613. Turtles when killed will live until the sun goes down. 1614. It is unlucky to kill a turtle which you yourself do not intend to eat. 1615. "An old saying of my grandfather was to always try to catch a turtle after sundown, for it would bring you luck." 1616. Good luck comes from keeping a turtle in your garden. 1617. Keep a turtle bone in your pocket for luck. BIRDS (1618-1771) Birds - Blackbird - Bluebird - Blue Jay - Canary (1618-1660) 1618. To rob a bird nest causes bad luck. 1619. The person who captures a wild bird and keeps it caged will be unfortunate. 1620. You can capture a bird by putting salt on its tail. 1621. It is lucky to put salt on the tail of a bird. 1622. Always accept the gift of a bird; happiness will follow. 1623. If you leave home on business and a bird crosses your path from right to left, you will meet with success at the end of your journey. 1624. To have a bird circle around you is a fortunate omen. 1625. A number of birds circling above your head means good luck for you or your family. 1626. If a bird flying overhead drops dung on you and you do not become angry, good luck may be expected. 1627. That article of your clothing on which a bird lets dung fall without arousing your anger will last twice as long. 1628. "One day I was out in the yard and a bird over me dropped something on my thumb; I took a long journey, I went South." 1629. If a bird flaps its wings three times while passing above you, some kind of separation is foretold. 1630. Birds wheeling over the house denote visitors. 1631. To know the name of the first bird heard in the spring makes a person lucky all year. 1632. If a chirping bird approaches you, look for good luck. 1633. Some say a bird singing near your front door indicates good luck; others say, bad luck. 1634. A bird fluttering against a window is considered an unlucky sign by some and a lucky sign by others. The former belief is the usual one. 1635. After a bird flutters against your window, you will receive news; good according to some, bad according to others. The latter is sometimes called hasty or speedy news. 1636. The significance of a bird sitting in your window is a letter. 1637. Trouble accompanies a bird entering the house; especially, if it enters through a door. 1638. Coming into the house through a door or window and going out the same door or window, a bird leaves good luck behind. 1639. The first person seeing a bird that has entered the house through a window will soon encounter bad luck.

35 1640. If a bird flies into the house through a window raised from the bottom, the token is one of bad luck; but if the bird flies into the house through a window lowered from the top, the token is one of good news. 1641. Hasty news will be received after a bird has flown into and out of a house. 1642. There will be an argument after a bird gets into the house. 1643. Sickness will come to that house into which a bird flies and rests on the bed. 1644. Two birds fighting are a portent of bad news. 1645. If the first two birds you see in the spring are trying to mate, you will have good luck all year. 1646. If on finding a dead bird you take off one of the wings and hang it over the door, you will be lucky so long as the wing hangs there. 1647. The foot of a bird may be carried in your pocketbook for luck. 1648. A blackbird crossing your path signifies bad luck before you reach your destination. 1649. The house near which blackbirds are flocking together will soon have a quarrel. 1650. As a protection against blackbirds eating your cherries, kill one of the birds and nail it to the cherry tree; but for protecting your corn, the dead bird must be nailed to a board and displayed in the cornfield. 1651. The first person in his community to see the first bluebird of the season will be lucky. 1652. If you meet a bluebird, someone you are not expecting will soon be met. 1653. A bluebird singing near your house is bringing you happiness. 1654. Blue jays are never seen on Friday, because on this day each bird carries a grain of sand to the devil. 1655. A blue jay in your yard is an indication of good luck. 1656. To discover whether a canary can or cannot sing, tie a gold ring to a string and hold this over the bird: if it is a singer, the ring will swing back and forth; if it is not a singer, the ring will remain still. 1657. A canary poking its beak through the bars of the cage is a sign of company. 1658. If a strange canary flies into the house, it betokens good luck. 1659. "A friend of Mrs. X. saw a canary in the yard and she didn't know whether she wanted to catch it or not, because she said it was bad luck to catch a stray canary. It was a very beautiful one. And Mrs. X. said if she didn't catch it, she would. So Mrs. X's friend caught the canary and put it in a cage. And the next day the rack around the room, which held all of her china plates, fell and broke all of the dishes. And the lady said, 'See, I told you I would have bad luck'!" 1660. The wishbone from a canary may be worn for luck. Cedar Waxwing - Crow - Dove - Eagle - Hawk (1661-1687) 1661. Cedar waxwings stopping in your yard as they fly to or from the South are an omen of good luck. 1662. A crow can be taught to talk, if you split its tongue. 1663. "Did you know that crows hold court? Well, they do. I have often watched them holding court on a sand bar. The crows always have guards; one crow will sit about one-hundred yards off each way. And if one of those guards fail to warn the other bunch of crows of any danger they see, and let someone come up on them without giving the warning, the other crows hold court on the sand and always kill the guard or guards that did not warn them of danger. This is so, for I have lived on the river all my life." 1664. It is unlucky to hear the call of the rain crow. 1665. A crow roost near the house brings bad luck. 1666. Omens from the number of crows in sight are as follows: "One's unlucky, two's lucky, Three is health, four is wealth, Five is sickness, and six is death." 1667. If on your journey a crow flies across the path, bad luck will soon overtake you. 1668. By killing a crow and nailing it to a door you give yourself good luck. 1669. If you find an empty turtledove nest, the meaning is losses; if you find eggs in the nest, sickness; and if you find young birds in the nest, a birth in the family. 1670. The call of the first turtledove means as follows: if it is in front of you, a long journey that year; if to your left, sickness throughout the year; if to your right, prosperity all year; and if behind you, a death before the end of the year. 1671. Omens from the call of the first turtledove are interpreted according to your posture at the time of hearing: if you are standing, health or prosperity all year; if you are sitting, sickness throughout the year; and if you are lying down, a death before the end of the year. 1672. If the first turtledove calls while you are going up a hill, you will go uphill all year; but if it calls while you are going down a hill, you will go downhill all year. Sometimes this omen refers to success or failure in business during the year, and when it does, there is added: if you are going on level ground, your business will remain the same that year. 1673. As soon as you hear the first dove cooing, go to the tree where it is, walk round the tree three times, and the direction toward which the head of the bird points will be the direction you should travel that year for luck. 1674. The direction in which you hear the call of the first dove is the direction towards which you will soon travel or make your longest journey during the year. 1675. The direction in which you hear the call of a dove in the morning is the direction towards which you will travel before five o'clock that afternoon. 1676. A white dove flying above your head foretells good luck. 1677. After a dove flies over your house, sad news will be heard. 1678. Good news is brought by a white dove flying against your window. 1679. The person to whose house a dove comes will soon have a new friend. 1680. If a white dove roosts on or in a building owned by you, it denotes good luck or peace. 1681 If a turtledove lights on your porch or house, bad luck is signified. 1682. Misfortune comes from killing a dove. 1683. According to some the killing of a dove is a sin, because this bird was the first to discover land during the Biblical flood. 1684. The shooting of an American eagle causes bad luck. 1685. It is lucky to find an eagle feather. 1686. To have a hawk fly over your head is lucky.

36 1687. "Years ago I knew a man that thought he was going to lose his place [farm], and he got a hawk and nailed it up by the feet against the door and he never lost his place." Kingfisher - Martin - Owl - Parrot - Phoebe (1688-1723) 1688. A kingfisher near the house is a lucky token. 1689. If a martin builds a nest in your chimney, you will have good luck. 1690. Do not destroy a martin nest; bad luck will befall you. 1691. "Out on north Thirty-sixth Street years ago a German was plowing out in the field, did not go in to supper. An old owl that was sitting in a tree was hollering, 'Make another round, make another round' --- he thought the man at the house was hollering for him to keep on plowing. So when it got dark the farmer went out to see why the man did not come to supper. He said, 'You kept hollering for me to make another round, and I did.' Then they found out that an old owl in the tree was doing the hollering." 1692. The person who imitates the hooting of an owl or mocks an owl by imitation will be unlucky. 1693. At night the hooting of an owl portends bad luck. 1694. To hear an owl just at daybreak is lucky. 1695. A distinction is occasionally made between an owl hoot meaning a change of weather and an owl hoot meaning misfortune; the former being cheerful, the latter mournful. 1696. If one hears an owl hooting in the night and another owl answering it, trouble may be expected. 1697. If an owl is heard hooting exactly at midnight, think of three dead relatives and you will have good luck. 1698. If an owl hoots while sitting on a fence, look for bad luck. 1699. An owl hooting on your house is an unlucky omen. 1700. An owl hooting on your house is a lucky omen, provided the bird is looking to the south. 1701. It is unfortunate to hear a screech owl while you are on a journey. 1702. If an owl hoots at midnight, a member of your family will meet with an accident. 1703. "Just this spring over on Bay Island an old owl got over my house and holler once real hard --- if an owl holler over your house, sign someone will steal from you: if the owl holler only once, one person will steal; if he holler two times, two persons will steal from you --- and, the next day I came to Quincy, a man stole my lumber. And I found my lumber, because this owl had told me one person did the stealing." 1704. If during the night you hear an owl hoot three times near your house, somebody will steal something from you within three days. 1705. To stop the hooting of an owl, turn your apron wrongside out. 1706. To stop the hooting of an owl, tie a knot in your apron string. 1707. To stop the hooting of an owl, drop a hatpin into the chimney of a lighted lamp. 1708. To stop the hooting of an owl, a brass kettle may be turned upside down. 1709. To stop the hooting of an owl, pull the pockets of your trousers inside out. 1710. To stop the hooting of an owl, heat a poker in the fire and leave it there. 1711. To stop the hooting of an owl, burn some salt on the stove. 1712. To stop the hooting of an owl, knot a corner of the bedsheet. Some say this knot must be tied in the left corner of the sheet. 1713. To stop the hooting of an owl, make a knot in your shirt tail. 1714. To stop the hooting of an owl, take off your left shoe and set it upside down. 1715. To stop the hooting of an owl, take off both your shoes and set them upside down. 1716. To stop the hooting of an owl, take off both your shoes and cross one over the other. 1717. To stop the hooting of an owl, heat a shovel in the fire and leave it there or hold it out the door. 1718. "I remember when I was a little girl, grandfather would say, 'I am going out in the woods to see if I can see an old owl so I will have good luck.' If you see an owl in the daytime, will bring good; if you see an owl at night, that's bad luck." 1719. An owl seen during the day is a warning of sickness. 1720. Never scare an owl away from your house or farm; bad luck will be the result. 1721. The shooting of an owl is unlucky. 1722. For some a parrot is unlucky, for others it is lucky; but the recent disease psitticosis seems now to have upset this balance in favor of the bad-luck interpretation. 1723. If a pewee (phoebe) comes and calls only once near your house, trouble is approaching. Quail - Redbird - Robin - Sparrow - Swallow (1724-1758) 1724. According to some the song of the quail is Bob white, bob white; according to others it is Wheat ripe, wheat ripe. 1725. The first redbird seen in the spring brings you good luck. 1726. It is lucky to see a redbird at anytime. 1727. It is lucky to see a redbird and bluebird together. 1728. To have a redbird fly across your path is unlucky. 1729. A person hearing a redbird in the morning will be lucky all day. 1730. If a redbird sings in your yard, you may expect good luck. 1731. A redbird hovering about the back door (anywhere near the house say some) foretells trouble. 1732. "We had a neighbor out in the North End. One morning a redbird came out and just kept picking on the window. I said, 'Look out for trouble!' And her son got in trouble the same day and went to jail." 1733. The day you see a redbird in your yard you will be disappointed. 1734. The person who sees a redbird will soon get a surprise. 1735. The first redbird coming to your house will be followed by company before the end of the month. 1736. A redbird that sings near your door is a token of company. 1737. If while on a journey you meet a redbird, you will meet someone you are not expecting. 1738. If you see a redbird in your yard, unexpected company will come to your house. 1739. A redbird singing on your porch three mornings in succession indicates the approach of a stranger. 1740. A person whose path is crossed by a redbird will receive a letter. 1741. As soon as you see a redbird, throw it three kisses and you will get a letter. 1742. If a redbird flies round your house, you will hear good news.

37 1743. A redbird flying into your house signifies that your house is going to burn. 1744. A robin seen in the morning is a sign of a visitor that day. 1745. To hear a robin singing before you get up in the morning means good luck all day. 1746. On seeing a robin you may stamp it for luck. Some say you will be unlucky unless every robin is stamped. 1747. Always feed the first robin for luck. 1748. Never kill a robin; bad luck will follow. 1749. Robins building a nest near your house bring good luck. It is also said a robin nest is lucky only when built on some part of your house. 1750. If a robin nest has three eggs and these are hatched, the parents will destroy one fledgling by pushing it out of the nest for they invariably raise only two birds. 1751. A large flock of sparrows met on the road is an omen of good luck. 1752. If you see a great number of sparrows crowding together in an excited manner on the road, there will be an accident. 1753. By keeping the breastbone of a sparrow in your pocket you will never be without money. 1754. "Just before my grandmother took sick a sparrow got into the house, and she had a long sick spell and almost died." 1755. Swallows carry bedbugs and bring them into the house through the chimney. 1756. Do not kill a swallow; it will make you unlucky. 1757. Lightning does not strike a house that has a swallow nest in the chimney. 1758. "Just before the Wiley Post and Will Rogers accident I saw two chimney swallows flying into one another. I said, 'You will hear of an accident' --- for if you see two chimney swallows flying into one another, sign of an airplane accident. It was only a few minutes until we heard of the Post accident." Turkey Buzzard - Whippoorwill - Woodpecker - Wren (1759-1771) 1759. If a turkey buzzard flies over your barn, some of your cattle will die. 1760. The person who happens to be holding something in his hand when he hears the first whippoorwill will have trouble that year: if the object is small, a little trouble; if the object is large, a lot of trouble. 1761. If you are standing when the call of the first whippoorwill is heard, you will be healthy all year; if lying down, sick all year. 1762. "Every spring I carry a piece of money, if only a dime, so when I hear the first whippoorwill I can put my hand on that money so I will have money all year." 1763. Pat your pocketbook while listening to the first whippoorwill and that year you will secure money. 1764. As soon as you hear the first whippoorwill you should shake the pocket that holds your purse, saying Money, money, money, and you will not be without money during the year. 1765. To obtain money throughout the year, look into your purse on hearing the first whippoorwill. 1766. A whippoorwill sitting on the roof of a house portends a financial loss for the family living there. 1767. Woodpeckers near your house are a lucky omen. 1768. If a woodpecker taps on a tree near your house, a visitor will soon tap at your door. 1769. A woodpecker tapping on your house is a sign of sickness. 1770. Bad luck comes to those who kill a woodpecker. 1771. The killing of a wren is unlucky.

CHICKEN -HEN -EGGS -ROOSTER (1772-1975) 1772. Hit a hen on the back and she will lay an egg. 1773. A hen never lays eggs near a potato patch. 1774. Eggs are not laid by hens on a windy day. 1775. "If I find a very small egg in the nest I never take it out of the nest until it rots, for I think it very bad luck and would not take it out for anything. My mother always called them the witch egg and would not move them." 1776. The last egg of a hen before she stops laying for the season is very small. To preserve or eat this egg will make you unlucky. It should be broken at once. 1777. As soon as a small egg is found in a nest, pick it up, step outside the henhouse, throw the egg over your left shoulder, and your hens will not lay any more small eggs that year. 1778. It is unlucky to find a small egg. To avert this misfortune: lift up the egg in your left hand, step outside, stand with your back to the henhouse, and toss the egg across your left shoulder so that it will go over the henhouse. You must not watch where the egg goes or search for it. 1779. The finding of a soft-shelled egg brings bad luck. This misfortune can be averted by throwing the egg over the henhouse or over your own house. 1780. "My grandmother said if you find a small egg in the henhouse, find the hen and kill her to keep bad luck out of the house. " 1781. Never beat an egg on the day it is laid; you will have bad luck. 1782. To gather eggs after dark is unlucky. 1783. Eggs carried into or out of the house after dark cause bad luck. 1784. Always keep your eggs in a tub and take them to town in the same tub for luck in selling them. 1785. Count eggs on Sunday and you will be unlucky. 1786. A hen will not eat her own eggs, if you burn the shells after using them. 1787. If you boil the first egg a pullet lays, she will not set that year. 1788. To prevent a broody hen from setting: tie a red string around her leg, tail, or neck. 1789. You can stop a hen from brooding by tucking her head under a wing and ducking her three times into a tub of water. 1790. To secure good setting-eggs, choose those laid by hens hatched in the new moon. 1791. Do not set the first nine eggs a hen lays, for they are no good. 1792. The person who sets an egg with a double yolk will fail in raising chickens that year. 1793. An egg with two yokes will hatch a twin chicken, but it will live only a few days. 1794. If you set a mature egg found in a killed hen, the chick will have feathers lying in the opposite direction from those of normal chickens.

38 1795. Setting-eggs kept near a lard jar will not hatch. 1796. Setting-eggs kept near salt will not hatch. 1797. Write someone's name on each egg of a setting and every egg will hatch. 1798. Write the name of a prosperous person on each egg of a setting and every egg will hatch. 1799. If you carry eggs in your apron to the nest, they will not hatch. 1800. A hen set in an old hat will hatch every egg. 1801. If you count your chickens before they hatch, you will be unsuccessful with the eggs. 1802. Never set a hen on an even number of eggs; you will not be successful with them. 1803. Use thirteen eggs to a setting for luck. 1804. A hen set on thirteen eggs does not raise half of her chicks. 1805. Fifteen eggs to a setting will hatch well. 1806. If a hen is setting in a barn and the barn door slams, the eggs will spoil. 1807. A woman who formerly lived near Marblehead said she could not raise chickens there because the blasting at the lime-kiln quarries always spoiled the eggs. 1808. If it thunders during the incubation, every egg will be ruined. 1809. "I have a friend up at Clayton that never set a hen unless she put some dirt in the nest before the straw so the thunder will not shake up the eggs." 1810. Protect setting eggs against thunder by putting a flat piece of iron or a handful of nails under the straw of the nest. 1811. An empty jug near the nest protects setting-eggs against thunder; the thunder will enter the jug and not jar the eggs. 1812. Eggs carried across water will never hatch. Some say this is true because the hen will desert a nest containing water-crossed eggs; others say these eggs will not hatch even when put under another hen. 1813. "If you have to cross water to set your chicken eggs, always reach down and get a handful of sand just before you start over the water and put that sand over your eggs in whatever you are carrying them in and they will hatch well. If you don't do this, they won't hatch, taking them over water. If you are crossing water with geese eggs, reach down and get a handful of sand and put that sand in the nest under the geese eggs to make them hatch. My mother years ago, if she went to set chicken eggs or geese eggs and had to go across a stream of water like a little branch: if she had chicken eggs, she would reach down and get a handful of sand and put it over her eggs; if she was carrying geese eggs, she would put the sand in the nest with the eggs to have a good hatch." 1814. Eggs taken through a running stream will hatch, provided you spit on each egg before crossing the water. 1815. Select the sign of the breast (Cancer) as the time to set hens. 1816. If a hen is set in the sign of the guts (Virgo), more eggs will spoil than hatch. 1817. "I have lived on a farm for years and know this is so: never set a hen when the sign is in the bowels (Virgo); for if you do, they will have bowel trouble all the time." 1818. Chickens hatched in the sign of the bowels (Virgo) will die from diarrhea; white diarrhea say some. 1819. "I have always found the best time to set a hen was when the sign was in the thigh (Sagittarius), to have good healthy chickens." 1820. The sign of the feet (Pisces) is a good time for setting hens. 1821. If you set a hen in the light of the moon, all the eggs will hatch; if in the dark of the moon, most of the eggs will rot. 1822. If you set a hen in the light of the moon, the chicks will grow with the moon and become strong chickens; if in the dark of the moon, the chicks will grow weaker with the moon and become sickly chickens. 1823. If you set a hen in the dark of the moon, half of the chicks hatched will be deformed. 1824. Set a hen at sunrise in the light of the moon and all the eggs will hatch. 1825. If you set a hen to hatch in the light of the moon, more of the eggs will be hatched. 1826. If you set a hen to hatch in the light of the moon, the chicks will be healthy and grow quickly; but chicks hatched in the dark of the moon will not thrive. 1827. If you set a hen to hatch in the light of the moon, the chicks will never squall. 1828. A hen set to hatch in the full of the moon will have a nestful of chicks. 1829. If you set a hen in the morning, you will have good luck with the eggs; if in the afternoon, bad luck. 1830. If you set a hen as early as possible in the morning, the chicks will be stronger. 1831. Eggs set in the morning will hatch several days sooner than eggs set in the afternoon. 1832. The best time to set a hen for a good hatch is exactly at noon. 1833. Chickens hatched from eggs set in the afternoon will sleep all the time. 1834. Always set a hen at five o'clock in the afternoon for best results. 1835. Every egg of a setting will hatch, if they are set after sundown. 1836. Chicks hatched from eggs set after sundown will not weep. 1837. Eggs set on a cloudy day never hatch. 1838. Do not set eggs on a windy day; the chickens hatched will heap all the time. 1839. "Never set a hen when the wind is in the east, for the eggs will not hatch. Someone told me this and I thought I would try, and only got one chicken out of all the eggs." 1840. If a hen is set during an east wind, the chicks will not do well say some; they will stand about chirping all the time say others. 1841. Eggs set while the wind is in the south say some, or in the southeast say others, will hatch three days sooner. 1842. "My grandmother would wait a week before she would set a hen, unless the wind was in the northwest. She said, if you set your hens when the wind is in the northwest, they will not holler." 1843. The first brooding hen of the season should be set on Monday for luck in raising chickens that year. 1844. All broody hens throughout the season should be set on Monday for luck. 1845. Set a hen on Friday and she will bring you crosses to bear. 1846. Some say a hen set on Sunday will hatch few eggs; others say she will hatch all the eggs. 1847. A hen set on Sunday during a north wind hatches all the eggs. 1848. To procure chickens of different colors, set the eggs on Sunday morning as the congregation leaves church; the various colors in the clothing of the church-goers produces this result. 1849. Chickens of various colors are procured by setting the eggs on Ash Wednesday.

39 1850. "I had a friend that always set eggs that were laid on Holy Thursday [here the Roman Catholic meaning, Thursday in Holy Week; not the Anglican meaning, Ascension Day] --- you will have fine chickens and every egg will hatch ---and they were so fine she always got more money for them." 1851. Eggs set on Good Friday produce varicolored chickens. 1852. If you set eggs laid on Good Friday, the chickens will be healthy and pretty. 1853. You will get speckled chickens from eggs set on Easter. 1854. A setting of eggs laid on Easter will hatch speckled chickens say some or chickens of different colors say others. 1855. To have a good hatch of chickens, set the eggs on the sixth or seventh of any month. 1856. Game cocks hatched in March when Mars is ruling will be better fighters. 1857. June-hatched chickens sleep all the time. 1858. If chickens are hatched in June during the dark of the moon, they will kill themselves by sleeping; therefore, as a counteractant, set the eggs to hatch during the light of the moon. 1859. Chickens hatching from eggs laid and set in June will die. 1860. An autumn-hatched hen will lay every day; a spring-hatched hen will lay only on alternate days. 1861. If you want to know whether you will raise pullets or roosters during the year, watch to see who enters your house first on New Year's Day: if a woman, your chickens will be pullets; if a man, roosters. 1862. To ascertain whether eggs will hatch roosters or hens, tie a gold ring on a string and hold it above one egg at a time: if the ring swings back and forth over the egg, it will be a rooster; if the ring remains still, a hen. 1863. Candle an egg: if the air space is on the side, it will hatch a hen; if on the top, a rooster. 1864. Boil an egg hard and cut it open: if the yolk is dark yellow, a rooster would have been hatched; if light yellow, a pullet. 1865. An egg with a dark-colored shell will hatch a rooster; an egg with a light-colored shell will hatch a pullet. 1866. The shape of an egg determines its sex: long eggs hatch roosters, short eggs hatch pullets; flat eggs hatch roosters, round eggs hatch pullets; slim eggs hatch roosters, fat eggs hatch pullets; and pointed eggs hatch roosters stumpy or blunt eggs hatch pullets. 1867. The size of an egg determines its sex: large eggs hatch roosters, small eggs hatch pullets. 1868. Pullets come from the first half of the eggs laid by a hen; roosters come from the second half. 1869. Morning-laid eggs hatch roosters; afternoon-laid eggs hatch pullets. 1870. Eggs laid early in the morning hatch roosters; eggs laid during the rest of the day hatch pullets. 1871. To secure pullets, write a different female name on each egg of the setting; to secure roosters, a different male name. 1872. If you touch setting-eggs with your bare hands while handling them, especially when they are taken out to the nest, you will get roosters. To avoid this and to make certain of securing pullets, always wear gloves. 1873. If you place the eggs under a setting-hen with your right hand, you may expect roosters; if with your left hand, pullets. 1874. You can have pullets from setting-eggs by carrying them in your apron to the nest. 1875. Gather the eggs in a basket and leave them there until they are set and they will hatch pullets. 1876. Eggs collected in a box and left there until setting-time hatch roosters. 1877. "I used to get so many roosters when I would set my hens, never any pullets. A woman said, 'How do you carry your eggs out?' I said, 'Always in a bucket, because it is easy.' She said, 'Try carrying them out in a pan and see if you don't get pullets.' So I did. And after that I got more pullets." 1878. Roosters will hatch from setting-eggs that are carried in a man's hat to the nest. 1879. If a person carries the eggs in a man's straw hat to the nest and sets them during the first quarter of the moon, pullets will be hatched. 1880. "I always carry my eggs out in the strainer to set them to get pullets." 1881. Hens should be set in the dark of the moon for pullets and in the light of the moon for roosters. 1882. Pullets are hatched from eggs set before sunrise; roosters are hatched from eggs set before sundown. 1883. You can obtain pullets by setting the eggs any time during daylight. 1884. A hen must be set in the morning before eleven o'clock to get pullets. 1885. It is a general belief that pullets will be hatched from eggs set in the morning and roosters from eggs set in the afternoon; but some believe the contrary, that roosters come from a morning setting and pullets from an afternoon setting. 1886. Chickens hatched early in the morning are roosters. 1887. Never set eggs on Sunday; you will raise roosters. 1888. If while on her nest the head of a setting-hen faces east, the eggs will hatch pullets; if north, roosters. 1889. To learn whether little chickens will be roosters or pullets, hold each of them up by the feet, letting the head hang down: if it is a rooster, he will bend his head upwards until it meets his feet; but if it is a pullet, she will lie absolutely still. 1890. A woman bought five chickens, four of which soon died, and the remaining one became sick. She went to the henhouse and said Now God never put any sickness on anything; everything is perfect. Within several days the chicken was well. 1891. To have chickens free from disease, feed them corn that has been soaked in urine. 1892. For white diarrhea among chickens, drop a piece of iron into their drinking water and also let them eat corn saturated with urine. 1893. As a cure for or a prevention of gap (the gapes), sink a turtle shell level with the ground in the chicken yard and let chicks drink water from it. 1894. There will not be any lice or mites on your chickens, if you clean the henhouse on Ash Wednesday. 1895. If you scatter ashes in the henhouse on Ash Wednesday before sunrise, your chickens will never have any lice. 1896. Dust your henhouse with ashes on Green Thursday (Maundy Thursday) and the chickens will not get any lice that year. 1897. Ashes scattered in the henhouse on Good Friday protect chickens against lice and rats. 1898. Chickens will not catch lice the year during which you sprinkle ashes in the henhouse on the first of March. 1899. If a hawk is flying about, throw a horseshoe into the fire and leave it there until hot; the bird's claws will become so clinched that it will be unable to capture your chickens. 1900. Put one horseshoe in the fire and another under the doorstep so that hawks will not molest your chickens. 1901. A round rock put in a fire will draw up a hawk's claws so that it cannot seize your chickens. This is the general rule, but a rock of any shape may be used. 1902. Sprinkle salt over the tail of a chick when it is from three to five days old and neither hawk nor anything else will capture it. 1903. A turkey buzzard flying down among your chickens will give them colic. 1904. If your rooster is whipped by a neighbor's rooster, your chickens will not thrive.

40 1905. To make a rooster game and a good fighter: cut off the tips of his ears, comb and wattles, and then let him eat these pieces. 1906. To keep chickens home after you have bought them: cut off their tail feathers and burn them so that they are not blown away by the wind; for if the wind blows them away, your chickens will fly away too. 1907. Newly purchased chickens will stay home, if you clip off their tail feathers and burn them, rub the chickens against the chimney, turning them over three times while so doing, and turn them loose. 1908. You can make your chickens stay home by cutting off their tail feathers and throwing them back into the chicken yard. 1909. Black chickens have a coarser meat than that of other chickens. 1910. If a chicken dies and you do not bury it outside your own yard, the other chickens will die. 1911. It is very unlucky to kill a chicken by wringing its neck. Always chop off the head. 1912. A chicken dying in your hand causes bad luck: if you wring off the head, do not let the head die in your hand; if you chop off the head, do not let the body die in your hand. Incidentally, it is unlucky to let any kind of animal die in your hand. 1913. If you are out driving and kill a chicken by running over it, go back and turn the body over and your automobile will not run over another chicken. 1914. If you pick a rooster, burn the feathers for luck. 1915. "I was drying chicken feathers one day about ten year ago, and a woman came along and said, 'What are you doing with all those feathers hanging on the fence?' I had a sack on several of the posts. I said, 'Oh, drying them to make some pillows that I need, been saving them for a long time. 'Don't you know if you put chicken feathers in your bedtick or pillows, you will have the devil in your house? for the devil is in chicken feathers.' I didn't do a thing but burn up all my nice feathers I had been saving so long for my pillows, for I didn't want the devil in our house." For bewitched feathers, see Witch wreath in Index. 1916. The person who can throw a feather over a house will find money on the other side of that house. 1917. If a feather flies into your house, a fool will soon visit you. 1918. A wishbone may be hung in one of the following places for luck: over a door, over the kitchen door, and in the clothes closet. 1919. Lay a wishbone over your door on New Year's Day and the first person to enter the house will be your friend that year. 1920. Whoever in pulling a wishbone gets the larger part should put it over the kitchen door for luck. 1921. "Another old saying: if you can break a wishbone with someone and get the largest part, put it in your mailbox and you will soon get some good news in the mail. I did this last week and got a letter with a big check in I was not looking for." 1922. To ward off bad luck, keep a black frizzly chicken in your yard. 1923. Never feed chickens after dark; you will be unlucky. 1924. If chickens gather quickly for their corn and eat it rapidly, their owner will have good luck; but if they gather slowly and show no interest in eating, their own will have bad luck. 1925. To have a stray chicken come to your home is lucky. 1926. It is unlucky to have a rooster walk into and out of the house. 1927. If a grey chicken scratches under your window, bad luck may be expected. 1928. A chicken crossing your path makes you unlucky, but this misfortune can be prevented by returning home and counting ten before you start out again. 1929. To hear a general cackling among hens is an unlucky omen. 1930. A crowing hen brings bad luck unless you kill her immediately. 1931. "If a chicken crows early in the morning, kill her right away and you will not have bad luck. We had a hen that just kept crowing early one morning. My mother said we should kill her and my father said, 'Oh, let her live. There is nothing to that old saying.' And we didn't kill her. It was not a week until my father had a stroke, and we had nothing but trouble for years. My mother said if another hen would ever crow again early in the morning it would not live." 1932. A hen jumping up on a fence and crowing means bad luck. 1933. If a chicken enters a bedroom, there will be an increase in the family. 1934. An increase in the family is also foretold by a chicken that flies up and sits in the window. 1935. A hen flying into the house through an open window portends sickness in the family. 1936. Many chickens on your porch; much company soon. 1937. Two hens in a fight signify two women coming to your house: if the hens are old, the visitors will be old. 1938. A fight between two roosters indicates a visit from a man; occasionally, a visit from two men. 1939. If a hen and rooster fight, a man and woman will come. 1940. Never mock a crowing rooster; you will be unlucky. 1941. It is unfortunate to have a rooster crow near your door. 1942. A rooster crowing on your doorstep on Sunday will cause bad luck in the family, but you can cancel this bad luck by killing the rooster at once. Some say the rooster must crow on Sunday morning. 1943. After a rooster goes crowing to roost, you may look for some family misfortune. 1944. Except during the Christmas season, it is a bad sign to have a rooster crow at night --- especially before midnight. 1945. To have a rooster crow before daybreak denotes hasty news. 1946. If a rooster crows at noon, hasty news will be received. 1947. A rooster crowing in the afternoon is an omen of hasty news. 1948. After a rooster has crowed at dusk, you will receive unexpected news; before midnight say some, before daybreak say others. 1949. To hear a rooster crow between seven and eight o'clock at night foretells hasty news. 1950. When a rooster crows before midnight, bad news may be expected. 1951. A rooster that comes to the house and looks in without crowing is a token of good news. 1952. If about dusk a rooster crows three times at your door, unexpected news is denoted. 1953. The crowing of a rooster three times at your door betokens a letter. 1954. The significance of a rooster crowing three times on your doorstep is news or a letter from a distant relative. 1955. If a rooster crows three times and looks at you each time, you will get a letter from a friend. 1956. The person who hears a rooster crowing in the evening will soon have a stranger knock at the door. 1957. An early-morning crowing by a rooster is a sign of company that day; before breakfast say some, before supper say others, and before bedtime say a few. 1958. To have a rooster crow on the porch signifies company. Some say the rooster must crow on the front porch.

41 1959. If a rooster walks to the porch and crows three times, you may expect company. 1960. If a rooster stands on the front porch and crows while looking toward the house, someone is coming; if he crows while looking away from the house, someone within is going away. 1961. If a rooster stands at the door and crows while looking into the house, there will be an increase in the family; if he crows while looking out the door, there will be a decrease in the family. 1962. A rooster crowing before your door is a warning of company. Some say the crowing must occur before the front door. 1963. A person whose rooster crows at the door in the morning will have company before the day is gone. 1964. The door at which a rooster crows three times will soon be knocked on by a visitor. 1965. The crowing of a rooster at the front door will bring a welcome guest. 1966. If a rooster crows at your door, a stranger will call upon you. 1967. "I can comb my hair and get ready for company, when my rooster comes and stands [without crowing] in the door." 1968. If a rooster enters the house and begins to crow while you are taking him out, company will arrive that day. 1969. The interpretation for a rooster crowing in your back yard is a male caller. 1970. A rooster that jumps up on a fence and crows is announcing company. 1971. If a rooster sits on a fence and crows while looking toward the house, look for a welcome visitor; if he crows while looking away from the house, an unwelcome visitor. 1972. Just before or at midnight the crowing of a rooster presages a fire. 1973. The household near which a rooster crows at night will have sickness before morning. 1974. Your rooster failing to crow in the morning is a portent of sickness in the family. 1975. Do not leave home the day upon which your rooster fails to crow before daybreak; great danger lies ahead of you and maybe death. DUCK - GOOSE - GUINEA - PEACOCK - PIGEON - TURKEY (1976-2001) 1976. If you set a duck in the light of the moon, all eggs will hatch at one time and easily; but if in the dark of the moon, the eggs will hatch at different times and you will have to help each duckling out of its shell. 1977. Thunder while a duck is setting spoils all the eggs. 1978. Sunday thunder will spoil a setting of goose eggs. 1979. A setting of goose eggs is spoiled by Tuesday thunder. 1980. The year in which there is thunder in February will be a bad year for setting goose eggs. 1981. Goose or duck eggs set on the ground will not be harmed by thunder. 1982. To prevent lightning and thunder from harming goose eggs, lay iron around the nest. Similarly, an iron hoop is sometimes laid so that it surrounds a turkey nest. 1983. Several horseshoes put in a goose nest make it easier for goslings to break out of the eggs. 1984. If you pick geese in the light of the moon, you will get a large amount of feathers; if in the dark of the moon, a small amount. 1985. More feathers are secured by picking geese in the moonlight. 1986. Geese should be picked while the moon is changing from light to dark, as a prevention of bleeding. 1987. Some say it is lucky to pass a flock of geese on the road, but others say this is unlucky. 1988. One must be careful when killing a guinea: if the guinea becomes angry or excited before you kill it, the meat will be black and tough; but if you sneak into the roost at night, catch the guinea unawares and immediately wring its head, the meat will be white and tender. 1989. It is said the cry of a guinea is sometimes Poor trash, poor trash. 1990. The crying of a peacock at night is unlucky. 1991. "I knew a lady that bought a rug with a big peacock in the corner of the rug. After she had it down, one of the neighbor ladies went in to see it and said, 'Oh! you have a peacock in your rug. Didn't you know that would bring you very bad luck? any kind of peacock in the house, or even its feathers.' It was not a week until the lady with the new rug's husband hung himself. After the funeral, the lady put this new rug on a barnfire (bonfire) and burnt it up, to keep from having any more trouble." 1992. Peacock feathers in the house are unlucky say most people; lucky say a few. 1993. "My mother did this years ago and we never had a fly: hang peacock feathers in the room, will keep out flies." 1994. If the first pigeon eggs of the season hatch, you will be successful all year in raising pigeons. 1995. To have a white pigeon fly over you is lucky. The same thing is sometimes said of a pigeon having any white feathers, no matter how few. 1996. A strange pigeon coming to your house means good luck; provided you do not give the pigeon away or kill it. Some say this pigeon must be white. 1997. If a white pigeon comes to your house, it indicates good news; and if the pigeon sits in your window, this good news will be unexpected. 1998. The significance of a pigeon flying into the house is misfortune. 1999. If a strange pigeon flies into the house, it is an omen of sickness. 2000. Turkeys with short claws have tender meat; turkeys with long claws have tough meat. 2001. The wishbone of either a turkey or a goose may be hung over the door for money. WILD ANIMALS (2002-2061) Bat - Guinea Pig - Mice - Rabbit - Raccoon (2002-2044) 2002. If a bat gets into your hair, the animal will not let go until it thunders. 2003. If a bat gets into a woman's hair, her hair must be cut off to get rid of the animal. 2004. A bat getting into your hair makes you bald. 2005. A bat getting into your hair and wetting on it makes you bald. 2006. It is unlucky to have a bat get into your hair. 2007. Bats are full of bedbugs; therefore a bat flying into the house brings in bedbugs. 2008. To have a bat fly into the house is a sign of bad luck. 2009. The house into which a bat flies after dark will be without one of its occupants on the following night. 2010. A bat hovering near your house signifies a misfortune. 2011. The killing of a bat will cause trouble.

42 2012. Pick up a guinea pig by the tail and its eyes will drop out. This may be classed with those beliefs, or practical jokes, of childhood like the one about putting salt on a bird's tail to catch it --- the guinea pig has no tail. 2013. Mice coming out and playing in the room foretell company. 2014. The person who while on a journey sees mice will meet with danger before reaching his destination. 2015. "I always try to have my rabbits have young the first month of the year to have good luck with rabbits all year." 2016. Rabbits have young every month except February. 2017. Never bring a live rabbit into the house; it is very unlucky. 2018. You can catch a rabbit by putting salt on its tail. 2019. If you kill the first rabbit found in your garden and bury one of its feet, your garden will not be bothered by rabbits that year. 2020. A rabbit killed after sundown will make you unfortunate. 2021. By killing the first rabbit seen in winter you become lucky. 2022. The person who kills the first rabbit seen in the fall and carries one of its paws will be lucky all year. 2023. Some say a rabbit foot carried by you is not lucky unless you yourself have killed the animal and cut off the foot. 2024. For the foot of a rabbit to be lucky, the animal must be killed in the light of the moon. 2025. The left hind foot of a rabbit caught or shot at midnight in a graveyard is lucky. 2026. "An old man told me this at bingo: you can have good luck by carrying the left-front foot of a rabbit caught by a Negro after midnight in a Negro cemetery." 2027. Do not wear or keep a rabbit foot someone gives you, for you will be unlucky. 2028. If someone loses a rabbit foot and you find it, the luck is twice as strong; you add that person's luck to your own. 2029. Although there are contradictions about which foot of a rabbit should be worn for luck, the left hind foot is generally prescribed. 2030. Sometimes a rabbit foot is used as a watch-charm for luck. 2031. A rabbit foot may be kept about the neck for luck: on a chain, ribbon, string; attached to a necklace; or in a small bag. It is occasionally combined with other charms. 2032. "I have a friend that has nothing but good luck, and she carries a rabbit foot in her left pocket all the time." 2033. The left hip-pocket is supposed to be a lucky place for a man to carry a rabbit foot. 2034. If you think you are going to get into trouble, rub a rabbit foot over your head three times while making a wish to avert the misfortune and then return the foot to your pocket. 2035. "I always keep a rabbit foot over the front and back door for luck." 2036. Always carry a rabbit foot in your pocketbook and you will never be without money. 2037. Most people say a rabbit crossing your path is unlucky, but a few say it is lucky. 2038. To avoid bad luck after a rabbit crosses your path, go home and begin your journey again. 2039. After a rabbit has crossed your path, bad luck can be avoided by spitting. 2040. A rabbit crossing your path from right to left is unlucky, unless you immediately jerk a hair out of your head. 2041. If a rabbit crosses your path, it denotes a disappointment. 2042. The person whose path is crossed by a rabbit will hear unpleasant news. 2043. Running across your path a rabbit warns you of an accident. 2044. A raccoon can live all winter by sucking its paws. Rat -Skunk - Squirrel - Flying Squirrel (2045-2061) 2045. To get rid of rats, catch one of them and turn it loose after doing one of the following things: singe the hair, burn the bottoms of its feet, paint the animal, and tie a tin can to the tail. 2046. A rat on finding a crock of milk will skim the cream with its tail and then lick the tail clean. 2047. The person who sees a white rat will have good luck. 2048. A great increase in the number of rats foretells a war. 2049. If you see rats leaving a building, it will soon burn. 2050. It is unlucky to find that rats have eaten holes in your clothes. 2051. If you are about to undertake any kind of new work and discover rats have been gnawing your clothing, give up the undertaking for you will not succeed with it. 2052. Holes gnawed into your clothes by rats means you will soon move from that house. 2053. You should not mend any article of your clothing gnawed by a rat, for this would bring you bad luck; but you may wear the clothing after someone else has mended it. 2054. "My mother would not wear a thing or let any of her children wear anything a rat made a hole in, for it is very unlucky to wear anything patched after a rat has cut a hole in it. She would always take them out and burn them up to keep from having bad luck." 2055. To have a skunk cross your path is lucky. 2056. Some say a squirrel crossing your path is lucky, others say it is unlucky. 2057. If a squirrel crosses your path when you are making a business trip, you will be successful with that business. 2058. "I have a friend that comes to my house that lives out in the country. He told me he catches three squirrels every fall and spring. He keeps three tails tied together; keeps three in his house and three in his car to keep away accidents. He said, 'I always feel safe when I start out in my car, if the three squirrel tails are in the car.' I know this is so, for he showed me the three tails tied together in his car." 2059. Wear three teeth from a squirrel killed in the light of the moon and you will never have an accident. 2060. It is unlucky to skin a squirrel and tack the hide up anywhere. 2061. "About fifty years ago my brother and I went over to Missouri to see my grandma. She was living on a farm. My grandma was worrying about losing some of her farm, and my mother went over to talk about it. We were there about two days when --- we were all down in the woods looking for flowers — my brother happen to look up and said, 'Oh, look at the flying-squirrels up in the tree!' and started to throwing at them, just like a boy. My grandma was looking up, with her mouth open, and a big squirrel fell right down in [against] her mouth and another on her head. We were all scared to death, but my grandma said, 'That is very good luck. I will not lose my farm now.' And she didn't." CATS (2062-2219)

43 2062. The first cat in the world was born while it lightened, and thus marked by lightning became its conductor; therefore, a cat not only draws lightning, but also is the only animal that will go outside during a storm. 2063. Cats born in May are unlucky. 2064. Every cat has a worm in the tip of its tail; unless you chop off this tip, the animal will have fits. The same thing is believed of dogs. 2065. There is a general belief that a cat will suck the breath of a person asleep, of a baby in particular, and cause death. May-born cats are the most frequent offenders. 2066. As soon as a kitten is born, let a woman tie round one of its front paws a long hair from her head and the animal will become a good mouser. 2067. You can break a cat from the habit of catching birds by burning a match and rubbing the charred wood three times over the animal's nose. 2068. "We had a neighbor that was not feeling well; she was not in bed, only she was not at all well. One night several cats started to fighting in her back yard. She said to her husband, 'Go out and pick up a brick with your left hand and throw at those cats, I don't want to get down in bed with a sick spell.' They say cats fighting in your yard will bring sickness to your house, and if you will take a brick in your left hand and throw it at them, will break the spell. Well, her husband went out and picked up a brick in his left hand and threw at those cats, and they never heard another sound out of those cats, and the woman didn't get sick." 2069. Two cats fighting in front of your house is a sign of company. 2070. If a cat fixes its whiskers, company may be expected. 2071. A cat licking its fur upwards means a visitor. 2072. After a cat has cleaned its face in the house, someone will soon visit you. 2073. If a cat washes its face, especially in or before a doorway, somebody is coming to your house; and this person will arrive from the direction towards which the cat looks, either while washing or after it has finished. 2074. The direction in which a cat's tail is pointing as it cleans its face will be the quarter whence you may look for the arrival of guests. 2075. A person at whom a cat glances while cleaning its face will soon be visited by someone. 2076. The person whose cat licks its face in the house may expect a stranger. Some say the stranger will not come, unless the cat does this before breakfast. 2077. To have a cat lick itself over one ear indicates visitors: if the right ear, their visit will be short; if the left ear, their visit will be long. 2078. The significance of a cat sliding on the floor is company; they will appear in the direction towards which the cat slid. 2078a. If a cat walks to the door and then lies down in the center of the room with all four feet up in the air, you will have company from out of town that day. 2079. If a cat sneezes, you will soon entertain callers; and there will be as many callers as the number of times the animal sneezed. 2080. The sneezing of a cat in the house is unlucky. 2081. It is unlucky to see a cat eating grass. 2082. To be scratched by a cat causes a disappointment. 2083. If a cat approaches in an amicable manner, you have a friendly disposition; but if the animal raises its fur, you have an unfriendly disposition. They say the same thing about a dog. 2084. The person who knows how to establish an immediate friendship with strange cats will always be lucky. 2085. Sleep with a cat and you will have bad luck. 2086. Two cats that lie on the same chair and purr are bringing good luck to the house. 2087. Never let a cat look into a mirror; trouble will soon follow. 2088. "My mother would always run a cat out of the house, if it started to sitting down in the middle of the kitchen floor and looking up and mewing and making her tail wiggle; sure sign of bad luck." 2089. By stroking the tail of a strange black cat seven times a person becomes lucky. 2090. To step on a cat's tail is unlucky. 2091. Remove a two-inch piece from the tip of a black cat's tail, dry it, and keep this in your left shoe for luck. 2092. One who carries a bone from the left side of a black cat will be lucky. 2093. You may stand in a graveyard and whirl a dead cat round your head three times for luck. Some say this must be done at night. 2094. If you meet a black cat and call it, and the animal comes to you, good luck will be yours. 2095. A black cat found on the road should be kept for luck. 2096. If you meet a black cat coming towards you, good luck is indicated; if going away from you, bad luck. 2097. If a black cat crosses your path from left to right, it signifies good luck; if from right to left, bad luck. 2098. When a black cat runs straight ahead of you as you are walking down a road, notice the direction in which the animal finally leaves the road: if it veers to the left, you will have bad luck; but if to the right, good luck. 2099. If a black cat starts to cross your path and at the halfway point turns back, bad luck may be expected; but if the animal after some hesitation continues across your path, good luck. 2100. A black cat crossing your path and then retracing its steps in front of you is a fortunate omen. 2101. The person whose path is crossed by a black cat will be unlucky. 2102. To have a black cat run across your path is a token of seven years of bad luck. 2103. A Friday-born person is not made unlucky by a black cat crossing his path; on the contrary, some say he is made lucky. 2104. As soon as you reach home after a black cat has crossed your path, burn some coffee to avoid bad luck. 2105. Count nine when a black cat goes across your path and the bad luck will be averted. 2106. "I always count ten to keep bad luck away, if I meet a black cat." 2107. "It's an old saying, if a black cat crosses your path, curse it three times while going over. Judge X. [a former Quincy official], when a black cat ran in front of him, always said [being a prominent church member and having a reputation for piety] Darn you three times." 2108. Say Go to hell three times when a black cat crosses your path and you will not be unlucky. 2109. "I was walking with a woman and a black cat ran in front of us. She turned and went around the block to keep from having bad luck." 2110. As a prevention of bad luck when a black cat runs across your path, you must return home and begin your trip over again. 2111. "Three years ago a woman was going to my mother's house, and after she started a black cat ran across in front of her. She went back home and sit down for one-half hour, and then went to my mother's house; said if you do this, you will not have any bad luck."

44 2112. "I have heard my grandfather say, if a black cat crosses in front of you, stop and wait until the tracks get good and cold before you go over, to keep from crossing. I myself don't care how cold they get, I would not cross over unless someone else went first." 2113. If a black cat runs in front of you, wait until someone else comes along and then cross the cat's path with that person. Some say this cancels the bad luck for both of you, others say yours only. 2114. "I know a woman in Marceline that when a black cat runs in front of her she will wait until a man comes along before she will go on. And if you are a man, wait until a woman comes along." 2115. "When I see a black cat I always turn my back on it until the cat crosses, to keep from having bad luck." 2116. Ward off bad luck, when a cat runs in front of you, by walking backwards until you no longer see the cat. 2117. Any kind of cat crossing your path will cause bad luck, but you can counteract this by walking backwards all the way to your destination without speaking. 2118. "If a black cat crosses the road, I always turn right around and walk backwards until I get way over the place where the cat passed." 2119. "I always walk backward three steps whenever a black cat runs in front of me." 2120. After a black cat has passed in front of you, make a cross on the ground, move backwards three steps, whirl around on your heel, then continue your journey, and you will not be unlucky. 2121. The person who walks backwards five steps averts bad luck when a black cat crosses the path. 2122. If a black cat crosses your path, spit and rub your foot through it, then walk backwards five steps, and bad luck will not come to you. 2123. "I always do this if I meet a black cat: step backward six steps, you will break the bad-luck spell." 2124. "Whenever I see a black cat I always turn and walk [backwards] about six steps, then spit and rub my foot through it, to break the jinks." 2125. By walking backwards seven steps, when a black cat crosses your path, bad luck can be avoided. 2126. "My son-in-law if driving and sees a black cat run across the road, he will stop and wait until someone else passes across the road, then he will go back, back his car about seven steps, before he will cross over the place where the cat went." 2127. To prevent bad luck, go backwards nine steps when your path is crossed by a black cat. 2128. As a method for warding off bad luck caused by a black cat crossing your path, take nine steps backwards over the animal's track. 2129. On having a black cat cross your path, take nine steps backwards, spitting at each step, and bad luck will be kept away. 2130. Ten steps taken backwards wards off bad luck, if a black cat crosses your path. 2131. "Whenever I go with a certain man in a car and a black cat runs across the road, he always backs his car back ten rods to keep from having bad luck." 2132. To rid yourself of bad luck when a black cat has run in front of you, take ten steps backwards and turn around on your heel. 2133. A black cat running across your path does not cause bad luck, if you whirl around, walk backwards ten steps, and then spit. 2134. Bad luck caused when a black cat crosses your path can be counteracted by walking backwards ten steps and whirling around three times. 2135. The person who takes twelve steps backwards after a black cat has run across the path will not be unlucky. 2136. "If I meet a black cat, I always walk backward thirteen steps to keep from having bad luck. " 2137. "My son-in-law is afraid of a black cat. When he sees one, he will turn and turn around like crazy, to break the spell, until the cat is out of sight." 2138. If a black cat has crossed your path, turning around three times protects you against bad luck. 2139. One who turns around three times and spits when a black cat crosses the path will not encounter bad luck. 2140. In averting bad luck after a black cat goes across your path, whirl around three times and spit on the ground at each whirling. This is said to be particularly effective against a black cat met on Halloween. 2141. To spit when a black cat runs in front of you is a bad-luck counteractant. 2142. "I always spit on my finger, if we meet a black cat, and throw the spit out the car window, to throw bad luck away." 2143. Whoever spits on or over his two front fingers (the index and middle finger of either hand, usually the right; or, sometimes both index fingers) when a black cat crosses his path will not be unlucky. 2144. "I never pass a black cat unless I spit three times at the cat to keep from having bad luck. " 2145. "Whenever my son meets a black cat he goes and sits right down and spits ten times to keep bad luck away." 2146. Always spit until the black cat that has crossed your path can no longer be seen and bad luck will not overtake you. 2147. When a black cat passes across your path, bad luck can be prevented by removing your hat and spitting into it. 2148. "I know a Negro man, if he meets a black cat, he will take off his hat, spit in it nine times, then put it back on his head, to keep bad luck away." 2149. Spit on your shoes as a bad-luck preventive when a black cat crosses your path. 2150. If a black cat crosses your path, you can protect yourself against bad luck by lying on the ground and rubbing your nose in the dust or mud. 2151. Three crosses made on the ground with your left foot breaks a bad-luck spell caused by a black cat crossing your path. 2152. "I have a very good friend that thinks any kind of a cat to walk in front of you is very bad luck. If she just sees a cat on the street, she will turn around three times and make the sign of the cross each time. I believe she would die, if a cat would run in front of her." 2153. As a protection against bad luck caused by a black cat passing in front of you, chase the animal back across your path. 2154. "If a black cat runs in front of me, I always try to pick it up and throw it over my left shoulder to keep from having bad luck." 2155. The person who catches and keeps the black cat crossing his path will have good luck instead of bad luck. 2156. Catch the black cat that crosses your path and kiss it; this will drive bad luck away and bring you good luck. 2157. "My brother was at the hospital, very sick, not expected to live. My father was on his way to see brother, and a block before he got to the hospital a black cat run in front of him. He said, 'You damn black cat! I am going to kill you, I am not going to let my son die over a black cat.' He said he started after the cat, running around the block and up an alley, but he killed the cat. Then he went to the hospital and found my brother better. He always said he knew my brother would of died if he hadn't of killed the black cat." 2158. The person who looks up to the sky while crossing over the place where a black cat crossed the road will not be unlucky. 2159. If a black cat crosses your path and you find a coin before reaching your destination, you will not have bad luck. 2160. A black cat crossing the path of an automobile means an accident or a wreck before the journey ends: "Several years ago while driving, I had intended going north on Twelfth Street for the then so-called five-mile drive. Halfway out a black cat crossed directly in front of the car. I immediately turned back to Locust Street and then up to Twenty-fourth Street, intending to take that road to get to my destination. Again, about halfway there, another black cat crossed my path. Again I turned around, retraced my way back to Locust, went west to Fifth Street, then north on Fifth Street to again connect with the five-mile turn. Halfway there, a black cat with a white belly crossed directly in front of me. My [girl] friend said, 'You will go ahead this time and quit your superstition or I'll never again be seen with you.' I did. I worried all the way. Got there. Back again safely in town. But on my way home, one-and-a-half blocks from my home, I was hit square in the middle of my Hudson roadster by a

45 drunken dentist of Quincy. Wrecked my car. Set my companion clear across the street with a torn chest and minor bruises. Completely wrecked the dentist's car. And to cap the climax, when I took same into court, the dentist had some witness swear he was not drunk or been drinking. This other witness, who had to be fished out the wreck, was so drunk he could not stand up; and the judge dismissed the case. Neither got nothing. But I got black cat experience. And how!" 2161. To have a black cat cross your path after midnight is the sign of an accident. 2162. If you start out in an automobile and a black cat crosses the road, expect an accident unless you return home and sit down before starting out again. 2163. A journey during which a black cat goes across your path will end in a disappointment. 2164. After a black cat has crossed your path in the daytime, sickness may be expected. 2165. A black-and-white cat crossing your path is lucky say some, but others say merely seeing such a cat is unlucky. 2166. The person whose path is crossed by a grey cat will be lucky. 2167. A grey cat running across your path is followed by sorrow. 2168. If a white cat crosses your path, you will have good luck say some or bad luck say others. 2169. A white cat met late at night makes you lucky. 2170. Never let a white cat pass in front of you; there will be sickness in your family. 2171. "I knew an engineer that took his train out one morning and four white cats ran across the track, and a white cat running in front of you is the sign of a wreck, and before he got to the end of his run the train ran off the track and killed several people." 2172. The bad luck caused by a yellow cat crossing your path can be avoided by turning around and walking backwards all the way to your destination. 2173. If a cat follows you, good luck is following you. 2174. If a black cat follows you in daytime, it means good luck; if at night, bad luck. 2175. The person who is followed by a cat will soon get money. 2176. Some say a cat following you home indicates good luck, but others say bad luck. 2177. A cat that follows you home will bring good luck, provided you do not chase the animal away. 2178. To meet a black cat at your door is fortunate; a white cat, unfortunate. 2179. If on leaving home your cat follows you, you will be unlucky unless you make it go back. 2180. One may steal a cat and take it home for luck. 2181. It is unlucky to let anyone give you a cat. 2182. The person who gives you a cat secretly hates you. 2183. "I was at a dance one night on Halloween night and they were playing pass the black cat, and they passed the cat around, or tried to, and no one would take the cat, for some people say it is very bad luck to take a cat handed you, so they put the cat out the window for luck." 2184. "My father kept a black cat on his farm all the time for luck, and if anything would happen to it, he would look around until he found another black cat without a white hair. He thought it very good luck to have a black cat on the place." Black cats without one white hair are supposed to be rare. 2185. A cat straying to your house brings good luck, provided you keep it; but driving the cat away will bring bad luck. On the contrary: "Never let a cat come to your house; it is very bad luck. I was working at a sporting house years ago and they would not let a cat light on the place; said it was very bad luck." This belief is sometimes given as follows: a strange cat prowling about your door is bringing you bad luck. 2186. If a black cat strays to your house and you keep it, the animal will make you lucky; the blacker the cat, the better the luck; but if the cat ever leaves, bad luck may be expected. 2187. "If a little black kitten come to you, good luck. You know it's an old saying: the younger the kitten, the better the luck. My brother had diphtheria bad, two different doctors gave him up, they were looking for him to die every minute, when all at once a little black kitten came to the house, they didn't know where it came from, but my brother started to getting better right after the kitten came, and got well." 2188. If a black cat comes to your house on New Year's Eve at midnight and you happen to open the door and the animal walks in, you will have good luck all year. 2189. If a white cat comes to your house (and mews at the door say some) and stays and is not driven away, you will be lucky. Sometimes a white cat coming to your house is considered unlucky. 2190. The significance of a white cat straying to your house is unwelcome company. 2191. It is lucky to have a cat of three colors come to your house. 2192. After a yellow cat has strayed to your house, you may expect money. 2193. To have a neighbor's cat run through your yard early on Monday morning makes you lucky all week. 2194. If a stray cat climbs into your house through a window, bad luck may be expected. 2195. A girl finding a strange cat in her bedroom at night will be lucky. 2196. The woman who finds a strange black cat in her bedroom at night will soon receive money. 2197. Either see that your black cat is in the house before dark or make it stay outside all night, for to let a black cat into the house after dark causes bad luck. 2198. To keep a new cat from deserting you, bring the animal home blind- folded and immediately throw it on to the middle of the bed. 2199. Rub butter or grease on the four paws of a cat and after the animal has licked this off it will never leave home. Some say the two front paws. 2200. As a method for keeping a cat home, smear butter or grease over all four paws and hold the animal in front of a mirror. 2201. If you stick the forepaws of a cat into cream and then, after the animal licks this off, let it drink the rest of the cream, the cat will not desert you. 2202. You can make a cat stay home by greasing all four paws and laying a piece of stale bread under a doorstep over which the animal must walk. 2203. After you clip some hair from the tail of a cat and nail this on or under the doorstep, the animal will not wander away. Some say you must bury the hair under the doorstep. 2204. Hair clipped from a cat's tail and buried under a rock by the kitchen door keeps the animal home. 2205. A person makes a cat remain at home by measuring its tail with a string and putting this under the front door. 2206. Some say stray cats are kept home by letting them look into a mirror; but others say cats always run away from home after looking into a mirror. 2207. A cat never leaves home after it has looked into a mirror three times.

46 2208. Chimney soot is rubbed on the paws of a cat as a prevention against the animal leaving home. 2209. You will not have any trouble in retaining a new cat, if on first getting the animal you chase it around the legs of the kitchen table. 2210. In ridding yourself of a cat, always remember that the animal has many lives; nine according to some, seven according to others. 2211. If you carry a cat away in a sack and drop it, the animal will always find its way home on the ninth day. 2212. To be sure that a cat will not return after you have taken it away, grease its paws with butter before you release the animal. 2213. A cat carried downstream never returns home. 2214. Whoever takes a cat across water will have bad luck. 2215. To lose a cat by killing it causes trouble. 2216. It is very unfortunate to drown a cat, especially a kitten --- because the animal's ghost will haunt you, say some --- but this evil can be avoided, if you use your left hand when throwing the animal into the water. 2217. Misfortune follows the shooting of a cat; it must be killed by other means. 2218. "Never kill a cat; if you do, you will surely have seven long years of bad luck, hardships and sorrow, even if you never had it before. We killed a cat just after we were married and we had nothing but bad luck and sorrow the first seven years of our married life. I would not let anyone kill a cat at our place now for anything." 2219. To kill a cat gives you bad luck for nine years. DOGS (2220-2319) 2220. Never cut off a pup's tail; always bite the tail off and the wound will not become sore or infected. 2221. As a remedy for bowel trouble in a dog, feed the animal horse-hoof scrapings. 2222. To cure fits in a dog, draw blood from its tail. 2223. A dog that chases its tail has worms. 2224. Dogs with dewclaws ("a vestigial digit ... the inner digit of a dog's fore foot") never go mad. 2225. They say dogs are more likely to go mad in dog days than at any other time. 2226. A dog licking the blood of a dead man will go mad. 2227. If you take a picture of your dog, the animal will soon die. 2228. A dog that sees himself in a looking-glass will not live long. 2229. A dog that sees himself in a looking-glass will always be mean. 2230. You can make a dog savage by feeding him gunpowder. 2231. If you see a dog doing his business, he will not be able to complete the task so long as you have your fingers crossed. 2232. If you see a dog doing his business, he will not be able to complete the task so long as you grasp tightly the index finger of the right hand in the palm of the left hand. 2233. If you see a dog doing his business, he will not be able to complete the task so long as you keep one finger interlocked with the finger of someone else. 2234. A dog that groans and whines in his sleep is dreaming. 2235. A dog that stretches himself while asleep is dreaming. 2236. "I was at my sister's one afternoon and a dog was asleep, groaning, and I said, 'Why don't you put a cloth over its head to see what you will dream?' So she picked up the baby's diaper and put over the dog's head, and that night she dreamt she was a big dog fighting a little dog." 2237. Lay a hat over the head of a sleeping dog and that night you will have his dreams. 2238. Pull a whisker from the lip of a sleeping dog, put it under your pillow, and that night you will dream what the dog dreamed. This can also be done to a cat. 2239. Dogs that look up into the air while howling never amount to anything. 2240. If a dog howls while looking up into the air, there will be a fire. 2241. A strange dog howling near your house at bed-time means trouble in the family. This is sometimes said of your own dog. 2242. It is unlucky to have a dog howl three times near your house and then stop. 2243. Do not look out the window when you hear a dog howling at midnight; it will bring you bad luck. 2244. The howling of a dog at night indicates bad news. 2245. The family whose dog howls at night can expect sickness. 2246. A howling dog is an omen of a fight in the neighborhood. 2247. Look between the dog's ears when he howls and you will see why he is howling. 2248. To stop the howling of a dog, throw your bootjack out the window. 2249. To stop the howling of a dog, take off your left shoe and lay it upside down on the floor. Some say you must use the right shoe. 2250. To stop the howling of a dog, take off both shoes and lay them upside down on the floor. 2251. To stop the howling of a dog: take off both shoes, lay them upside down on the floor, interchange the shoes --- putting the left where the right was and the right where the left was --- and then stand on the upturned shoes. 2252. To stop the howling of a dog, take off your left shoe and spit on the sole. 2253. To stop the howling of a dog; take off either shoe, spit on it, and put the shoe on again. 2254. If a dog barks for a long time, someone will soon come to your house. 2255. A strange dog coming to your door and barking is an indication of company; an unknown visitor say some. 2256. The dog that swallows the heart of a weasel will never bark again. 2257. Small dogs rarely bark but usually bite; large dogs usually bark but rarely bite. 2258. If you cut off and bury the tail of a dog that has bitten you, he will neither bite nor bark again. 2259. As a protection against being bitten by a dog, wear a piece of bacon in your shoe. 2260. To keep a dog from biting you, rub a piece of bacon in your armpit and throw him the meat. 2261. If you rub one side of a piece of meat in your armpit and the other side on the sole of your bare foot and feed it to a dog, the animal will not bite you. 2262. You can protect yourself against a charging dog by tipping your hat to him. 2263. A dog with his tail over his back is friendly; a dog with his tail between his legs is dangerous. 2264. Never step or jump over a dog; it causes you bad luck. 2265. A dog crossing your path brings you bad luck.

47 2266. A large strange dog met at the beginning of your journey is lucky. 2267. If you meet a friendly dog on the road, you will have good luck; but if the dog growls, bad luck. 2268. The person who meets a black dog will be unlucky. This bad luck can be averted by returning home. 2269. A white dog seen early in the morning denotes good news from a friend far away. 2270. If you see a dog wiping his behind on the sidewalk, somebody is saying nasty things about you. 2271. If a dog runs between a woman's legs, her husband will soon beat her up. 2272. Two dogs fighting on the street signify a quarrel before night. 2273. Some say it is lucky to have a stray dog follow you home; others say it is unlucky. 2274. Some say it is lucky to have a stray dog come to your house, provided the animal remains; others say it is unlucky, unless you chase the animal away. 2275. If a strange but friendly dog comes to your house and you feed it, you will soon hear good news. 2276. A strange dog running through your house is an unlucky portent. 2277. If a dog is dissatisfied with the house into which you have recently moved, let him smell some hair cut from the end of his tail and he will stay. 2278. To keep a dog from leaving, cut some hair from his tail and mix it with something he eats. 2279. Your dog will not leave you, if you cut several hairs from the tip of his tail and bury them under the doorstep. This may also be done to keep a stray dog that comes to your house. 2280. As a method for stealing a dog: cut some hairs from his tail, tie about them a black string, bury this under your doorstep, and the animal will soon come to your house. 2281. "I remember well, when I was a girl, an old dog came to our farm. My father didn't want it, he kept running it off, and we children wanted to keep it. So someone said if you cut some of its hair off the end of its tail and spit on it, then bury under the door, it would not leave. So we thought we would do this so father could not run the dog away, for we wanted it. But we didn't tell him. So we cut the poor dog's tail off, spit on it and put it under the doorstep, and the dog would not leave. My father tried and tried to run the dog off, but he would not go, when one day he said, 'I will fix that dog,' and did.' He took it out on the hill and shot it. I cried many a day after that, for I always thought if I had not of cut its tail off and spit on it and put under the door to make it stay, maybe the dog would have left and got a good home." 2282. A new dog will not leave, if you cut some hairs from the end of his tail, spit on them, bury them under your doorstep, and then spit into the first food you give him. 2283. If you bore a hole into your doorstep and stuff into it a few hairs from your dog's head and tail, he will never stray from home. 2284. To make a dog stay home, clip some hair from his tail and bury it under a rock. 2285. To make a dog stay home, clip some hair from the end of his tail and bury it under a white rock near the door. 2286. Take some hair from the tail and forehead of your dog, bury it in a can, and the animal will not run away from home. 2287. You can make a stray dog follow you or keep your own dog home by wearing in your shoe some hair from the end of the animal's tail. This may also be done to a cat. 2288. Always feed a new dog out of one of your old shoes and he will never leave you. 2289. If you wear in your shoe any kind of food (usually a piece of bacon or a pork rind) and give it to a stray dog, the animal will follow you home and stay. 2290. If you wear a meat rind in your left shoe for three days and feed it to a dog, he will not leave home. 2291. Let a dog eat some scrapings from your heel or the soles of your dirty feet and he will stay home. This may also be done to a cat. 2292. Any article of food warmed in your armpit and fed to a dog will make the animal stay home. This may also be done to a cat. 2293. A dog can be kept home by letting him eat a piece of meat that has been wiped between your sweaty legs. 2294. Dogs fed a boiled dish rag never run away from home. 2295. If you sit down at the table and scrape the corner to your right and give these scrapings to your dog or cat, the animal will never stray from home. 2296. If you scrape three corners of the table and give these scrapings to your dog or cat, the animal will never stray from home. 2297. Spit into a dog's mouth and he will not run away. 2298. On first bringing a new dog into your house, wipe the dirt from his feet with a clean cloth, bury the cloth under your front doorstep, and the dog will not leave. 2299. A dog will not wander away, if you make him look into a mirror. 2300. If your dog runs away and you catch him, sprinkle salt on his tail and he will not run away again. 2301. Scratch a dog where he is unable to scratch himself and he will not run away. 2302. To prevent a dog from leaving home, measure the length of his tail with a stick of an equal length and drive the entire stick down into the ground at your door. 2303. If with a piece of string you measure a dog from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, break the string so that its length equals the measurement made, cut off the bushy part of his tail, wrap the measuring string about this hair and bury it under your front doorstep, the animal will not desert you. 2304. You can bring a lost dog home by whistling three times through the keyhole of an outside door of your house. 2305. A dog's ears turned inside out are a token of company. 2306. After a dog has looked into a mirror, bad luck may be expected. 2307. To have a dog chew a rug is a sign of company. 2308. If a dog lies in the doorway and refuses to move, it means sickness in the house. 2309. If a dog lies in the doorway with his head outside and his body inside the house, someone will leave the family; if with his head inside and his body outside the house, someone will come into the family. 2310. A dog running to the door again and again is an omen of company. 2311. If a dog rolls on the floor, you may expect company; and some add, the direction in which his tail points while rolling will be the direction from which the company will arrive. 2312. If a dog rolls on the floor and gets up and shakes himself, you will have company from the direction he faces. 2313. If your dog rolls sunwise, good luck or success is denoted for the family. 2314. It is unlucky to have a dog crawl under the chair on which you are sitting. 2315. A dog that moans while crawling on his belly is a portent of trouble.

48 2316. The whining of a dog beneath your window portends a misfortune. 2317. If you kill a dog, you will have bad luck; for an indefinite period, seven years, or fourteen years; and if the dog happens to be a bitch with pups, bad luck the rest of your life. 2318. The person whose dog gets killed should give the next dog the same name for luck. The same thing is said about a cat. 2319. Never bury a dead dog in your yard; it will cause you trouble. FARM STOCK IN GENERAL (2320-2339) 2320. "My husband always put his stock out on a pasture, he wanted to fatten, three days before full moon, so they will always be full and never hungry. We lived on a farm right out from Liberty and that's how we fattened our stock, like cows, hogs or horses." 2321. Scatter ashes in the barn after cleaning it on Ash Wednesday and your stock will not be bothered by lice that year. 2322. To rid your stock of lice, let the animals stand out in the first rain of June. 2323. Your live stock will be healthy, if the stable is covered with cobwebs. 2324. "I had a lot of bad luck with my stock so I got some new mules. And when I put them in the barn I made three crosses over the door, saying Father, Son and Holy Ghost three times, and had excellent luck with my mules." 2325. "My brother had a barn full of stock and they were all sick. My sister heard him talking about getting a new horse one day, so when he started for the horse, she didn't tell him, but she got a file and went to the barn and made three crosses in the doorsill where that horse would go under, and that horse was never sick." 2326. "When we lived out on the farm, my father had lots of horses and cattle, and he always kept a goat running with his stock and we never had any diseases." 2327. The dunging of a stable after dark is unlucky for the stock. 2328. Always dung the stable between Christmas and New Year's Day so that the stock will not be molested by witches during the year. 2329. You can have healthy cattle by sprinkling your urine in the barn once a week. 2330. If occasionally you sprinkle your urine in the stable, the stock tied there will not break loose. 2331. Never enter a stable during a storm; animals draw lightning. This is why stables are frequently struck by lightning, so they say. 2332. "I know this is so, for one Christmas Eve years ago, when I was living on a farm, I invited some people to my house that did not believe that animals prayed at midnight on Christmas Eve. And just at twelve o'clock all the horses, cows, pigs, and sheep on the place came up in the barn lot and got down on their knees and looked up in the sky. They were praying. And those people believed that animals pray after that." 2333. If you visit the cow shed on New Year's Eve at midnight, you will find the cows on their knees in prayer. 2334. Animals can talk to spirits on Christmas Eve at midnight. 2335. Speak to animals at midnight on New Year's Eve and they will understand you. 2336. The person who helps an animal in misery will be lucky. 2337. Cruelty to an animal brings bad luck. 2338. "When going along the road, everything I see dead I spit to keep away bad luck; like if I see a dead animal, chicken, snake, anything that is dead." Some add, no matter where you see the dead animal; others require that you spit over your finger or through your fingers. 2339. Do not refuse a reasonable offer for an animal; something will surely happen to it. STOCK BREEDING (2340-2354) 2340. If the female is covered by the male during the first half of her heat, she will have females; if during the last half, males. 2341. If animals are mated in the light of the moon, the result will be females; if in the dark of the moon, males. 2342. Some say the best time for mating animals to get good stock is the dark of the moon. 2343. The result from mating animals during a full moon is always male. 2344. An early-morning pairing of animals produces females; an afternoon or evening pairing, males. 2345. Small males will sire females; large males will sire males. 2346. The sex of an animal always differs from the sex of the one preceding it; therefore, after the birth of a female, let the mother skip one heat so that the heat following this omission will yield another female. 2347. The next calf will always be a female, if the afterbirth from the preceding one is buried under an apple tree. 2348. A cow that fails to eat her afterbirth never calves again. 2349. If you burn the afterbirth of a cow or destroy in any way except by burying it, the calf will not live. 2350. As many times as the boar opens and closes his mouth while serving a sow determines the number of pigs in her litter. 2351. Twins and triplets among animals are the result of two or three coverings respectively. 2352. To obtain a spotted colt from a solidly colored mare, lay a wet cloth over that part of her body where the birthmark on the offspring is desired, and do this just before she accepts the stallion; and conversely, if the mare has any kind of mark, eliminate it in her colt by covering this with a wet cloth after the stallion's service. Additional spots require extra cloths. 2353. "I knew a man that all of his horses were black, and he put a piece of elder stick twelve inches long in their drinking water, and when his colts come they were black and white. Very pretty!" 2354. "My father always did this and he never lost a colt: if you have a mare that is going to have a colt, just at nine o'clock in the beginning of the light of the moon take her out and walk her around; do this for three months before the beginning of each light moon, and the mare will have an easy time." SHEEP (2355-2360) 2355. If sheep are sheared on the increase of the moon, the wool will be better and stronger. 2356. Shear your sheep after the first cold rain in May to get more wool. 2357. You can secure a larger amount of wool by shearing your sheep on May 24, 25, or 27. 2358. When a lamb is killed accidentally, cut out and bury the heart in your yard for luck.

49 2359. It is lucky to meet a flock of sheep. 2360. The person who passes through a flock of sheep on the road will have bad luck. HOGS (2361-2399) 2361. If you seed a hog as the moon increases, the wound will swell; but if as the moon decreases, it will not swell. 2362. Never bore a hog in the sign of the head (Aries); the animal will not live. 2363. A hog altered in the sign of the heart (Leo) will die. 2364. The sign of the bowels (Virgo) is a bad time for fixing a hog; you will kill the animal. 2365. The person who marks a hog in the sign of the secrets, privates, private parts, or sex organ --- all of these meaning Scorpio --- kills the animal; however, this sign is occasionally considered the best time for marking. Steers and geldings are usually made in this sign. 2366. Below the waist (below Virgo? Libra ? Scorpio? ) is the proper sign during which to cut a hog. 2367. Hogs should be castrated when the sign is between the knee (Capricornus) and the ankle (just above Pisces). This is occasionally the time for castrating colts. 2368. Always unsex a hog in the sign of the feet (Pisces), for this keeps the swelling down and drives the fever out through the animal's feet. 2369. Wean a hog in the sign of Leo and it will squeal all the time. 2370. By weaning pigs on the full moon you make them thrive. 2371. Pigs can see the wind. 2372. You will be able to see the wind, if you suck the tit of a sow with pigs. 2373. If you see a sway-backed hog, you will know that some child sat upon it when the animal was small. 2374. A hog cannot swim; the front legs are so short they will cut the animal's throat. 2375. "Years ago when I was about fourteen, a man out here by Clayton said to me, 'If you can lift one of those pigs out of the pen without squealing, I will give it to you.' 'Do you mean that?' 'Sure!' He didn't know I was part Indian and that is their old saying: 'If you lift a pig out of a pen by the tail, it will not squeal.' And I lifted the pig right up over the pen by the tail and it didn't squeal. I got the pig and we fatten it. In the fall, mother bought me a new dress and some other things with the money." 2376. If the tail of a pig curls up, the animal is healthy. 2377. Healthy pigs carry their tails bent to the right side. 2378. Hogs that eat chickens will never grow fat, no matter how much you feed them. 2379. To break a hog from the habit of eating chickens, kill a crow and throw it into the pen. 2380. "If your hogs have cholera, put chamber lye in the slop. When we were small, our folks would make us wet in the chamber all the time and put all of that chamber lye in the slop barrel to make the hogs healthy." 2381. Worms in hogs can be killed by pouring human urine into the slop. 2382. Butcher hogs in the sign of the head (Aries) and you will secure good meat. 2383. If hogs are killed when the sign is between the head (Aries) and legs (Aquarius), the meat will shrink and have a bad taste. 2384. "When you see bacon all curling up when frying it, the hog was stuck wrong when in killing. If you want bacon to stay smooth and not curl, stick in the heart (Leo); if you stick in the shoulder (Cancer?), it will all curl up. And the same way in boiling bacon: if stuck in the shoulder, it will all swindle away." 2385. For good meat, hogs should be butchered in the sign of neck (Taurus) during the increase of the moon. 2386. Most believers say the raw meat from a hog slaughtered on the light of the moon becomes withered or flabby, or when in the skillet it curls up and turns to grease; but some say the raw meat fills out with the fulling moon, or swells when in the skillet. In other words, the dark of the moon is the best time for slaughtering hogs. 2387. Most believers say meat from a hog slaughtered in the dark of the moon will not shrivel, but some say it will waste away with the wasting moon --- turn to lard. 2388. Meat from a hog slaughtered during the full moon will not dry out when raw or shrink when in the skillet because the bones are filled with marrow. 2389. Good meat is obtained by butchering a female hog in the light of the moon and a male hog in the dark of the moon. 2390. "My father was one of those old Germans and he always salted his meat in the dark of the moon so it would keep; said in the light of the moon it would spoil." 2391. The meat of a red hog turns strong sooner than the meat of a black or white hog. 2392. Do not whirl a broom around on its handle; all your hogs will die. 2393. Farmers who have hairy arms are good hog-raisers. 2394. A farmer with a hairy chest will be successful in raising hogs. 2395. To meet a drove of hogs on the road is unlucky. 2396. If a person going somewhere to sell something meets a drove of hogs, he will be unsuccessful in selling it. 2397. A hog met while you are taking a long journey brings bad luck. 2398. The gift of a pig to anyone causes you bad luck, unless you accept a piece of money in exchange. 2399. It is lucky to be given a pig. COWS (2400-2478) 2400. A calf weaned in the sign of the head (Aries) will bawl incessantly. Similarly, a colt weaned in this sign will be fretful. 2401. Between the signs of the top of the head (the highest point of Aries) and the shoulder (Cancer?) is a good time to wean a calf. 2402. A suitable weaning-time for calves is while the sign of the shoulder (Cancer?) goes down. 2403. The farmer who weans a calf during the sign of the heart (Leo) will make it, the cow, or both, fret. The same thing is said of a colt and mare. 2404. Always wean a calf or a colt before the up-sign reaches the heart (Leo) and you will not have any trouble with the animal. 2405. Neither calf nor cow will moo for each other, if the owner separates them in the sign of the thigh (Sagittarius). Mare and colt should be separated at this time. 2406. Wean a calf in the sign of the knee (Capricornus) and the animal will thrive. 2407. If you wean a calf while the sign is below the knee (Capricornus), it prevents the cow from mooing.

50 2408. A calf taken from the cow during the sign of the feet (Pisces) is never missed by the cow. Take a colt from the mare at this time. 2409. Some say the weaning of a calf or colt should begin anytime during the dark of the moon; others say the light of the moon. 2410. Just before the moon becomes new is considered an excellent time to begin the weaning of a calf or colt. 2411. To prevent fretting or to get large animals, calves or colts must be weaned on the third day before full moon. 2412. Any of the three days preceding a full moon is a proper time to begin the weaning of calves or colts. 2413. Calf or colt secluded from the cow or mare on the full moon will not lose weight. 2414. A cow deprived of her calf on Sunday never bawls. 2415. Deprive a cow of her calf on Sunday morning as the moon waxes and you will not be bothered with either animal. 2416. The best time for weaning late calves is the first five days in September. 2417. On selling a calf you must clip two inches from the end of its tail so that the cow will not bawl. 2418. A cow frets at the purchase of her calf, unless you cut off the calf's tail tip and lay this on the cow's back. 2419. Immediately before the sale of a calf, tack a piece of its tail to the barn door as a precaution against bawling by the cow. 2420. A farmer said he wanted to buy a calf years ago, but the owner refused to sell unless the animal was removed backwards from its mother. So the cow and calf were placed in the stable, and the buyer, holding the calf by the tail, pulled it away backwards from the mother until neither cow nor calf could see each other. 2421. Cows do not bawl, if after their calves are sold you load the latter backwards into the wagon that is to carry them away. 2422. Do not name a newborn calf; the animal will die. 2423. Twin calves of the same sex should be kept for luck, but those of a different sex should be sold or killed. 2424. Always feed a cow's milk to the hogs on the first three days after she has calved. On the contrary, this first milk, called beestings, is sometimes said to be "full of fever" and poisonous for all animals except calves. 2425. The first time a cow is ever milked, some of the milk should be squirted to the ground for luck; the last time a cow is milked before she goes dry, some of the milked should be squirted to the ground for luck. 2426. If a cow is milked and any of the milk accidentally falls on to the ground, it dries her up; therefore, in drying up a cow intentionally, squirt some of the milk to the ground four or five times. 2427. A cow that is not milked at the same time each day will go dry. 2428. Unless you wash your hands after milking a cow, you will turn her dry. 2429. Cows can be dried up by milking them for the last time on Sunday. 2430. Let the final milking of a cow be on Sunday (some specify Sunday morning) so that she will calf during daylight. 2431. Milk a cow for the last time on Friday morning and she will calf in the daytime. 2432. If the afterbirth is eaten by the cow, do not expect much milk until the birth of her next calf. 2433. Cream from a cow that eats her afterbirth does not churn into butter. 2434. Whenever a cow begins to lose her milk, give her some of it each morning before she is fed and the milk will soon return. 2435. If a man milks a heifer for the first time, she will never kick backwards when milked. 2436. "We had an old red-and-white cow and she would always step over the milk bucket when we were milking, and nothing but milkweeds would grow on that spot." 2437. It is unlucky to pour milk over the bail of the milk bucket. 2438. Lightning and thunder sours milk. 2439. "If a cow gets its tail cut and the sun shines in her rear end, it will give sour milk." 2440. To prevent bloody milk in a cow, steal a dirty dish rag and rub it over her bag and bury the rag. 2441. You can cure a cow that gives bloody milk by milking her through your wedding ring. 2442. Bloody milk will be given by a cow that steps on a toad. 2443. Persons with warts on their hands must not milk a cow, for it makes the milk bloody. 2444. If the full moon is avoided as a starting-time for fall or winter feeding, and if the cows are turned out in the dark of the moon to begin their spring or summer pasturage, the milk will not taste like the food they eat. 2445. As a remedy for clogged mammary ducts in a cow's bag (an ailment called caked bag), grease the bag with strong butter at each milking-time on three successive days. 2446. "I knew a man that had a cow and she got a caked bag, and he put cow manure all over her bag and it help her." 2447. Milk fever (a caked bag) in a cow is cured by letting her chew on a dirty dish rag. 2448. To cure milk fever in a cow, a woman must lift up her dress and wipe the bag with her petticoat. 2449. "Our cow had a calf and its bag was just full of fever, so all I did was to turn my petticoat over my right hand and rub her bag three times, and she got well right away." This will also cure the feverish bag of a mare. 2450. "Our cow had a caked breast years ago. We were all down by the cow when a neighbor man said to my mother, 'Come over here behind the barn.' She went with him. When she got there he said, 'Take off that apron, rub it over your cow's breast, then bury the apron right away; the dirtier the apron, the better.' She did. And next morning the cow was all right." 2451. If you pick up a rock (a white one say some), rub over a cow's caked bag that side of the rock which touched the ground, replace the rock as you found it, the ailment will be cured. 2452. Water from the tub in which a blacksmith cools hot iron is a good wash for the sore udders of a cow. 2453. "My mother had a cow about seventy years ago with a bad caked bag. She took sow bugs, some corn meal, and mashed them all up together and made a poultice of it; brought the cow right out." 2454. "Our cow's bag was just full of warts; mother said it was hard to milk her. So she tied a knot in a string for every wart, then bury it under a board without looking at the board any more, and the cow lost her warts." 2455. If a cow licks herself frequently, she is healthy; if infrequently, unhealthy or actually sick. 2456. In curing a costive cow, cut a bar of soap into five pieces, boil them in a pint of milk, and administer the same dose twice say some but thrice say others. 2457. As a treatment for loose bowels in a calf, tie a leather thong around its tail as near as possible to the rump. 2458. Feed a greasy dish rag to a cow and she will recover her lost cud. This feeding is usually done by wrapping the rag around a stick and forcing the rag down her throat. As soon as she recovers her cud, she will spit out the false one. The cud is merely a portion of food brought up into the mouth from the first stomach in order to be chewed a second time, but some of the old-time farmers thought the cud was an organ of the cow's digestive system, something that looked like a small sack. And old farmer said he once found a dried cud that a cow had lost.

51 2459. "We had an old red cow. She lost her cud. We thought she was going to die. We made her a cud out of an old dish rag, lard, bacon rind, salt, and some soot out of the cookstove, and she got all right." 2460. Indigestion in a cow is cured by feeding her a stolen dish rag. 2461. To bring back a cow's lost cud, make her swallow a menstrual cloth. 2462. Pink-eye in a cow will disappear after you have rubbed her bag with some of her milk. 2463. If a cow has eaten too much and is swollen up --- an ailment frequently called founders or flounders (founder) --- she can be cured by feeding her some of your finger-nail scrapings on a piece of bread. 2464. Tie up a shovelful of human soil in a rag and stuff it inside the mouth of a cow that has bloated up from eating too much white clover. This will make the gas leave her stomach and she will become well. 2465. Salt is placed in each ear of a cow to rid her of indigestion. 2466. You treat hollow horn in a cow by boring a hole with a gimmet just behind the hair at the roots of both horns to draw blood. Unless this is done, the disease, or rather the worm causing it, will enter the brain and kill her. 2467. To free a cow from hollow horn, cut a gash in her tail, fill the wound with salt (salt and pepper say some), and sew it up. 2468. Wolf or hollow tail or wolf tail, a cow disease in which the tail begins to rot, is said to be caused by a yellow worm, with a big head, about three-fourths of an inch long. This parasite gradually works its way up the tail, through the body, and into the brain, thus killing the animal. The symptoms of the disease are an aenemic cow and a tail hanging limp "like a dish rag." One of three treatments may be used: cut the end of the tail until it bleeds; split the tail at the tip; and make a hole four inches from the tip of the tail, filling it with soot or salt and pepper. 2469. "Our calf got cut real bad and was bleeding. We did everything we could, when an old Swedish man that was working on a farm next to us said, 'Tie a wire around its tail real hard.' We did, and the calf stopped bleeding." 2470. If you butcher beef in the dark of the moon, the blood will turn black and darken the meat; if in the light of the moon, the blood will not turn black and darken the meat. 2471. The flesh of a cow killed when excited or angry becomes tough. 2472. You will never kill an excited or angry cow with the first shot. 2473. If you kill a cow in heat and use her hide for making shoes, your feet will burn all the time. This burning was rather common in days when socks were not always worn, and the leather of the old hand-made shoes, unlined with cloth as they are today, caused a greater friction against the bare feet. A few drops of whiskey in each shoe eased the pain, so they say. A Civil-War veteran said the soldiers generally used this device. Another device, when these old-fashioned shoes became stiff, was to fill them with navy beans and water overnight; the swelling beans were supposed to soften the shoes. 2474. "I let my fire go out once in the winter and my only cow died that week." 2475. "Years ago I worked for a Southern lady and she said if you took the hoe through the house, you would lose your cow before the year is out." 2476. Always bury a dead cow under a mulberry tree to keep any of the others from dying. 2477. If a cow starts to chase you, fold your thumbs over the palms of your hands and close your fists tightly so that she will not harm you. 2478. The significance of a cow getting into the house is bad luck. HORSES AND MULES (2479-2582) 2479. In the sign of the feet (Pisces) during the dark of the moon is the time to wean a colt. 2480. "A man had a fine horse. He said he would give anyone twenty dollars that would stop the horse from bleeding. My sister counted fifty backwards and got the twenty dollars for saving his horse." 2481. Profuse bleeding in a horse is stopped by boring a hole into a tree, putting in it some of the blood, and plugging up the hole with a wooden peg. 2482. If a horse cuts himself on a barbed-wire fence, a piece of bacon should be rubbed over the wire to heal the wound. 2483. As a remedy for checking the flow of blood from a cut on a horse, apply a mixture of cobwebs and soot. 2484. Bind cow manure on the wound when a horse gets scratched on a barbed- wire fence. 2485. To check the bleeding of a wound caused by the horse gashing himself on a barbed-wire fence, burn some scrapings from his hoof and use as a poultice. 2486. Mud taken from a place where cattle stand is a good ointment for wire-fence cuts on horses. 2487. "Several months ago a horse went by my house and the horse stepped on a nail. I ran out and helped the man take the nail out, took it right in the house, and put it in the fire. The man was so thankful; said it would save the horse." 2488. If a horse steps on a nail, lockjaw can be averted by hanging the nail over the barn door. 2489. The nail that a horse runs into his foot must be driven high up into the wall of your house, to guard against lameness. 2490. A horse will neither go lame nor get blood poisoning, provided you pull out the nail that he has stepped on and drive it into a piece of wood or an old rotten log. 2491. Blood poisoning attacks a horse that steps on a nail, unless you remove the nail immediately and stick it into lard. 2492. The wound caused by a horse stepping on a nail will not become infected, if the nail is removed and carried in your pocket. 2493. As a treatment for lockjaw in a horse, stuff a menstrual cloth up under his lip. 2494. Loose bowels in a colt is cured by tying a string tightly around its tail as near as possible to the rump. 2495. "My horse had a bad carbuncle on its back, and I made a poultice of the cow droppings and put on, and it broke it right up." 2496. Tea made from chicken dung (the white part only say some) is administered to horses with colic. 2497. "We had a horse down in the Bottom that would get the colic every now and then, and that was all my father done, was: to get a black chicken, kill it and feed the entrails of the chicken to the horse, and it would get well right away." 2498. If a horse has colic, say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as you walk under his belly, and, without straightening up or turning around, retrace your steps backwards to the same words, then stand up for the Amen, and the disease will be gone. 2499. The warm water in which a menstrual cloth has been soaked is given to horses with colic. 2500. For colic in a horse, let him drink some brine off a salted mackerel. 2501. "My father years ago had a blacksmith shop out in the country, and the farmers would come for miles and get a jug of that slack water when their horses would have the colic." 2502. To break a horse from cribbing, rub his jaws with a bone every day at sunset. 2503. Distemper is cured by burning chicken feathers and letting the horse inhale the smoke.

52 2504. "When you kill your hogs, always save the toe-nails and hairs around the feet of the hog; put them in a sack to dry. If your horse gets the distemper, put some of this on some coals and let the horses smell it, will cure him of distemper." 2505. Treat distemper in a horse by feeding him a hornet nest. 2506. If a hornet nest is burned and the horse inhales the fumes, he will lose his distemper. 2507. As a remedy for distemper, burn old shoes and make the horse breathe in the smoke. 2508. The washing of a horse's fislow (fistula) every morning with a greasy dish rag cures it. 2509. Founder in a horse is treated by giving him some pubic hair taken from three different persons. 2510. If a horse has founder, tie him in a pond during the day so that he stands with mud and water up to his knees. Do this for seven days and all inflammation will leave his feet. 2511. You rid a horse of heaves by mixing some saltpetre with his oats in the dark of the moon. 2512. A broken-winded horse (a horse with heaves) becomes well, if given water in which a blacksmith cools hot iron. 2513. Rain on the first of May kills lice on a horse. 2514. To free the leg of a horse from a ringbone, drill or punch a hole through each end of a flat strip of lead so that these two holes can be threaded with a piece of copper wire; then, having bent the leaden bandage over the ringbone, fasten it there by wrapping the wire three times around the horse's leg. 2515. "If a horse has a bad bad sore, take jimson-weed leaves and put them in a can, then urinate on them, then apply that to the sore, will heal it. My husband kept a can of the jimson-weed leaves in the barn all the time to apply on any sore a horse would get." 2516. Pulverize some white dung from a chicken and sprinkle this powder into the sore eyes of a horse. 2517. Liniment for a horse's sore shoulder is prepared by filling a bottle half-full of piss ants (large black ants), covering them with alcohol, adding rain-water, and letting the liquid stand seven days in the hot sun. 2518. An opossum skin should be placed under the collar of a horse that has a sore shoulder or neck. 2519. In ridding a horse of sweeny, tie a live frog or toad (some say it must be split open) on his withers. 2520. "If a horse has sweeny, take a hair out of the horse's tail, then bore a hole in a young tree that grows real fast, put the hair in that hole; and as soon as the bark grows over that hole, the sweeny will be gone. That is an old remedy of my uncle. He had a lot of horses and this is what he did for sweeny." 2521. "If a horse has a swollen joint, take and put worms in a bottle and let stand in the sun until they turn to oil, then rub that oil on the swollen part, rubbing down so the soreness will go in the ground." 2522. Remove a wart from a horse by rubbing it with an old bone while you say, In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and then bury the bone. 2523. Warts are removed from a horse, if they are rubbed with an ointment made by soaking potato bugs in coal oil. 2524. If you see a horse rolling on the ground, count the number of times he rolls over completely from side to side and estimate his value at one- hundred dollars for each roll. Some say the same thing about a mule; further, that a mule, failing to turn over, is worth less than fifty dollars. 2525. To discover the age of a horse: jerk a hair from his mane, on this tie a gold or a wedding ring, hold it so that the ring, when suspended in a glass partly filled with water, can swing freely, and as many times as the ring strikes against the glass will reveal the number of his years. Sometimes a hair from the tail is substituted for that of the mane. 2526. Horse buyers should heed this advice: "One white foot, buy him, If two, try him, If three, wait and see, If four, let him be. " 2527. This advice is given to a horse buyer: "If it has one white foot, buy him. If two white feet, try him. If three white feet, look for trouble. And if four white feet do not buy him." 2528. Do not buy a horse without considering this advice: "If he has one white foot, buy him, If two, try him, Three, deny him, Four white feet and a white nose, Take off his hide and throw it to the crows." 2529. Let the person buying a horse consider this advice: "One white foot, buy the horse. Two white feet, give it to your wife. Three white feet, look it over close. Four white feet, feed it to the crows." 2530. A horse with one white foot is always weak in it; and if he goes lame, it will be that foot. 2531. "If a horse has a left-hind white foot, he is very tricky; can learn to do anything, like opening a gate." 2532. One white foot in a horse is lucky, but three white feet are luckier. 2533. Horses having four white feet bring good luck. 2534. Never purchase a horse that shows the white of his eyes; you will not be able to do anything with him. 2535. It is unlucky for the seller of a horse to watch him led away from the stabIe. 2536. The person who sells a horse that is going far away should back him into the wagon so that the animal will not lose weight on the journey. 2537. If you are asked to name a horse, you will become lucky by naming the animal. 2538. Do not change the name of a horse; the animal will soon die. 2539. Keep a black cat near horses for luck. 2540. Sixteen years of bad luck follow the killing of a mule. 2541. Whoever walks under the head of a horse will be unlucky. 2542. To have horses turn back towards the pasture when driving them home means sickness in the family. 2543. Never use a piece of new harness when breaking in a young horse; if you do, the animal will be fretful and difficult to train.

53 2544. The rider who puts his hand up on the right ear of the horse before mounting him is never thrown. 2545. "A man told me that whenever he didn't do this he always had bad luck: if a man is getting ready to drive a team, after he hitches up and is ready to start, let him go to the horse's head and pat them so he will have good luck that day." 2546. "I have tried this and they always go on: if a horse balks, tie some of the hair out of its tail to the singletree and he will move on. 2547. You can make a balky horse go forward by picking up some dirt from the road and putting it in his ear or mouth. 2548. "It is very bad luck to drive a team of horses all-a-way around your own house was one of my grandfather's sayings." 2549. To drive or ride a white horse through muddy water is very unlucky. 2550. Some say it is lucky to see or to meet a white horse; others say it is unlucky. 2551. Cross your fingers to avoid bad luck when you pass a white horse. 2552. The person who sees a white horse can avert bad luck by holding up the index and middle fingers of his right hand and spitting between them. 2553. On seeing a white horse, you may spit over your left little finger for luck. 2554. Anyone seeing a white horse may spit at it two times for luck. 2555 You become lucky by stamping a white horse. 2556 If you meet a white horse, say Zip and it will cause you good luck. 2557 Those who meet a white horse will be lucky, provided they say Lippety, lippety, white horse, when you have good luck, bring it to me. 2558 Always spit over your little finger when you meet a white horse and say: "White horse, white horse, ding-a-ling-a-ling; Wherever I go, I will find something " 2559. "I always did this when a girl. If you see a white horse say, Lookey! Lookey! White horse! Wet your finger and stamp it in the palm of your hand three times. Do this every time you see a white horse until you get one-hundred horses and you will find something nice." 2560. Each time you stamp a white horse you add a year to your life. 2561. To see a white horse means you will get a buggy ride. 2562. A person who on his way to transact some business meets a white horse will be successful. 2563. Two white horses met on the road are an omen of good luck. 2564. Hold your fingers crossed while passing two white horses and receive money. 2565. Three white horses met on the same day make you lucky. 2566. It is lucky for a red-headed woman to meet a white horse. 2567. A red-haired woman should always drive a white horse for luck. 2568. If you meet a white horse, you will soon see a red-haired woman; and contrariwise, if you meet a red-haired woman, you will soon see a white horse. 2569. If you meet a white horse, you will not only soon see a red-haired woman but also soon have good luck. 2570. If you meet a red-haired woman and fail to see a white horse before reaching home, bad luck may be expected. 2571. If you meet a red-haired woman and fail to see a white horse, you will have an accident that day. 2572. To meet a white horse and a red-haired girl at the same moment is a lucky token. 2573. You will meet a red-haired girl after you have met three white horses. 2574. The traveler who meets a white mule will soon meet a red-haired Negro. 2575. Look over your left shoulder when you pass a white horse and you will see the devil. 2576. After you have met a grey horse you will receive a letter. 2577. Good luck comes from stamping a grey horse. 2578. A white mule should be stamped ten times for luck. 2579. Stamp one-hundred-and-fifty grey mules for luck. 2580. The person counting one-hundred-and-fifty mules soon finds something. 2581. If a person stamps one-hundred white horses and then a white mule money will be found the morning after the white mule was stamped. 2582. Persons passing a drove of horses on the road will be lucky. BIRTH AND INFANCY (2583-3533) WHO WILL HAVE A BABY (2583-2623) 2583. The first married woman to see a recently born baby will have the next child. 2584. "I have heard my grandmother say, if a woman goes to see a new baby for the first time, she must never hold that baby in her arms, for if she does she will soon have a baby. It is all right to hold it the second time, but never the first unless she wants one too." 2585. The woman who holds a new baby before it is three weeks old will soon get one. 2586. As a matter of precaution when entering the room of a new mother for the first time, a woman visitor should make the sign of the cross to keep from having a baby. 2587. The first house at which a mother stops when taking her baby out for the first time will be the next place to have a baby. 2588. "I was living upstairs and a woman that was living downstairs had been married over five years and didn't have any children and wanted one. When my baby came she wanted me to put it on her bed first. So the first time I took it out I carried it up in the attic so my child would have luck all through life, then carried it downstairs and put it on her bed. I told her I took it up to the attic first so my baby wouldn't have bad luck through life. Well, the truth is she had a baby before the year was out." 2589. Some say the preceding rite --- laying a baby on a bed to bring another child — will be ineffective, unless this is done before the infant is christened. 2590. If a mother lays her baby on a bed and the baby wets that bed, she may expect another child soon. 2591. A mother while visiting should not lay her baby on a table (the center of the table say some); she will give that house a baby. 2592. A baby throwing up milk is a sign the mother is pregnant. 2593. A woman who is nursing a baby can discover whether she has become preganant again: if she boils some of her milk and it curdles, pregnancy has begun. 2594. If a mother keeps a baby's first clothes, she will never have another child. 2595. If outgrown baby clothes are given away, the mother will soon need them again. 2596. If a baby dies and its clothes are given away, the mother will soon be pregnant.

54 2597. If a mother leaves a diaper where she has been visiting with her baby, there will soon be a birth at that house; hence the sayings: "Don't leave a diaper here", when the hostess does not desire a child, and "Somebody left a diaper", after a child has been born. Some say the diaper must be soiled, others say it must be left under a bed. 2598. Not so common as the preceding belief is the one that the mother who leaves a diaper in the house where she is visiting with her baby will soon return for it; need it for another baby. 2599. One of the two women who make a bed together will have a baby before the end of the year. 2600. A wife sleeping with her head to the south will soon become pregnant. 2601. A husband and wife who let someone sleep between them will soon have a baby. 2602. A husband laying his pants on the bed or hanging them on a bedpost will make his wife pregnant. Some say this is true only when done habitually. 2603. Some say a husband putting his pants on the foot of the bed will give his wife a baby, others say the head of the bed. 2604. It is an omen of a baby soon for the woman who lays her coat or hat on a strange bed. 2605. "Grandmother said if a woman goes to a house and puts her hat and coat on the bed where a newborn baby is lying, she will soon have a baby." 2606. When a bird flies into a house (through a window say some), it signifies a birth in the family before the end of the year. 2607. If a woman nursing a baby drops her broom and steps over it, she may look for a new baby soon. Some say this omen may be true of a woman who is not nursing a baby. 2608. "An old saying of my grandmother's was: if you drop your dirty dish rag, you will soon hear of a birth." 2609. To burn bean soup indicates someone in the family is pregnant. 2610. "When I was young, whenever my bread or cake cracked open in the middle, I always was in a family way. It never failed." Some say the cracking open is not necessary; a raising-up more than usual in the center is sufficient. 2611. A birth in the house is foretold by a dog that looks down to the ground while howling. 2612. If you see a frog early in the spring before frogs are supposed to appear, there will soon be a birth in your family. 2613. The itching of a woman's loins is an indication of a birth. 2614. "If there are three women sitting in a room and all three are menstruating, it is the sign that one of them will be pregnant before the year is out. I was sitting in a room with two ladies and all three of us were menstruating. I laughed and said, 'It won't be me being pregnant, for I have been married eighteen years and have no children.' They had the laugh on me, for before the year was out I was pregnant and the only child I have was born." 2615. To find a baby's pacifier means an approaching birth in the family. 2616. "Every time whenever I forget and walk around the house with one shoe on and one off I always get a baby." 2617. "If you drop a spoon, Sign of a new baby soon." 2618. After sugar has been spilled in the house, a birth in the family may be expected. 2619. A bright star denotes an approaching birth. 2620. A shooting star shows a birth has just occurred. 2621. The woman who sees a falling star will soon have a baby. 2622. If while standing you see a star fall and it falls to your right, a birth is signified; if to your left, a death. 2623. The man who begins to sit on a stool all the time will soon become a father. NUMBER OF CHILDREN YOU WILL HAVE (2624-2639) 2624. The number of knots or lumps on the navel cord of the first baby reveals how many children will be born to the mother. 2625. "They say when a baby just starts to walk, the amount of steps it just takes is the amount of children you will have, unless they stumble before they take the first step, then there will be no more children in the family. I have a baby six months old and I am praying it will stumble before it takes its first step to keep from having any more." 2626. "This June I was down in Marblehead on Sunday. All the girls at the house were eating the first apple in June and counting the seeds to see how many children they would have." 2627. If a woman while walking through the woods finds a bird nest, the number of eggs in the nest will indicate how many children to expect. Some say this must occur on the woman's first walk through the woods after her marriage. 2628. If a woman on a trip to the country counts the bridges she crosses, that will be the number of her children. According to some this will be true only of the woman's first journey into the country after her marriage. 2629. Blow a dandelion seed-ball and the number of seed left will denote how many children you are going to have. 2630. The woman who is always getting the sides of her dress wet will raise a large family. 2631. Marry on the increase of the moon and your family will be large; the more the moon increases after your marriage, the larger your family. 2632. The poorer the man, the larger his family. 2633. A girl can discover how many children she will have by drinking tea and throwing away the leaves; after three days the number of leaves found will be the number of her children. 2634. It is unlucky to have an uneven number of children. 2635. Count the veins branching out from the main vein in your wrist and that will be the number of children you are going to have. 2636. Let a bride on her wedding-night throw a piece of wedding-cake outdoors and next morning watch how many birds eat the cake; the number of birds will be the number of her children. 2637. The number of dresses a bride wears on her wedding-day will be the number of her children. 2638. To learn the number of your future children, tie a wedding ring to a string and lower it into a glass tumbler and ask, "How many children shall I have?" The ring will answer by swinging to and fro against the sides of the glass, and each distinct strike will mean one child. 2639. How many wrinkles you have in your forehead, so many will be your children. Some say you must frown and count the wrinkles. TWINS AND TRIPLETS (2640-2660)

55 2640. There are twins in every third generation of the family. 2641. A girl who is twin to a boy never has any children. 2642. If the bride and groom attend a motion picture show during the three days following their marriage, they will soon have twins. 2643. Brides going to the theatre on the day they are married will conceive twins within three days. 2644. To swim on her bridal day will give the bride twins. 2645. "When I was first married I went swimming in the first three months I was pregnant. An old Irish woman told me to keep out of the water; said if you go swimming the first three months when you are pregnant, you will have twins. I laugh and said, 'That's only an old saying,' and went in. I got the twins." 2646. A red streak running down the middle of a woman's stomach during pregnancy is a token of twins. 2647. If a man and his wife couple twice at the time of conception, twins will be produced; if three times, triplets. 2648. Women who become pregnant during the sign of the Twins give birth to twins. 2649. "About fifty-five years ago there were four girls walking through an orchard and they found a twin apple, and they cut it in four pieces and each girl eat her piece. And as time went on, each one of those girls had twins." The eating of a twin berry, fruit, nut or vegetable is said to result in twins; usually only for one person. 2650. The discovery of a twin ear of corn by a woman while shucking foretells twins at her next delivery. 2651. A woman who cracks an egg and finds two yolks will soon be the mother of twins. 2652. "My mother would never let me eat an egg with two yolks; said I would have twins if I did." 2653. If a woman while going along a country road sees two billy goats, she can by naming each goat soon have twins. 2654. The first week after marriage a woman should never go to her mother-in-law's house; such a visit will bring twins. 2655. They say a woman who visits a house where there are newborn twins and picks them up will be married in less than a year. 2656. "I knew a woman right over here near Fifteen and Jefferson that had a baby with a bump on its head, and she took her baby to twin girls and let each one blow their breath over the bump twice backward and forward, and it went away. This is an old remedy that came over from Germany." 2657. Some say Sunday-born twins will always be lucky, others say they cause good luck in the family. 2658. It is lucky to meet twins; particularly so for a colored person who meets white twins, and especially when they are a boy and girl. 2659. An unusual number of twins born in a community is a sign of war. 2660. Triplets met anywhere are a good omen. DETERMINANTS OF SEX (2661-2720) 2661. Boys are had more frequently by youthful than by elderly parents. 2662. A woman whose right ovary has been removed will bear females; left ovary, males. 2663. The majority of a woman's children will be opposite in sex to the majority of her mother's children. 2664. Girls who were the first-born in their families may look for a son as the first child. 2665. First and last child always belong to the same sex. 2666. If a newborn baby has creases of an equal length behind its knees, the next child will have the same sex; if unequal, a different sex. 2667. To find wrinkles on the upper part of a newborn baby's body means the opposite sex for the child that follows. 2668. If the first word spoken by a baby is ma or mama, expect a girl as the following child; if da, dada, pa or papa, a boy. 2669. If at the time of copulation a wife is sexually stronger than her husband, a daughter will be born; if the husband, a son. 2670. If in coitus the wife's passion surpasses her husband's, a boy will be conceived; if the husband's passion surpasses his wife's, a girl. Sometimes these interpretations are reversed. 2671. If during sexual union a woman lies on top of a man, she will give birth to a boy; if beneath a man, a girl. 2672. If after insemination a woman rests on her right side, she will beget a female; if on her left side, a male. 2673. If a woman conceives at the beginning of menstruation, a girl may be expected; if at the end, a boy. These meanings are occasionally interchangeable. 2674. If conception comes near the beginning of the non-menstrual period, a girl has been procreated; if toward the end, a boy. At times some say a boy for the former, a girl for the latter. 2675. If a woman is impregnated from the third to the fifth day following her courses, it denotes the birth of a boy; if after the seventh day, a girl. Some say from the second to the sixth day for a girl and after the twelfth day for a boy. 2676. If pregnancy begins in the light of the moon, the birth of a girl is indicated; if in the dark of the moon, a boy. 2677. If a woman is inseminated during the full moon, a son has been begotten. 2678. If during pregnancy a woman is weak, a girl is on the way; if strong, a boy. 2679. If morning sickness occurs throughout the entire period of gestation, it signifies the birth of a girl; if morning sickness is absent or occasional, a boy. The word vomiting is frequently substituted for morning sickness. 2680. If pains are felt by a pregnant woman on her left side, a boy is coming. Left side meaning boy is unusual. See 2687. 2681. If a pregnant woman has pains in her back, the birth of a girl is signified. 2682. If labor pains are prolonged, the woman will be delivered of a girl. 2683. If the abdomen of a pregnant woman fills out first, she will be brought to bed with a girl; if the hips, a boy. 2684. If the embryo is carried high (often described as in the hips, thighs or waist), it foretells the birth of a girl; if low (often described as in the stomach), a boy. 2685. If a woman carries the embryo all-the-way-round, the birth of a girl is denoted. 2686. If the abdominal region during pregnancy is large, prepare for a boy; if small, a girl. The opposites are also believed. 2687. If while in a family way a woman is large on the right side, she will procreate a boy; if on the left side, a girl. 2688. If a pregnant woman is large in front, it is the sign of a girl; if in the back, a boy. 2689. If the head of the embryo lies beneath a woman's heart, she is bearing a boy; if beneath the side opposite the heart, a girl. 2690. If the stomach during pregnancy is shaped to a point, the woman will have a girl. Some say a boy, but in this case the stomach is said to come down to a point. 2691. If a woman carrying a baby feels considerable movement within, the child is going to be a boy; if little movement, a girl. 2692. If the heartbeat of an embryo is fast, it indicates the birth of a girl, if slow, a boy. The reverse is also given; 120-130 times per second for a male, 140-150 times for a female.

56 2693. If the embryo kicks on the right side, a boy is kicking; if on the left side, a girl. 2694. If the baby is going to arrive about the time expected or a little sooner, the sex of the child will be female; if later, male. 2695. If during pregnancy a woman has light-colored nipples, a girl may be expected; if dark-colored, a boy. 2696. To secure a son, an expectant mother should do a lot of smoking. 2697. An expectant mother can obtain a son by eating a lot of baking-soda or a daughter by drinking a lot of milk. 2698. A pregnant woman who drinks a lot of water will give birth to a son. 2699. If a pregnant woman makes baby clothes and buttons them up, she will beget a boy; if they are left unbuttoned, a girl. 2700. As a device for procuring a female child, the woman after she removes her dress at night should kick it under the bed. 2701. If a wife lays her dress on the footboard of the bed at night, she may expect a girl; if on the headboard, a boy. 2702. If a husband spreads his pants over the footboard of the bed at night, he will father a girl; if over the headboard, a boy 2703. If a son is desired, a woman should sleep under a red and white blanket; if a daughter, under a blue and white blanket. 2704. If a husband sleeps at the left side of his wife, she will get a girl; if at the right side, a boy. 2705. You can change the sex of the next child by turning the bed around. 2706. "I knew a woman that had four boys, and a man told her husband if he would put an axe under the bed, the next child would be a girl." 2707. "I knew a woman back in Kentucky that her husband always kept the axe under the bed, and they had five boys. She said she didn't want any more boys and for him to keep the axe from under the bed. So she went and put the sidesaddle under the bed, and kept it there so if they had any more children they would be girls. And they had two more children and they were both girls." 2708. The sex of their first child will be that of the first person met by the bride and groom on leaving the place where the wedding ceremony occurred. 2709. A woman's first child will be a boy, provided she always names the last bridge crossed when going anywhere. Some say a male name must be used. 2710. The woman who sees a newborn calf on her first trip to the country after her marriage will have a boy as her first child. 2711. If a cake being baked by a pregnant woman pops open into a large crack, the birth of a girl is foretold. 2712. The first time she makes coffee after her marriage a woman may make a wish for a boy or girl and the wish will come true. 2713. A woman meeting a load of hay soon after her marriage may name it and her first child will be a boy. 2714. To determine the sex of her first child, a woman may cut out the round bone from the first round steak she buys after her marriage, tie a string to the bone, name it a boy or a girl, and throw the bone away. 2715. If a boy is wanted, a wish to that effect may be made by the pregnant wife while looking at her husband; if a girl, by the husband while looking at his wife. 2716. About a month before the birth of her baby a woman's breasts will secrete a watery milk, a drop of which may be dropped into a glass of water as a method for divining the sex of the unborn child: if the milk settles at the bottom of the glass, a girl will be born; if it remains near the surface of the water, a boy. 2717. To discover whether a woman with child will have a girl or boy, write the Christian names of the parents to be and also the name of the month during which conception occurred; then count the letters in these words and divide the amount by seven: if the quotient is an even number, the baby will be a girl; if uneven, a boy. 2718. A woman can divine the sex of her next child by repeating the months in rotation and naming them alternately boy or girl. Beginning with the last child's birth-month and calling it boy or girl according to the sex of that child, she must continue this succession of month-names and alternation of sexes until the month is reached on which she expects the following child. The sex given to that month will reveal the sex of the expected child. 2719. As a method for discovering the sex of an unborn child, the expectant mother should lie flat on her back and hold over the abdomen a motionless pencil suspended from a string. Gradually this will begin to move: if it describes a circle, she may expect a girl; if it swings back and forth, a boy. A plain gold ring may be used instead of the pencil. 2720. To find out the sex of her unborn child, a pregnant woman may lay a wishbone over the door; if a man enters first, the baby will be a boy; if a woman, a girl. Some say the visitor must not be related to the woman, others say the woman must first pull the wishbone with another person and put the larger piece over the door. BIRTHMARK (2721-2886) Cause of Birthmark (2721-2837) 2721. "I went to school, when a girl, with a girl that marked her girl with a big red apple right on the cheek and it spoiled her looks. They lived out here on a farm near Clayton and she wanted apples. They had just one apple on a tree that was bearing for the first time. She went out to the orchard to get the apple. She got it, but before she could eat it she accidentally drop it on the ground and a hog that was in the orchard pick it up before she could. In the excitement trying to get the apple away from the hog she must of touch her face, for when her girl came she had a big red apple on her face." 2722. "I knew a woman that lived next to my mother. She was pregnant. Her little sister came over eating a green apple. This woman wanted it so bad she cried over it. When her girl came it cried every time she saw a green apple. Even if you gave her an apple she would cry until the apple was out of sight." 2723. "My mother was pregnant and they were making sorghum at our house years ago. The man that would bring the cane was a one-arm man and every time the man would bring a load my mother would say to my two brothers, 'Help that poor man unload the cane, I feel so sorry for him with only one arm.' And when my new brother came he had only one hand." 2724. "I know a boy that is only nine years old, that goes to the same school my children do, that has only one hand over his mother getting scared over a peddler at the door one morning. She went to the door and a peddler was standing there with one arm. This woman screamed and grabbed her arm. And when her boy came it didn't have any hand, only a stump like the peddler." 2725. "I have heard my mother tell about a farm hand, that worked for a man out here in the country years ago, that had his hand off, and he had an iron hand with the fingers over so he could hold on to things he worked with. And when the woman at the house's baby came, its fingers were all drawn in just like the iron hand, and they never did get the fingers to come open like they should." 2726. "About twenty-five years ago there was a carnival in Camp Point for a week. They had a pet bear that would walk around on one foot and carry a cup for you to put money in the cup, and do all kind of tricks. My mother was like everyone else, she would follow that bear around and try to mock him, walking on one foot and holding her hand on the bottom of her other foot, not knowing anything was wrong; and when I came, I had a perfect bear on the bottom of my foot and it is still there. I will show you. Another thing my mother did at the same time was to go

57 downtown in Camp Point and stand in front of a window and look at a big doll. She would stand there for an hour and admire that big doll with flaxen hair. And when I was born I had flaxen hair just like that doll in the window, and black eyes, and the bear on my foot too. My mother didn't want to have a thing to do with me at first, she was afraid of me, said I looked so funny." 2727. "Years ago I lived in the country and we could not get what I wanted. I wanted beefsteak all the time and could not get it. I was always putting my hands on my forehead. And when my boy came he had a red spot on his forehead the shape of my hand and it was red just like beefsteak, and another piece of the steak behind his ear. " 2728. "My mother was pregnant and one day she wanted beefsteak. When my father went to town, he was very fond of liver, so he got a little. My mother did not like liver. So when he came home, just to fool her, he threw the liver at her and said, 'Here's your steak.' She open the package and said, 'Oh, my God! Frank, I wanted steak and this is liver,' and the same time threw her hand on her stomach. And when her daughter came it had two slices of liver on her stomach." 2729. "My mother was pregnant and she wanted blackberries and she did not get them. And when my brother was born he had a bunch of blackberries on his forehead. They were red, but every time he gets angry they are real black." 2730. "We lived near a sawmill and I would often send my boy to get water from a spring that was near the sawmill. He would stop sometimes and play around in the sawdust piles. One day I sent him after water. I was not feeling good. He had to stop this time. And after [wards] he told me he was turning over and over in the sawdust pile when he got some big splinters in his face and the men at the sawmill took them out. He came home with the water, crying, and blood was running down his face. I scream and threw my hand over my face, for I thought he had got cut at the sawmill, seeing the blood. And when my other boy came his face looked like blood running down it, for I marked him." 2730a. "My oldest boy was working at the sawmill and one day he came home with the blood all running down his face. He had got hurt bad. I threw my hands down and said to the old colored woman that was standing there, 'My God! wash that boy, I can't,' and fainted. When my other boy came he fainted every time he saw blood. " 2731. "I was always helping my husband. Almost every night his nose would bleed and I would get up and help him. I was wanting strawberries all the time, could not get enough of them. And when my boy came he had a strawberry on his knee, and red spots all around his neck --- that was blood spots from seeing so much blood." 2731a. "My husband's nose was bleeding all the time and I would always have to help him. One night it was bleeding real bad. I got up and got water for him, trying to help him, for we thought he would bleed to death. I got so sick to my stomach after I helped him, I went and laid down with my hand to the back of my neck. And when my daughter was born you would see the fingerprints of my hand on the back of her neck and spots of blood at each finger end." 2732. "When mother was carrying me her brother was out in the woods and got shot through the head. They were bringing him to the house. His head was all bloody. Mother got so frighten that she grabbed her wrist. And when I was born it looked like someone had shot me through the hand. This was a piece of blood on my wrist. When I was three weeks old mother had the doctor take the birthmark off. You see this scar here on my wrist? Well, that is where the birthmark was." 2733. "We were living out in the country and my husband was building a fence around the garden when he almost cut his foot off. We called the doctor and he dressed it. Then he wanted to know if I could take care of it. I said, 'Oh, God, no!' running my hand through my hair at the same time. And when my boy came he had a scar about a half inch wide on his head and about a inch long just where I had run my hands through my hair. It looked like a cut. And hair will never grow on it. He is around thirty now and the scar is still there and no hair. " 2734. "My brother got his foot cut bad one day and my mother kept wringing her hands and crying while my father was trying to wrap his foot up. All she talk about all night was his foot was almost off, and she kept this wringing her hands and twisting them up, that when my next brother came his hands were off at the wrist." 2735. "I was pregnant and I went down in the cellar to get some fruit, and we had a lot of old boards lying on the joists. I reached up and hit my head real hard on these boards, and it hurt so bad I put my hands to the back of my head and came back upstairs. When my boy came he had brown stripes on his neck that looked like boards." 2736. "One day I went to a lady's house and she was making light bread. It smelled so good. I was just crazy for a piece. I didn't care for any, but all the time I was sitting there I was wishing I could steal a piece of that bread. I just could not get it off my mind. When my son was born he would try and steal warm light bread all the time. Everywhere I took him he would steal some, if only a few bits. I could not break him of taking bread until he got large enough to make him know he was stealing. " 2737. "About forty years ago a woman was in a family way. She lived next door to my sister. This woman had so many beautiful cactus in her yard. She would go out in the yard and fool with them all the time. Everyone told her if she didn't stay away from her cactus she would mark her baby, but it seem like she just could not stay away from them, her mind was on them all the time. The neighbors said she just lived among them. And when her baby came it had three things on its head, one on top of the other, look just like cactus. The child didn't live long. One of those round things busted and the child died." 2738. "They say you can't be marked, but I have a birthmark on the right side of my face as you can see and some of the cake on my arm. I was marked with a piece of cake just seventy-nine year ago next month. My mother was visiting at a friend's house and she saw a nice piece of cake on one of those old crinkle tin pans. My mother said she sure wanted it, because she could not make good cake and this woman did. Just as mother was going to ask her for the cake a neighbor came in and she didn't want to ask, thought she would ask after the other woman went home. They sit there and talked, mother wanting the cake all the time. Before the other woman went a child came home from school, picked up the piece of cake and started to eating, crumpling the cake all up into small pieces, the cake falling on the floor and everywhere. Mother was just sick. She always said those white pieces you see on my arm was the pieces that child was crumpling up, and this round place on my face was the tin pan that had the slice of cake in. Another strange thing about it --- I have never liked cake to eat and I am seventy-nine next birthday." 2739. "I didn't know I was in a family way. I went to see a woman friend that had a bad cancer on her breast. She let me see it. I worried over it all the time. And when my baby came it had four sores on its head and three on her back. I will show them to you. I took her to the doctor to see if he could cut them out, and he said, 'Let them alone until we see what comes of them.' I am afraid they are cancers, that I marked my baby, for I know you can." 2739a. "My daughter went to see a woman that had a cancer on her breast. She didn't know anything was wrong with her and when the woman said, 'Do you want to see my breast?' she looked at it; said it was awful to look at. After she got home she started to worrying about it, just could not keep it off her mind; then, when she found out something was wrong with her, she worried a lot more. When her daughter came she had a big spot on her breast, one on the chest, and one on the back of her head. One of Quincy's best doctors told her it was a cancer mark, and never to try and take it off, for if she did she would get a cancer in its place. That all came from my daughter looking at that woman's cancer breast." 2740. "About forty-five years ago I was pregnant and I had a pet cat I thought a great deal of. A strange cat came along and the two cats got into a fight, and the strange cat was getting the best of my cat, so I went out to try and stop the fight, and the strange cat scratch my arm and I grab my arm because it hurt. And when my boy came he had a perfect cat on his arm, and as he grew the cat grew, and he still has it on his arm."

58 2741. "We had a lot of rats in our house and we were always putting out a trap to get them. We also had a large yellow cat. One day I was sitting in the room where the rat trap was setting, I was making some baby clothes as I was expecting a baby, and a big rat got in the trap. Our yellow cat jump after the rat and got his foot caught in the trap. It scared me so, seeing the cat in the trap, that I threw my hand down over my leg. And my baby was marked with a cat leg and foot on the side of its leg. You could see the toes and nails very plain, and even the yellow hair like the cat, on the baby's leg. It looked just like our yellow cat. " 2742. "When I was carrying this little girl you see here I asked a doctor if you could mark a child, I had heard so much about it, and he said no, there was nothing to that old saying. I was lying on the bed one day and a cat jump through the window right on my stomach. I grabbed my two hands together. And when this little girl you see here came, she is only four years old, on her left-hand she had no fingers. They are like cat paws. [The hand was deformed] It was from that cat jumping on me and scaring me almost to death. Doctors don't know everything." 2743. "Mother said that years ago there were so many caterpillars, every time she would step out of the house she would step on a big caterpillar, so when I came I had a caterpillar on my hip, old brown one. " 2744. "Years ago my sister was pregnant and she wanted cherries all the time. She didn't have any cherry trees on her farm and, knowing we had a tree, sent her husband over to get her some. When he got to my house I was making cherry pies. My cherries were about gone and all I had were in the pies, so he didn't say anything about the cherries. We eat the pies up for dinner and after dinner he told me, but it was too late then for they were gone. He went home and told how good the pies were, and of course she cried and took on. And when her girl came she had a bunch of cherries on her stomach. " 2745. "A woman was pregnant and she went out in the yard, and she was always reaching for cherries. They were so high on the tree she could not get them often. So when her boy came he had a small cherry tree on the back of his neck. In the winter that tree would be dark brown; in the springtime and in cherry-time, red." 2746. "I know the woman well. About twenty-five years ago a woman near Clayton went out to kill a chicken. She tried wringing its head off, but didn't make a good job of it. The chicken kept flopping and flopping against her arm. In some way she put the chicken against her wrist and pull the head off with her other hand. When her girl came it didn't have a hand. The arm came down to a point at the wrist. And when a baby she would flop that arm all the time like a chicken. She is a big woman now and still can't keep that arm still." 2747. "One day I was picking a chicken for dinner. Everything made me sick, I just didn't feel good. When I open the gizzard everything in that gizzard squirted all over my face and neck, but when my little girl came she had a gizzard on her neck just where everyone could see it." 2748. "Thirty-five years ago a woman went to a circus and a clown come up from the back and hit her on the shoulder. It scared her so. But she knew she was in the family way, so she threw her hands down on her legs, for she didn't want to mark her child's face. And when her girl came she had all colors on her leg — red, blue and yellow, just like the clown had on. This girl never went without stockings because it looked so funny, all those colors on her leg." 2749. "My sister had a monkey face on her right leg just as plain as you ever saw. Mother went over one day to see a woman and she had a coconut on the table. Mother just sit there and looked at that face [the eyes] on the coconut, all the time wishing she would give her a piece, but she didn't and mother would not ask her for any. And so when my sister came she had the monkey face on her right leg." 2750. "My sister was pregnant and her other sister took sick very sudden and died. She just kept holding on to the coffin and taking on so hard that she marked her boy. Every time he gets a little sick you can see a coffin very plain on his forehead. It is a birthmark over her worrying over seeing her sister in the coffin." 2751. "I marked my little baby when my father died. When I was looking in the coffin I took on so. But I kept my hands behind me all the time. I didn't want to marked my baby but I did. When my boy came it had a place on the back that look just like a coffin. It was cut open and about three inches long, just the shape of a coffin. He only lived a month." 2752. "About fifty-one years ago out here near Liberty a woman was helping gather-corn in the cornfield. She happen to get some of that mother [smut, a fungus] of the corn on her neck. I guess you know mother is that old black stuff on the corn. It worried her and she kept rubbing her neck all the time. And when her baby girl came it had this black all around its neck, and it is still on her neck, looked just like the mother on corn." 2753. "Years ago we lived in a pasture like. There was a mean Jersey cow in that pasture that everyone was afraid of. My oldest boy was sitting in a little rocking-chair out in front of the house when I saw that mean cow coming toward the child. It scared me. I ran out and picked up the chair and child and started back in the house, just got the big door shut when that cow came right against the door. I got so scared because the cow butted its head against the door, thought the cow was coming right in the house. When my boy came he had a cow head on his forehead, horns and all. Whenever he would get real mad you could see plainly the horns on the head, the eyes, ears and nose of this cow. He's dead now. Three years after, one of my children were born with a cow head on his forehead. We were living at another place. My husband and I were walking through the pasture, going over to get the cows to milk, and I not seeing a cow lying down, just as I got to it, it jump up and almost scared me to death. So again I threw my hands up. And when my second son came he had a cow's head on his forehead, but didn't have the horns and eyes, nose and ears, like the other boy — just the shape of a cow head." 2754. "About sixty years ago my grandfather's sister was pregnant. She was out in the yard and a big white dog came along and put his feet upon her shoulders. It was just trying to play. She just screamed and screamed and threw up her hands over her head. And when her girl came she had a streak of white hair across her head, and the rest of her hair was black. And that streak of white hair stayed with her until she died." 2755. "I know a woman that went a-visiting and they had a bad bulldog at the place. And when she started in the yard this dog grabbed her and she threw up her hands over her face, afraid the dog would get in her face. When her daughter was born she had only a little ridge where her nose was to be --- no nose at all." 2756. "My aunt's dog bit her oldest child and she went to whip it. The dog went under the house. She pulled it out by its ear from under the house and the dog got away from her. She was so mad over the dog biting the girl and getting away so she could not whip it, that when her little girl was born she had a dog ear. It flops over just like a dog's ear. They done everything to straighten the ear and nothing would do any good. She is fourteen years old now and still has the flopping ear like a dog." 2757. "About thirty years ago we were going to town and we had a pet dog. He was following the buggy and got a bur in his foot. He kept holding his foot up to us to take the bur out and in some way the buggy ran over the dog and kill him. I screamed and took on so, that when my girl came she would just act like a dog whenever she would get angry. We were afraid of her, for she would draw her fingers in so that they would look like dog's feet, and fight just like a dog." 2758. "Just three weeks before my boy was born my husband shot a dog. The dog didn't die. It went under the house and cried all night. I didn't know he was going to do it, and it worried me over him trying to kill the pet dog, that when my boy came he whine all the time like a dog for three weeks day and night. I was sure glad he didn't try to shoot the dog sooner or he would of whine like a dog all his life." 2759. "Years ago I was working on a boat down on the Bay and one morning I started down the running-board to get a bucket of water out of the Bay, and when I got to almost the end of the plank I saw a dog on one side and a snake on the other side. The dog was trying to get the snake, and as I just got to the end of the board, the dog got the snake and was killing it. It scared me so, the dog and snake fighting, that I screamed and must

59 of put my hand on my neck, because when my baby girl came it had a running-board on the side of her neck, running up and down, and a little snake on one side and a dog on the other." 2760. "My niece was giving strong medicine to her mother-in-law who was very sick. She happen to drop some of the brown medicine on her dress. The dress was a new one, the first time it was on. It just made her sick because she tried and tried to get it out and it would not come out. It left a big brown spot. She worried so over the brown spot in her new dress that when her baby girl came she had a brown spot around one of her eyes." 2761. "I had a little boy and when I would hold him he would bite at my ear all the time. I would fuss at him and slap him, but he would keep on biting at my ear. And when my little girl came she had a piece of her ear bit out, and the piece is still out." 2762. "My husband had erysipelas bad and my sister came to see me, not knowing anything was wrong, and watched me taking care of him. When her baby came its feet and legs were covered with red spots. She was very thankful it was on the feet and legs and not on the face, for she had mark her baby from watching me." 2763. "My husband years ago was a railroad man. We lived in a small town in Wisconsin. It was a railroad center in those days. The three men that all worked on the same train all lived on the same block. Every night when they came home from work each one would bring a sack of coal home on their back from the engine [coal] car, so they didn't have to buy coal. My husband drank some, only he had not been drunk since we married. I was like lots of girls in those days, I married him to reform him, but it didn't work. Well, what I wanted to tell you --- I was in a family way, and one afternoon about four o'clock I heard the train whistle for the roundhouse and go on up in the yards. Knowing he would be home a little after four, I put my sewing up and started supper. Supper was ready and he didn't come. It was late in the fall and it was getting dark, and still he didn't come. I waited until about six- thirty, then I ate. While eating, I thought I heard something outside or in the cellar saying, 'O my God! can't you help me?' 'O God, help me!' I didn't know if I was hearing things or not, I was so nervous by this time. In a few minutes I heard something say again, '0 my God! up there, can't you hear me?' By that time I was getting so scared. I never will forget that night. I slipped over and locked the back door, and went to the front door and called the man upstairs to come down. I believed a man was in my cellar. Maybe you think I was not surprised when the man took his lantern and found my own husband in the cellar. He had brought the sack of coal home with him like he always did, but he was so drunk that when the coal went in the cellar he went in with it and had been down there over two hours. He was a sight! When they pick him up, he had black hair and it was standing straight up, and all I could see was his eyes and hair, for his face was so dirty lying in that coal pile. When they got him on his feet he grab my shoulder and held on for dear life. I was so scared, for all I could see was his large eyes and black hair. His eyes looked like saucers to me at that time. When my baby girl came she had very large eyes, so large that it spoiled her looks; and on her shoulder, a big spot of black hair. I have always been glad that the mark was where it didn't show, for that drunk spell sure marked her. The doctors say you can't mark a child, but I know you can; and doctors don't know it all, if they do study." 2764. "My aunt while carrying her baby had a brother that stayed at her house who had snakes in his boots and fits from drinking. One night he drank too much. He went upstairs and jump out of the window and killed hisself. My aunt fainted. She was almost dead from fright. When her baby was born he was speechless. He never spoke a word, could not feed hisself, nor move his limbs. He lived to be seventeen years old. He never grew any larger than a six-year-old child. When he died they had to bury him on his side in the casket, could not get him straighten out." 2765. "A woman was pregnant about twenty years ago. She was my neighbor. Their house got on fire and was burning down. The woman threw her hand over her face and said, 'My God! we are ruin, everything will be gone.' When her girl came her face was all red, just looked like a blaze all the time." 2766. "Once there was a woman who was playing an organ in Quincy and she jarred the lamp and it exploded and started to burn. She threw her hands up to her face. And when the baby came one whole side of her face looked like it was burnt." 2767. "My mother about forty years ago was pregnant. They were living in the country at the time. They were cooking and eating out in a tent, for they were rebuilding something on the kitchen and it was in the summer. One day while she was getting dinner and she happen to look up, and the top of the tent was on fire. She screamed and said, 'Oh, my God! the tent is on fire, and the same time threw her hands down on her knee. When her boy came its leg from the knee down was all red, and he even had red hair. He was the only child out of eight in the family that had red hair." 2768. "Mrs. M. just before the birth of one of her numerous children was excited by the catching fire of some wood she had placed to dry in the kitchen oven. She burned and blackened her hand in dragging the wood from the oven and in her excitement pressed the injured hand to her face. When her child was born it had the black imprint of a hand on its face. It died in infancy and Mrs. M. in telling the story to Walter many years later expressed relief that it had died." 2769. "One day I was cleaning fish. No one was there to help me. When I started I thought the fish was dead, but it flopped and scared me. I must of grabbed my stomach, for when my daughter came she had fish scales all over the front of her stomach. They were so natural that it looked like you could scale her stomach and they would come off." 2770. "My mother lived out in the country and couldn't get everything she wanted. One day she wanted buffalo fish and couldn't get it. When my sister came she had a big buffalo fish across her breast, scales and all. This may sound funny, but some days the scales were so plain that if you would rub the fish, the scales would drop off." 2771. "We always lived in the country when I was a girl. And we had a neighbor that lived a few miles away, my mother knew her well. This woman was in a family way and one day she lost her ducks and she went down to the creek that run through their farm to see if she could find her ducks. As she was standing on the bank looking up and down the creek, a big frog, that was on an old log, she didn't see, jump in the creek right in front of her. At the moment it almost scared her to death. She throw her hands over her face and screamed so, that it brought someone to the creek, thinking she fell in. My mother told me this, for it was before my time. I am eighty. Well, when her boy came, he had frog eyes and squinted them all the time. Years went by and that boy got stuck on me, as we all still lived on the same farms. He was a fine boy, but I would never go with him because everyone called him frog eyes." 2772. "My cousin's wife was pregnant and her husband picked up a big frog one day and just for fun he threw the frog in her lap. It scared her so, that when her baby was born it had a frog head and webs between its fingers and toes just like a frog. But the child didn't live." 2773. "I knew a woman that was pregnant, and not thinking, she watched her husband dress some frogs. You know how they just jump all the time [the frogs were dead, but muscular action continues for some time]. When her little girl came its legs and arms were crooked like a frog. They would jump all the time. The child only live to be a year old. It was a very good thing." 2774. "Years ago my mother was pregnant with me. And her brother had been to town and had bought his intended a fur piece and muff. When he came in the door he just threw the fur piece at mother and it went around her neck. It frighten her so, that she fainted. And when I came I could not stand for anyone to touch my neck, I would just scream. And today I am an old woman and I cannot stand anyone to touch my neck, being marked over that fur piece." 2775. "Years ago I marked my baby with four things. I wanted to make some ginger bread for my husband. He was very fond of it. I thought I would have some for his supper, as he was plowing hard out in the field, and my ginger bread was a failure. It worried me all night, and my

60 husband fussed because I wanted the stuff. So when my baby came it had a piece of ginger bread in the corner of his eye from me crying and wiping my eyes. Another thing he had was a piece of brown on his cheek with hair on it from me getting scared at a rat jumping down in the pantry when I open the door. Another thing he had some strawberries on his back cheek [buttock] from me wanting berries and my husband would not get them. I will tell you, my husband was mean to me when [I was] that way and would not let me have what I wanted. Another thing that happen, we all went fishing one day. I wanted fish. We didn't catch a one. A little boy on the bank close to us had a nice string of sunfish. I wanted my husband to buy several but he would not, so when the boy came he had a sunfish on his stomach. So my boy has the four birthmarks. Doctors say there is nothing to this. Only doctors don't know everything. I know it is so. You can mark your child." 2776. "Out here in Melrose [township] a woman was picking [live] geese [for feathers]. She was about two months in a family way. She was holding the geese by the feet and they kept kicking her all the time and hitting her stomach. When her girl came she had a goose foot for a hand [webbed fingers?]. And everywhere this girl went when older they called her the goose-foot girl. This is so, for I knew the girl and I saw this. I was only ten year old but I remember it." 2777. "About twelve years ago my mother died. She had long beautiful white hair. She would never have her hair cut when living, she didn't believe in it. When she died they wanted to cut her hair and each take a lock to remember her by. My husband said they should not cut it, as long as she had never had it cut in life, let her take it to the grave. There were four children and they went and cut her hair anyway. They didn't listen to my husband. They had the four long pieces. They braided it together and each one of the children took a piece but me --- not that I didn't want it, but my husband would not let me have it. I cried and cried over the hair, because I was like the rest of my sisters and brother, I wanted to keep my piece. When my little girl came she had black hair and one streak of white hair. I didn't know what to make of it, for it was so funny looking. My husband said, 'Don't you know what that is? You marked our baby when you cried and took on so when I would not let you have the white hair when your mother died.' My little girl is going on twelve now and the white streak is leaving. You can only see it at times." 2778. "I knew a woman that cried all the time because her husband run with another woman. This woman was pregnant and she would sit for hours with her hands over her face all the time when crying. When her baby girl came, whenever it would cry, you could see the fingerprints of her mother's hand over her face where her mother had marked her. Some people don't believe you can mark a child, but I do; for this is so, for it is right in our own family." 2779. "About sixty years ago my mother went out to feed the hogs and an old sow that was nursing her pigs got after my mother and she ran to the house. She must have put her hand on her ear, for when my brother came he had a tit on the end of his ear." 2780. "Once there was a woman who was pregnant and she was watching some people kill hogs. One of the hogs didn't die right away and it came toward her rolling its eyes. She thought it was terrible, so she throw her hands up to her eyes. Right away she knew she shouldn't have done it. And when her baby was born it rolled its eyes just like the hog had done." 2781. "A woman was pregnant and one day they were killing hogs on the farm and she went out to help. When they killed one hog all the blood went over this woman. She screamed and tried to get the blood off. And when her girl came it had big dark spots all over her body and face, and the spots even had on them like hog hair." 2782. "In the year of 1884 a woman was taking the fat off the entrails of a dead hog that had just been killed. She was standing with her back to the slaughtering pen. Her husband not knowing she was there fired at another hog and it let out a loud squeal. This woman screamed and threw her hands over her face. Her husband said, 'My God, are you there! ' When their child was born it had a hog face. It was just pitiful. The woman almost lost her mind when she saw her baby. When the child was about a month old they took it to Jacksonville [Illinois] to the hospital and it died that night." 2783. "A woman was pregnant and she went down in the country to visit her sister for a few days. They had a very cripple pig. This woman was out in the barn lot and saw this pig. She said, 'oh, look at that pig!' She would talk of nothing but that pig. They tried to get her to talk about other things, but the pig seem to worry her. When her boy was born it was a cripple. It could never walk. The boy lived to be seventeen years old, then died. Its nose looked like a hog nose." 2784. "I knew a girl that her mother and sister were not on good terms. She [the mother] went to see her one day and she [the mother's sister] didn't ask her to eat. Everything was on the table. She had a nice ham bone on the table. She did want some so bad. All the way home it mortified her. She would have given anything for a slice of that ham. Her sister was so nasty. When her child was born it had a ham bone from her elbow to the wrist. At the wrist it was just a stump, no fingers. It was colored like a smoked ham. She could pick beans, sew, crochet, just do anything with that stump. That girl was so proud of that arm she would even roll her sleeves up so people could see it." 2785. "Eighty years ago a woman was wanting pork sausage all the time and could not get enough of it. One day she put her hand upon the top of her head when she was wanting pork sausage. And her baby boy, when it was born, he had a round place on the top of his head just like a [hand-patted] pork sausage and the same color. It was a birthmark. The hair would never grow on it. And he died just last year at the age of eighty years old with the birthmark just like when he was born." 2786. "A woman I know went out to the barn to feed the horses and one of the horses raised up on its hind legs and pawed and pawed at her with its front legs so, that it frighten her. And her baby it was born with hands and feet like horse feet, with hoofs on them. Even had a horse head. The child didn't live. It died at birth." 2787. "I know a case where a woman marked her baby about fifty-five year ago near Parson. She was out in the barn lot when a mule kicked at her and frighten her almost to death. About five month after that she had a miscarriage. The doctor said he was glad, because the baby looked like a mule and would of been awful if it had of lived." 2788. "One day a woman that was pregnant was out in the yard. She did not see the family horse, but he came up and put his head on her shoulder. And the woman screamed and said, 'Oh, God!' and at the same time put her hand on her shoulder. And when the baby came it had a square place on its shoulder of horsehair." 2789. "I know a child that was marked from his mother getting scared over a white horse running away. She was in the buggy and pregnant. She must of put her hand on her head, for when her boy came he had a streak of white hair right through the middle of his head. This is so, for he is my nephew." 2790. "A woman was pregnant and she was always putting her hands through the horse's mane, she just could not keep her hands out of his mane. Someone told her she had better stop or she would mark her child, but she kept on playing with the mane. When her baby came it had coarse hair. And the child whenever it got near a person would be running its hands through your hair. It could not keep its hands out of hair." 2791. "A woman went to a circus and she got stuck on a spotted pony. She just kept petting it all the time and talking about it. She could not get it off her mind. And when her little girl came she had a big white spot on her head; and as the hair grew, this spot was white and the rest of the hair was black." 2792. "About thirty years ago a woman was ironing and she drop her iron on the floor. Her little girl was crawling under the table and this woman screamed and grabbed her wrist, thinking the iron had hit the little girl. And when her boy baby came its hand was off at the wrist. This boy lived on State Street and just died lately."

61 2793. "I was visiting out in the country when pregnant and all I heard was lambs crying. When my boy came he cried like a lamb all the time until he got large." 2794. "I wanted lettuce and didn't get it. Oh, I wanted it so bad! When my little girl came she had a lettuce leaf on her leg. In the spring it is green like lettuce, in the fall it is brown." 2795. "My mother went into the cellar when pregnant and step on a lizard [newt or salamander]. Of course it scared her and she throwed her hands on her backside. And when my sister came she had a lizzard on her backside. Mother was glad it was there than her face." 2796. "My sister was at the hospital one day. Her little boy had lockjaw. She stood by and watch them give him a shot in the arm. She was three months gone. And when her other boy came it had a purple mark on its arm about the same place where his brother had his shot. " 2797. "My mother-in-law years ago was ironing and two Negro men came down the road. They came to the door and wanted a drink. She was scared to death because she was alone. She was pregnant. And all the time she was talking to them she held one hand over the other, thinking it would hide her condition. She told the men to go to the well and help themself. She watched the two men until they were out of sight, never taking her hand off of the other. And when her little girl came it had two dark figures on its wrist just where she had held onto it when she was so scared. You could see them plain. " 2798. "My aunt was pregnant and one day the children came home from school with their faces all red. They had been playing with pokeberries and had them all over their faces. My aunt thought they were hurt and got scared and screamed and put her hand over her face. And when her baby girl came its whole side of its face was red like blood." 2799. "One day I wanted potatoes so bad. I didn't raise any, but I knew an old woman down the road we called Aunt Kate that had raised a lot of fine potatoes. I knew my mother owed her some flour, so I said, 'Let me take it back, I will stay for dinner' --- because she always did ask you to stay when you went there --- thinking I would get potatoes, for I was just crazy for some. When I got there she took me out to the smokehouse and showed me all her fine potatoes. She did have a lot of large potatoes. While we were looking at the potatoes she said, 'I don't have to get dinner today, the men-folks are away for the day.' I was just sick because I was going to stay. It just looked like everything was against me. Then she empty the flour out. I started up the road mad. I called her every name I could think. I was so mad I kept hitting myself all the way home with the bucket. When I got home I broke down and cried and told mother about the potatoes. 'I will go right back and get some.' And she did. Aunt Kate hated it real bad, said, 'Why didn't she ask me? I would of gave her all she wanted. I didn't know she wanted any. Mother brought them back, but I didn't want them then. You have to get them when you want them to keep from marking your child. When my girl came she had potatoes right where I kept hitting myself with the bucket." 2800. "I have a little girl that has a potato pancake on her leg and she is about nine year old, and every year it gets larger. You see, when I was pregnant I was frying potato pancakes one morning and some of the grease popped on my leg. Not thinking, I grabbed my leg. And when she came she had a small brown potato right where I grabbed when the hot grease went on it." 2801. "A woman was sitting on the doorstep reading a book when a little pet rabbit run over her book. Not knowing the rabbit was near, she threw up her hands and must of let them fall on her side, for when her boy came he had a rabbit on his thigh. He comes to our house now and you can see the rabbit plain." 2802. "I knew a woman about seventeen years ago that went to see a woman and she asked her if she had any red raspberries put up, that she wanted some real bad and didn't put up any herself. This woman said, 'I will give you a jar when you start home,' and did. Just as this woman was getting in the buggy she dropped the jar and it broke all to pieces. She holler and said, 'Oh, I have lost my berries!' and at the same time grab her thigh just above her knee. When her girl came she had red raspberries all over her thigh and knee, and in berry-time they are red. They look so bad that this girl could not wear silk stockings because they would show through." 2803. "A woman out here in Burton years ago was pregnant and she wanted raspberries. She went to see a neighbor and she was making raspberry pies. This woman said, 'I have been wanting raspberries so bad.' And this woman said, 'When you go home I will give you a pie for your supper.' And she did. The woman took the pie home and put it in the pantry and went out to hoeing her garden. When she came in to fix supper, the pie was gone. The old man had come in from the field and seeing the pie eat it all up. She started to crying and threw her hand back of her neck. And when her baby came he had a bunch of raspberries on his neck." 2804. "My mother knew a woman that went one day to get some potatoes out of a sack and as she put her hand in the sack a rat ran out. It scared her almost to death. She must of threw her hands behind her, for when her girl came she had a rat right on her behind." 2805. "I knew a woman that was carrying a baby right here in Quincy. She saw a big rat in her basement. She grabbed her neck. When her baby girl came she had a big rat around her neck with the hair on. This girl always had to wear a high collar all the time because it was so plain." 2806. "My sister-in-law's mother was sitting watching them kill a rat one day. She was sitting holding her hand over her left eye, not knowing anything was wrong. And when her girl came she had hair all around her left eye, grey just like a rat, even the eyelid had it on. This woman is thirty years old and her eye looks like you skinned a rat and put the skin over her face, it looks so natural." 2807. "I know a woman here in Quincy that was ironing one morning and a rat ran around the room, she was just three months pregnant, and she grabbed her wrist and screamed. And when her baby came it only had one hand. The hand was off just where she grabbed it. When they let her see the baby she said 'Oh! I know just when this happen.' The woman lives down on Third Street." 2808. "My father did this just for fun. My mother was pregnant with me, was sitting, sewing, and my father came in from the barn with a big rat that must of had babies. Knowing my mother was afraid of rats, and not thinking, he threw the rat in my mother's lap, the breast of the rat up. Mother screamed and threw both of her hands over her breasts. She was just sick, so scared. When I was born I had two small rat breasts, one under each of my own breasts, just about the size of a quarter, and with a small nipple. And another thing --- when I have a baby there is milk in the rat breasts too. I have had four children, and every time I have milk in all four breasts. You don't look like you believe me. Well, I will lay this baby down and show you." [My sister Minnie, who collected this story, adds a comment] "Well, she did --- took down her dress and showed the two rat breasts, one under each of her own breasts. They were dark brown and just about the size of a quarter as she had said. And she even milked some of the milk out of the rat breasts." 2809. "Twenty-five years ago I was working for a woman and she got frighten over everything. One day a circus came to town and she wanted to go. I said, 'I would not go if I were you, for you know you are not well and you may see something you will be sorry for.' And she did. She went to the circus and as she passed the rhinoceros wagon he open his mouth wide and it frighten her so she fainted. And when her boy came every time he open his mouth he looked like the rhinoceros. She was just sick and worry all the time about her boy's mouth, and said she would never go anywhere again if in a family way, for her boy's mouth was awful to look at." 2810. "About fifty years ago I rented a house from a woman in Hannibal, Missouri. That woman went to the circus all the time and she was pregnant. One day she got very scared at the seals. When her daughter came, she had hands and feet like a seal --- would walk around on her toes, holding her hands up just like a seal. She was still living the last I heard of her several years ago." 2811. "My aunt went out in the yard one evening after dark to bring in some clothes she had left out on the line. As she passed the smoke house something hit her in the face. Of course she threw her hands up to her head, for she didn't know what had hit her, and saw a big black skunk

62 hanging on the line. As you know, they have a white streak down their back. The men had been out hunting that day and got home about dusk and hung the skunk on the line. When her girl came she had a white streak of hair right through the middle of her hair and it stayed with her." 2812. "I know a woman that marked her child. She was out getting greens for dinner one morning and happen to run on a snake while picking. She just started to pick a bunch of greens when a big snake went by her. She drop the greens and grabbed her arm. When her daughter came she had a snake on the arm on the inside. The head was near the hand and the snake went up her arm, the tail right up to the shoulder. She always wore long sleeves, but sometimes the children at school would see it and ask her how the snake got there. My own daughter asked her one day how the snake got there and she got a good whipping from me for asking her." 2813. "About fifty-five years ago my mother had a friend living out in the country. This woman was three months pregnant and she always milked the cows. One morning after her husband went to the field to work she went out to milk the family cow. When she got to the barn the cow was standing there trembling with it eyes all bulge out. She looked and saw a large blacksnake all wrapped around the cow's back legs sucking the cow. They kept a cow horn in the barn to blow, to call the men in. The woman pick up the cow horn and blew real hard, and her husband came running. When she saw him she threw the horn down and threw her hands up around her neck and said, 'Oh, my God! a snake!' and fainted. Her husband took her to the house, then killed the snake. And when her girl came it had a snake around its neck with the head on one cheek and the tail on the other cheek. When they let the mother see the baby and the snake she would not have a thing to do with the baby. She would not even let it nurse. Even when they would talk about it, it would make her sick, because as the child grew the snake grew. They fed the little girl but it only lived to be about five months old. Some of the neighbors thought they starved it so it would die." 2814. "One spring day a woman was taking her husband his lunch, he was working in a lumber camp, and she had to cross over some timber. A blacksnake crossed the path right in front of her. She threw her hands up and she must of touched her face, because when her little girl came it had a blacksnake across her eyes; and in the spring when snakes go to crawling it always showed very plain, for it happen in the spring." 2815. "I knew a woman that was helping pitch hay with her husband and she picked up a big snake on her fork. She screamed and threw her hands around her head. And when her baby girl came it had a snake wrapped around its head. After the hair came out you could not see it plain, only on the forehead where the skin would shed every year when snakes shed their skin." 2816. "Years ago I was pregnant and one day I was crawling over a fence out in the country and I put my hand in a snake nest. There was a big one and some little ones. I screamed and threw my hands on my breast at the same time. And when my daughter came she had a big snake and some little snakes around the big one on her breast." 2817. "About seventy years ago a woman was pregnant and she was out picking roses, and a big snake was in the bushes and she put her hand on the snake. She screamed and threw her hand on her breast, and when her baby came she had a rose and a snake on her breast. And every spring when snakes shed their skin, the skin would peel off of the snake on this woman's body just like a snake. In time this woman married, but she would never nurse any of her babies because she didn't want anyone to see this big rose and snake. She died just lately." 2818. "Mother was taking water to my father in the field one day and as she was going across a oats field she saw a big blacksnake all coil up. She almost step on it. She threw her hand up to her face. It made her sick. And when my sister came one side of her face was light like mother's, the other side black like the snake." 2819. "A woman was walking down the country road. She met a snake. She step over it. The snake raised up and struck at her. When her child came it had a snake head, long and narrow. It showed so plain that the mother cried every time she looked at the child. The child only lived several months and the mother was very happy when it died." 2820. "A friend of mine at Hannibal [Missouri] went berry picking and one day she got afraid of a big snake. It made her real sick. This is so. When her little girl came it never had any bones. I lived there until the child was four, then moved to Quincy. It crawl on the floor just like a snake. It was pitiful seeing that child crawling like a snake. I can't tell if the child lived or died, for I lost all traces of the family after we moved here, but I do know up to four it was just like a snake." 2821. "A woman living down here in the South Bottom of Quincy one day was ironing when she look down and saw a big snake crawling toward her in the kitchen. This woman took her hot iron when the snake got real near and reached down and sit it right on the snake's back and killed it. When her boy came he had snake eyes." 2822. "Two snakes were fighting one day, just going over and over, and one of them got killed. A woman came along pregnant and saw the two snakes fighting. And she had twins and they would fight all the time. And at last they both died." 2823. "My mother-in-law was picking blackberries and saw a snake. She got so scared that she fell in the blackberry patch over the vines. When her son came he had a vine over his head with two blackberries on. When it was black-berry-time the leaves would be green and the berry black." 2824. "My mother was mark with a squirrel, by a squirrel jumping upon mother's shoulder when she was out in the yard. The squirrel was a pet but it scared my mother. And if I do say it myself, my mother eats just like a squirrel by picking everything up in small pieces. Everyone, that sees her eat, speaks about it." 2825. "My sister got very frightened in a 'lectric storm and threw her hands up over her face. And she has a boy that is twelve years old. And every time there is a 'lectric storm you can see the prints of her hand on his face." 2826. "My uncle's wife was watching the St. Louis cyclone go down the river about twenty year ago, that real bad one. It scared her so, that she threw up her hands, hitting the back of her neck. When her son came he had big dark cloud all over his neck — looked like his neck's always dirty --- over her seeing those black clouds go down the river and scaring her. The boy has never been able to get them off." 2827. "Mother went to see a woman one day that was canning strawberries. She had a big dish of the red berries sitting on the table. My mother said all the time she was sitting there she was wishing the woman would give her some. But I guess the woman was too busy to think about it, for they were very good friends. My mother could of asked for some, but she didn't; and when my brother came he had a perfect dish of strawberries on the back of his neck. And in strawberry-time the berries were red. This woman afterward said she was sorry she didn't think and give mother a dish of berries." 2828. "My mother wanted strawberries all the time and could not get them, and one day she threw her hands over her head; and when I came I had a big strawberry on the top of my head, and I can never get enough strawberries, and in strawberry-time that strawberry on my head itches all the time." 2829. "I knew two sisters that wanted the same strawberry. They both reached for it at the same time, and because the one could not get it, she smashed it all up; and the other sister put her hand over her other hand and said, 'Oh! I wanted that berry so bad, and you smashed it up.' And when her boy came he had two fingers all red that looked like strawberries smashed all over his two fingers." 2830. "I know a woman that her husband was driving a threshing machine and he run over a sand bank, and it cave in on him and he cut his toes off on his left foot. He was very sick for a long time and his wife took all the care of his foot. And when her little girl came she had no toes on her left foot and never did."

63 2831. "I was living out here in a little hut in a small town. I wanted tomatoes. When my husband came home I sent him to the little store to get a can of tomatoes, for they did not carry fresh ones. When he got to the store he did like all men do in a small town, sit down on a box to talk and forgot all about me sitting home alone. After he didn't come back I started to crying and rubbing my face. When they closed the store and he did come home he didn't have the tomatoes. He had forgot he even went for them. Then I cried the rest of the night to think that he would treat me that way. When my son came he had a streak of red down over his face. When it is tomato-time his face is all red like tomatoes. My boy was marked for life just because my husband wanted to sit on an old box and talk and forgot my tomatoes. " 2832. "About forty-five years ago a woman, that was pregnant and living up near Rock Creek Station on the Bottom road, saw her little girl playing on the railroad track and the train coming. Someone got her off just as the train went by. The woman got so frighten that she threw her hands down in front of her and screamed, and when her baby came it had its bladder on the outside. They took it to all the doctors here but no one could do anything for her. But this girl lived to be forty-two years old and died only three years ago." 2833. "We lived down in the Bottom, and when my father would go plowing, my mother would go down to the Fabby [Fabius] and fish all day. The snakes and turtles were always around her. She was always fussing because the turtles were getting her bait off the lines and the snakes were crawling around. She was fighting snakes and turtles all the time. And when her twin girls came, one had a turtle on her back and the other girl a snake right up over her eye. She wears her hair down low so people can't see it." 2834. "My cousin and I were walking down the road one morning when we almost stepped on one of those snapping turtles. My cousin made it mad and the turtle started after me. I ran for I was afraid. I must of grabbed my wrist. My cousin got a rock and killed it. She smashed its head and the blood was all running around. When my boy came he had a natural turtle on his wrist, and you could see drops of blood on his fingers. That was the blood I saw running from the turtle head." 2835. "My mother was halfway gone in a family way and she started out the kitchen door, and my father not seeing her threw a basin of wash water out the door and it went all over her head. It almost scared her to death. And when my brother was born he was born with a water head. And he died from it." 2836. "I knew a man that half of his face was red. His father was drinking, came home half-drunk and started to drinking wine again. He got angry over something and threw the glass of wine in his wife's face. She threw up her hands over her face to keep the wine out of her eyes. And when her son came you could just see where that wine splatter on his face. It was a dark red like wine." 2837. "About sixty-eight years ago Dr. X's mother was pregnant. She was looking out the window with a stick under the window, like they did in those days, and in some way the stick fell out and the window came down on her neck, for she had her head out the window. When her son was born, who is the doctor now, he has a mark across his neck just where the window hit his mother on the neck." Prevention of Birthmarks (2838-2849) 2838. A child can be marked only during the first three months of pregnancy, because the embryo is well formed at the end of the third month and beyond any outside influence. 2839. The marking of children occurs after the fourth month of gestation. 2840. A pregnant woman marks her baby within the last three months. 2841. It is easier to mark a seven-month child than one of nine months. 2842. An expectant mother who burns herself should immediately bite a hole through her apron or dress to prevent a birthmark. 2843. If a woman during the first three months of pregnancy gazes upon a dead person, her child will look like a corpse. 2844. Unless women in a family way touch the corpse when they attend a funeral, their children will be marked. 2845. "I knew a woman that was pregnant and every time she went downtown she had to pass the cripple. He was always sitting on the corner of Seventh and Hampshire. And she gave him a coin every time, for she told people she knew she would not mark her child if she done this. And she didn't. She had a beautiful child." 2846. A pregnant woman who becomes frightened and throws her hands on some part of her body will not mark the child, provided she stops for a moment and thinks about what she is doing before she removes her hands. 2847. If something frightens a pregnant woman, she can avoid the marking of her child by crossing herself and saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 2848. After the first three months of pregnancy a woman must never steal anything she craves, for she will make her unborn child a thief. 2849. Women in a family way can have any kind of child they want by constantly thinking of and wishing for the desired qualities. Removal of Birthmarks (2850-2886) 2850. One of the common causes of birthmarks, as seen in the preceding sub-section, Causes of Birthmarks, is the pregnant woman's unfulfilled desire for some article of food. Ordinarily this results in a disfiguration resembling the desired food. Sometimes, however, the baby is psychically, not physically marked; the unfulfilled desire being transferred from mother to child. The only indication that this has happened is a continual smacking of lips and sticking out of tongue by the baby. This belief, compared to the physical birthmark, is becoming rare; but formerly, when a newborn child constantly smacked lips and stuck out tongue, it was customary to interrogate the mother to discover the article of food she wanted. This was then fed to the child (see 3331) and the psychic birthmark disappeared. 2851. It is unlucky to remove a birthmark. 2852. To make a birthmark vanish, smear some of the afterbirth over it. Some say the afterbirth must be turned inside out and applied. 2853. Afterbirth should be rubbed on a birthmark and buried. The latter will fade away as the former decays. In this belief, and those following, there are two different opinions concerning burial of afterbirth: some say you must bury by itself that portion which was used, others say you must reunite this portion with the whole before burying it. 2854. If a child is marked at birth, carry it into a dark room and wipe the disfiguration with afterbirth and then hide the latter in the ground. The rotting of the afterbirth takes away the birthmark. 2855. "I will tell you a thing my mother did. When my babies came she would always look them over good to see if they had a birthmark on them before the afterbirth got cold. If a mark, she would rub the afterbirth over it three times while warm, then bury it to take the birthmark off. She would never bury the afterbirth until she was sure that the baby didn't have any marks on it." 2856. "When a child is born, if you see a birthmark, take the afterbirth and rub over the mark three times, saying God's Name three times, and bury the afterbirth deep so nothing can touch it; and when it rots, the mark will go away. Years ago I was a midwife, and this is so." 2857. Stroke a birthmark thrice with some afterbirth while reciting Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. Let this dry on the birthmark for three days before you wash it off. Put the rest of the afterbirth in the ground; and when that becomes rotten, the birthmark will be gone. 2858. The removal of a birthmark is accomplished by rubbing it with a piece of bacon and burying the bacon.

64 2859. "My mother knew a woman that was pregnant years ago. They were living out in the country a few miles from Quincy and this woman wanted beefsteak all the time. Every time her husband would go to town he would forget it. One day she told him not to forget it, and he did. When she saw he did not have it, she started to crying and threw her hands on her back. When her baby girl came it had a big piece of raw beefsteak on its back. It looked so bad she wanted the doctor to take it off. He said, 'You cannot take off a birthmark.' One day an old German woman stopped at her house and they were talking, and she let her see the birthmark. The old German woman said, 'Don't worry about that, I will take it off for you the first time I go to town.' When this old woman went in town she got a piece of beefsteak that had just been killed, took it out and put it on this girl's back and let it stay for three days, then took the steak off and buried it. And it was no time until the birthmark disappear, just like the beefsteak in the ground rottening away." 2860. "I knew a woman that had a little girl with a big bunch of cherries on, and that was all she done, was to get a bunch of cherries and rub over the birthmark, saying in the Three Highest Names, and it went away." 2861. "I was down to St. Louis [Missouri] about fifteen years ago and a woman had a new baby and its face was all red on one side. The mother asked the doctor what it was and he said, 'Oh, I'll just drop some medicine on. Its face will be all right in a day or so.' He didn't want to tell her it was a birthmark. But when it didn't come off, she found out it was. One day an old German woman came in and said, 'I will tell you what to do to get the birthmark off' --- and told her to get a black chicken with a very red comb and to kill this chicken, and while still hot put the blood on the mark; but the blood must all come out of the comb, and let stay on thirty-six hours. She did. And the child's birthmark went away." 2862. Pass the hand of a dying man over your birthmark and the birthmark will depart with the life leaving his body. 2863. "A child had a big red cherry on its head. It was a birthmark. A woman told this child's mother to take her little girl to the first dead man she could and take his finger and rub over the little girl's birthmark. The mother would not take her, so the woman said, 'I will take her.' And the next man that died around there, this woman took the little girl and took the dead man's finger and rubbed over this cherry, and in no time the birth- mark went away." 2864. A male will lose a birthmark, if the hand of a dead female is passed over it; a female, if the hand of a dead male. 2865. A girl should visit the corpse of a boy and move his hand over her birthmark as she says What I have, take with you; In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. A boy with a birthmark does this at the corpse of a girl. 2866. "Years ago I had a niece that had a big cherry on the side of her face. It was a birthmark. And her mother took her to a corpse and let that child rub that birthmark three times over the dead, and it went away." 2867. "My niece was in the family way. One day she was standing out in the street by the garden wagon buying some vegetables. The man had some nice raspberries but my niece didn't have the money to buy them. She said she stood there rubbing her hand over her forehead wishing for the berries but didn't get them. When her baby girl came she had three big dark raspberries on her forehead, you could see them plain. One day after that in several months an old woman died in the neighborhood, and her daughter told my niece to bring her baby over and she would let her take it, in the room by herself, as no one can be in there when you are doing it. So my niece took the dead woman's hand and rubbed it three times over the raspberries saying the Three Highest Names. In four months the raspberries were gone and never came back because they went with the dead." 2868. "I knew of a child years ago that was born near Payson with a very bad birthmark on her face. Her mother was just sick when she saw it, said it would spoil her child's face for life. One day before the mother got out of bed an old German woman came in to see the child. She was visiting here, she was from Pennsylvania. She said, 'Don't let your child keep that birthmark. Have your family doctor to tell you of the first stillborn child he has and to take you and your baby to it. Then you take the hand of that stillborn child and rub over your baby's mark, will take it away.' She told her doctor what the old woman from Pennsylvania told her. He said, 'I will let you know of the first one I have so you can try.' It was several months before the doctor had a stillborn child, but he took this woman and she did just as the old woman told her. And the mark started to going away and in a year's time it was gone all together." 2869. "Mother said when I was little I had a birthmark, a big red spot, where she got scared from fire. If you have a birthmark and can find someone that has a new baby that died at childbirth and has no father — I mean that will not claim it --- go to that baby and rub its dead hand over your birthmark, and when that hand rots, your birthmark will be gone. A girl in our neighborhood had a baby to die at birth that didn't have a father to claim it, and she took that baby's hand and rubbed over my birthmark and I soon lost my birthmark." 2870. "My aunt's little girl out here at Burton years ago had a bad birthmark on her arm. When her mother's sister died she took her girl to her sister, let her rub her arm back and forth over her aunt's arm so she would take the mark to the grave with her; and did, for the girl's mark went away." [This is the belief that a birthmark must be rubbed on a corresponding part of the corpse.] 2871. A birthmark goes away, if a person wipes it with a dish rag and lays the rag in a coffin so that it will be buried with the corpse. 2872. To free yourself from a birthmark, swab it with a dish rag and lay the latter in a coffin that contains a corpse. Do this as you say O Lord, take with Thee what harmeth Thee not, but harmeth me. 2873. As a method for losing a birthmark: go to the cemetery before sunrise, find a human bone, and rub this upwards three times over your birthmark while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 2874. "My daughter had a strawberry on her face. An old colored woman told me if you have a birthmark to go to a cemetery, steal a piece of cedar off a tree on a grave or one that is growing near a grave, rub the piece of cedar over your birthmark, and the birthmark will soon disappear. We tried it and my daughter's strawberry left." 2875. A duck foot wiped on a birthmark removes it. 2876. Any birthmark in the shape of fruit is taken off by smearing it with fruit of the same appearance. Use fruit gathered before sunrise, and as long as necessary repeat this rite each year. 2877. "I know a man that had a perfect strawberry on his face, at strawberry- time it was so perfect you could see those little dark dots in the red. Someone told him about the milkweed stem. If you have a birthmark, take a milkweed stem and go around the mark nine times saying the Three Highest Names each time. He did it in the spring, went around his strawberry the nine times. And when strawberries came in, his strawberry on his face didn't show up. He lost it for good." 2878. A woman loses a birthmark, if she rubs it each month with her monthly cloth. 2879. "One day I open the cupboard and a mouse jump out. It scared me and I put my hand over my face, and when my baby girl came she had a mouse on her face with the tail right down her nose. Someone had told me about the blood when you first menstruate after a baby is born, and wash the mark with it; and I tried it and it sure worked, took all the birthmark off of her face." 2880. Let the mother lick the birthmark of her baby on the first three mornings after its birth and the birthmark will leave. 2881. A birthmark licked by the mother's tongue for nine mornings soon fades away. This rite also takes off a fire-mark or temper-mark --- a red mark or streak across the face sometimes found at birth. 2882. To get rid of a birthmark on her baby, a mother can spit on her wedding ring and rub it over the birthmark once daily for ten days. But she must start doing this before the child is ten days old.

65 2883. "Two or three months before Mrs. X's boy was born, a garden truck man came up the alley and he had some ripe tomatoes. Mrs. X. spoke to him about the tomatoes, saying how fine they were, and he joking, said, 'They are too rich for your blood, they are bad for you.' Mrs X. thought he was serious. She rubbed her hand over her forehead and cried because she couldn't have any. Her boy was born with a tomato on his forehead. It was raised up. And when tomatoes were ripe it would get real red. Then someone told her to take the first tomatoes of the year and rub over the birthmark to remove it. She did this for seven years and the birthmark went away and never did come back. Another thing about that boy; he could never get enough tomatoes to eat. He was just crazy about them. He used to steal my tomatoes all the time out of the garden." 2884. A child covered completely by a caul at birth never has a birthmark; but if a child born partially covered by a caul has a birthmark, this can be removed by rubbing it with the caul. 2885. Sometimes a mother will have a broom-mark --- a dark mark shaped like a broom, said to be caused by the strain of carrying the baby. To take this off, she may wipe it with the child's first wet diaper. 2886. The brown spot or spots occasionally seen on the mother's face after childbirth is taken off by washing it every morning with the baby's diaper. CONTRACEPTIVES -ABORTION -MISCARRIAGE (2887-2913) 2887. "My mother said it was an old saying: if you put the afterbirth of a child in an old well, you will never have another child." 2888. If a woman does not want any more children, she should walk over the place where the afterbirth of her last child was buried. 2889. A bag of asafetida worn about a woman's neck will prevent conception. 2890. To effect a miscarriage, take a tablespoonful of bluing each morning for nine days. 2891. As a protection against having children, eat the dried lining of chicken gizzards. 2892. A woman who at the beginning of menstruation sleeps with her menstrual cloth under her pillow for three nights will not conceive. 2893. Gunpowder taken in broken doses for three mornings induces menstruation and prevents conception, but the woman must continually think about the desired result all this time. 2894. During pregnancy an abortion can be caused by rubbing gunpowder on the breasts every night. 2895. A pregnant woman can cause an abortion, if she goes near a horse. 2896. To bring about a miscarriage, a pregnant woman can walk under the neck of a mare exactly at noon for five days without touching the mare's neck. See 2927-2930. 2897. Women marrying in the decrease of the moon never become mothers. 2898. Let a pregnant woman drink rusty-nail water for nine days without drinking anything else and she will miscarry. 2899. If nine rusty nails are soaked in whiskey and senna tea and this liquid is drunk, it will make a pregnant woman abort. 2900. "I know a woman that was seven months gone and she took this and she sure lost it. Take ten cents worth of prickly ash, ten cents worth of senna leaves, one tablespoonful of store tea, and make a tea of each one. Then put in a stone jar with a pint of whiskey and nine rusty nails. Let stand for nine days, then give a tablespoonful every two hours until they start to flow." A similar remedy is to put nine rusty nails and six tablespoonfuls of Epsom salts in a half-pint of vinegar and let stand for nine days. 2901. "They say if you want a mishap, take three dry onions, cut each in half, then put in a slop jar, pour boiling water over them, sit on this jar with your feet in boiling water, will do the work." 2902. "My friend did this: if you want to miscarry, rub around your navel with quinine and turpentine in morning and night for several days." 2903. The wife who makes her husband just before intercourse take off his pants, lay them on the floor and walk on them, will not get caught. 2904. As a device against pregnancy, let the bride on the nuptial night cut the buckle of the bridegroom's pants, sew it to her nightgown, and never remove it from that first nightgown. 2905. Pregnancy can be averted by the woman who every night just before going to bed takes off her engagement ring, puts it on the opposite hand, and turns the ring away from her several times. 2906. A woman keeping her shoes upside down under the bed at night will never be in a family way. 2907. If a woman sleeps on the left side of a man, she will not be caught so easily as when sleeping on the right side. 2908. To have a snake enter the house makes a pregnant woman lose her child. 2909. Women can protect themselves against pregnancy by wearing a woolen string round the waist. 2910. A tooth pulled during pregnancy is a cause of miscarriage. 2911. If a woman washes her hands in the same water a man uses, she will soon find herself pregnant. 2912. Every night just before going to bed a woman can soak her feet in hot water to guard against conception. 2913. "I have a friend that every time she gets that way her husband picks her up by the feet and swings her around three times to make her lose it, because they don't want children." The swinging around may; the three times is magic. GESTATION (2914-2951) 2914. Babies come from the cabbage patch. 2915. The doctor delivers children in his medicine kit. 2916. Storks bring infants. 2917. A hollow-tree stump is the place where a baby can be found. 2918. Women with child are always lucky. 2919. A pregnant woman who sees an accident should not touch her temples; the child will die. 2920. If during pregnancy a woman looks at a lot of blood, her baby will be sickly. 2921. Never while in a family way look at a corpse; your child will be pale and without color. 2922. "I would not crawl under a bed if pregnant; the child will be born without any hair." 2923. "Seven years ago we were living out here near Liberty. I was young and didn't know anything about not going under a barbed-wire fence. I was with my father-in-law and when I got out of the wagon and crawled under the fence, my father-in-law liked to died right there because I did this. 'What's the matter with you! Do you want to lose your baby?' Sure enough, when my baby came it was choke to death. [Some say this misfortune could have been averted had she crawled back under the fence] That learn me a lesson. I have three children now and I would not crawl under a fence for anything. "

66 2924. "When I was pregnant, every time I went out I had to stoop to go under the clothesline; and when my baby came, the-navel cord was all around its neck and we didn't think we could save him, [some say she could have avoided this trouble by walking backwards under the clothesline], we thought he would choke to death." 2925. "My granddaughter, that is just twenty-two years old now, has no hand just because her mother stoop so much in working, when carrying her, that the cord got around the baby's arm several times and kept the hand from growing. A woman should never stoop in carrying a child. So my granddaughter was born without a hand that lives on a farm up the road." 2926. If during pregnancy a woman stretches her hands above the head — in hanging out clothes, while sleeping, or for any purpose whatsoever --- the umbilical cord will become twisted above the child's neck and strangle it to death. 2927. If a woman in a family way crawls under a mare's belly, she will carry her child overtime; usually eleven months, the same period a mare carries a colt. 2928. "I knew a woman that was carrying a baby and she walked under her mare's head every few days to hitch her to the buggy and she carried her baby eleven months." Some say the mare must be in foal. See 2896. 2929. "A woman one time was carrying a baby. It was way past time, around ten months. She didn't know what was wrong, so she went to a German midwife and she didn't know what was wrong. So the midwife said, 'Do you remember if you ever went under a horse's head or not?' And the woman thought and said she believe she did. The midwife said, 'Go home and walk back under that horse's head, the other way than you walked before.' And the woman did. And just as soon as she got under that horse's head she started with pains. And the baby came before she got into the house." 2930. If a woman with child steps over a rope to which a horse is tied, her gestation will be prolonged to the twelfth month. 2931. "I know three different people that fell downstairs when pregnant and their babies had a hairlip." 2932. A pregnant woman should never eat fruit from the second crop borne by the tree the same season; her baby will be cross all its life. 2933. You can secure a fat baby by giving the baby to a fat person before it is born. 2934. The woman who licks the pots and pans during pregnancy will have a fat baby. 2935. A permanent wave during pregnancy will not take. 2936. It is unlucky to curl your hair with a hot iron during pregnancy. 2937. At the beginning of pregnancy throw out into the yard the hair from your comb to give your baby blue eyes. 2938. If the hair of a pregnant woman keeps knotting when combed and she becomes angry or curses, the baby will have the same temper as its mother showed while combing her hair. Some say this is true only of a first pregnancy. 2939. "I know my baby will be healthy because it hiccough all the time before it was born." 2940. If during pregnancy the child kicks too hard, let the father put his hand on the place where the motion occurs and it will stop. 2941. "My sister-in-law never had a louse, but every time she got in a family way she would be lousy until the baby was born, then they left." 2942. Do not stand in front of a mirror and observe your figure during pregnancy; it is unlucky. 2943. An expectant mother who has her picture taken may expect bad luck. Some say she will have a hard time at delivery. 2944. Morning sickness does not attack the wife who is loved by her husband and who is going to have a welcome baby. 2945. If a woman is well during pregnancy, the child will not have any hair at birth; if sick, it will --- the sicker the mother, the more the baby's hair. 2946. The woman who has heartburn frequently during pregnancy will give birth to a child with a lot of hair. Some say long hair. 2947. Someone sneezing at a birth is a lucky sign for the baby. Some say the infant will live and grow up into a healthy child. 2948. The effect of pregnancy upon the mother's teeth is variously described: the mother loses a tooth for each child; the woman who has a tooth filled during pregnancy will lose the filling immediately following the birth of her child; and the expectant mother having all her teeth pulled will kill her child. 2949. An unborn child can be made lucky by the expectant mother making someone's wedding clothes. 2950. Bad luck may be expected by the woman who gains weight during pregnancy. 2951. To be weighed while pregnant is unlucky. Some say this causes a miscarriage. DELIVERY (2952-3050) Labor Pains - Afterbirth - Caul - Naval Cord (2952-3037) LABOR PAINS 2952. The author's mother used to tell about a case of what may be called psychic or pseudo couvade. This happened when she was a young woman in the early years of the 1870 decade. The husband not only had morning sickness and other ailments peculiar to a pregnant woman, but also suffered such acute pains during his wife's delivery that he almost died. Although the wife's gestation and parturition were quite normal, she, being fearful she might kill her husband, would never have another child. 2953. A pregnant woman by crawling over the husband can transfer her future labor pains to him. 2954. Just before delivery tie a string as tightly as possible beneath either knee of the expectant mother and her husband will get the labor pains. Some say the woman herself must do the tying. 2955. "I know a woman that was having labor pains bad when another woman that was expecting went to see her. If two women are in a family way and are expecting about the same time, never let one go to see the other; for if you do, the one that goes will take the other's labor pains away from her. And this woman that went to see the other woman took her pains right away from her went right home and had her baby. The other woman suffer for three days before her baby came, over the other woman taking her pains." 2956. "I was in a room one time and the woman was having such a hard time, and I had never had a baby, and they told me to leave so to make it more easy for the woman and the baby would come." 2957. A woman whose husband has broad shoulders may expect a hard time at childbirth. 2958. If during pregnancy a woman dreams of a difficult delivery, it will be easy; if of an easy delivery, it will be difficult. 2959. Labor pains are always more severe at the birth of the second child. 2960. "If a woman has children, the child she suffers the most with at delivery will think the most of her when he gets older and will always stick by her while the others will turn her down." 2961. "I started to getting sick labor pains at one o'clock at night with my boy and he always starts to getting sick whenever he becomes sick at one o'clock at night." 2962. To cut or to cut in half the labor pains, usually the afterpains, set under the bed an ax so that the blade points upward. Various and contradictory things are said about this implement: some say the ax must be old, others say the newest one possible; a dull edge is preferred

67 by some, a sharp edge by others; sometimes the ax is laid at the foot of the bed, at other times anywhere; and according to some you must not tell the woman about the ax, according to others it does not matter. If you do not have an ax, a hatchet may be substituted. An ax beneath the bed also stops a hemorrhage caused by a miscarriage. 2963. When the child is slow in coming and the labor pains are severe, open a Bible at some passage describing birth throes and put the opened book across the woman's stomach. 2964. A hemorrhage during delivery can be checked with a poultice of fresh cow manure. 2965. Boil nine eggs and nine onions and let a woman in confinement drink this water for an easy delivery. 2966. You can rid a woman in childbirth of excessive pain by bathing her feet in hot ginger-water and rubbing downwards from her knees so that the pain will go out through the feet. 2967. "The woman who told me this is expecting a baby next month and thinks she will try it: to bring a baby quicker, put a small bunch of goat hair in the womb." 2968. If a woman is having a hard time with birth pains, let her husband lay his right hand on her stomach to ease them. 2969. As a method for procuring an easy delivery, hang a man's hat on the bedpost of the birth bed. 2970. "I was so sick and they could not find the ax or razor, so I told them to put the butcher knife under the bed --- anything with a sharp point would cut the pain --- and it sure did help." Some say the knife must be stuck into the floor beneath the bed. 2971. "My friend, she lost her baby at five months just carrying a big dish pan across the floor full of water. She started to flowing. They could not stop her. She was getting very weak when an old colored woman came along and told her about the mullein leaves green or dry, that it would stop the flow. They got some and put them on her stomach, fresh every day for three days, and the third day she was able to sit up." 2972. A baby that refuses to come can be brought at once and the labor pains will stop, if the woman drinks tea made from bark scraped downwards off a young peach tree. 2973. "About fifteen years ago a real poor woman was having a baby in the South End [of Quincy] and the doctor could not get the child to turn. A neighbor woman came in and said, 'What is wrong, doctor?' He told her he could not get the child to turn. She said, 'Wait a minute', and went out in the yard. She came back with a peach stick, held it over the woman [arched] by the two ends; and when the peach switch started to turn, the baby started to turn and came. This is so, for I was right there in the house." 2974. Afterpains can be stopped by putting a razor under the woman's bed or under the sheet. Sometimes the razor is put sharp edge upward at the foot of the bed. This also prevents pains with the afterbirth. 2975. "I have heard my mother say years ago when a woman was sick with a child they would put those large white lime rocks under the bed to help with the pains. I am eighty-two, so you see this is old." 2976. A cross-cut saw laid in the bed stops afterpains. 2977. "I know a woman that was having such bad afterpains after her baby was born and they give her the soot to eat off of the stovelid and it stop her pain." Sometimes a tea is made of the soot. 2978. "This is very old. Take the sow bugs, dry them, make a powder of them, and take just before childbirth. A teaspoonful will stop all pains. If you want to drink the tea, make it out of the raw bugs and drink just before childbirth and you will not have any pains." 2979. A bucket of water set under the bed helps a woman with her afterpains. 2980. Babies come easier on a rainy day than on a clear day. 2981. To free a woman from afterpains, drop three wood embers into a cup of water and let her drink the water. AFTERBIRTH 2982. Afterbirth dropped on the floor gives the child weak kidneys; makes him a bed-wetter say some. 2983. If a boy's afterbirth drops on the floor, he will not live to be twenty-one; if a girl's, she will not live to be eighteen. 2984. Always bury the afterbirth immediately so that everything else will pass clean from the woman. 2985. Afterpains are prevented by burying the afterbirth. 2986. If the afterbirth is buried, the woman will get out of bed strong; if it is burned, weak. Some say the woman will regain her strength as the afterbirth rots in the ground. 2987. Put the afterbirth in the ground under the eaves of the house where water can drip on it; this will make the mother's back strong. 2988. The mother will die unless someone buries the afterbirth. 2~39. You can give the mother luck by burning the afterbirth. 2990. Never bury the afterbirth where a person or an animal can walk over it; the mother will have serious trouble. 2991. If a dog scratches up the buried afterbirth, the mother will die. Some say this does not cause death, but brings bad luck to the mother. 2992. Rats getting hold of the buried afterbirth make the mother weak until her next child is born. 2993. A rat biting or eating the buried afterbirth causes womb trouble for the mother. 2994. If the buried afterbirth is scratched up by a cat or a dog, the baby will die before the end of the year. In this belief and the three preceding, the danger can be averted by laying a large rock over the afterbirth. 2995. A baby whose afterbirth is buried does not live long. 2996. If the afterbirth is buried, the baby will be healthy and intelligent; if it is burned, unhealthy and unintelligent. 2997. Do not take up the ashes of afterbirth burned in a stove until the ninth day; otherwise you will lose both mother and baby. 2998. Salt the afterbirth before burning it in the stove and leave the ashes there for nine days, so that the mother and baby will thrive. 2999. "I know of two people that burnt up in death, and their mothers' afterbirth was burnt instead of being buried. They say if your afterbirth is burned, you will die by burning." CAUL 3000. A child born with a caul, usually called a veil and sometimes a bundle, will always be lucky. But some say this good luck will last only as long as the caul is preserved; therefore a caul thrown away, lost or stolen, makes the child unlucky. 3001. To be born with a caul is fortunate, provided it is always kept in a Bible. 3002. If there is a caul at birth, keep it sewed up in the child's clothes for luck. 3003. Always be sure at the death of a person, who has preserved the caul with which he was born, that it is put in the coffin, for as long as the caul remains out of the coffin, the rest of the family will have bad luck. 3004. Babies born with a caul always become important or great. 3005. Caul-born babies are always intelligent.

68 3006. The child born with a caul is always high-tempered, but you can control any display of temper by saving the caul and rubbing it over the child's head. 3007. Girls born with a caul never have any children. 3008. Children with a caul at birth do not live long. 3009. Use care in removing a caul from a baby; to tear it will bring misfortune to the child. 3010. In whatever manner a caul is destroyed, that will be the manner of the person's death: if it is burned, the person will die by burning; if buried, by suffocation; and if washed away, by drowning. 3011. Anyone who carries a caul will not drown. 3012. A caul carried in your pocket when going to war protects you against bullets. 3013. Persons born with a veil are endowed with the power of healing. 3014. Your future health can be discovered by looking at your preserved caul: if it is dry, you will continue healthy; if it is moist, you will become ill. 3015. "I have a friend that has her girl's veil. If you keep it, you can always tell when [the child is] far away from you, if well or sick — if the veil is clear, they are well; if the veil is cloudy, they are sick. One day she looked at it and the veil was very dark and cloudy. That day she got word her daughter was very sick. In a few days she looked again and it was not so dark, and she got word her daughter was getting better. And when she was well again, the veil was clear." 3016. The person born with a caul is gifted with second sight and the power of seeing ghosts; the person not born with a caul will never see ghosts. 3017. A seven-month baby wrapped in a bundle at birth can hear warnings and see into the future. 3018. You can discover the future by going into a dark room and looking through the caul with which you were born. 3019. At the end of the first year let the baby born with a caul look through it and the child will become a fortune-teller. 3020. "I was born with a veil and my mother kept it, and on my ninth birthday and on the hour I was born on, my mother buried the veil under my window, and that is why I can see things and take a spell off if anyone bewitched you." 3021. If your caul at birth was covered by a web — "a coarse piece of netting" --- you have a greater power of second sight than the person born with only a caul. 3022. Those who were born with a caul and two webs instead of one web as described in the preceding belief can always talk to ghosts. 3023. "I was born with two veils and everything I dream comes true, for anything you dream will always come true when you are born with two veils." NAVEL CORD 3024. Never cut a navel cord too short; the baby will wet all the time. 3025. If you lay the cut navel cord down or accidentally drop it on the floor, the baby will be a bed-wetter. To avoid this you should burn up the navel cord as soon as it is removed. Also take the same precaution when the navel-cord stump heals and comes off, and the baby will not wet the bed after it is a year old. 3026. As soon as the navel-cord stump heals but before it can fall off, remove the stump, put it in a greased rag, and, while saying the Three Highest Names, drop this package into the stove so that it will burn up immediately; the baby will never have trouble with its kidneys or get a sore navel. Some say this also makes the child lucky. 3027. The first time a baby is dressed the navel-cord stump should be turned up and bound in place; the child will never wet the bed or have bladder trouble. 3028. "Whenever you take the navel cord off a baby, if you will drop it down through its legs, they will pee down; if you pull it up to throw away, they will pee up all the time and over theirself." 3029. "I had twins about two years ago and didn't know this and burnt both navel cords. My grandma said, 'Didn't you know that you will lose your baby, if you burn the navel cord?' And I lost one of the twins and the other is not very well. I am afraid I will lose it." 3030. "When you take the navel cord off a baby, don't let it change hands or don't lay it down. Put it right in the fire; for if you lay it down or change it from one hand to another, it will make the baby's navel sore. When my baby was born, my mother carried the baby right to the stove before she took the navel off, so she could drop it right in the stove. And the baby was not sick with its navel." 3031. "The doctor don't know this, but I am an old nurse and I always do this. When you dress a baby's navel cord for the first time, and every time until it drops off, always point the end of the cord toward the baby's heart. It will be stronger and keep the child from getting a rupture." 3032. They say a navel becomes sore or is ruptured by the baby crying too much, but applications of goose droppings mixed with lard will cure the ailment. 3033. A powdered mud-dauber nest is applied to a baby's ruptured navel as a remedy. 3034. Application of soot will heal a baby's ruptured navel. 3035. To cure a baby's ruptured navel, bind over it one of the following coins: a penny, a nickel, a dime, and a quarter. Sometimes a large raisin is flattened on the coin and laid to the rupture. A lead shot beaten flat may be used instead of a coin. 3036. "My mother years ago lived by an old Indian woman and when her first baby was born she told her to do this and she would have a good baby, that the Indian women did this to have good babies. When you wash and dress a baby for the first time, take the navel cord and point it so it will point to the left breast [the heart? as in 3031] and you will have a good baby — it will never cry." 3037. The future occupation of your baby can be determined by putting its navel cord in a bag and dropping it in a place connected with the desired occupation: if you want to make the child a preacher, drop the navel cord in a church; if a teacher, in a school; and if a doctor, in a doctor's office. Premature Birth - Stillborn (3038 - 3040) PREMATURE BIRTH 3038. A premature baby always sleeps out its time; that is, it will sleep until what would have been the end of the normal nine months of gestation. 3039. Seven-month babies or babies born before the seventh month will never live. STILLBORN 3040. "I remember this. I am over eighty. I was only a girl but I went to school with the children. It was out about where Liberty is now on Mill Creek. A woman friend of my mother lost five children at birth. She had just lost one when an old gypsy fortune-teller was going through the country telling fortunes and stop at her house. She told her she had lost all her children and if she would give her a dollar, she would tell her

69 what to do to keep from losing any more. So the woman gave her the money. And the old gypsy told her, just before her next one came, to have some holy water by the bed and to baptize it as soon as born In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 'And if the first one is a girl, call it Eve; if a boy, call it Adam. And if you have the third child, which I know you will, call it Noah. And they will all live. After the third, you can name it what you want.' This is so, for I went to school with the children; and all her children lived after that, for she did just what the gypsy told her to do." Posthumous Child - Seventh Son (3041-3050) POSTHUMOUS CHILD 3041. To be born after your father's death gives you the power of healing. 3042. Almost every disease and sometimes deformity can be cured by a posthumous child breathing against the patient's face. 3043. The power to heal by rubbing or the laying on of hands is possessed by some persons posthumously born. 3044. Posthumous children are always clever. 3045. A posthumous child is always lucky. SEVENTH SON 3046. The birth of a seventh son brings good luck to the family. This and the following beliefs always mean the last of seven consecutive sons. 3047. It is lucky to be the seventh son of the seventh son. This belief has been extended to include the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter. 3048. A seventh child of a seventh child always becomes brilliant and famous. 3049. The power of healing is possessed by the seventh son of the seventh son. He is specially gifted in stopping the flow of blood. 3050. Future events can be foretold by the seventh son of the seventh son. DIRECTIONS FOR CONFINEMENT (3051-3067) 3051. Do not permit a mother to see her baby on the first day of its birth; she will never love it. 3052. If a mother nurses a baby for the first time at her right breast, it will be right-handed; if at the left breast, left-handed. 3053. To be strong after childbirth, the mother should remain in bed until six o'clock on the ninth day. 3054. The featherbed of a confined woman should not be turned over before she gets up to walk; she will never recover. 3055. Wait until the ninth day before turning over the feather bed or mattress on which a birth took place; otherwise the child will die. 3056. A woman in confinement will have a backset, if her bed is turned around. 3057. "My grandmother was a midwife and she never let one of her patients lay with their heads to the east while giving birth to a baby; said it was sign one or the other would die, if the mother lay with her head to the east." 3058. Mother and newborn baby should lie with heads to the north and feet to the south so that their blood will flow smoothly. 3059. Never sweep under the bed of a confined woman; either she or her baby will die. 3060. The person who sweeps under the bed of a mother and newborn child will make the latter cross. 3061. Women whose clothes are changed before the ninth day of confinement will not live. 3062. It is unlucky for a woman to have her hair combed during confinement. 3063. To comb the hair of a confined woman before the end of the third day will give her a fever. 3064. A woman combing her hair before the seventh day of confinement will not survive the tenth day. 3065. "My mother did this and she had eight children and never had a setback. On the morning when she gets up from confinement, if a woman will walk all around the house, going in the same door she went out, she will never have to go back to bed — I mean she will not have a setback. I heard her say one time she walked all around the house in deep snow. " 3066. If ashes are removed from the fireplace during the first nine days of a woman's lying-in, she will suffer from a relapse. 3067. A cat left in the house during a childbirth is unlucky for the baby. TIME OF BIRTH (3068-3107) 3068. A person's life is influenced by the planet or star under which he was born. 3069. The sign of the zodiac under which you were born will always be a lucky time for you to begin a business venture. 3070. Anyone born in the sign of the fish (fishes=Pisces) "will be crazy about water" — very fond of aquatic sports. 3071. It is fortunate to be born just before a new moon. 3072. Babies born during the light of the moon start well in growth and health. 3073. If a child is born in the light of the moon, it will become tall; if in the dark of the moon, short. 3074. Children born in the light of the moon are more intelligent than those born in the dark of the moon. 3075. To be born during a snowstorm is a sign of a short life. 3076. If birth occurs on a stormy night, the baby will be cross and nervous. 3077. Persons born on a stormy day are always quarrelsome. 3078. Born in a thunderstorm; born to be killed by lightning. 3079. Those who were born on a hot day are always passionate. 3080. The child will be born at the same time during the day as its begetting was effected. 3081. "My daughter was born at nine o'clock and she died at nine o'clock. They say the hour you are born at, you will die at." 3082. You can never bewitch a person born between two lights --- between dawn and dark. Such a person also possesses the power of seeing into the future. 3083. If you were born at an even hour, you will be successful in everything; if at an uneven hour, unsuccessful. 3084. The day of the week on which you were born will always be lucky for anything you attempt to do. 3085. "Monday's child is fair of face. Tuesday's child is full of grace. Wednesday's child is a child of woe. Thursday's child has far to go. Friday's child is loving and giving. Saturday's child must work for its living.

70 Sunday's child will never know want." or "Monday's bairn is fair of face. Tuesday's bairn is full of grace. Wednesday's bairn has far to go. Thursday's bairn is full of woe. Friday's bairn is loving and giving. Saturday's bairn works hard for a living. But a child born on the Sabbath day, Is lucky and bonny, wise and gay." or "Monday's child is fair of face. Tuesday's child is full of grace. Wednesday's child is loving and giving. Thursday's child must work for a living. Friday's child is full of woe. Saturday's child has far to go. But the child that is born on the Sabbath day Is blythe and bonny and good and gay." 3085a. "Wednesday's child is merry and glad. Thursday's child is sour and sad." 3086. Friday-born persons have bad tempers. 3087. Saturday is an unlucky day on which to be born. 3088. It is lucky to be born on Sunday. 3089. Sunday children become rich before they die. 3090. People born on Sunday do not like to work. 3091. A person born on Sunday is capable in the management of animals. 3092. Born on Sunday; born to be hanged. 3093. Whoever is born on Sunday during a rain will have a rainy life. 3094. Christmas Day is a lucky time for a birth. 3095. Your birth occurring on Christmas Day gives you the power to understand the speech of animals. 3096. A baby born on Christmas Day is gifted with the power to see spirits. 3097. Spirits can be seen by the person who was born on Good Friday. 3098. Good Friday as the time of your birth makes you lucky in life. 3099. If two members of a family are born in the same month --- whether the same year or different years --- they will always be unlucky. 3100. "My cousin was born on the thirteenth of the month and she is unlucky in everything." 3101. "My brother was born on the thirteenth and he will not work on that day. He thinks it very bad luck." 3102. A child born on the thirteenth day of a month will not reach old age. 3103. On whatever day of the month you were born, that will be the day of the month on which you will die. 3104. They say children born during the winter months are smarter than those born during the summer months. 3105. More important people were born in February than in any other month. 3106. Because August is a hot month, a person born at that time will be hot-headed. 3107. Wartime babies are always restless and never satisfied. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BABIES (3108-3137) 3108. The first and last child of a family are always unlucky. 3109. A girl is born lying on her back; a boy is born lying on his belly. 3110. "I was born with my feet first and that is why I can see things all the time." 3111. Babies who are purple at birth will always be healthy. 3112. Blue baby is the name given to the child born blue. It is always very intelligent but never lives long. 3113. "My boy was a blue baby. I was scared to death. I thought I had marked it and it would be like that all its life. But they told me to try the milk out of the milkweed and I did. Take the milk out of the milkweed and rub over your baby until it disappears. My baby got all right. An old Negro man told me to use the milkweed." 3114. If a child is red at birth, its complexion will be fair; if white, its complexion will be dark. 3115. Colored babies are born white, but as soon as the air strikes them they begin to turn black. 3116. It is lucky for a white person to see a tiny colored baby; luckier still, if it can be kissed. 3117. A crease between the lobe of a baby's ear and cheek indicates the child will become a criminal. 3118. All babies are born with blue eyes. 3119. A baby born with a lot of hair will always be prosperous. 3120. Some say a baby born with a lot of hair will have trouble in life, others say it will have little trouble in life. 3121. Children born with a lot of hair will live to be very old. 3122. A baby whose hair does not fall out almost immediately after birth will soon die. 3123. If a baby born with a lot of hair does not lose it at once, the child will never have nice hair. 3124. Hair of a fine texture means the baby will not live long. 3125. According to some, a baby whose hair is long will be long-lived; according to others, it will be short-lived --- unless the hair falls out. 3126. If a baby is born with hands closed, it will be closehanded in life; if with hands open, openhanded. 3127. The woman who wipes her mouth with a dish rag will give her next child a hairlip.

71 3128. The blue vein sometimes seen across the nose of a newborn baby is occasionally called lid of a coffin and concerning it one hears the following rhyme: "A blue vein across the nose, Never live to wear your wedding clothes." 3129. A baby born with a tooth will never be well. 3130. Babies born with a tooth will die before the end of the year. The same thing is said of two or more teeth at birth. 3131. "I was born with two teeth and I am along in years and I have been lucky in everything I do, for they say a child born with two teeth will always be lucky." 3132. Children of late marriages are unhealthy and short-lived. 3133. If a husband and wife are happily married, they will have good-looking children; if they quarrel all the time, ugly children. 3134. "Ugly babies make pretty ladies, Pretty babies make ugly ladies." 3135. "Ugly in the cradle, beautiful in the saddle." 3136. If a girl resembles her father, she will be lucky; if her mother, unlucky. If a boy resembles his mother, he will be lucky; if his father, unlucky. 3137. The daughters of a left-handed father will be left-handed, and the sons of a left-handed mother will be left-handed. CARE OF INFANT (3138-3352) Layette - Cradle - Moving Baby about House (3138-3210) LAYETTE 3138. Never give a shower for your baby before it is born; you will have bad luck. 3139. "Several weeks ago I was at a house where a young woman was expecting a baby soon and someone had sent her a beautiful hood --- cost about a dollar and fifty cents. While she was standing there looking at it, a neighbor came in and said, 'Don't you know that is very bad luck to receive a hood before the child is born? The only thing you can do to take the jinx off is to burn the hood.' I left. I don't know if the woman burn the hood or not, but they had the stovelid off, and the last thing I heard the young woman say, 'Oh, I don't want to burn it, it is so pretty.'" 3140. If you make or purchase a hood for your expected baby, the child will not live long. 3141. Prospective parents who buy something for a baby's feet preceding birth will soon lose the child. 3142. A woman making anything for her unborn child must not sew on Friday; the baby will not long survive its birth. 3143. It is unlucky for an expectant mother to show baby clothes before the child arrives. 3144. A layette acquired for an expected baby must not be tried on another baby; it will cause bad luck --- some say to the former, others say to the latter. 3145. The first newborn baby you wash will bring you good luck. 3146. To lay a baby on an ironing board is unlucky. 3147. A baby laid on a table before it is a year old will have bad luck. Some say this misfortune can be averted by laying the baby's stockings under the table. 3148. Do not put a baby on a table; it will not grow very fast. 3149. If before a newborn baby is dressed you lay it on a table, the child will soon die. 3150. Wait an hour before dressing a newborn baby and it will never be cross. 3151. Always keep a newborn baby wrapped in a piece of cloth for the first six weeks; if you dress the child, it will not reach maturity. 3152. You can make a baby right-handed by always laying it down on its right side for the first year. Some confine this belief to the first time the baby is dressed. 3153. To make a newborn baby right-handed, the first time you dress it put its right arm in the sleeve first. 3154. "I always put my baby's clothes on over its feet instead of over its head until it was a year old, to keep it from having bad luck." This belief is sometimes confined to a baby's first dressing. 3155. The mother who puts a baby's dress on over its head before it can sit up alone will have a cross baby. 3156. To put a baby's dress on over its head during the first year will hinder growth. 3157. If you put a baby's dress on over its head, the baby will not outlive the first year. 3158. The first time you dress your baby put the clothes on feetfirst and take them off headfirst so that the rope will slip off easily --- the child will not die by hanging. 3159. Pull off a baby's clothes over its feet and the baby will become a jailbird. 3160. In dressing a baby for the first time, put a girl's dress on over her head so that she will always keep her dress down; and a boy's dress on over his feet so that he will always keep his pants buttoned. 3161. After you wash a baby, put the undershirt on wrong side out and the baby will not be cross. 3162. A baby whose dress is hung upside down on the clothesline will be cross. 3163. The first dress worn by a baby must be new for luck. 3164. If a baby is sick during the first year and you buy it any new clothes, the child will not recover. 3165. Babies whose dresses are shortened do not grow to be very tall. 3166. The baby who wears a dead baby's clothes will soon die. 3167. You will be lucky the first time you put a diaper on a baby. 3168. To be the first one to put the first diaper on a newborn baby is lucky. 3169. Before the first diaper is put on a newborn baby, fold up the diaper, sit on it for a few minutes, and you will give good luck to the child. 3170. Let the first diaper used on a baby be a new one for luck. 3171. If the first diaper used is an old one, the baby will became a thief. 3172. Never change a diaper that has been put upside down on a baby; the child will die within a week. 3173. You can make a baby lucky by burning its first diaper. 3174. A baby whose first diaper is burned will never be chafed. 3175. "I was visiting my father and I went and put the remains out of the diaper in the fire, and he said my baby's bottom would burn." 3176. Some say the mother who burns her child's first diaper makes it constipated, others say this prevents constipation --- provided a job has been done in the diaper. 3177. Do not iron diapers; you will make the baby cross. 3178. A baby can be made beautiful by washing its face every day with the wet diaper. This must be done as long as diapers are worn.

72 3179. To give the mother a clear complexion, rub her face each morning for nine days with the baby's wet diaper --- beginning with the first one. 3180. If someone not the father or mother gives a pair of stockings to a newborn baby, it means good luck for the baby. 3181. It is lucky for you to give someone's baby the first pair of shoes it wears. 3182. Never let anyone give your baby a pair of shoes; its hair will stop growing. 3183. If the first time stockings are worn the right is put on before the left, the baby will be right-handed; if the left before the right, left-handed. 3184. A baby's socks kept in its shoes overnight will make the baby cross next day. 3185. Preserve a baby's first pair of stockings or shoes for luck. 3186. A baby whose shoes are thrown away will die before the end of the year. 3187. During the first year it is very unlucky to put someone's hat on a baby's head. Some say a black hat. 3188. Beads should never be worn by a male baby; he will die by hanging. 3189. A male baby wearing a necklace will never be able to swim. 3190. The baby boy who wears earrings will never be a musician. 3191. Dress the baby in its best clothes on the first three Sundays of its life so that it will always wear them well and appear stylish. 3192. To find anything belonging to a baby is lucky. 3193. Bad luck will come to the child whose baby carriage is sold. CRADLE 3194. If a person rocks the baby's empty cradle, the baby will have bad luck. 3195. To rock an empty cradle will make the baby cross. 3196. A baby whose empty cradle is rocked will not sleep well. 3197. The rocking of an empty cradle will be followed by the baby's early death. Some say before the year is out. 3198. Always keep a horseshoe in the baby's cradle to bring it good luck. 3199. Never use a rocking-chair as a cradle before the baby is a year old; the child will soon die. Some say you must never sit in a rocking-chair while holding a baby or lay it down in a rocking-chair even for a moment. MOVING BABY ABOUT HOUSE 3200. Do not take a baby from the room in which it was born until after the tenth day; the child will die before the end of the year. 3201. It is lucky to carry a baby upstairs before you carry it downstairs. 3202. "When Mrs. R's son was born the grandmother carried him up a ladder into the garret of the one-storied house to make sure that he would rise in the world. I remember that the nurse who attended the mother of our prominent citizen Mr. K. insisted on performing the same ceremony, which was in that case made easier by the existence of stairs." 3203. A baby before it is three days old should be taken up the stairs for a long life. 3204. To make a baby long-lived, the person who serves as midwife should carry upstairs and then downstairs a thimbleful of the water used in washing the baby. 3205. If the water with which a newborn baby has been washed is taken upstairs and thrown out the highest window, the child will be high-minded; if it is thrown out the lowest window or door, low-minded. 3206. By running up and down the stairs with a baby you will make it spry. 3207. Let a baby see a sunrise before it sees a sunset and it will have a long life. 3208. To hand a baby through a window is unlucky. 3209. "They say that if you pass a baby through a window over to another window to a neighbor, it is bad luck for the baby.” 3210. A baby handed through a window before it is a year old will become a thief. Baby Taken on Visit - Visit to Baby (3211-3244) BABY TAKEN ON A VISIT 3211. A baby will acquire the disposition of the person who first carries it out of the house. 3212. If you want your baby to be like someone whose character and ability you like, take the baby to that person's house the first time it is taken out and lay it on the bed. A boy must be laid on a man's bed and a girl on a woman's bed. 3213. A mother taking her baby out of the house for the first time should put it on a strange bed for luck. 3214. "I knew a woman that had a daughter, she was crazy to get married. They had a friend that had a new baby and they told her to bring the baby there first. If a newborn baby wets on someone's bed the first time it is taken out of its own house, the person that sleeps in that bed will soon get married. They had two beds in the same room like people did years ago, the mother slept in one and the girl in the other. The old woman didn't want to get married again. Some way by mistake the baby got on the wrong bed, got on the one the old lady slept in. When the girl saw it she put the baby on her bed, but it didn't do any good for the baby had already wet on her mother's bed. The daughter was sure angry about it. It was not long after that the old woman picked up with an old man and did marry. And the girl never married. This is so, for I knew both people and they did live right here in Quincy." 3215. The first time a mother takes her baby to another house she should eat as much as possible while there, for to go away hungry will make the child a glutton in life. 3216. Never take a baby to a funeral before it is a year old; it means bad luck and sometimes another death. 3217. A child in its first year taken across a river on a boat will soon die. 3218. If you let rain fall on a baby's head before it is a year old, the baby will not live long. 3219. Rain falling on a baby's head before it is a year old will give the baby freckles. 3220. "When I was a boy I had so many freckles, and people use to say to me, 'I guess your mother let bran blow on you before you were a year old'." VISIT TO A BABY 3221. "I never go to see a new baby until the mother is out of bed, for I think it very unlucky." 3222. A baby visited by a menstruating woman will have bad luck. 3223. "I weigh 250 pounds now. My mother told me the reason I did, and all the rest of the family are small, that it's an old saying that you will be the same size when you grow up as the one that looked at you first after you are born, not counting the family, that the first woman that looked at me weighed 300 pounds. So I will be her size. "

73 3224. To wear gloves when entering the room of a newborn baby is unlucky. 3225. If you visit a newborn baby and hear it crying, wait until the crying stops before going into the room or you will give bad luck to the child. 3226. Always when calling on a woman in confinement sit down before you look at the baby or the child will be unlucky. 3227. Whoever goes to see a newborn baby and finds it a red-head will soon receive good news. 3228. The first person kissing a newborn baby will obtain good luck. 3229. On your first visit to a newborn baby kiss it for luck. 3230. It is unlucky to kiss a baby on the mouth. 3231. The first time you visit a newborn baby the bottoms of its feet may be kissed for luck. 3232. Several things are said about wishing and kissing a newborn baby when you see it for the first time: make a wish and then kiss, wish while kissing, or wish after the baby has been kissed. Usually you must not speak a word from the time you enter the house until the rite is completed. 3233. A wish may be made while pinching a newborn baby visited for the first time. 3234. When you visit a baby for the first time, bow to the door as you enter the house, hold the baby's hand while wishing, and the baby will be lucky and you will get your wish. But this must be done without speaking. 3235. Never visit a baby for the first time unless you take it something to eat; if you do this, the child will always have food. 3236. Years ago it was almost a general custom among Germans in Quincy to bake a coffee-cake and eat it with the family who had a new baby so that the child would become wealthy. 3237. If a coin is laid in a baby's hand at birth or later by someone visiting the baby for the first time, it will never be without money. 3238. "My mother always did this. She never went to see a new baby unless she put a dollar in its hand and squeeze her hand over the baby's hand with the dollar to give them both luck. " Any silver coin can be used. 3239. Hold a fresh egg in front of a baby visited by you for the first time and the child will be lucky. 3240. Tie a pink string round the little finger of a baby on your first visit to see it and the child will be lucky. 3241. Either a visitor on first seeing a new baby or someone present at the birth may put a silver spoon in the baby's hand to make it rich. 3242. A baby's first present, whether given to it at birth or later by someone on a first visit, should be a bar of soap and a wash rag. This will keep the baby clean through life. 3243. The first present a baby receives should come from its mother for luck. 3244. After you have seen a new baby for the first time, be sure to turn around three times just before leaving the house so that the child will accumulate wealth. To Give Baby Curly Hair - Haircut for Baby (3245-3261) TO GIVE BABY CURLY HAIR 3245. Formerly, a woman could secure curly hair for her unborn child by eating old-fashioned stick candy which was striped with a spiral like a barber's pole; at present, this symbolical resemblance between curly hair and a stripe curling up a stick of candy has been forgotten and any kind of candy may be eaten. 3246. If a prospective mother cuts off several of her curls and buries them in the ground, the baby will have curly hair. 3247. To make a baby's hair curly, the baby may be wrapped in fur before it is dressed for the first time. 3248. "Mrs. M. told Walter that when her child was about to be born her mother prepared for its advent by placing conveniently near an old rug. Upon this she placed the newborn child before it touched a fabric of any kind. This was to insure its having curly hair." 3249. Each night on the seven nights following birth, rub a silk handkerchief over the baby's head and its hair will become curly. HAIRCUT FOR BABY 3250. The first time you wash a newborn baby you may cut off some of its hair and drop it into the fire while making a wish for the baby. 3251. Save the first clippings from a baby's hair for luck. 3252. It is unlucky to trim a baby's hair on Monday. 3253. On Friday during the increase of the moon is a lucky time for cutting a baby's hair. 3254. Never clip a child's hair after dark; it will cause the child a disappointment. 3255. A baby's hair trimmed during the first year will soon fallout. 3256. If a baby's hair is clipped before it is a year old, the baby will become a liar. 3257. By trimming a baby's hair the first year you make the baby unhealthy. 3258. To improve the health of a sickly baby, cut its hair the day it is eighteen months old. 3259. The person who cuts a baby's hair the first year will give the baby a weak back. 3260. Do not cut a baby's hair before its first birthday; the baby will go crazy. 3261. A baby whose hair is clipped the first year will soon die. Some say it will not live to the end of the second year. Baby’s Nails Trimmed - Measuring Baby (3262-3271) BABY'S NAILS TRIMMED 3262. It is unlucky to trim a baby's nails the first year. 3263. Scissors or any steel instrument used on a baby's nails the first year brings the baby bad luck before the year ends. 3264. If a baby's finger-nails are trimmed with scissors, the baby will become light-fingered. The prohibited time for this act is variously given: first month, first six months, and first year. 3265. Some say you must bite off your baby's finger-nails to prevent thievish tendencies; others say the biting off a baby's finger-nails makes it a thief. The latter belief is unusual. Occasionally the toe-nails are also included. 3266. Unless a baby's finger-nails and toe-nails are bitten off, the baby will be sickly the first year. 3267. Use scissors in cutting a baby's nails the first year (the first six months say some) and the child will not live long. 3268. Whoever clips a baby's finger-nails before it is a year old causes the baby to lose its mind. 3269. A baby whose nails are cut before its first birthday will become a witch. MEASURING BABY 3270. Never measure a baby the first year; it will not live to see the second year. 3271. If you stretch out the arms of a two-year-old child against a wall and measure them finger tips to finger tips, twice this length will be the child's height when grown.

74 Baby tickled - Picture of Baby (3272-3278) BABY TICKLED 3272. To tickle a baby causes it bad luck. 3273. A baby ticklish on the soles of its feet will become a roamer. 3274. If a baby laughs when tickled on the knee, it will steal sugar when older. 3275. Let a baby eat pickles and it will be ticklish on reaching maturity. PICTURE OF BABY 3276. Do not take a baby's picture before its first birthday; the baby will be unlucky. 3277. A picture taken of a baby before it is three months old will cause the baby's death. 3278. The mother who hangs a baby's picture over the top of its bed will soon have a sick baby. Baby and Mirror - Disposition of Baby (3279-3305) BABY AND MIRROR 3279. It is unlucky for a baby to see itself in a mirror. This belief is usually confined to the first year. 3280. To let a baby look over your shoulder into a mirror before its first birthday brings it some misfortune. 3281. Babies looking into a mirror before they are a year old will become vain or high-toned. 3282. By letting a baby not yet a year of age look into a mirror you make it a thief. 3283. A baby who looks into a mirror will see the devil's butt. This is usually said of the first year. 3284. If a baby under a year sees itself in a mirror, it will not survive the first year. Some say the seventh year. DISPOSITION OF BABY 3285. "My baby had the three-months colic and cried all the time, when an old German woman told me about crossing two forks and putting at the foot of the bed. I did it. My baby stopped crying. I don't know if the forks did it or not, but if I had another baby to cry I would put the crossed forks at the foot of the bed again." 3286. After a child has cried three nights in succession, it will never cry again at night. 3287. A baby crying continually during infancy will have a good disposition when it becomes an adult. 3288. Baby girls who are cross in infancy become happy old maids. 3289. Tie a yarn string about the neck of a fretful baby and it will not fret so much. 3290. You can check stubbornness in a baby by hitting it across the mouth with a fish bladder. 3291. Let a male baby suck a piece of fat bacon so that he will be a good- natured man. 3292. A baby whose chin quivers will have a bad temper. 3293. If you look at a sleeping baby and it likes you, the child will wake up. 3294. To see a baby smiling in its sleep is lucky. 3295. Some say if a baby smiles while asleep, angels are talking to it; others say if a baby over a year old smiles while asleep, it is talking to angels. 3296. A child smiling in its sleep will wake up fretful. 3297. Children who snore in their sleep will some day be rich. 3298. If a baby laughs before it is four months old, it will not live to the end of the year. 3299. A baby who holds tightly to everything it touches will accumulate wealth. 3300. The habit of keeping its fists doubled is a sign the baby will be stingy. Some say selfish. 3301. To have a baby at birth grip your fingers indicates it will be "smart". 3302. Precocious children never live long. 3303. The good die young. 3304. A chair whirled around on one leg in a room where there is a baby will make it cross. 3305. If you have a baby and get another one, you can prevent the former from being jealous of the latter by letting the older baby see the new baby's back before its face. Baby’s Health - Slobbering Baby (3306-3332) BABY'S HEALTH 3306. Unless the doctor's bill is paid promptly, the baby will not grow. 3307. Never step over a baby lying or sitting on the floor (or swing your leg over the head of a small child standing up); you will stunt its growth --- for that year say some. This misfortune can be avoided by stepping back over the baby. 3308. The person who steps over a baby or small child lying on the floor will cause its death before the end of the year. 3309. A newborn baby with whom a dog is kept will never be sickly. 3310. Feed a baby garlic for health and strength. 3311. During the first year pass a baby through a horse collar to make or to keep it healthy. 3312. A baby's arms and feet are made strong by washing them in dishwater. 3313. Dip the hands and feet of a newborn baby into cold water and they will never become cold. 3314. You protect a baby against sickness during the first two years of life by tying about its neck the front feet of a mole, using a string sufficiently long to allow them to rest on the stomach. 3315. To have a baby healthy (handsome say some), wash it with its own urine. 3316. A meat rind sucked by a baby makes it healthy. 3317. "I believe this is so: would not let anyone give my child strong drinks before it is a year old, it will stop it from growing." 3318. A baby given liquor always becomes a drunkard. 3319. Before a baby's first birthday rub a live gosling over its skin to produce a smooth texture. 3320. If a baby swallows a coin, it will be rich some day. 3321. A mother worrying too much about her baby's health will make it sickly. 3322. The child of whom you think too much will soon die.

75 SLOBBERING BABY 3323. As much water as is first drawn from a well by a new mother, so much will her baby slobber. She should carry to the well the smallest vessel possible on her first trip after childbirth. 3324. "After all my children were born and I first got up, I always carried just a few drops of water on a spoon to keep my baby from slobbering." 3325. A baby will never drool, if the mother just before she puts her feet on the floor for the first time after confinement drinks a thimbleful of water. 3326. Let a mother drink a thimbleful of water the third day after delivery to prevent drooling in her baby. 3327. The mother who on first getting out of bed after confinement carries a thimble of water will not have a baby that drools. 3328. "If a baby slobbers, take a live minnow and draw it back and forth three times through its mouth, then throw the minnow in running water and the fish will swim away with the baby's slobbers. This is true because I tried it years ago. I had a baby and it slobber all the time. One day we went fishing and I thought I would try it, for we had a bucket of minnows; so I took a large minnow and drawed it through the baby's mouth three times and threw it in the creek, and the minnow went down the stream. You may laugh at me, but my baby never slobber after the fish was out of sight." 3329. To cure slobbering in a baby, take it to a creek, catch three minnows, hold the first minnow by the tail while drawing it through the baby's mouth, and then let the fish flop back into the creek. Do this also with the second and third. 3330. Three bibs given to a baby prevents its slobbering. 3331. A baby holding its tongue out all the time wants something. See 2850. 3332. Thumb-sucking babies always become rich. Baby Falling out of Bed (3333-3336) BABY FALLING OUT OF BED 3333. Babies who do not fall out of bed the first year will stop growing. 3334. A baby must tumble out of bed at least three times before it will grow. 3335. If a baby does not fall out of bed once during its first year, it will become a fool. 3336. A baby never has any sense until it has fallen out of bed three times. Learning to Walk and Talk (3337-3352) LEARNING TO WALK AND TALK 3337. A baby who slides along on the floor instead of crawling will not be strong. 3338. To crawl backwards in infancy is a sign of going forwards in life. 3339. If a baby crawls to the center of a room, you may expect visitors. 3340. If a baby crawls towards a door, expected visitors will be detained by a disappointment. 3341. Never let a baby crawl out a window; it will stop growing. 3342. A baby slow in walking can be made to walk by washing its feet with greasy dishwater. 3343. "My Willie sure had weak legs. He was almost five when they told me if a child is weak in the legs and cannot walk good, cut sone hair off the top of its head and nail it on the wall somewhere about the height of the child; when they grow above that hair they will be strong in the legs. I did. And it was not long until he got so he could walk good. " 3344. Babies who walk before they crawl are never healthy. 3345. "My uncle never crawled when he was a baby — he started right off walking — and before he died he could not walk; he had to crawl everywhere he went. They say a baby that walks before it crawls will crawl before it dies." 3346. It is a bad omen for a child to walk or talk too soon. Some say a baby walking before it is six months old will be unlucky in life. 3347. A baby walking before talking will be ruined by its tongue. 3348. If a baby walks sooner than usual, its walking will be delayed; if it speaks sooner than usual, its speech. 3349. As a remedy for a baby who does not speak plainly, take two loaves of bread stuck together when baked and break them apart on the baby's head. This is also good for a baby slow in learning to talk. 3350. "I knew a boy that when he was little he hollered like a goose all the time, and they killed a goose and gave the boy the blood to drink and it cured him." 3351. A few words spoken by a baby long before the time for speech foretells a calamity in the family. 3352. If a baby girl utters her father's name first, she will be lucky; if a baby boy utters his mother's name first, he will be lucky. DENTITION (3353-3419) First Appearance and Number of Teeth (3353-3360) 3353. A baby who begins to cut teeth in its third month will be sickly all the time. 3354. Children with four teeth when six months old live a long life. 3355. As a general rule it is said that children cutting teeth in their first year do not live long. 3356. If a baby cuts its lower teeth first, it will reach maturity or have a long life --- "grow up" just as the lower teeth grow up, or "grow on top of the ground"; if the upper teeth are cut first, the child will not live long, or it will be the first one to die in the family — "grow down" just as the upper teeth grow down, or "grow down into the ground". This belief is sometimes given in another form: if the first two teeth come in at the bottom of the mouth, the child will grow and thrive; if at the top of the mouth, it will soon die. 3357. To have a child teethe early indicates another baby in the family. Sometimes the earliest and latest time limits are mentioned: if (two) teeth appear before the end of the third month, expect another baby; if teeth do not appear before the end of the eighth month, do not expect another baby — or, if there is one, it will be slow in coming. 3358. Have the first tooth made into something the baby can wear, used as a set in a ring for example, and the child will be lucky. 3359. As long as a baby's first teeth are preserved it will not become sick. 3360. It is unlucky to count a baby's teeth. Teething Remedies (3361-3419) 3361. "I had nine children and every one of them wore a string of allspice around their necks when they were cutting teeth and I did not have any trouble." This necklace is sometimes prepared by letting the all- spice steep in hot water for a half-hour and stringing them on a silk thread.

76 3362. Two necklaces of allspice about a baby's neck will aid teething. 3363. A remedy for teething is amber beads round a baby's neck. 3364. If you carry a baby around the outside of the house three times on the tenth day after its birth, teething will not be difficult. 3365. "My daughter's baby was just three months old when a bat got in the house. They say if a bat gets in the house and you have a baby in the house, kill the bat and keep it in the house overnight and it will make the baby cut teeth better. They killed the bat and kept it in the house overnight and they didn't have any trouble with the baby when cutting teeth." 3366. "Every one of the children in our family wore a string of burdock roots around their neck and they never had any trouble with teeth-cutting." Some say this keeps fever out of the gums. 3367. Cut off the buttons of a man's shirt, string them, and tie this on a baby's neck for teething. 3368. Brains from a black hen may be rubbed over a baby's gums as a teething remedy. Sometimes they are tied up in a linen cloth and then used. 3369. If a mother puts the warm brains from a freshly killed chicken in a sock and rubs this over her baby's gums while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, teething will not bother the baby. 3370. Teething can be made easy by rubbing the lining of a chicken gizzard over a baby's gums. Sometimes the gizzard lining is dried, powdered, and the powder applied to the gums. 3371. As a treatment for teething, the baby's gums may be massaged with a rooster comb. 3372. You can prevent pains in the gums of a teething baby by massaging them with the white part of a boiled egg. 3373. There is never any discomfort in teething, if you massage the baby's gums with a boiled egg and then let the baby eat it. 3374. "Some years back my child was very sick cutting teeth. They would not come. I went to Dr. X. He is dead now. He said, 'Why come to me and make a doctor bill? You go home and brown egg shells, then roll them fine, then put your finger in milk, then in the egg-shell powder, and rub over its gums. I will not charge you for this remedy.' I did as he said and the teeth came right away without any more trouble." 3375. "My mother had some red beads. They came out of the ocean [coral? for coral is occasionally used]. I forgot what she called them. She brought them along when she came from Germany. And she was always letting some child cutting teeth wear them around the neck to help in cutting teeth." 3376. Crystal beads on a baby's neck assist teething. 3377. To soothe the gums of a teething baby, let a dog lick them. 3378. "My mother went fishing and got a small sunfish and put it in my sister's mouth, she was having such a hard time with her teething. If cutting teeth, go fishing, catch a little fish, put the fish in the mouth of the child that is cutting teeth, let it wriggle around, then put it back in running water, and the child will not suffer. My sister bit the head off the fish, so mother had to go fishing the second time and get a fish and put in her mouth. This time it worked, for mother got it back in running water, and she got along fine after that." 3379. In helping a baby teethe easily, catch a fish and remove its neckbone at once and pass it back and forth over the baby's gums. 3380. To guard a teething baby against a cough or any annoyance with its teeth, a red flannel cloth should be wrapped about the baby's stomach. 3381. A baby with a frog about its neck has a mild teething. 3382. The person who lays a man's hat over a baby's head before teething will give the baby a bad time when cutting teeth. 3383. Never lay a black hat over the head of a baby not yet six months old; a troublesome teething will be the result 3384. If you let a baby wear a woolen cap the first year, a severe teething may be expected. 3385. "I was in the store at Fourth and Ohio, Thursday, and a woman came in and said, 'Have you any fresh brains? My baby is five months old today and I want to start and feed her brains so she will get along with her teeth, for they say as soon as a child is five months old feed it all the fresh brains you can to make teeth-cutting easy'." Hog brains are usually eaten. Some say the child should eat well-fried hog brains and cracklings. The child's age is not always given. 3386. Any hog tooth about a baby's neck is good for teething. However, some say the tooth must be a brain-tooth (supposed to go to the brain); others say it must be a tusk (sometimes called an eye-tooth because it is supposed to go to the eyes). 3387. As an assistance in teething, use a necklace of hog teeth on the baby's neck. 3388. To ease a child's teething, hang about its neck the lucky-bone from the head of a hog. 3389. A necklace of Job's tears is a common teething remedy. 3390. "I never let a child of mine look in a looking-glass the first year, and I had eight; think it makes them cut teeth hard." 3391. The paw of a mole is commonly used as a relief in teething: the right paw, front or back; either front paw; or the two front paws. It may be worn in a bag about the neck or attached to a string. Some say you must use a fresh paw; others say a dried one. It is occasionally said the mole must be caught before sunrise. 3392. An uncomfortable teething is prevented by cutting the baby's nails on a Friday before the end of the first year. 3393. For a comfortable teething, a nutmeg may be hung about the baby's neck. 3394. The wearing of an orris root about the neck of a baby aids teething. 3395. A baby cutting teeth can be helped with a necklace of pearl beads. 3396. If you cut up a potato and string the pieces about a baby's neck, the baby will teethe without any distress. 3397. "My grandmother did this for her children --- only had nine: if a baby is cutting teeth and is running off at the bowels, take the hot brains of a rabbit and rub over its gums and the stomach will stop the running off." This also relieves pains in the gums. Sometimes the brains are put in a bag and rubbed on the gums. Occasionally the brains are dried and used as a powder. Only a wild rabbit is useful. 3398. A baby whose gums are rubbed with a rabbit foot will not be bothered by teething. 3399. Teeth are cut without any difficulty by the baby who wears a rabbit foot on its neck. 3400. One may do this in assisting a baby to teethe: kill a rabbit, take out the heart while the carcass is still warm and split it open, and rub the baby's gums with the opened part of the heart. 3401. "This is very old. I am ninety-seven and that is what my mother and grandmother did: if a baby is cutting teeth, skin a rabbit and rub the skin while warm over the baby's gums." 3402. If the white fur from the end of a rabbit's tail is rubbed over a baby's gums, teething will be aided. 3403. A rabbit tooth about a baby's neck helps teething. 3404. "Just twenty-three years ago my baby was thirteen months old, was having an awful time cutting teeth, when someone told me this; and I had my husband to find a rattler from the rattlesnake, and I rub it over her gums for several mornings. She got along fine after that. Since then I have heard it was an old remedy and very good." 3405. "I have put a raw-hide string around dozens of babies' necks in my life, if a baby is having a hard time cutting teeth — to make it easy."

77 3406. "When I was a baby I was wearing a black velvet ribbon, that all the rest of the children wore, and it broke for it was so old. And my grandfather had to go to town to get another black ribbon, because after it broke I was having such a hard time. And just as soon as grandfather got home and they put the black velvet ribbon on me, I didn't have any more trouble with my teeth." 3407. To relieve pains in the gums of a teething baby, rub them with a gold ring. 3408. "When my baby was six months old and sitting in its high-chair, a robin came in my kitchen and lit on the high-chair. If a robin come in your house when you have a baby, never run the robin out; if you do, your baby will have a hard time cutting teeth — if you let it stay in, will have a easy time. I never did a thing, let the bird go out itself. And I never knew when the baby cut its teeth." 3409. A mother need not worry about her teething baby's gums, if she massages them with sheep brains. 3410. During the teething period wash a baby's gums with sheep urine and the baby will not be troubled by them. Some add the child will never get a decayed tooth. 3411. A baby's gums never pain during teething, if they are rubbed with a silver coin. 3412. Prepare a teething remedy as follows: bore a hole through a silver half-dollar and tie the coin about the child's neck, using three pieces of ribbon, each of a different color — blue, pink and white. 3413. Pains during teething are lessened by rubbing the baby's gums with a silver spoon every morning. 3414. As soon as a baby is three months old, begin to rub its gums with fresh squirrel brains every few days and teething will not cause any trouble. 3415. A baby never suffers from teething, if a silver thimble is rubbed on its gums. 3416. You may rub a thimble over a baby's gums three times while asking God for an easy teething. 3417. If the mother drinks a thimbleful of water just before she leaves childbed the first time, her baby will teethe easily. 3418. Teething never bothers a baby wearing an eye-tooth (human) about its neck. 3419. A teething remedy is made as follows: boil a violet root in milk for a half-hour, punch a hole through it for a string, and tie this about the neck of the baby. LACTATION (3420-3484) Caked Breasts - Weaning - To Dry up Breasts (3420-3484) CAKED BREASTS 3420. Soreness in the breasts at the time of delivery can be relieved by rubbing the nipples with some afterbirth. 3421. The nursing mother who enters an old cellar will soon have caked breasts. 3422. A caked breast poulticed with clay becomes well. 3423. To get rid of the inflammation, keep a dirty fine comb on the caked breast. 3424. "My mother always used a cow-manure poultice for cake breast; said it was the best thing you could use." 3425. As a remedy for caked breasts, let an unweaned pup suck them. 3426. Caked breasts can be cured, if they are massaged with goat milk. 3427. Goose grease applied to a caked breast and combed downwards is a good treatment. See Downwards, a magic rite in Index. 3428. "This is very old, for I heard my mother tell this, and she got it from her mother, and when grandma came over [from German] there were only about thirty houses in Quincy. If an Indian woman had caked breast, they would get a wild goose or duck, cut open alive, and put on their breast." 3429. "I knew a woman that did this and it help her. She took the lining [sweatband] out of an old greasy man's hat [old greasy sweatband from a man's hat] and put on her caked breast." 3430. Either as a protection against or as a cure for a caked breast, a mole skin may be worn. Sometimes the hide is stretched on a board to dry, sprinkled occasionally with salt, and when dried, tied furry side over the breast; at other times the dried hide is covered with camphor and laid under the arm nearest the ailing breast. 3431. A man who has killed a mole by squeezing it to death in his hand can lay that hand on a caked breast and heal it. 3432. "I had a caked breast when my little girl came years ago and I just tried everything, I was in so much pain, when an old German woman told me to take a large nutmeg and scrape out the insides of it and put the whole nutmeg on my breast so it wouldn't fall off. The folks fixed one for me and I got over my pain right away." 3433. A woman cures her caked breast by applying a hot pancake, removing it, and repeating this process three times. 3434. "A woman had a very sore breast and all she did was to put her spit on the breast three times at night, three times in the morning, and do it for three days." 3435. "Years ago, I would say about sixty years, one day I thought my baby was dying with a spasm. She was turning black. I will never forget it. I had plenty of nurse, and I was so scared I lost every bit of it; didn't have a drop to give the baby when she came out of the spasm. Then my neighbor told me about wetting the middle finger and making the cross over my forehead to bring back my nurse. I did just what she told me and it came right back." 3436. In treating the inflammation a woman may squeeze some of her milk on a hot stove and then massage the caked breast with camphor. 3437. "My mother had ten children and she never had caked breasts, because she had a weasel hide and always rub it over her breasts; and she use the same hide for all ten children." 3437a. "I tried this myself for weed in the breast and it was good. If you have caked breast or weed in the breast — that is worse than caked breast — take a piece of oil cloth and put over the breast with the oil cloth to the outside; will take all the fever out." 3437b. Home remedies for caked breasts are almost endless, everything imaginable being used as a poultice, ointment, or liniment. Occasionally these treatments are dressed up with a little magic: The skin of an egg may be dipped into camphor and rubbed over the breast three times a day; also, "I tried this and didn't have any trouble, rubbed my breast with whiskey for two weeks before they [each child] were born, and I had eight" --- magic time, two periods of seven days each. 3438. If a mother is somewhere without her baby and her breasts begin to hurt, it means the baby at home is hungry. WEANING 3439. A baby on reaching maturity will have an ailment in that part of its body which corresponds to the sign of the zodiac when it was weaned. For example: Never wean a baby in the sign of the stomach (or bowels = Virgo); you will give it stomach trouble. 3440. The task of the mother who weans her baby in the sign of the head (Aries) will be long and difficult. 3441. Never wean a baby in the sign of the head (Aries), its brains will hurt.

78 3442. Babies weaned in the sign of the head (Aries) are always headstrong. 3443. To wean a baby in the sign of the breast (Cancer) causes it to cry all the time. 3444. Some say a baby weaned in the sign of the heart (Leo) will cry all the time; others say it will never cry. 3445. A baby weaned in the sign of the heart (Leo) will not live long. 3446. While the sign is leaving the heart (Leo) is a good time to begin the weaning of a baby. 3447. As a favorable weaning-time for a baby, any sign below the sex organ (Scorpio) may be selected. 3448. Unless you start weaning while the sign is descending from the thigh (thighs = Sagittarius), the baby will suck its thumbs until it is three years old. 3449. The sign of the legs (Aquarius) is a suitable time for weaning babies. 3450. If a baby is weaned while the sign is going down from the knee (knees = Capricornus), it will rarely cry; if while the sign is going up, it will cry continually. 3451. Do not wean a baby until the down-sign reaches the knees (Capricornus); for a baby weaned before that time will never be healthy. 3452. The light of the moon as the sign recedes from the knees (Capricornus) towards the feet (Pisces) is an excellent time to wean children. 3453. You can make a baby grow well by weaning it in the sign of the feet (Pisces). When Pisces is called fish (Fishes), they say the weaning does not cause the mother any trouble. 3454. Wean a baby in the sign of the toes (lower part of the feet = Pisces) and it will not cry much. 3455. The first quarter of the moon may be chosen as a weaning-time for a child. 3456. One of the best times to wean a baby is during the decline of the moon. 3457. Friday is a proper day on which to wean children. 3458. A child born on Friday and weaned on Friday always thrives. 3459. "If you wean a baby in May, You will wean it away." 3460. The weaning of a baby in summertime makes it fretful. 3461. Children weaned during the summer die young. 3462. Always nurse a baby for the last time beneath an elder bush and it will not cry for breast milk again. 3463. A mother can wean her baby easily by rubbing her breasts with soot for three days. 3464. If a mother weans her baby and then gives it the breast again, the child will become a thief. TO DRY UP BREASTS 3465. Breasts may be dried up by letting some of the milk drop on a hot brick. 3466. To dry up her breasts, a woman can squirt her milk three times against a hot brick during the dark of the moon. 3467. If a baby dies before it is weaned, the mother may lay a coarse comb between her breasts to dry them up. 3468. "I had a 'leven-month-old baby and I had too much milk, had milk fever bad, and my little girl died --- I was so sick I didn't think I could go to the funeral — and someone told me to milk some of my milk on a rag and put it in the coffin with her, and I would not have any trouble with my milk. I did and I got along fine, didn't have any more trouble." Some say of a woman who does this that she has buried her milk forever and will not be able to nurse another baby. 3469. "I tried this years ago when my baby died: if you want to dry up your breast, take the shirt they died in and rub over your breast good, then put the shirt away." 3470. As a method for drying up milk after a baby dies, the mother should take off the dead baby's shirt and wear it tied over her breasts. Occasionally only a piece of the shirt is used. Some say the shirt must be dried thoroughly before it is worn. 3471. Let a mother squeeze some of her milk on the ground for three mornings to wean her baby and to dry up her breasts. 3472. The weaning of a baby in the dark of the moon dries up the mother's breasts at once. 3473. A mother may dry up her breasts by heating a white rock and milking some of her milk on it. 3474. If a mother milks some of her milk on the baby's shirt, she can dry up her breasts. 3475. "I know this saying [handed down from a maternal ancestor in Ireland] is two-hundred years old: if your breast is sore and you want to dry it up when with a baby, milk some of your milk on your husband's dirty shirt, then wrap up the shirt and lay it away, and your breast will get all right." Some say it is not necessary to wrap up the shirt and lay it away. 3476. Nursing mothers who spill hot grease on the stove (accidentally or purposely) will dry up their breasts. 3477. Some mothers dry up their breasts by allowing some of the milk to fall on hot iron — usually a stove or a shovel. 3478. It is possible for a woman to dry up her breasts, if she turns over a stove lid, squirts some of her milk on the soot, and replaces the lid. 3479. Breasts are dried up by the mother who squeezes some of her milk on a hot stove lid removed from the stove, letting the milk steam up against them. This must be done for three mornings. 3480. To wean a baby and to dry up the breasts, a mother may put three table- spoons of her milk in a hot fire. 3481. By milking some of her milk on a hot shovel three times a mother can dry up her breasts. 3482. "I would always milk my breasts on the stove every morning for nine mornings when I wanted to wean my baby." This also dries up the breasts. 3483. The mother's urine may be rubbed on her breasts to dry them up. 3484. Both the weaning of a baby and the drying up of the breasts is done by the mother dropping some of her milk into boiling water. BAPTISM -NAMING -SPONSORS OR GODPARENTS (3485-3510) 3485. To change the day fixed for a baptism is unlucky. 3486. It is lucky to baptize a child on its birthday. 3487. A child taken from home before it has been baptized will have bad luck. 3488. Children do not develop normally until after baptism. 3489. By baptizing a sick child its health will improve immediately. 3490. Never choose a definite name for an unborn baby; this is very unlucky. You may consider several possible names before birth without causing trouble. 3491. The sooner a baby is named after birth, the luckier it will be. 3492. If a woman on her first visit to see a newborn baby thinks of a name for it and the child is later so named, she will soon get a rich husband. 3493. Always name the first boy after his father for luck in life.

79 3494. The mother who names her child after its father or herself will not get any more children. 3495. Do not name a child after either parent; it will soon die. 3496. You can make a child fortunate by naming it after a saint. 3497. The baby to whom the name of a dead person is given will always be unlucky 3498. "My uncle named two of his children after dead people and he lost both of them." 3499. The Christian name of a boy should never begin with the first letter of his surname; bad luck will come to him. 3500. A baby whose initials spell a word will become rich. 3501. The child whose name is changed will be unfortunate. 3502. A person who changes his Christian name will not live long. 3503. "I know this is true, because my baby cried at christening and it had very good luck. 3504. They say a baby crying at its baptism will be a cry-baby. 3505. If a baby cries when being baptized, insufficient clothing in life is indicated; if it does not cry, sufficient clothing. 3506. A baby failing to cry at its baptism never reaches maturity. 3507. The crying of a baby at baptism is a sign it likes its name: if a girl, the godmother should give her a pair of shoes for luck; if a boy, the godfather should give him a pair of boots for luck. 3508. A person refusing to be a sponsor for a baby brings it bad luck. 3509. The baby for whom a pregnant woman acts as godmother will not survive the year. 3510. Let the sponsors buy the child's first book and it will be bright in school. DETERMINATION AND DIVINATION OF CHILD'S FUTURE (3511-3533) 3511. If immediately after birth you put in your baby's hand some object symbolizing the occupation you want it to adopt in later life, your hope will be fulfilled. 3512. "When my daughter was born, my wife had someone to rub a slice of apple over her tongue before she had anything else and she was a wonderful singer. My daughter married and had several children and they are all wonderful singers, because she had someone to rub a slice of apple over their tongue before they had anything else." 3513. " I did this to my baby boy for I wanted him to be a preacher, but he died when fifteen years old and didn't get to be a preacher: when you wash a new baby just after it is born, lay its head on a Bible before you dress it to make a preacher of him." 3514. As soon as you find the first louse in your baby's hair, crack it on a Bible and he will become a preacher. Some say this must be done before the baby is a year old. 3515. The mother who cracks on a hymn book the first louse she finds on her baby's head makes the baby a good singer. 3516. "I have two sons and years ago when I found the first louse in their heads, I cracked it on the bottom of a tin cup and they are both good singers." 3517. By a mother cracking on a teacup the first louse seen in a baby's hair the baby will be made a lawyer. 3518. A mother may open a Bible at random, drop into it her baby's first louse, and close the book; the verse on which the louse was mashed will tell what is going to happen to the baby. 3519. Hold in front of a baby three objects, each of a different color — blue, black and purple: if the blue one is picked, the baby's life will be bright; if the black, dark; and if the purple, short. 3520. In divining a baby's future attitude towards finance, offer it a coin: if refused, expect a spendthrift; if clutched, a money-lover. Similarly, if the coin is taken and dropped, money will slip through its fingers; if held tightly, riches will be accumulated. 3521. Let a baby see three new coins — a penny, a nickel and a dime — and the one chosen will indicate the measure of its financial success: if the penny, a life of poverty; if the nickel, little more than a living; and if the dime, an accumulation of wealth. 3522. A bottle and a book may be laid before a boy on the day he is a year old; the bottle signifying a drunkard, the book a scholar. The object first refused or thrown away will tire him first; hence, he will become what the other signifies. 3523. As soon as a boy can crawl, set in front of him a dollar and a bottle of whiskey: if he crawls to the former, he will always have plenty of money; if to the latter, he will be a drunkard. 3524. Three objects may be placed on the floor in the path of a crawling baby — a dollar, a bottle and a book: if he takes the dollar, he will be rich; if the bottle, a drunkard; and if the book, a bookworm. 3525. To discover a baby's future occupation, place before him on the floor a bottle, a dollar and a Bible: if he chooses the bottle, he will be a drunkard; if the dollar, a banker; and if the Bible, a preacher. 3526. You can divine a baby's work in life by placing in front of him on the floor a bottle, a hammer and a dollar: if he picks the bottle, he will be a drunkard; if the hammer, a carpenter; and if the dollar, a banker. 3527. To learn what a baby will do in life, show him a bottle, a Bible and a hammer: if he selects the bottle, he will be a drunkard; if the Bible, a preacher; and if the hammer, a carpenter. 3528. The future calling of a baby can be divined by letting him look at a piece of money, a hammer, a book and a bottle — all of them on the floor: if he prefers the money he will be a banker; if the hammer, a carpenter; if the book, a lawyer; and if the bottle, a doctor. 3529. On a boy's first birthday lay before him on the floor a deck of cards, a bottle, a Bible and a piece of money: if the deck of cards is selected, he will be a gambler; if the bottle, a drunkard; if the Bible, a preacher; and if the money, a hard worker. 3530. The day a boy is a year old put down before him on the floor a pocket- book, a whiskey bottle and a deck of cards: if he reaches for the pocketbook, he will be opulent; if for the bottle, a drunkard; and if for the cards, a gambler. 3531. A boy's future can be discovered on his first birthday by laying in front of him on the floor a book, a dollar and a hat: if he clutches the book, he will be a good learner; if the dollar, a miser; and if the hat, a stylish dresser. 3532. Do this the day a boy is six months old: arrange in a row below him on the floor a piece of money, a Bible and a pair of scissors — if he grasps the money, he will be prosperous; if the Bible, a preacher; and if the scissors, a murderer. 3533. This may be done the day a boy is a year old: on the floor before him are arranged in a row a book, some money and a pile of dirt — if he plays with the book, a studious child may be expected; if with the money, an affluent man; and with the pile of dirt, an early grave. THE HUMAN BODY (3534-4523) GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS (3534-3549)

80

3534. The entire composition of the body changes every seven years. 3535. People with bad dispositions are under the influence of the moon. 3536. A fat person is always good-natured. 3537. A fat man has a little penis. 3538. A tall man has a big penis. 3539. A large man has a small penis; a small man a large penis. 3540. The woman whose left breast is larger than the right is loved better by her father than by her mother. 3541. You can strengthen your arm by wearing a leather strap round the wrist. 3542. A black silk string worn round the head keeps the brain clear. 3543. It is an old saying among colored folk that a coal-black Negro is a bad character. The reverse is thought to be true by some white people, that a yellow or light-colored Negro is no good. 3544. Negroes say a young colored boy drinking coffee will become blacker when he grows up. 3545. A Negro is more sensitive on the shin than a white person; hence, the first rule in a free-for-all fight with a Negro is to kick him on the shin. 3545a. The belief that a Negro has a harder head than a white man has given the name nigger-head to a certain type of hard stone. 3546. Never measure yourself; you will bring bad luck to your family. 3547. "If you scratch yourself down, A new friend found; If you scratch yourself across, An old friend lost." 3548. A scratch on your body means someone has told a lie about you. 3549. The person who gets scratched will soon take a ride. HEAD-FOREHEAD-CHEEK- CHIN-FACE-NECK (3550-3583) 3550. A large head indicates intelligence. But the contrary is sometimes believed: "Little head, little wit; Big head, not a bit." 3551. Long-headed people are long-sighted; short-headed people are short-sighted. 3552. Do not trust a person whose head at the back is long; he is calculating, always looking for the main chance, and inclined to be unscrupulous. 3553. A person whose head tapers to a point at the back is an egg-head --- always stupid. 3554. A flat place on the back of the head marks a person as a flat-head --- thick-witted. 3555. Persons with broad heads are broad-minded; persons with narrow heads are narrow-minded. 3556. If your head itches, someone is speaking ill of you. 3557. The person whose head itches will soon wear a strange hat. 3558. An itching head is a token of danger; trouble before night say some. 3559. You can obtain good luck by rubbing your hands on a Negro's head. 3560. People with high foreheads are intelligent; people with low or sloping foreheads are unintelligent. 3561. Prominent temples denote determination or temper. 3562. Well-defined ridges just above the eyes mean low mentality or meanness. 3563. High cheek-bones are an indication of reserve or disagreeableness. 3564. "Dimple in the cheek; Mild, gentle and meek." 3565. Long-chinned people are aggressive or inquisitive; short-chinned people are retiring or vacillating. 3566. A square chin reveals a determined person. 3567. "Dimple on the chin, Devil within." 3568. An itching chin is a sign it will soon be hit. 3569. A broad face, a broad-minded person; a narrow face, a narrow-minded person. 3570. Broad-faced people are free-hearted or open-handed; narrow-faced people are self-centered or stingy. 3571. A long face, a sad person; a round face, a jolly person. 3572. The person having a dish-face is always a liar. 3573. Freckled-faced people are always lucky. 3574. When your face burns, somebody is thinking of you. 3575. Touch your beauty-spot and you will go on a visit. 3576. A beauty-spot is lucky. 3577. Since prunes are wrinkled, eating them will prevent or remove wrinkles. Some say ten must be eaten daily; others say twelve. 3578. As a treatment for wrinkles, wash your face every morning with your own urine. 3579. To sleep with your head raised high will give you wrinkles. 3580. Long-necked people are busybodies, self-opinionated or disdainful. 3581. If the back of your neck itches, you will receive a shock. 3582. An itching on the back of your neck denotes you will meet with some failure. 3583. The person who has an itching on the front of the neck (throat) will hear of an enemy. HAIR (3584-3814) Quantity of Hair - White or Grey Hair (3584-3606)

81 QUANTITY OF HAIR 3584. Persons with hairy bodies will always have money. 3585. Hair on the body signifies strength. 3586. Hairy men are strong but hairy women are weak. 3587. A large quantity of hair on the body is an indication of sexual virility. 3588. An unusual amount of hair on the head indicates sexual potency. 3589. Bald-headed men have more brains than men whose heads are well covered with hair. 3590. Men with hairy arms are honest. 3591. To have hairy arms is a mark of wealth. 3592. Hairy arms mean strength. 3593. "I have not a hair under my arms. I am eighty-seven and I am very strong. Women who don't have any hair under the arms, sign they are very strong. I have went through enough trouble to kill a hundred women." 3594. Never shave off the hair under your arms; it will take all your strength away. 3595. Legs well covered with hair denote strength. 3596. Hairy legs are a token of wealth. 3597. The person who has a lot of pubic hair is sexually virile. WHITE OR GREY HAIR 3598. Fright will turn a person's hair white. They say this sometimes happens overnight. 3599. A person whose hair turns white early in life has the mind of a child. 3600. Men who become grey prematurely are usually good-natured. 3601. After you have found the first grey hair on your head, good luck may be expected. 3602. Remove one grey hair and two will take its place. 3603. The person pulling out a grey hair will soon find five more. 3604. One grey hair plucked out will be followed by seven others. 3605. If you jerk out a grey hair, ten will come to its funeral. 3606. Eleven grey hair will grow where one has been eliminated. Light and Dark Hair - Red Hair - Curly Hair (3607-3640) LIGHT AND DARK HAIR 3607. A light-haired man is always conceited. 3608. Women who have light-colored hair are less dependable than women with darker shades of hair. 3609. A blonde has a loving disposition but is fickle and unreliable. 3610. If a light-haired woman puts on fresh flowers and they wilt at once, it shows she is a flirt. 3611. The best husbands will be found among men with fine brown hair. 3612. Very dark hair in a man is always an indication of loyalty. 3613. A dark-haired woman is faithful and trustworthy. 3614. Women with dark hair are more loyal than light-haired women. 3615. A woman who has black hair of fine texture is highly strung. 3616. Regardless of the color, people having fine-textured hair are said to be dangerous when angry. 3617. Coarse black hair in a woman is a sign of a cross disposition. 3618. Coarse-haired persons are always good-natured. 3619. People with dark hair are more sensual than those who have lighter tints of hair. 3620. You can hypnotize light-haired persons better than those who have dark hair. 3621. "I know a young man right now, only twenty, with light hair, and he will not put cream in his coffee; drinks it black, trying to turn his hair darker." 3622. Light hair should be dyed in the light of the moon; dark hair, in the dark of the moon. Similarly, to turn light hair dark, dye it in the dark of the moon; dark hair light, in the light of the moon. RED HAIR 3623. A person with red hair either has a great many freckles or is very fair. 3624. Red-haired people are the best home-lovers. 3625. A redhead is always a spit-fire. 3626. If the first child in a family has red hair, that child will be rich. 3627. If a boy has curly red hair, he will never be rich. 3628. To have good luck, rub your hand on the head of a red-haired person. 3629. An onion may be rubbed on a red-haired person's head for luck. Some say the onion must be red. 3630. You burn your hand by rubbing it on red hair. A generation ago it was a rather common prank for a large boy to pretend that his hand was burning while he rubbed his knuckles none too lightly on the head of a small boy who had red hair. However, this prank was never attempted unless the redhead was considerably smaller than the aggressor. 3631. It is lucky to meet a red-haired girl on the street. 3632. A red-haired woman met as the first thing in the morning denotes bad luck that day. This misfortune can be averted by returning home and sitting down for five minutes before starting out again. 3633. The person who meets a man with red hair first thing in the morning will have good luck that day. 3634. A person meeting a red-haired Negro will be lucky. 3635. If on your way home you meet a red-haired girl coming towards you, expect to find company on your arrival. CURLY HAIR 3636. A man with curly hair is always lazy. 3637. Boys with curly hair accumulate wealth.

82 3638. Eat bread crusts to make your hair curly. Similarly, was an expression of my father's, which I heard from childhood: eating lots of bread puts hair on your chest --- makes a man of you. 3639. Carrots may be eaten for curly hair. 3640. Let a person with straight red hair cut it and throw the cuttings out a window; after a rain washes them away and they have rotted, the new hair will grow curly and stay that way. Cowlick - Crown - Beard and Mustache - Washing Hair (3641-3671) COWLICK 3641. Whoever has a cowlick also has a stubborn disposition. 3642. A person having a cowlick will never be in want of money. 3643. Persons with a cowlick are lucky. 3644. To keep a cowlick down, let a cow lick it. CROWN 3645. A crown in the center of the head is a sign of intelligence. 3646. It is lucky to have two crowns on your head. 3647. Two crowns (or a double-crown) indicate you will live (or eat bread) on two continents or in two countries (governments or kingdoms). 3648. A person with two crowns will meet death by drowning. 3649. If your crown itches, you may look for good luck. 3650. An itching crown means a better position in life. 3651. To have an itch on your crown indicates your best friend is thinking about you. 3652. After your crown has itched, good luck may be expected. BEARD AND MUSTACHE 3653. Let a cat lick cow cream off your face and you can raise a heavy beard. 3654. The boy who washes his face in the water of an old hollow stump will never have a beard. 3655. "Mother used to say chicken dung was good for a man's mustache to make it grow." 3656. In raising a mustache, honey should be smeared on the outside of the lips and chicken manure on the inside of the lips. 3657. To make a mustache smooth and thick, trim it during the new moon. 3658. A man with a mustache is deceitful. WASHING HAIR 3659. Never wash your hair on Sunday; you will have bad luck that day. The time for bad luck is also given as all week or before the following Sunday. 3660. The person who washes his hair as soon as he gets up on Monday morning will be lucky all week. 3661. By washing your hair on Friday you give yourself bad luck. 3662. Hair washed once a week with strong coffee made in the dark of the moon will become black and glossy. 3663. Rain falling on your bare head makes your hair grow. 3664. If it rains on your head during dog days, you will lose your hair. 3665. Wash your hair with March snow-water to prevent it from coming out. 3666. "March rain-water is good to make your hair grow. My son-in-law keeps it in the house all the time. He uses it for his car battery." 3667. Whenever rain falls on the first of May wash your head in a running creek and none of your hair will come out that year. 3668. As a cure for dandruff, wash your hair three times a week with a mixture of rain-water and urine. 3669. Coarse hair washed in urine becomes fine. 3670. Kinky hair is straightened by washing it with soap and urine. 3671. "My father, a blacksmith, always washed his hair in slack water to keep his hair from falling out." Cutting Hair - Combing Hair - Disposal of Hair (3672-3791) CUTTING HAIR 3672. "My mother did this when I was young to make me have long hair: cut the ends off and burn them [the cut-off pieces]." 3673. The first morning of a new moon get up and trim your hair before eating or doing anything and it will grow faster. 3674. Hair clipped anytime during the new moon: grows in twice as heavily, makes it longer, or prevents splitting. 3675. A woman who cuts the ends of her hair every new moon and at no other time will always have plenty of hair. 3676. You can rid yourself of split hair by cutting it when the moon is half dark and then singeing the ends. 3677. To obtain blunty hair, clip it in the dark of the moon. 3678. Hair can be kept or made thick by trimming it when the moon is full. 3679. The decrease of the moon is a bad time for clipping hair; you will become bald. 3680. If your hair is trimmed on Friday, it will come in thicker. 3681. Friday in a new moon is a good hair-cutting time. Some say the first Friday of a new moon. 3682. Always cut your hair on Good Friday for luck. 3683. If a woman in her courses trims your hair, it will grow better and have a finer texture. 3684. Let a pregnant woman trim your hair and it will grow twice as quickly and have double strength. This also thickens the thin hair of a child. 3685. Hair trimmed by a woman pregnant with her first child becomes heavier and longer. 3686. A man whose hair is cut by a woman will lose his strength. COMBING HAIR 3687. If you comb your hair before breakfast and do not touch it again that day, you will have good luck. 3688. "To comb your hair after dark, Brings sorrow to the heart."

83 3689. It is unlucky to comb your hair at night in front of a mirror. 3690. Whoever sees a woman combing her hair in the light of a full moon may expect trouble. 3691. The woman who combs her hair between sunset and dark (after dark say some) will be disappointed. 3692. If you comb your hair after sundown, you will lose your wealth; if after dark, you will never accumulate any. 3693. "My mother would not let us do it, comb your hair after dark; said someone in the family would get sick sure." 3694. Hair combed at night will fall out. 3695. If you comb your hair after dark (or after sunset), it will make you forgetful. 3696. If you comb your hair just before going to bed, you will become crazy. 3697. To turn your hair black, always brush it at night. 3698. A woman going to bed with a comb in her hair will be unlucky. 3699. Never comb your hair while sitting on a bed; you will soon meet with a disappointment. 3700. Tangles in your hair show that rats have slept in it. 3701. The woman who shakes her head while her hair hangs down is a flirt. 3702. Hair coming out in greater quantities than usual when combed is a sign of a severe illness for you. 3703. If a hair of yours curls when pulled between your thumb and fore-finger, you have a terrible temper. 3704. A hair curling when drawn between the thumb and fore-finger indicates its owner is proud. 3705. Your hair popping when combed signifies it is full of electricity and that you are healthy. 3706. A woman's hair will not take a permanent wave while she is menstruating. 3707. If during menstruation a woman permits someone to comb her hair, all of it will fallout. 3708. Do not permit anyone to brush back a strand of hair that falls down over your eyes; it will give you bad luck. 3709. It is unlucky for two persons to comb someone's hair at the same time. 3710. Two persons looking into the same mirror at the same time while combing their hair will be unfortunate. 3711. If you are compelled to finish combing your hair after someone has started the task, bad luck may be expected. 3712. Never comb anyone's hair; you will hear of an accident in your family. 3713. To let anyone use your comb will bring you a misfortune. 3714. "I have a friend that carries her comb with her all the time so no one can use it, so she will not lose her hair." 3715. He who uses another person's comb will soon quarrel with its owner. 3716. Never comb your hair in a Negro's home or let a Negro comb his hair in your home; it will cause you bad luck. 3717. Combings dropping from your comb in the morning denote trouble that day. 3718. It is unlucky to drop a comb. 3719. A comb dropped after dark makes you unlucky. 3720. If you let a comb fall behind you while combing your hair, you can expect trouble. 3721. To ward off the bad luck indicated by dropping a comb, step on it before you pick it up. 3722. The person who drops a comb can prevent bad luck by letting someone step on it. 3723. "I always do this when I drop my comb; pick it up and kiss it to keep bad luck away." 3724. Before you pick up a fallen comb, get down on the floor and kiss the comb as a precaution against misfortune. 3725. A dropped comb should be stepped on three times and kissed to avoid trouble. 3726. Always let someone pick up a comb you drop and you will not be unlucky. 3727. As a protection against bad luck after you drop a comb, turn around three times before picking it up. 3728. If you drop a comb, spit on it and bad luck will be averted. 3729. To let a comb fall is a sign of a disappointment. 3730. "I never pick up a comb I drop, always just kick it over in the corner and let it stay there until the next day; for if you drop a comb, never pick it up for twenty-four hours or you will be disappointed." 3731. After you drop a comb, step on it to protect yourself against a disappointment. Some say you must use the right foot. 3732. You will not be disappointed after dropping a comb, if you let someone step on it. 3733. Let someone pick up the comb that you have dropped and a disappointment will be avoided. 3734. If you drop a comb, money will soon come your way. 3735. A person dropping a comb may step on it for money. 3736. The person who drops a comb while preparing to go somewhere will be compelled to remain at home. 3737. To drop a comb means company — usually that day. 3738. A fallen comb foretells a fallen woman --- a sporting woman is coming to your house. 3739. If you do not want the company foretold by a comb falling, step on the comb. 3740. They say the dropping of a comb makes you absent-minded. 3741. Persons dropping a comb will do something of which they will be ashamed before the day ends. 3742. Someone will soon tell a lie about the person who drops a comb. 3743. Never keep a broken comb; some misfortune will soon follow. 3744. If your comb breaks, bury the pieces under your doorstep to counteract bad luck. 3745. Anyone breaking a comb tooth will be unlucky. 3746. To count the teeth of a comb causes trouble. 3747. Whoever counts the teeth in a comb will soon break it. 3748. The counting of the teeth in a comb will make you lose your hair. 3749. An old comb left anywhere makes that place unfortunate. 3750. If you lose a comb given to you by a friend, the friend also will soon be lost. 3751. It is lucky to find a comb. 3752. The person who finds a comb will soon have a new friend. 3753. A comb found with most of its teeth missing signifies a male enemy: if the comb is kept, he will not bother you; if it is thrown away, he will. DISPOSAL OF HAIR 3754. "My mother didn't know this and she used to sell her hair to people to make wigs, and she got down and was sick for years

84 for doing it. " 3755. Always save your hair-cuttings and you will never be bald. 3756. The person who throws his hair away will soon become grey. 3757. To keep your hair from falling out or to make it grow, combings or cuttings should be buried in the ground. 3758. "When I was a child, every time they cut my hair I would bury the hair under the front door to make it grow." Sometimes the hair is wrapped in paper; after the paper rots, the hair is supposed to grow twice as fast. 3759. If you lay your combings or clippings under a rock, your hair will grow well. It also stops hair from falling out. But some say this practice will give you bad luck. 3760. Combings or cuttings buried where water can drip on them, usually under the eaves of the house, makes the hair grow better. 3761. "I always put all my hair combings in a piece of paper, then put it in running water, to keep from losing the strength in my hair." 3762. A person throwing his combings or clippings into running water will lose his mind. 3763. "I never throw my hair out or burn it. I always put it in the water-closet so it will grow." 3764. Never burn your combings; bad luck may be expected. 3765. If your combings are burned, your hair will fall out or stop growing. 3766. Whoever burns his combings or cuttings will get coarse hair. 3767. Your combings should never be burned; you will become stupid. 3768. One of the causes of bad health is the burning of your hair. 3769. The person whose combings fail to burn when thrown in a fire is stingy. 3770. To have your combings blaze up when thrown in a fire signifies you will come to a bad end. 3771. Hold a strand of your hair over a lighted lamp: if the hair catches fire quickly, you may expect a short life; if slowly, a long life. 3772. Throw some of your combings on the fire: if they smolder and do not create a blaze, it is an omen of a short life; if they blaze up brightly, a long life. 3773. If some of your hair-clippings fall to the floor, pick them up and burn or bury them at once; failing to do this will cause you bad luck for seven years. 3774. Birds flying over your discarded combings bring you bad luck. 3775. You commit a sin by not putting out your combings where birds can get them for nests. 3776. After birds have made a nest with your hair-cuttings, good luck will befall you. 3777. It is good for the hair to have birds find your combings. 3778. A person whose hair is used by a bird when making a nest will soon become bald. Some say this does not happen until the hair rots. 3779. A bird building a nest from your combings will put tangles in your hair. 3780. If a bird builds a nest out of your combings, there will be an increase in the family. 3781. Hair picked up from the street is unlucky. 3782. A hair found in your food denotes bad luck. 3783. The finding of a hair in your mouth is a sign you will kiss a fool. 3784. To find a hair on your shoulder indicates you will receive a letter. 3785. If a loose hair falls over your nose, money will be received unexpectedly. 3786. A string in your hair shows someone is thinking about you. 3787. Keep a slip of your hair in your locket for luck. 3788. A curl from your head may be worn in your shoe for luck. 3789. For luck you may sleep with a small braid of your hair beneath your pillow. 3790. Insert a lock of your hair between the glass and the picture of a framed photograph and you will always be lucky; provided the picture is one of yourself and hanging on the wall. 3791. A man can be lucky by keeping in his pocket a lock of woman's hair. MOUTH - LIPS - TONGUE (3792-3814) 3792. A baby with a large mouth will become a good singer. 3793. A woman with a large mouth has a large vaginal orifice; the size of the mouth, the size of the orifice. 3794. A man with a large mouth is a c------ s------- ; practices cunnilingus. 3795. A person with a big mouth is a big talker; with a little mouth, a little talker. 3796. If the corners of your mouth droop, you have a jealous disposition. 3797. A large number of wrinkles round your mouth means you are a story-teller (liar). 3798. Whoever has a large mouth and thin lips can foretell the future. 3799. A person having thin lips tightly drawn about the mouth is stingy in money matters. 3800. Thin lips signify a close-mouthed person; thick lips, an open-mouthed person. 3801. A deep groove (philtrum) in the upper lip, a deep thinker; a shallow groove, a shallow thinker. 3802. The philtrum, the groove in the upper lip, is made larger by mucus running out of the nose; hence, a child with a large philtrum was sometimes called a snot-nose. 3803. A woman who wipes her lips with a dish rag will get hairy lips. 3804. Itching lips indicate someone wants to kiss you. 3805. The upper lip itching is a sign you will be kissed. 3806. After a man's lips itch, he will kiss a woman; after a woman's lips itch, she will kiss a man. 3807. A person whose lips burn will be kissed by a stranger. 3808. If your upper lip itches, a man with a mustache is coming. 3809. An itching on the lips shows someone is crying about you. 3810. A large tongue means a short life; a small tongue, a long life. 3811. The person having a thin and pointed tongue is a good talker. 3812. People with pointed tongues are spiteful. 3813. If your tongue burns, you have told a lie in which you will soon be caught.

85 3814. A blister (pimple or sore) on the tongue is an indication you have told a lie. You can get rid of this blister by spitting three times into the fire. TEETH (3815-3858) 3815. If you cut your wisdom teeth early, you will die young; if late, in old age. 3816. When you cut your wisdom teeth your life is half over. 3817. The two upper incisors are called front teeth or double teeth: if they are broad, you will be a lifelong traveler say some; but others say you will never leave home. 3818. If there is a space between the two upper incisors, you will live far from the scenes of your childhood; if they are close together, you will always live near the place of your birth. 3819. An unusual space between the two upper incisors is a sign of a long life. 3820. The person whose two upper incisors are wide apart will accumulate wealth. 3821. To count your teeth will cause you bad luck. 3822. It is unlucky to pick your teeth with a pin. 3823. Teeth picked with a needle or pin will soon decay. 3824. You can preserve your teeth by washing them frequently with your urine. 3825. A person losing a tooth will soon lose a friend. 3826. The loss of a tooth foretells some sorrow. 3827. In the sign of the head (Aries) is an unlucky time to extract a tooth. 3828. The sign of the shoulder (Taurus?) is a good time for extracting a tooth. 3829. A tooth extracted in the sign of the thigh (thighs = Sagittarius) during the dark of the moon will not hurt. 3830. Teeth should be pulled in the light of the moon. 3831. Never pull a tooth on Monday; you will be disappointed all week. 3832. As soon as a child's tooth is pulled, he should stick his tongue into the hole to get a new tooth. 3833. Unless a child keeps his tongue out of the hole left by the extraction of a tooth, he will soon find a gold tooth growing there. 3834. If a child sticks his tongue into the hole left by the loss of a first tooth, the second one will come in crooked. 3835. Always burn a pulled tooth for luck; failure to do this will bring you bad luck. 3836. If the first tooth with a cavity is pulled and burned, you will never have another decayed tooth. 3837. The person who burns his pulled teeth will not be bothered by gum trouble. 3838. By burning a pulled tooth you make its successor come in straight. 3839. To make the following tooth come in straight; some say you must throw away the pulled tooth, others say you must save it. 3840. If you throw away a tooth and a chicken picks it up, the one taking its place will be a chicken tooth. 3841. If you throw away a tooth and a dog steps on it, expect a dog's tooth in its stead. 3842. If you throw away a tooth and a hog swallows it, a hog tooth will grow where the other was. 3843. If you throw away a tooth and a rabbit runs over it, your next tooth will be like a rabbit's. 3844. If you throw away a tooth and a rat gnaws it, the following tooth will resemble that of a rat. 3845. You become lucky by throwing away a pulled tooth over your shoulder — the left say some, the right say others. 3846. To make certain of getting another tooth in its place, a pulled tooth should always be thrown over your right shoulder. 3847. If you throw a pulled tooth over your shoulder without watching to see where it goes, its place will be taken by a straight tooth; but if you turn round to look, the new tooth will come in crooked. 3848. As a prevention against having any more decayed teeth, do not use an anesthetic with the first one pulled and be sure to throw this tooth over your head. 3849. The person who has a wisdom tooth pulled may carry it for luck. 3850. A child's two upper incisors should be saved and later given to him so that he can keep them for luck. 3851. A tooth you have pulled may be kept beneath your pillow for luck. 3852. If a tooth comes out or is pulled, lay it under your pillow and next morning you will find a piece of money instead of the tooth — a nickel say some, a dime say others. 3853. Always drop a baby's tooth into a rat-hole to make the new tooth strong and beautiful. 3854. If you hide your pulled tooth under a rock, the next one will be straight and never bother you with a toothache. 3855. A child whose first lost tooth is driven into a tree will never have a toothache. 3856. Put your pulled tooth behind your grandmother's water pitcher and she will be lucky. 3857. If a tooth comes out or is pulled, let it stay overnight in a glass of water and by morning the tooth will have changed into a nickel or a dime. 3858. If the first tooth lost by a child is dropped into a glass of water, witches will come during the night and change it into a penny. LAUGHING - CRYING - YAWNING - WHISTLING - SPITTING (3859-3900) 3859. Go to bed laughing and you will wake up crying. 3860. The person who laughs in bed will cry before morning. 3861. As soon as you get out of bed in the morning, before dressing or eating, laugh at yourself three times while facing a mirror and you will be happy all day. 3862. "If you laugh before seven, You'll cry before eleven." 3863. "Laugh at the table And sing in bed, You are sure to shake hands With a man not right in his head." 3864. Never laugh on Friday; you will shed tears before Sunday.

86 3865. Friday laughter means Monday tears. 3866. Laugh on Monday; laugh all week. 3867. Laughing is catching: to laugh at another's misfortune will bring misfortune to one's self. Similarly, it is unlucky to mock anyone. 3868. To cry after sundown will cause bad luck. 3869. A person crying after dark will soon lose his money. 3870. Tears on Monday; tears all week. 3871. It is unlucky to cry before anyone when you have the blues. 3872. Always put your hand over your mouth when yawning or you may expect bad luck. 3873. If you yawn and fail to cover your mouth with your hand, an evil spirit will jump down your throat. 3874. The person who yawns and does not cover his mouth with his hand will have the devil jumping down his throat. 3875. "Our boys used to fuss at the table over getting the crust so they could be good whistlers. The more crusts of bread you can eat, when young, will make you a good whistler --- that was an old saying of my grandmother." 3876. You can learn to whistle by eating burnt bread. 3877. It is unlucky to whistle in bed. 3878. To whistle before breakfast is unlucky, but this misfortune can be averted by turning around three times on your right heel. 3879. Whoever whistles before breakfast will fall into the mud before night. 3880. Never whistle at the table; it will bring you bad luck. 3881. If you whistle while rocking in a rocking-chair, bad luck may be expected. 3882. A man whistling in a woman's bedroom will give her bad luck. 3883. Whistling on a boat means trouble before you reach land. 3884. "A whistling woman and a jumping sheep, The worst thing a man can keep." 3885. "A whistling maid and running sheep, Are the very best property a man can keep." 3886. "A whistling woman and a baa-baa sheep, Is the very best property a man can keep." 3887. "A whistling girl and a bleating sheep, Always come to the top of the heap." 3888. "A woman that whistles and a hen that crows, Has her way wherever she goes." 3889. If you spit on yourself, a lie will be told about you. 3890. To spit on anyone is unlucky. 3891. If a gypsy spits in your yard, bad luck may be expected. 3892. "I went to see a woman not so long ago after she told me to come; she was ironing and didn't let me come in. I sure spit four times as I went out the yard to bring her bad luck." You must spit four times. 3893. If someone spits on the ground to make you unlucky, avert the bad luck by rubbing your foot in the spit. 3894. Bad luck can be counteracted by spitting. 3895. You may spit for luck. 3896. As a device for becoming lucky, spit over the index finger — some say the right, others say the left. 3397. If you hold your index and middle fingers in the shape of the letter V and spit between them, you will become lucky. 3898. A person may spit into the palm of his hand for luck. 3899. To avoid bad luck or to obtain good luck, turn your head and spit over your shoulder. 3900. In making yourself lucky, you may draw a cross on the ground and spit into it. SINGING (3901-3927) 3901. The person who goes to bed singing will wake up crying. 3902. "If you sing in bed, Sorrow hangs over your head." 3903. "If you sing in bed, The devil is overhead." 3904. A child singing in bed will be spanked next day. 3905. To sing in bed is a sign of a disappointment. 3906. Never sing after you have gone to bed; you will have bad luck next day. 3907. Bad luck all day may be expected by the person who sings just before getting out of bed in the morning. 3908. Sing just before you step out of bed in the morning and you will cry before dark. 3909. They say a person who arises singing from bed will be happy all day. 3910. "If you sing before you dress, You'll have trouble before you undress." 3911. "If you sing before seven, You'll cry before eleven." 3912. "If you sing before you eat,

87 You'll cry before you sleep." 3913. Do not sing before breakfast; you will soon be disappointed. 3914. Children who sing before breakfast will get a beating before the end of the week. 3915. Whoever sings before breakfast will soon fall into the mud. 3916. If you sing before breakfast, bad luck will soon follow; but this can be nullified by turning round three times on your right heel. 3917. A person singing before breakfast on Monday morning will pack up and leave home before the week ends. 3918. "Several weeks ago my boy started to sing at the table. I said, 'You will have bad luck.' He said, 'Oh mother, you are just superstitious.' But when he went out to get his car he had a flat tire and was late to work that morning, so he had his bad luck right away." 3919. Singing at the table is followed by a disappointment. 3920. A child who sings at the table will soon be given a whipping. 3921. To sing at the table means a fight or quarrel before night. 3922. It is unlucky to sing on the street. 3923. After you have sung on the street, something will disappoint you. 3924. "If you sing on the street, Displeasure you will meet." 3925. Anyone who unconsciously begins to sing in the bathtub may look for good luck. 3926. Some misfortune is caused by singing on a boat. 3927. If two persons begin to sing the same song at the same time, both of them will be lucky. SPEAKING (3928-3980) 3928. Low-voiced persons are given to deceit. 3929. To talk to yourself shows you are crazy. 3930. He who talks to himself is talking to the devil. 3931. A person telling you his troubles will give you good luck. 3932. Never say anything disagreeable; it might happen. 3933. Quarrel before breakfast and you will quarrel again before supper. 3934. "My mother said if you quarrel before breakfast, you will cry before supper." 3935. If you are out of humor or have the blues on Sunday, you will hear bad news on Monday. 3936. Angry words on Monday; angry words all week. 3937. The person who speaks a cross word on New Year's Day will be cross all year. 3938. Let an angry person count ten before speaking and his temper will leave. This also checks an impulse to swear. 3939. In saying something good of a person you cause him bad luck. 3940. Do not call anyone a fool; you yourself will soon be made foolish --- or be unlucky. 3941. If you accuse a person of something he did not do, bad luck may be expected. 3942. For each lie you tell a stitch will be taken in your nose after death. 3943. "My mother when she met anyone on the street she did not like, she told them a good lie; they won't bother you any more. " 3944. Tell three lies about a person who hates you and he will not hate you any more. 3945. Biting your tongue while speaking indicates your next remark will not be true. 3946. Failure to finish what you began to say is a sign of a disappointment. 3947. A person forgetting what was on the tip of his tongue is about to tell a lie. 3948. The person who forgets what he was saying may expect a sick spell. 3949. If you forget it is Friday and keep thinking the day is Saturday, look for a misfortune. 3950. "My mother used to say if you have someone on your mind all the time and just can't think of anything else, that person is in trouble. 3951. It is unlucky to forget a person's name. 3952. To forget where you have hidden something will bring you bad luck. 3953. If you do something and forget it has been done, you will cry before the end of the day. 3954. If you forget what you were about to say, you can make yourself remember it by walking out over the threshold and coming into the house again. 3955. If you are doubtful about remembering some errand on your journey, sit down for five minutes before leaving home and then make a cross on the ground with your foot while passing through the gate so that you will not forget it. 3956. If you suspect something to be done next morning may be forgotten, I lay a Bible under your pillow and think about the matter just before going to sleep. 3957. A forgetful person should sleep on hops to stimulate his memory. 3958. Mullein leaves may be carried in your pocket as a protection against forgetfulness. 3959. Tie a string about your finger to keep yourself from forgetting a task. 3960. To say something backwards by mistake is an indication of a present. 3961. If two persons say the same thing at the same time, one of them will have good luck. 3962. Two persons saying the same thing at the same time denote company. 3963. If a sudden silence falls upon several persons while speaking, angels are passing through the room. 3964. If you see four black-haired women talking together, one of them is talking about you. 3965. If you think some woman is talking about you, throw a handful of salt at her gate and she will never talk about you again. 3966. If before breakfast you tell a secret to a man, you will be lucky; if to a woman, she will lie about you. 3967. Never tell a secret to a woman; you will have bad luck. 3968. Never speak to a sitting person from behind; he will be given bad luck. 3969. Do not say O.K. to everything a person tells or asks you; it is unlucky. 3970. Always answer immediately a person who calls you so that you will not become hard of hearing. 3971. Unless your mother is answered at once when she calls you, bad luck will befall you. 3972. By answering a neighbor who calls you before breakfast you make yourself unlucky the rest of the day.

88 3973. To call a person by another's name signifies the latter is thinking of you. 3974. If you think someone is calling your name and find yourself mistaken, you will soon be disappointed. 3975. Be sure to rap on wood when you brag or you will have bad luck. 3976. If you have had good luck with something and boast about it, knock on wood three times or your luck will change. 3977. The person who brags about anything before eleven o'clock in the morning 3978. It is unlucky for a person to talk in his sleep. 3979. To talk while asleep is a sign you have done something wrong. 3980. If you talk in your sleep, it means you have enemies. EARS (3981-4014) 3981. Large ears are a sign of riches. 3982. A person with large ears is noted for generosity; with small ears, stingyness. 3983. Large ears lying close to the head indicate a liberal person; sticking out from the head, a selfish person. 3984. Short-eared persons are poor listeners and great talkers; long-eared persons are attentive and not very talkative. 3985. Persons having short thick ears are thoughtless; long narrow ears, thoughtful. 3986. If your right ear rings or burns, expect good luck; if your left ear, bad luck. Occasionally these interpretations are reversed. 3987. A burning in your ear foretells a fire in your neighborhood. Some say within a month. 3988. If your ear itches, company may be expected. 3989. As soon as your right ear begins to burn, think of someone who has been dead over twenty years and you will get a letter containing money. 3990. A tingle in your ear means sudden news. 3991. Both ears tingling at the same time signify good news. 3992. If there is a ringing in your right ear, pleasant news will be heard; if in your left ear, unpleasant news. 3993. A singing right ear reveals you are in the thoughts of a dear friend. 3994. If your right ear is itching, a secret will be told to you by a boy friend; if your left ear, by a girl friend. 3995. A person whose right ear burns or rings is being talked about. 3996. If your right ear burns or rings a man is talking about you; if your left ear, a woman. 3997. To have both ears burn at the same time shows someone is criticizing you. 3998. If your right ear burns (itches, reddens, or rings), something kind is being said about you; if your left ear, something unkind. At times these meanings are transposed. 3999. Of a burning (itching or ringing) ear it is said: "Right for might, Left for spite." or "Right for spite, Left for might." 4000. Of a burning (itching or ringing) ear it is said: right for spite, left for love or right for love, left for hate. 4001. If your right ear burns, you are being well-spoken of by a man; if your left ear, ill-spoken of by a woman. 4002. "When we were in school we used to say --- if our ears were burning — if it is good, talk on; if it is bad, let it alone. If our ears would stop right away, we would say well, it is bad; if they kept on burning, they are sure talking good about us." 4003. To discover what is being said about you when your ear burns, rub spit on your ear: if the burning stops, the conversation is good; if it does not, bad. 4004. What is being said about you when your ear itches can be discovered by rubbing spit round the rim of the ear three times while thinking of a possible speaker: if the conversation is good, the burning will stop; if bad, it will not. 4005. As a method for discovering what is being said about you when your ear burns, spit on your finger and name it the talker suspected (sometimes the saliva is then rubbed in the ear): if the gossip is bad, the burning will continue; if good, it will cease. 4006. Make a cross with saliva on the ear that burns and name it for someone you know: if the burning ceases, the person named was the talker; if it continues, repeat the rite until the correct name is found. 4007. Saliva may be rubbed on a burning ear with these words If it is good, talk on; if it is bad, I hope you will bite your tongue. 4008. The unknown talker who makes your ear burn can be encouraged or discouraged by saying If a friend, talk on; if an enemy, wish me no harm. 4009. "I always do this when my ears burn: take and wet your finger and go around it three times, saying Kiss my ass, kiss my ass, kiss my ass, and it will stop." 4010. "My mother always did this: when her right ear itch or burn, make the cross over her ear and say Good, good betide you; if the left, make a cross over it and say Bad, bad, I hope the devil will ride you." 4011. Mention the names of three persons whom you think are talking about you when your ear burns and the name upon which your ear stops burning will identify the speaker. 4012. If your ear burns, name it and drop a pinch of salt into the fire; and if the person named is the talker, the burning and talking will stop. 4013. To stop a person's talk about you when your ear burns, put some salt on the stove and wish the talker's tongue will blister. 4014. Bite your tongue when your ear rings and you will make the person talking about you bite his tongue. EYES - CROSS-EYES (4015-4069) 4015. Black-eyed women should be distrusted. 4016. Women with blue eyes are known for faithfulness. 4017. It is lucky to have blue eyes. 4018. A woman who has grey eyes is greedy. 4019. "My cousin has a brown eye and a blue eye — it means you will have nothing but bad luck — and he has had nothing but bad luck ever since born."

89 4020. Eyes sunk back in your head are a sign of deceit. 4021. Heavy eyelashes indicate weak eyes. 4022. People having long eyelashes are always lucky. 4023. The meaning of heavy and black eyebrows is a bad-tempered person; of thin and light-colored eyebrows, a good-tempered person. 4024. Regardless of the color, thick eyebrows denote a bad temper. 4025. Short eyebrows, a good disposition; long eyebrows, a bad disposition. 4026. If your eyebrows are far apart, you will live far from where you were born --- some say only after your marriage. 4027. Persons whose eyebrows grow together do not live long. 4028. A person having eyebrows that meet will become wealthy. 4029. Your eyebrows growing close together is an indication of stinginess. 4030. The meeting of eyebrows reveals a jealous nature. 4031. To have eyebrows touching each other signifies deceit. 4032. Eyebrows that touch each other disclose a thief. 4033. One eyebrow higher than the other means criminal tendencies. 4034. If your right eye itches, laughter may be expected; if your left eye, tears. These meanings are sometimes interchanged. 4035. If your right eye throbs (bats, jerks, jumps, quavers, quivers, trembles or twitches --- are words also used), you will soon be laughing; if your left eye, crying — hence the couplet: "Right eye, laugh eye; Left eye, cry eye." But the opposite is also believed: "Right eye, cry eye; Left eye, laugh eye." and sometimes it is said a throbbing in either eye means a weeping. 4036. If your right eye itches or throbs, you will soon be pleased; if your left eye, displeased. However, some reverse these interpretations. 4037. An itching or throbbing in the eye is an omen of anger. Some say this refers to the right eye, others say the left eye. 4038. After your left eye has itched or throbbed, you will have a quarrel. 4039. An itch on your eye foretells a surprise. 4040. If your right eye itches, you will get a new friend; if your left eye, a new enemy. 4041. If your right eye itches, you will see an absent (or distant) friend; if your left eye an old (or nearby) friend. 4042. If your right eye throbs, you will meet someone you are longing to see; if your left eye, someone you do not want to see. These meanings are occasionally reversible. 4043. If your eye throbs, you will see someone not seen for a long time — the right eye, a man; the left eye, a woman. Once in a while one finds these interpretations interchanged. 4044. If both eyes throb, someone galloping on a horse will come to see you. Some say this is true of the right eye only. 4045. If your right eye itches, it signifies good news; if your left eye, bad news. At times one signification is changed for the other. 4046. Either eye itching or throbbing is a token of a letter. 4047. An itching eye betokens a letter from a dear friend. 4048. A person whose right eye itches will soon receive money. 4049. If your right eye itches or throbs, good luck is denoted; if your left eye, bad luck. Occasionally these meanings are transposed. 4050. To have either eye itch at night is lucky. 4051. An eyelash falling on to your shoulder is a sign of a letter. CROSS-EYES 4052. It is unlucky to meet a cross-eyed (squint-eyed or cockeyed) person. 4053. A cross-eyed sailor seen over your left shoulder aboard a ship is unlucky. 4054. If the first woman met in the morning has cross-eyes, bad luck for the day may be expected. 4055. If the first person you meet on Monday morning has cross-eyes, you will have good luck all day. 4056. The person who looks at a cross-eyed woman on Monday will look at misfortune all week. 4057. If on Monday morning a cross-eyed man comes in one door of your house and goes out another, he will cause you bad luck. 4058. Some say the meeting of a cross-eyed person brings bad luck only if he looks at you or you look into his eyes. 4059. To avert bad luck when a cross-eyed person is met, find a four-leafed clover at once. 4060. Anyone who meets a cross-eyed person can avoid bad luck by turning the head and looking in the opposite direction. 4061. The bad luck indicated by meeting a cross-eyed person will not affect you, provided you turn and walk in the opposite direction. 4062. If you have just started on a journey or are going somewhere on business and meet a cross-eyed person, you must return home and start again to guard yourself against bad luck. 4063. While passing a cross-eyed person hold your index and middle fingers crossed and you will not become unfortunate. 4064. After you have met a cross-eyed person, you can prevent misfortune by spitting. 4065. Always turn round three times and spit when you meet a cross-eyed person and bad luck will be counteracted. 4066. As a protection against bad luck when meeting a cross-eyed person; cross your fingers and spit, spit on your crossed fingers, or spit over them. 4067. Whoever makes a cross on the ground and spits into it when meeting a cross-eyed person cancels the bad luck foretold. 4068. "I am very superstitious. If I should see a cross-eyed person, even in church I would take off my hat and spit in it so I would not have bad luck." 4069. A cross-eyed Jew is the most unlucky person of all to meet; get rid of this misfortune by taking off your hat and spitting into it. NOSE - SNEEZING (4070-4179) 4070. A person with a pointed nose is meddlesome. 4071. Pug-nosed people are nosey.

90 4072. The meaning of a big nose is a generous nature. 4073. A man having a large nose has a large penis. 4074. You may judge a red-nosed person as a heavy liquor drinker. 4075. To get a pimple on your nose shows you have meddled with someone's affairs. 4076. If your nose itches, another person's affairs has been interfered with by you. 4077. If your nose itches, butter will be cheaper. 4078. If your nose itches, a dog's ass is in danger. 4079. If your nose itches, someone's behind is in danger. 4080. If your nose itches, you are wanted at home immediately; the reason may be serious. 4081. If your nose itches, somebody wants to talk with you. 4082. If your nose itches, something is being said about you. 4083. If the right side of your nose itches, someone who hates you is thinking spiteful things about you; if the left side, someone who loves you is thinking about you. 4084. The day your nose itches you will be angry. 4085. An itching nose indicates you will soon have a quarrel — before the day ends according to some. 4086. A person whose nose itches will receive a letter; that day say some, the following day say others. This usually refers to the right side of the nose. 4087. If the right side of your nose itches, a letter will come from a man; if the left side, from a woman. 4088. If the tip of your nose itches, expect a letter that day. 4089. If the tip of your nose itches, a letter from someone on a journey may be expected. 4090. After your nose has itched, good news will be received. 4091. If your nose itches, you will hear news immediately; make a wish for it to be good. 4092. If the right side of your nose itches, good news will be heard; if the left side, bad news. 4093. If the right side of your nose itches, a man will give you news; if the left, a woman. 4094. If the end of your nose itches, news is coming from a distance. 4095. A tickling on your nose is a sign you will kiss an old person before the end of the day. 4096. The person whose nose itches will be kissed by a fool. 4097. "If your nose itches, your mouth is in danger; Kiss a fool and shake hands with a stranger." 4098. "If your nose itches, your mouth is in danger; Shake hands with a fool and meet a stranger." 4099. An itch on the nose denotes you are about to meet a stranger who will go home with you and stay. 4100. If your nose itches, someone desires to call on you. 4101. If your nose itches or pains (or itches and burns at the same time), you may look for company. 4102. If your nose itches while you are away from home, you will find company at your house awaiting your return. 4103. Your nose itching on the right side means company all day. 4104. The left side of your nose itching is an indication of company from a distance who will remain a long time. 4105. Whoever has an itch on the left side of the nose may prepare for unwanted company. 4106. If the right side of your nose itches, a male visitor will soon arrive; if the left side, a female visitor. 4107. A nose itching at night foretells an unknown caller next day: if on the right side, a man; if on the left side, a woman. 4108. Both sides of your nose itching at the same time signify a man and woman will visit you. Some say they will come together. 4109. If the end of your nose itches, you will be visited by a couple --- a woman and man. 4110. If the end of your nose itches, a whole family will be your visitors. 4111. If your nose itches at the end, someone will come riding — in a buggy say some. 4112. If your nose itches at the top, a man on horseback is coming. 4113. "Cream and peaches, my nose itches; Somebody's coming with a hole in his britches." or "Cream and peaches, my nose itches; Somebody's coming with a load in his britches." 4114. "If your nose itches, you'll smell peaches; Reach and you will split your britches." 4115. If your nose itches, someone is going to tear a hole in his britches. 4116. The person having an itch on his nose will soon see a change in his affairs. 4117. An itching nose betokens money. 4118. If your nose itches, sorrow is indicated. 4119. If your nose itches before seven o'clock in the morning, good luck will befall you that day. 4120. If the right side of your nose itches, good luck is the meaning; if the left side, bad luck. 4121. If your nose itches; rub it with your hand, then rub this hand on wood, and finally rub your knee with the same hand. This will bring you good luck. 4122. You may wipe your nose with a teatowel for luck. 4123. If there is something up your nose, rub down on your upper lip and the particle will drop out. SNEEZING 4124. If you feel inclined to sneeze and cannot, look at a bright light.

91 4125. As a method for making yourself sneeze, walk into another room. 4126. Always say God bless You after you sneeze, to keep the devil from flying down your throat. 4127. After anyone sneezes, be sure to say God bless You and may the devil miss you. 4128. You must say Gesundheit (health) after anyone has sneezed, and that person must answer Gesundheit ist besser wie krankheit (health is better than sickness). 4129. A quick sneeze, company at once; a slow sneeze, company later that day. 4130. One heavy sneeze is the sign of good luck. 4131. If you sneeze to the right, you will be lucky; if to the left, unlucky. 4132. If you sneeze to the right, it means prosperity; if to the left, poverty. 4133. If you sneeze to the right, you will not have anything to worry about; if to the left, you will be worried by something. 4134. The person who sneezes while talking is telling a lie say some; telling the truth say others. 4135. If you sneeze while thinking, what you are thinking will came true. 4136. Anyone sneezing will soon be kissed. 4137. Two sneezes denote two visitors that day. 4138. Whoever sneezes thrice may expect company. 4139. Three sneezes in succession will be followed by a disappointment. 4140. The meaning of three sneezes is a letter. 4141. To sneeze four times is a token of a letter. 4142. Five consecutive sneezes will bring you a letter. 4143. Six sneezes are an indication of a journey. 4144. A habitual sneezer will live a long life. 4145. It is unlucky to sneeze before getting out of bed in the morning. 4146. If you sneeze thrice in succession or on three separate occasions before breakfast, bad luck is foretold. 4147. It is unlucky to sneeze while putting on your shoes --- usually in the morning. 4148. If you sneeze between noon and midnight, good luck may be expected; if between midnight and noon, bad luck. 4149. Several things are said about sneezing before breakfast as an omen of tears: you will cry --- before dinner (midday meal), before supper (evening meal), and before you go to bed or before you sleep. 4150. If you sneeze before arising in the morning, company will come that day. 4151. "Sneeze before seven, Company before eleven. " 4152. Sneeze before breakfast; company before supper. 4153. "Sneeze before you eat, Company before you sleep." 4154. The number of your sneezes before breakfast will be the number of your guests at dinner --- three being the usual number of sneezes and guests. 4155. Those who sneeze before breakfast will hear exciting news before the day ends. 4156. A sneezing before breakfast signifies a letter that day. 4157. If you sneeze before three o'clock in the afternoon, a letter will soon be received. 4158. The day you sneeze at the table you will get a letter. 4159. If you sneeze at the table, good news will be heard according to some; bad news, according to others. 4160. If you sneeze while eating, provide for a hungry guest at the next meal. 4161. If you sneeze at the table, some say you will have one more person at the next meal; others say, one less. It is also said, one more or one less. 4162. As many times as you sneeze at the table, so many guests will you entertain at the next meal. 4163. Someone sneezing at the dinner-table portends sickness for that house. 4164. After you have sneezed at the table, you will be disappointed. 4165. Sneezing at the table with your mouth full of food will cause you misfortune. 4166. One hearty sneeze in company foretells good luck. 4167. If you sneeze in church on Sunday, you will be lucky all week. 4168. Persons sneezing in church will soon receive hasty news. 4169. "Sneeze on Monday for health. Sneeze on Tuesday for wealth. Sneeze on Wednesday for a letter. Sneeze on Thursday for something better. Sneeze on Friday for sorrow. Sneeze on Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow. Sneeze on Sunday, safety seek; For the devil will be with you the rest of the week." 4170. "Sneeze on Monday for danger. Sneeze on Tuesday, kiss a stranger. Sneeze on Wednesday, get a letter. Sneeze on Thursday, something better. Sneeze on Friday, sneeze for sorrow. Sneeze on Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow." 4171. "If you sneeze on Monday, you will be in danger.

92 If you sneeze on Tuesday, you will meet a stranger. If you sneeze on Wednesday, you will receive a letter. If you sneeze on Thursday, you will get something better. If you sneeze on Friday, you will have sorrow. If you sneeze on Saturday, you will see your sweetheart tomorrow. " 4172. "Sneeze on Monday, sneeze for danger. Sneeze on Tuesday, to kiss a stranger. Sneeze on Wednesday for a letter. Sneeze on Thursday, something better. Sneeze on Friday for sorrow. Sneeze on Saturday to meet your beau. Sneeze on Sunday, watch your step." 4173. "Sneeze on Monday, sneeze for trouble. Sneeze on Tuesday, meet a stranger. Sneeze on Wednesday, look for a letter. Sneeze on Thursday, no letter at all. Sneeze on Friday, for sorrow. Sneeze on Saturday, no luck at all. Sneeze on Sunday, the devil will get you soon. " 4174. "If you sneeze on Sunday, you are safe to keep; For the devil will have you the rest of the week." 4175. "Sneeze on Sunday; Good luck on Monday." 4176. Sunday sneezing betokens money before next Sunday. 4177. "Sneeze on Monday; Pay bills on Tuesday." 4178. If you sneeze on Monday (Tuesday or Wednesday say some), a package will arrive before the end of the week. 4179. On Wednesday a sneeze is an omen of happiness that day. BACK - BELLY - BUTTOCKS - SHOULDER - ARM - ELBOW (4180-4203) 4180. It is unlucky to look at your back when undressed. 4181. A woman with an itching back will soon wear a new dress. 4182. An itching back indicates a whipping soon. 4183. "My mother always said if your back itches you need a whipping." 4184. The person who has an itching back will soon bear a heavy burden. 4185. If your belly itches, you will be invited to a feast. 4186. If your belly itches, you will eat pudding. 4187. If your buttocks itch, butter will be cheaper. 4188. "If you happen to scratch your behind, sign butter will be cheaper --- is an old saying of my grandmother's." 4189. Persons with broad shoulders are carefree. 4190. Your left shoulder itching is a sign of a burden to be borne. 4191. A person whose right shoulder itches will be given a present. 4192. An itching on your right shoulder denotes a large sum of money. 4193. Never read over anyone's shoulder; you will become unlucky. Some say you will make the other person unlucky. 4194. Long-armed people have a grasping nature or get what is wanted. 4195. A long scratch on your arm shows you will soon take a long ride. 4196. A quiver in your arm is an indication someone would like to see you: if in the right, a man; if in the left, a woman. 4197. After your elbow has itched, you may expect news: if the right, it will be good; if the left, bad. 4198. The left elbow itching is an omen of a gift. 4199. If your right elbow itches, you will be surprised. 4200. An itch on your elbow signifies you will change beds or your bedfellow. If this is undesired, you can prevent it by scratching the itch. 4201. The hitting of your funny-bone betokens a visit from two women. 4202. To hit your left elbow is a token of a surprise. 4203. A person who hits his right elbow will have bad luck. HANDS - FINGERS (4204-4285) 4204. A left-handed person must work three days for the devil. 4205. Left-handed persons are deceitful. 4206. Persons with long hands come from good stock. 4207. Cold hands reveal a warm heart. 4208. If on partly closing your hand the lines of the palm form the initial M, you may look for a long life; but contrariwise, you will die young. 4209. Small knuckles mean stinginess; large knuckles, thrift.

93 4210. Wide hands show an ability to earn money. 4211. Long hair on the backs of your hands is a sign of wealth. 4212. Either hand itching betokens money; though some insist upon the right, others upon the left — the latter often being called the money hand. Usually the hand must itch in the palm, but occasionally the itching may be anywhere. Even when not expressed, the notion of unexpected money is always implied. 4213. If your left hand itches, you will soon get money; the greater the itch, the larger the amount. 4214. If your left hand itches, big money may be expected; if your right hand, little money. 4215. If your hand itches and you scratch it: if the left, you are scratching the foretold money away; if the right, to you. 4216. Your left hand itching will bring money; provided your opposite thumb is rubbed round in the middle of the palm. 4217. If your left hand itches, spit into the center of your palm and money will be received. 4218. If your left hand itches, spit into your palm and rub it on your bosom for money. 4219. If your left hand itches, money is indicated: "Rub your hand on a brick, Will make it come quick." 4220. You can obtain the money signified when your left hand itches by spitting into the palm and rubbing it over your buttocks. 4221. As a method to secure the money denoted by an itching left hand, kiss the hand and pat your backside with it. 4222. The money denoted by an itching left hand can be had, if you rub the itch against your hips. 4223. If your left hand itches, put it in your pocket for money. 4224. If your left hand itches, spit on it and stick the hand into your pocket for money. 4225. If you rub an itching right hand on your pocket, money will come soon; if on your backside, it will come sooner. 4226. An itching left hand may be rubbed on your stocking for money. 4227. If either hand itches, rub it on wood and you will procure money. Some say the wood must be unvarnished. 4228. If your hand itches (some say the right, others say the left), you may expect money: "Rub it on wood, To make it come good; Rub it on your ass, To make it come fast." 4229. Spit into the middle of an itching right hand and rub it first on your backside and then on wood for money. 4230. One of the common beliefs about an itching hand and money is as follows: if your right hand itches, you will be given money; if your left hand, you will pay out money. But here again, as in the preceding statements, there are contradictions; among them --- if your right hand itches, you will give away money. 4231. If your left hand itches, money will be paid out grudgingly; if your right hand, money you do not owe. 4232. "My left hand was itching several weeks ago. I said, 'I will soon get a present', and did." This is also believed of the right hand. 4233. "I always get work whenever my left hand itches." 4234. After your hand itches, you will soon receive a letter. Some say the right hand is involved, others say the left. 4235. If your right hand itches, a letter with good news is coming; if your left hand, bad news. Sometimes these interpretations are reversed. 4236. If your right hand itches, you will hear news from afar. 4237. The person who spits into the palm of an itching right hand will soon get a letter. 4238. If your left hand itches, you will be disappointed. 4239. If your right hand itches, you will have good luck; if your left hand, bad luck. One interpretation is occasionally exchanged for the other. 4240. If your left hand itches: "Rub it on wood, And it will come good." 4241. If your left hand itches: "Rub it on your ass, And it will come to pass; Rub it on wood, Sure to be good." 4242. If your right hand itches: "Scratch it on wood, And a friend will be good." 4243. A similar rhyme says: "If your right hand itches, Scratch it on wood; And you will shake hands, With a friend that will make good." 4244. A person whose left hand itches will be called upon to visit someone loved. 4245. Some say the itching of your right hand is an omen of company; others say your left hand. 4246. If your right hand itches, a man will call upon you; if your left hand, a woman. 4247. If your right hand itches, you will be visited by a friend whom you have not seen for a long time. 4248. Either hand itching means you will soon meet a long-absent friend. 4249. If your right hand itches, a stranger will be met; but some say this also applies to the left hand. 4250. If your right hand itches, you are going to shake hands with someone. 4251. "An old saying of my mother was: if your right hand itches, you will shake hands with a person from far away." 4252. If your right hand itches, an old friend will shake hands with you. 4253. If your right hand itches, you will shake hands with a stranger. 4254. If the back of either hand itches, you will shake hands with a strange man. 4255. The itching of your right hand indicates you will shake hands with a stranger who is an unknown friend. 4256. "The other day I was at a house, I said, 'Oh, my left hand is itching.' The lady jumped up, came over and said, 'Shake hands with me, will bring you luck.' And it did. I went to bingo that night and won eight dollars."

94 4257. Shaking hands with your left hand will cause you bad luck. 4258. A person shaking hands with the left hand will encounter evil before night. 4259. Never shake hands with a left-handed person; bad luck will be caused. 4260. If you shake hands with a very black Negro woman, you will be lucky; if with a very black Negro man, unlucky. 4261. It is unlucky to shake hands while wearing gloves. 4262. To shake hands over a gate is unlucky. 4263. Three persons attempting to shake hands at the same time will meet with bad luck. 4264. If two persons simultaneously attempt to shake hands with a third person, all of them will be invited to the same party. 4265. If two couples shake hands at the same time, it is a token of good luck for the four of them. 4266. Four persons who accidentally cross hands while shaking hands may look for good luck. 4267. "I never shake hands with anyone when they leave my house; if you do, they will never come back to that house to see you." 4268. If on entering a house you shake hands with someone, do not on leaving shake hands with that person or you will be made unlucky. 4269. Two persons clapping hands palm to palm will soon end their friendship. 4270. Do not lock your hands and lay them on your head; you are laying trouble on your head. Only when you stand up with your hands locked behind your head, say some. 4271. The person who locks his hands behind him and walks backwards while saying Give me luck will be given luck. 4272. If you scratch your hand with your finger-nails, you will become unlucky. 4273. To break anything in a person's hand causes bad luck. FINGERS 4274. Soft fleshy fingers always shun work. 4275. Born with short fat fingers; born a good cook. 4276. If your fingers are short, you will have an easy life; if long, a hard life --- you will be compelled to work for a living. 4277. A person having long fingers is inclined to thievery. 4278. The child who has long fingers will become a pianist. 4279. The significance of long fingers is an acquisitive nature. 4280. Long narrow fingers denote a good ancestry; short stubby fingers, a bad ancestry --- your ancestors worked for their livelihood. 4281. If on closing your fingers you are able to see through the spaces, you will be or are a spendthrift. 4282. To sit with your fingers interlocked or your fist doubled is unlucky. 4283. Anyone possessing a crooked little finger is a crook. 4284. Never point your finger at the moon; the finger will grow crooked. 4285. Finger-joints cracking are a sign someone somewhere is doing something good for you. FINGER-NAILS AND TOE-NAILS (4286-4374) 4286. An aspect of character shown by round finger-nails is honesty. 4287. Round and well-shaped finger-nails are a characteristic of a hasty temper. 4288. The possessor of narrow finger-nails is full of mischief. 4289. If you possess broad finger-nails, you are bashful but good-natured. 4290. The meaning of small finger-nails is anger and hatred. 4291. A person with small finger-nails has a revengeful disposition. 4292. Short finger-nails characterize a talebearer. 4293. Women having short finger-nails on wide fingers have pleasant natures. 4294. Long finger-nails and a good nature go together. 4295. Those who have long finger-nails lack confidence in others. 4296. If a person's finger-nails are pale, deceit is characterized. 4297. Expect a person with red finger-nails to be of a quarrelsome disposition. 4298. Anyone whose finger-nails are white is sickly and disposed to melancholy. 4299. A half-moon on each finger-nail proves your forebears were blue-blooded. Some say this half-moon must be near the root of the finger-nail. 4300. White specks on your finger-nails are an indication of health; or, as it is sometimes said, the lumber of your coffin is still in the tree. 4301. Finger-nails with white marks mean you are anemic. 4302. The significance of white-spotted finger-nails is a lazy temperament. 4303. A person who has white spots on the finger-nails is honest. 4304. If your finger-nails have white specks, wealth may be expected. 4305. Spots of white on your finger-nails denote you will be a traveler. 4306. Each white mark on your finger-nails marks a lie you have told. 4307. "A white mark on your thumb, A gift is sure to come." 4308. As many white marks as are on your finger-nails, so many will be the number of presents you are going to receive. This often refers to Christmas; but to be effective, you must count these marks before December 25. 4309. You can discover your fortune by counting the white specks on your finger-nails, starting with the thumbs, and saying: "Friends, foes; Presents, beaus; And journeys to go." 4310. The dirt from your finger-nails and toe-nails may be wrapped in a piece of paper and put under the doorstep for luck. 4311. To bite off your finger-nails is unlucky. 4312. Whoever bites off his finger-nails will never be wealthy.

95 4313. The biting off of your finger-nails will make you ill-natured. 4314. If you bite your finger-nails, you have thievish tendencies. 4315. The person whose finger-nails are bitten off will not grow tall. 4316. A finger-nail biter will become insane. 4317. An accidental breaking of a finger-nail is a token of a disappointment. 4318. It is unlucky for a man to trim a woman's finger-nails. 4319. It is lucky for a wife to trim her husband's toe-nails. 4320. Never cut a person's finger-nails or let a person cut your finger-nails; you two will quarrel soon --- within twenty-four hours according to some. 4321. Manicuring your finger-nails in the presence of company will bring you bad luck. 4322. "When I cut my finger-nails and toe-nails, I always let them fall on something and burn them for luck." 4323. Toe-nails do not grow so quickly, if the cuttings are burned. 4324. If you throw your toe-nail clippings on the floor and someone steps on them, you and that person will soon disagree. 4325. The person who throws toe-nail trimmings on the floor or ground will be forced to pick them up in the hereafter. 4326. To clean finger-nails after dark is unlucky. 4327. If your finger-nails and toe-nails are trimmed on a waning moon, they will grow slowly; if on a waxing moon, rapidly. 4328. Some say the growing-time for finger-nails is the light of the moon; for toe-nails, the dark of the moon — therefore, rapid growth can be checked by not trimming the nails at these respective times. 4329. To check their growth, pare your toe-nails on an uneven hour as the moon begins to decrease and tie up these parings in a bag which must be buried that night. Moreover, if the toe-nails were crooked, this makes them grow straight. 4330. If you manicure your finger-nails during the new moon, it will cause good luck; if during the dark of the moon, bad luck. 4331. Do not clip your finger-nails on a holiday; bad luck will befall you. 4332. The omens drawn from the days of the week as cutting-times for finger-nails are: "Monday for news. Tuesday for a pair of shoes. Wednesday for wealth. Thursday for health. Friday for woe. Saturday for a journey to go. Sunday for evil." 4333. Finger-nails may be clipped on: "Monday for news. Tuesday for a new pair of shoes. Wednesday for a letter. Thursday for something better. Friday for woe. Saturday for a journey to go. Sunday for safety." 4334. As times for clipping finger-nails, the days of the week signify: "Monday for health. Tuesday for wealth. Wednesday, best day of all. Thursday for losses. Friday for crosses. Saturday no day at all. Sunday worst day of all." 4335. If your finger-nails are pared on: "Monday, a letter comes to you. Tuesday, brings a new garment. Wednesday, cares are few. Thursday, brings you riches. Friday, brings love's joy. Saturday, brings misfortunes and troubles to annoy." 4336. The day of the week on which a person cuts his toe-nails may be interpreted as follows: "On Monday, you trim for health. On Tuesday, you trim for wealth. On Wednesday, you trim for news. On Thursday, you trim for new shoes. On Friday, you trim for much sorrow. On Saturday, you trim to see your sweetheart tomorrow. On Sunday, you trim for the devil to seek. For he will rule you the rest of the week." 4337. Finger-nails and toe-nails may be cut on Monday for luck or success. 4338. By cutting your toe-nails on Monday you will get a letter. This is also said of finger-nails in one of the preceding rhymes. 4339. If you trim your finger-nails on Monday (before breakfast), a present will be received (before the end of the week). 4340. Tuesday is a lucky time for paring finger-nails and toe-nails. 4341. To file finger-nails on Wednesday is lucky. 4342. Anyone who pares finger-nails or toe-nails on Thursday will meet with bad luck before the end of the week. 4343. Some say finger-nails and toe-nails trimmed on Friday do not grow so fast; others say they grow faster.

96 4344. "My father would not trim his nails on any day but Friday; said it was good luck and would keep you from having toothache." Nevertheless, most people consider this day unlucky; and some say the bad luck will last a week. 4345. It is lucky to clip finger-nails on the first Friday of a new moon. 4346. Never manicure your finger-nails on Friday if you are engaged in a business deal; you will lose during the transaction. 4347. The trimming of finger-nails on Friday morning will be followed by an unknown sorrow. 4348. "I always thought you would have foes instead of woes, if you filed your nails on Friday." 4349. A person cutting finger-nails on Friday will become a thief. 4350. If your finger-nails are cut on Friday, someone will tell a lie about you. 4351. As a method for staying healthy, pare your finger-nails on Friday. 4352. Finger-nails or toe-nails may be pared on Friday for wealth, Saturday for health. 4353. Saturday is an unfortunate day for paring finger-nails or toe-nails. 4354. The effect from filing your finger-nails on Saturday is a disappointment that day. 4355. A person who files finger-nails on Saturday will have the devil for a companion until the following Saturday. 4356. "If you trim your toe-nails on Sunday, It is the root of all evil; And the rest of the week, You will be ruled by the deevil." 4357. "Don't cut your finger-nails on Sunday, For you cut them for evil; And for all the rest of the week, You will feel worse than the deevil." 4358. "He who on the Sabbath cuts his horns, It were better for him if he had never been born." 4359. "You should never have been born, To cut your nails on Sunday morn." 4360. "A man living near me wanted his wife to cut his finger-nails and toe-nails on Sunday. She did not want to do it. She said, 'Charlie, it will bring you bad luck, if I do.' He said, 'Go on and do it, there is nothing to that.' Monday night he took a stroke and died that night." Some say the bad luck will continue for a week. 4361. According to some, Sunday is the only lucky day of the week for cutting finger-nails or toe-nails; any other day is unlucky. But if you must cut them on a week-day, bad luck can be averted by burning the cuttings. 4362. Whoever cuts finger-nails on Sunday will soon be disappointed --- that week say some. 4363. Cut your finger-nails on Sunday and you will be angry before night. 4364. A person becomes cross all week by manicuring finger-nails on Sunday. 4365. Letting someone trim your finger-nails on Sunday causes a quarrel. 4366. If you pare your finger-nails or toe-nails on Sunday, you will soon commit a sin. 4367. Concerning the paring of finger-nails or toe-nails on Sunday it is said: you will blush before sunset (before the day is over or before Monday morning) or you will have a shamed face (or be caught doing something embarrassing) before next Sunday. 4368. If your finger nails are clipped on Sunday, you will accidentally break wind in someone's presence before next Sunday. 4369. A person clipping finger-nails on Sunday morning before noon will be lied about before the end of the day. 4370. Clip your finger-nails on Sunday and evil stories will be told about you all week. 4371. Do not trim your finger-nails on Sunday; you will become a thief. 4372. The person who trims finger-nails on Sunday will see his own blood before the week is over. 4373. Trimming finger-nails on Sunday will make you crazy. 4374. Toe-nails cut on Sunday do not grow so fast. LEGS -KNEES -ANKLES -FEET (4375-4415) 4375. A woman with large legs has a large vagina. 4376. It is unlucky for a woman to cross her legs in front of a man or for a man to cross his legs in front of a woman. 4377. Never sit with your legs crossed in church; you will have bad luck. 4378. The person who crosses his legs and sits with hands crossed over the knees is brooding trouble. 4379. To sit cross-legged is a sign of good fortune say some; misfortune, say others. 4380. A boy sitting on his foot will become a tailor. 4381. They say a person missing the chair when he sits down has a bad soul. 4382. If a man flops into a chair instead of sitting down properly, it means he masturbates. 4383. An itching on the thigh indicates you will soon change your sleeping-place. 4384. The significance of an itching shin is a painful sickness. 4385. Women ticklish on the knee are fond of men. 4386. A woman whose knee itches likes men. 4387. If someone tickles you on the knee and you laugh, you have been stealing your mother's sugar. 4388. If your right knee itches, you will hear good news; if the left, bad news. This is usually said concerning business. 4389. If your left knee itches, expect news that will cause comment and gossip. 4390. An itching right knee denotes a change in your affairs. 4391. If your ankles are slender, your ancestors were of the leisured class; if thick, of the working class. 4392. A woman having small ankles is a good housekeeper. 4393. After an ankle itches, you will receive a gift of money. 4394. A man with small feet has a large penis; with big feet, a little penis.

97 4395. The meaning of large feet is a good intellect. 4396. Large feet signify generosity. 4397. If your toes are far apart, you will never reside anywhere except in the town of your birth. 4398. The sole of your foot itching is an omen of a journey — usually a long one. Some say both soles must itch. 4399. A person whose foot itches on the bottom will soon pass over a strange bridge. 4400. Either sole itching foretells a journey over strange ground or in a strange land. Most people specify the left foot; a few, the right. 4401. If your sole itches, you will walk on strange ground with someone at present a stranger: if the right foot, a man; if the left, a woman. 4402. If the sole of your right foot itches, you will take a pleasant trip; if your left foot, an unpleasant trip. 4403. If the sole of your right foot itches, you are going somewhere and will be welcome; if your left foot, unwelcome. 4404. If the sole of your right foot itches, you will undertake some task and be successful with it; if your left foot, unsuccessful. 4405. An itching sole betokens a new pair of shoes. Usually the right foot is specified; sometimes, the left. 4406. The bottoms of your feet aching indicate you owe money. 4407. You may interpret an itching on the sole of your right foot as a quarrel with an enemy before the end of the week. 4408. Itching feet portend a sorrow. 4409. To have an itching right foot is lucky. 4410. The left foot going to sleep is a token of good news. 4411. Your left foot going to sleep signifies you are being thought about by someone you will soon see. 4412. If your right foot goes to sleep, a friend is thinking about you; if your left, an enemy. 4413. A sleeping foot can be awakened, if the sign of the cross is made on it with saliva. 4414. To wake up a sleeping foot, moisten your finger with saliva and make a cross over your knee. 4415. If your foot is asleep, awaken it by making with saliva a cross on your leg. MOLES ON THE BODY (4416-4477) 4416. A person without a mole will lead a happy but uneventful life. 4417. Moles are lucky; the larger the mole, the greater the luck. Only round moles are lucky say some. 4418. A round mole with hair is an indication of prosperity. 4419. A hairless mole means a contented and prosperous life. 4420. Hairy moles are unlucky. 4421. A deeply colored mole warns you of some disgrace before you die. 4422. If you have a mole on the right side of your body, good luck is denoted; the left side, bad luck. 4423. Another interpretation for a mole on the left side of the body is industry and sobriety. 4424. A mole on the head is a token of ambition. 4425. "Mole above your breath, A lady before death." 4426. It is lucky to have a mole on the face. 4427. "A mole on the face, You'll suffer disgrace." 4428. If a person has a mole on the right temple, wealth may be expected; if the left temple, poverty. 4429. The person having a mole on the cheek always prospers. 4430. A mole on the right cheek is a mark of beauty. 4431. If there is a mole on your right cheek, it signifies modesty; if your left cheek, vanity. 4432. A chin mole indicates a long life. 4433. Persons with a mole on the lip are fond of delicate things. 4434. "A mole on the lip, You're a little too flip." 4435. The meaning of a mole on the nose is success. 4436. A mole on the eye characterizes a farsighted person. 4437. Those who have a mole near the corner of the eye are honest and reliable. 4438. From a mole on the right eyebrow you may predict a youthful and happy marriage. 4439. The significance of a mole on your left eyebrow is a life of sorrow. 4440. "A mole on the ear You'll have money by the year." 4441. Whoever has a mole behind the ear will be hanged. 4442. A mole on the throat foretells a rich marriage. 4443. Anyone having a mole on the neck is healthy. 4444. "I have two moles on my neck and I told my family I knew I will strangle when I die." 4445. A person with a mole on the side of the neck will rise to greatness. 4446. The omen to be drawn from a mole on the neck is death by hanging. 4447. "Mole on your neck Money by the peck." or "Mole on the neck, Gold by the peck." 4448. A breast mole discloses a quarrelsome disposition.

98 4449. Expect a mole on your right breast to bring you a life filled with ups and downs. 4450. If the right breast has a mole, it denotes ill health of your own making; if the left breast, a hereditary illness. 4451. A mole on the left breast shows a warm nature. 4452. In a woman a mole over the heart betokens constancy; in a man, fickleness. 4453. Men with a mole on the arm will enter the army. 4454. "Mole on the arm, You're a man's charm." or "Mole on the arm, You are a gentleman's charm." 4455. "Mole on the arm, You'll live on a farm." 4456. "If you have a mole on your arm, You'll have money on a farm." 4457. "A mole on your arm, You'll never be harmed." or "A mole on the arm, Free from harm." 4458. On the arm or shoulder a mole reveals great wisdom. 4459. People with a mole on the elbow become rich. 4460. A mole on your hand is a portent of a calamity in life. Some say the mole must be on the life-line. 4461. If you have a mole on your abdomen, you are greedy. 4462. If you have a mole on your abdomen, you are slothful. 4463. If you have a mole on your abdomen, you are slovenly in dress. 4464. An abdominal mole is a sign of good health. 4465. Children with a mole on the back have inherited their father's characteristics. 4466. "A mole on your back, More money than you can pack." or "Mole on your back, Money by the pack." or "Mole on the back, Money by the sack." 4467. "Mole on the back, Brains you will lack." 4468. A mole on the buttock portends death by hanging. 4469. You may characterize a person having a mole on the left side as ambitious. 4470. If your right side has a mole, a life of luxury is indicated; if your left side, a life of penury. 4471. Interpret a mole on the knee as a prediction of riches. 4472. A mole on the right knee causes good luck. 4473. He whose right knee bears a mole is rarely disappointed. 4474. A mole on the left knee and a bad temper go together. 4475. A mole on your left knee marks you as being rash. 4776. When you see a mole on someone's leg, you will know that person is lazy. 4777. The trait characterized by a mole on the left leg is a good disposition. BEAUTY (4478-4523) 4478. Peelings from June apples may be rubbed over your face for a good complexion. 4479. The person who eats bread crusts will get rosy cheeks. 4480. Never destroy burnt bread; it should be eaten to make yourself beautiful. 4481. An excellent complexion is acquired by eating carrots. 4482. If chicken feet are eaten, you will become handsome. 4483. To be pretty, eat chicken gizzards. 4484. As a method for making yourself attractive, eat a chicken gizzard while standing on your head in a corner of the room. 4485. Girls can obtain large breasts by eating chicken gizzards. 4486. Chicken hearts bring beauty: some say you must eat them cooked; others say, raw. It is also said they must be swallowed whole. 4487. A person eating chicken necks becomes good-looking. 4488. Yolks of chicken eggs eaten raw will give your complexion a better color. 4489. Do not drink coffee; a muddy complexion will be the result. 4490. "My niece down in the country always washes her face in black coffee, will make you beautiful, and she is sure pretty." 4491. "We did this when we were girls, and I am eighty-three: comb your face down with a fine-comb, will make pretty cheeks."

99 4492. Rainwater collected from cow droppings out in the pasture is a face lotion for beauty. 4493. A beauty preparation for the face can be made out of cow manure and water from an old hollow stump. 4494. Skin bathed in cow milk will turn as white as the milk. But some recommend half milk and half water; others, whey --- especially for a red face or rough skin. It is occasionally recommended that the bathing be done at night. 4495. Buttermilk alone, or in which horse-radish roots or tansy leaves have been soaked, may be used as a face lotion to produce a fair complexion; and combined with raw eggs it may be taken during the spring to bleach the skin. 4496. By washing your face with cucumber juice the skin is bleached. 4497. To cause attractiveness, wash your face in dew. 4498. You can remove skin blotches by washing your face in dew any day during May. 4499. A face washed in dew on the first of May before sunrise will soon appear lovely. 4500. "A maid who on the first of May, Goes to the fields at the break of day, And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree, Will ever after handsome be." 4501. If on the first three days of May before sunrise you bathe your face in dew, comeliness may be expected. 4502. Before sunrise on the first three days of May bathe your face in dew from an old stump as a beauty treatment. 4503. A person whose face is bathed in dew before sunrise every day of May will be comely all year. 4504. A woman can procure large legs, if she bathes them each morning with dishwater. 4505. Let a girl who wants beautiful hands put them in dishwater thrice daily --- wash dishes three times a day. 4506. "My mother knew a girl that would drink goat's milk all the time; said it would give her personality." 4507. Your looks will be improved, if you wash your face frequently with the water in which a blacksmith cools hot iron. 4508. Applications of the milky juice from lettuce will improve your appearance. 4509. Milkweed juice may be applied to the face for beauty. 4510. To pose habitually in front of a mirror causes ugliness. 4511. A girl can gain a charming complexion by sleeping in the moonlight. 4512. An onion eaten nightly before going to bed gives you a fine complexion. 4513. For an improvement in your looks, eat a lot of dill pickles. 4514. Some say rosy cheeks come from eating the skins of Irish potatoes; others say, the skins of sweet potatoes. 4515. Pumpkin seeds may be eaten for loveliness. 4516. Use the green scum (algae) from stagnant water as a lotion to beautify the skin. 4517. Blotches can be removed from your face, if you treat the skin with water from an old stump. 4518. Always take off your shoes and stockings while sitting on the bed and you will never be ugly. 4519. March snow-water is considered a good lotion for the skin of the face. 4520. Skin can be cleared up by washing in water from April snow. 4521. The swallowing of a turkey heart beautifies the skin. 4522. To bleach the skin, wipe your face every morning with a baby's wet diaper. 4523. Your skin can be whitened, if you bathe your face daily with your own urine — your first urine for the day say some. FOLK MEDICINE (4524-7213) SICKNESS AND HEALTH (4524-4638) General Remedies (4524-4582) 4524. Do not speak of sickness; someone in your family will become sick. 4525. Every disease has a herb that cures it. 4526. Remedies requiring an incantation are ineffectual unless spoken in German. 4527. Never pay the doctor's bill in full; you will soon need him again. 4528. A dark cloudy Easter; much sickness that year. 4529. "My father always made us eat an apple on Easter morning on an empty stomach for good health." 4530. As a preventive against sickness, especially sickness caused by a contagious disease, carry a piece of asafetida. Some include a lump of camphor gum, others omit the former and use only the latter. Usually, these substances, together or separately, are sewed up in a sack and carried about the neck. 4531. Put some asafetida in a bag, tie thirteen knots in the draw-string, and wear this to keep sickness or evil away. 4532. If you cut up bittersweet into beads and let a child wear this necklace, it will never catch any disease. 4533. "Some old Germans say dried peas, but I say dried butterbeans, are the best to keep well. Save a few of the first butterbeans you raise in the spring, dry them, and carry them in your pocket all winter to keep your health." 4534. The person who carries a buckeye in the pocket never becomes sick. 4535. Cloves strung on a string protects a child against disease. This can be used either round the neck as a necklace, or worn sash-fashion --- tied at the front hem of the shirt, brought up over the shoulder, and fastened on the back hem of the shirt. 4536. If anyone dies with a contagious disease or some ailment thought to be hereditary in the family, cut a square piece of cloth from her dress or his shirt and lay it with the coffined corpse so that the same disease or ailment will not again attack a relative. 4537. "If some of your relations die and you have some kind of sickness you want to get rid of, go to the dead one and take your hand and rub over the back of the dead one's head right down next to the back of the neck, saying the Three Highest Names; will cure you if not too far gone. My husband had been sick a long time, someone of his relations died and he tried it, but he waited too long. It didn't help him. You must start when you first get sick." 4538. A dog, usually a puppy, kept in bed with a sick child will take away the sickness. 4539. If someone in the house is sick and a dog howls; take off your shoes, lay them upside down on the floor, and the patient will soon recover. 4540. A fern kept in the house will always keep you healthy.

100 4541. "My mother told me this. You see, if living, she would be over a hundred years old. There was an Indian woman [before 1856] living out here in the country about what we call Liberty now. She had a large family; nine girls and two boys. She lost three girls. She told my grandma, she said, 'I will never lose any more girls.' When she lost her last one, she got six pairs of half-moon earrings for her six girls, she pierced their ears when the moon looked just like the earrings, in the light of the moon, and when the moon was coming up she put the earrings in each girl's ear, saying Father, Son and Holy Ghost, let my girls grow up like the moon and live. She didn't tell anyone when doing it. And all her girls lived to be old." 4542. To ward off diseases carry a garlic in your pocket. 4543. "I use to never be able to keep anything down like salts or castor oil, when someone told me about whatever you took your medicine in, turn it upside down to keep your medicine down --- set your glass upside down, if you took it out of a glass; and if you took it out of a spoon, just turn your spoon over. I always do this now and I never have any trouble keeping my medicine down." 4544. Green grass kept beneath the pillow of a sick person will bring a speedy recovery. 4545. Sickness among members of the household can be prevented by keeping a goat. 4546. Eat seven green things on Green Thursday (Maundy Thursday) and you will be well all year. 4547 "This was in slavery-time. A neighbor had a little girl about two years old and she was sick all the time. Another old woman told her baby would never be healthy or have any luck until it had lice. This woman told her of a family that had lice, and she took her little girl over to this house and got a louse, and put on her baby's head so it would be healthy and have luck. This is so; it happen over here in Missouri." 4548. Diseases are not caught by a child that wears a necklace of madder seed. 4549. Always keep a cup full of fresh milk in your room; it will suck up all; the germs in the atmosphere." 4550. A baby never gets sick, if during the first year a mole foot is worn about its neck. 4551. To guard against disease, tie round your neck the two forepaws of a mole. 4552. Tea boiled from bark off the north side of a red oak tree can be administered for almost any kind of ailment. 4553. An onion in the pocket protects you against disease. 4554. Several onions hung up in the house will absorb any infectious disease within three days. 4555. To make yourself immune from any contagious disease that a visitor might bring into the house, cut a cross on each of three small onions and lay them over the transom of the door. 4556. "Years ago I knew of a woman down near Beverly that her little girl got an infection in her foot. There was an old saying, if you have an infection on your body, to put a shovel in the stove and when it gets red-hot, if an owl will holler at the same time, it will cure it. This woman tried putting the shovel in the stove three [different] times, but the owl didn't holler and the little girl died. The owl must holler, to save you, at the same time the shovel is red. This is so. I knew the doctor she called after the owl didn't holler." 4557. Protect yourself against serious sickness by hanging above your bed a palm that was blessed on Palm Sunday. 4558. Prevent disease by carrying a small potato in your pocket. 4559. If you rub a potato over a sick person's head and bury the potato, the sickness will disappear after the potato has rotted. 4560. For almost all sicknesses, apply a mixture of quinine and lard to the armpits and soles. 4561. Rattlesnake rattles in a sack about your neck drives diseases away. 4562. In warding off disease, a rabbit foot is carried. Some specify the left hind foot. 4563. People who set their shoes up high at night are always plagued with bad health. To avoid this, let your shoes remain on the floor. 4564. Some believers in posture rites say, sleep with your head to the north for good health; others say head to the south. Both beliefs are contradicted: if you sleep head northward, you will not live long; if head southward, you will be unhealthy. There appears to be agreement, that sleeping with your head to the west shortens your life, and that with your head to the east is healthy. Related to the preceding southward belief: if you are very tired, your fatigue can be driven away by going out into the yard and sitting down facing south. 4564a. You prolong your life by sleeping on your right side, because sleeping on your left side weakens the heart. 4565. It is unhealthy to have an east wind blow on you while sleeping. 4566. If you hold your mouth open and catch some of the first snow of the year and swallow it, you will be healthy all year. Some confine this belief to luck for the year. 4567. Contrary to the preceding belief, some say the eating of the first snow of the year will poison you. 4568. Walk barefoot in the first snow and you will be free from sickness all year. 4569. As a protection against disease, place a spider in a nutshell and hang it about the neck. 4570. Sickness is barred from the house, if you burn sugar on the stove every morning. 4571. Go swimming before sunrise on the first of May and you will not be attacked by a contagious disease that year. 4572. A swim taken on the first of June guards you all summer against sickness. 4573. Bore a hole into a tree and into this stuff some hair from an unhealthy child; after the bark grows over this hole, the child's health will improve. 4574. If when pulling bark off a tree for medicine you pull the bark upwards, you will throw up the medicine; but if the bark is pulled downwards from the tree, you will keep the medicine down. 4575. "It was an old German saying from the old country, to keep a bottle of vinegar on a shelf without anything over it to keep out sickness. I have heard my mother tell this many a time. " 4576. Swallow the first three violet blossoms you find in spring and you will not be sick that summer. 4577. A pan of water in the room where there is sickness absorbs the disease. 4578. Your sickness improves as soon as you have crossed water. 4579. Let a sick person get up on Easter morning before the sun rises, go into a spring, stand in front of it while saying the Lord's Prayer three times, wash with the water, return home, be sure to arrive before sunrise, not speaking during the entire rite, and he will be cured. Years ago an old woman took her sick son to the spring in South Park, Quincy, but the boy spoke on the way home and consequently died within a year. 4580. "My father made us gather all old weeds, when we were children, like jimson weed, milkweed, Indian-fever-cure, mullein leaves, plantain leaves, and wild grape. We had to put them in a barrel and keep the dishwater over them for the hogs we were to kill for our own meat. Father said you would never have to take any medicine, for the meat would have the medicine in." 4581. "I had a friend that always worn pink wool string around her neck to ward off sickness; wear a colored wool string."

101 4582. Spit three times when you see a woolly-worm (caterpillar), then make a wish and walk away, and you will not suffer from sickness that year. Sickbed (4583-4635) 4583. A sick person will not recover unless the head and foot of the bed point north and south: some saying the head must be to the south, other saying the north. 4584. Sometimes a person who has been sick a long time recovers if moved into another room. 4585. Never move a sickbed; it causes the patient bad luck. 4586. The sick person whose bed is moved will not get well. 4587. "I was in an Irish house Monday afternoon on Third and X. Street, and the man took sick on a cot and his wife wanted to have him in bed before the doctor came, and he got angry; said he would die if they took him off the bed he got sick on and put him in another --- was bad luck. Out in the kitchen the old woman told me she knew he would die because they threw an old alarm clock away over two weeks ago out in the shed, that had not been running, and the alarm went off that morning." 4588. "My father always said never take a sick person from one room to the other by their feet; always take the head first — if you don't, they will die. I remember when my father went to the hospital they took him out the door by his feet. He said, 'I will never come back well. Why didn't you take my head first so I would come back well ?' And he died." 4589. Do not turn the mattress beneath a sick person; that person will soon die. 4590. To sweep under a sick-bed is unlucky. 4591. If anyone sweeps under the bed of a sick person, the latter will be dead before the end of the year. 4592. "My grandma will not even sweep in a room where someone is sick; afraid they will get worse." 4593. "My uncle and aunt were both sick, and my uncle would slide to the head of the bed all the time; he would hit his head on the top of the bed. We knew he would get well and he did. We knew my aunt would die, because she would slide to the foot all the time, and she did." 4594. Observe a sick person closely as you enter the room on a visit: if the patient moves his feet first, there is no hope for him; if the hands, he will recover. 4595. "A man out here on Tenth Street several years ago fell out of a tree and was hurt very bad. An old woman in the neighborhood ran out and started to washing up the blood to see if he would live. If you go right out and wash that blood up and it come right up and don't leave a stain, the person will live; but if the blood does not come up, they will die. The blood all came up. As they were putting him in the wagon to take to the hospital, this old woman said to some of his folks, 'Don't worry, he will not die, because all of his blood wash up.' And he didn't." 4596. You will not survive a sickness during which you constantly think of someone who is dead. 4597. If a sick friend asks for you and you think that person is going to die, never visit the sickroom for you will be the next to go. 4598. Rub a piece of bread on a sick person's teeth and then feed it to a dog: if the animal refuses this food, look for death; but if it is accepted, the patient will be restored to health. 4599. To discover the final result of a sickness, a chunk of meat is rubbed over the patient's feet and given to a dog. The dog's refusal of the food means death; his acceptance foretells complete recovery. 4600. "I am very superstitious about this, for I had a very dear friend that was sick and went to see her, and forgot about going in one door and going out another; and I went in the front door of the house and when I went home went out the back door, and she died." 4601. Just before you enter a sickroom (for the first time say some) lay a penny outside the door and the patient will recover. 4602. "I know a woman that had a sick niece and she went to a fortune teller; and she told her to put the white of an egg in a glass and let set for three days without looking, and she would see how her niece would get. So this woman put the white of an egg in a glass and let set for three days. On the third day she looked and saw a coffin in the glass with green grass around it. And her niece died within the next three days." 4603. The person who cuts his own finger-nails while sick will never get well. 4604. The sick person whose finger-nails or toe-nails are cut by someone else will never get well. 4605. The person who has his finger-nails trimmed while sick in bed will take a long time recovering from the sickness. 4606. Send flowers to the sick and you send bad luck. 4607. Patients should not be taken to the hospital on Friday, for: "Friday flitting, Short sitting." 4608. It is unlucky to have a sick person leave his bed for the first time on Friday. 4609. "I am a nurse, was taking care of a woman several months ago here in Quincy. The woman had been sick several weeks and her hair was nothing but a mat. I was trying to comb it when a friend of hers came in and almost had a fit — said, did I know what I was doing; said the woman would die before the year was out; said it would be my fault. Well, I told her I didn't believe in signs, and combed the other woman's hair. The other woman left the house very angry at me for doing it." 4610. Hair curled in a sickbed always comes out. 4611. The person who becomes sick in a March that has two new moons will never recover. 4612. Bad luck befalls the person who while sick sees himself in a mirror. 4613. Sick people looking into a mirror always grow worse. 4614. "My little girl was very sick. My aunt came to see me. She brought my little boy a nice present, didn't bring the girl a thing. I was very angry over it. She said, 'Why, I would not give your girl anything new while in bed sick; if I did, she would never get out of that bed. When she is well, will send something to her.' And did." 4615. A person who takes sick while wearing a new unwashed garment will never recover. 4616. The sick person for whom you buy or make a garment will not surmount his sickness. 4617. If a patient gets worse at night, he will be sick a long time. 4618. Oleanders in a sickroom make the patient weak. 4619. "A little boy in our neighborhood was real sick; everyone thought he was going to die. Several of the old ladies of the neighborhood and a man was setting up watching the child. That's the way we did in old days. Now, your neighborhood don't come in to see if you are dead or alive. We were all sitting out in the kitchen when one of ladies went in to give him his medicine. When she came out she said, 'The boy is not going to die, he will live.' Someone spoke up and said, 'Hope you are right. But how can you tell when the doctor said he will die?' 'Well, when I went in, his little thing was sticking straight up, and that is a sure sign they will get well; for whenever a boy is real sick and his thing sticks up, sure sign they will live.' And the boy did get well. This happen down here in the Bottom near Lima, even if the doctor did say he would not get well." 4620. If a policeman by mistake goes to a house where there is sickness, the sick person will soon be taken to the hospital.

102 4621. "Miss X. [a Roman Catholic] said that after a priest is called in to see a sick person, the patient either becomes better or worse at once." 4622. A sick person will recover, if on your way to visit him you meet a rabbit. 4623. To change a sick person's wedding ring from one hand to the other breaks the fever and starts him on the road to health. 4624. Some say a patient singing on the third day of sickness is becoming better; others say this indicates a relapse. 4625. If a sick person sneezes three times in succession before breakfast, he will regain his health. 4626. Persons becoming ill on Sunday never recover. 4627. If a sick person gets better on Sunday, he will die; if worse, he will get well. 4628. Sunday is a bad day for a sick person to arise from bed the first time. 4629. To counteract the backset that will be caused by leaving a sickbed for the first time on Sunday, stand on your feet a few minutes the day before. 4630. "Someone gave me a tuberose plant when I was sick, and, because it was my favorite flower, my mother put it right by my bed; and I started to getting weaker every day until I was almost dead. Then a woman came in to see me and she said to my mother, 'That girl will not get well as long as that tuberose is in the room, for the plant is getting stronger and your daughter weaker.' Then my mother put the plant on the back porch and the plant started to dying and I got better." 4631. A tub of hot water secretly set beneath a sickbed will improve the patient's condition. 4632. Put a four-leafed clover under a sick person's pillow while wishing for an improvement in his health and your wish will be fulfilled. 4633. Anyone can get well by looking over the right shoulder at the moon as he wishes his sickness away. This must be done for three successive nights. 4634. As soon as a sick person begins to break wind, it signifies that he is becoming well. 4635. To yawn in bed during sickness is a bad omen. Healer (4636-4638) 4636. As a general rule the power to heal cannot be revealed or its efficacy will be lost. It may be disclosed to another person only when the possessor is on his deathbed. 4637. The power of healing is destroyed if the healer accepts money in payment for services. A number of people refused to explain their methods of curing when they learned that these remedies were going to be printed in a book which would be sold. 4638. "Ten or eleven years ago [1920-1921] I came upon a superstition which was quite new to me at the time. Questioning a little girl about the health of her cousin who was suffering from a badly infected arm, I was told that his condition was very serious, 'Grandma had to talk to him last night.' On inquiry I learned that Grandma knew how to 'talk over' people who were afflicted with wounds or sores and made them well, and that she frequently exercised her art for all sorts of people. She had 'talked over' Marie herself, but Marie declined regretfully but firmly to tell what she said. 'You dassunt tell or something bad will happen.' The school janitor to whom all the secrets of the South End [of Quincy] are an open book, told me that he knew several old women who pretended to this skill, and he mentioned one within two blocks of the school, a radius that would include Grandma also. I mentioned Grandma's curious practice to Mr. B., pastor of K. Church. He received the tale without any surprise and acknowledged that the thing was common. Walter asked several acquaintances of German parentage what they knew about it, and he found that old women who will 'talk over' you can be found in northeast Quincy as well as in south Quincy. No doubt this is an old German superstition. It is certainly alive and flourishing in Quincy." AMPUTATIONS AND SURGICAL OPERATIONS (4639-4649) 4639. A surgeon will kill you, if you let him operate on you during any of the following signs of the Zodiac: the head (Aries), the lungs (breast = Cancer), and the bowels (Virgo). 4640. An operation during a sign below the waist will not be a success. The sign of the waist may be any of the middle signs of the Zodiac: Virgo, Libra and Scorpio. 4641. Successful operations are performed only while the sign of the knee (knees = Capricornus) is going down. 4642. Saturday is an unlucky day for operating on people. 4643. Always burn an amputated limb, for burying it in the ground makes the wound painful until the limb rots. 4644. The wound from an amputation of a finger heals only by burying the finger. 4645. "My uncle's finger was cut off and his hand was so cold for several days. Someone said, 'What did you do with your finger when you cut it off?' 'Oh, I just threw it behind the barn.' They told him to look for it and bury it --- if you cut your finger off and don't bury it right away, the hand will be cold; but if you bury it right away, it will keep the hand warm. He went and found his finger just where he threw it, buried it, and he had no more trouble with his hand getting cold." 4646. If you have any toes or fingers removed, the others will ache until someone buries the former. 4647. "I knew a man that had three fingers taken off; his hand hurt all the time because the fingers were not laid out straight when placed in the ground. They took up his three fingers and straightened them, and after that he did not have any more pain." 4648. To avoid future pains, an amputated arm or leg must be buried north and south with the fingers or toes pointing toward the latter direction. 4649. "I know a woman that was operated on and it left her with a stiff knee. She tried rubbing everything on it, even the doctor could not help her. Then someone told her, 'Put some worms in a bottle, hang them on the south side of the house, and when they turn to oil, rub on your joints.' And she did. She took the oil and rubbed over her stiff knee, and it was no time until she could walk again. I think worm oil is wonderful." APPENDICITIS (4650-4654) 4650. "I will tell you about 'pendisidis. Did you know that often when they operate for 'pendisidis they find small teeth and hair in the 'pendix? Well, whenever they find hair and teeth in the 'pendix, it is the sign that their mother should of had twins when they were born and didn't. The teeth and hair in the 'pendix are what should of been in the other child." 4651. Let a person having appendicitis cover his side with warm cow manure and an operation will not be needed. 4652. A finger-nail biter has appendicitis before he dies. 4653. Babies who keep one thumb in the mouth and the other thumb in the navel suffer from appendicitis before they die. 4654. "I knew a man at Augusta [Illinois] that used to have bad attacks of 'pendisidus and someone told him about this. Stand in the corner of a room on your head, let someone hold your feet up for you, and stand that way as long as you can, then rest and try it over, and whatever is in your 'pendix will run out. And he did it; would let his wife hold his feet for him. He did this every time he felt an attack coming on. And the spells got

103 farther apart until he didn't have them at all. This man, when he would get an attack, you could hear him for a block, he was in so much pain. And standing in the corner on his head cured him." AURAL AFFLICTIONS (4655-4686) Earache (4655-4678) 4655. Earache is cured by eggs mixed either with onion juice or sweet oil. 4656. "My grandfather always did this for earache. I have heard him tell how one of his sons cried all night with earache, and he had to wait until morning to find a betsy-bug --- that's one of those hard-shell black bugs that live under old boards, they have one drop of blood in their body from the head to the back. Take that one drop of blood and put in the ear." 4657. As a treatment for an ear that aches, breathe against the pain. 4658. In curing an abscessed ear, apply the juice from a cockroach. 4659. "I had a running ear for years and tried everything, when a woman told me about putting the cotton in the ear and let stay overnight, then put the cotton in a coffin with a dead person; and when that cotton rots, your ear will get well. I tried it and it was no time until my ear got well, and I never did have any more trouble with it." 4660. Heat cow manure in sweet milk, put this in a bag, and then bind it over an aching ear. 4661. "Take the dirt from a mud dauber's nest, put in a teacup and pour boiling water over it, let it set for one hour and it will clear, then strain through a cloth, and put in a bottle. Warm it and put one teaspoonful in each ear every night. It will cure earache, risings in the head, and will cure you if you are hard of hearing. This lady had a daughter who was very hard of hearing in both ears. You would have to shout to her to make her hear. Some man gave the remedy and she thought she would try it on her daughter's ear. It couldn't do any harm. And she put one teaspoonful in each ear every night for one week. Her daughter could hear so well that she could hear one whisper across the room." 4662. To rid yourself of pains in the ear, keep it well greased with goose grease. 4663. If you fill a clean bag with goose manure and boil it, you may use three drops of this water per dose in an ear that aches. 4664. "Just two weeks ago the little girl next to our house at Ninth and Jersey had earache bad. If you have the earache, take a gold ring, put it just inside the ear, then turn the ring around three times, saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Her mother put the ring in her ear and did this, and it stop." 4665. The ear of a child will stop aching, after you put in it some hair from a Negro's head. 4666. Poultice a running ear with a mixture of hog dung and hog lard. 4667. A good ointment for earache is milk from the human breast. 4668. "My brother when he was a year old had earache bad, cried with it all the time. Mother got the doctor and he could not help his ear. Then some old German woman told her about the onion. She tried it. Roast an onion in coals of fire, then squeeze three drops through a cloth in the ear; will cure it, and you will never have earache again." 4669. Fry a piece of rabbit fat and put one drop of this grease in the ear for earache. Sometimes fat from a rabbit kidney is prescribed. 4670. Three drops of rabbit-fat oil in the ear is an earache cure. 4671. Treat an earache by rubbing it with rabbit urine. 4672. An old woman in her eighties said her family came from Germany to Quincy about 1835 and brought with them the following remedy: "Gather the sheep buttons manure, let them dry hard, then put on to boil for about one hour, then take the juice and bottle it up, put two tablespoonfuls of pure alcohol with it, then bury the bottons and use the juice for earache." 4673. In treating an earache, skunk oil is applied. 4674. Oil from a snake makes a good ointment for earache. 4675. Apply to an aching ear a rattlesnake button. 4676. "I had earache when I was a girl and mother just tried everything. Then she tried the water bugs out of the water barrel, some call them sow bugs, and mashed them, and took the juice and dropped in the ear. And my ear stopped right away." 4677. You will not lose an earache unless your own urine is applied. In removing an insect from the ear, use anyone's urine. 4678. Only urine from a person of the opposite sex cures an earache. Hearing and Deafness (4679-4686) 4679. It is said that a deaf person regains his hearing by going up in an airplane. 4680. A person who eats dove occasionally will never become deaf. 4681. Oil rendered from the fat of a hoot owl makes a good ointment for bad hearing. 4682. Do not eat potatoes if your hearing is bad; this vegetable will make your affliction worse. 4683. Hearing can be improved, if a rattlesnake button is kept in the afflicted ear. 4684. As a treatment for deafness, kill a squirrel and while it is yet warm take a drop of its urine and put in the afflicted ear. 4685. Human urine is rubbed in the ear for deafness. 4686. Applications of earth-worm oil restores the hearing. BACKACHE AND LUMBAGO (4687-4698) 4687. "A neighbor man just last week had the backache bad; sprained his back and sent over to get my water bottle. A woman was visiting me said, 'Don't let that man have your water bottle; If you do, you will get his backache.' I guess it was mean of me, for I didn't let him have it, for I was afraid I would get his pains." 4688. The person who carries a buckeye in the pocket never suffers from backache. 4689. Let ten copper pennies soak in vinegar overnight and sew five of them into each end of a long bandage. The latter must then be soaked in vinegar during the second night. Next morning arrange the cloth so that five pennies rest on your sore back and the other five hang over your chest. This cures a sore back. 4690. "I had the backache one time so bad I could not lay down or do anything. I went out to a farmhouse and stood behind the cows and caught a bucketful of fresh manure and took it home. That night I took two towels and put that manure in it and put it around my back. I sit up all night in a chair with that manure on my back and the next day my pain was gone. It is an old remedy, but it is better than any doctor can do for you." 4691. If a person, as soon as he hears the first dove of the season call, lies down and rolls over three times, that year he will not be bothered with a sore back. 4692. "My mother had lumbago bad and an old woman that lived on Bay Island told her about the eelskin. Mother laugh at first because she had several of Quincy's best doctors and they could not help her. But at last she got one and put it on, and it did do her good."

104 4693. As a remedy for backache, sleep with a knife beneath your mattress. 4694. "Cut a piece of oil cloth out the shape of a diaper and wear around your waist with the oil side out. Never put the oil side to your back. This will make a good poultice for weak backs. I know several that have tried it." 4695. Pass a woolen string through a potato and suspend it from your neck. Your lumbago disappears as soon as the potato dries up. 4696. A poultice made of mashed potato-bugs, flour and water may be used for backache. 4697. On hearing the first whippoorwill of spring, lie down and rollover, and you will not have a backache that year. 4698. A sack of sulphur against the sole of each foot and a sack of sand on the back helps lumbago. BITES AND STINGS Dog Bit - Insect Bite or Sting - Snake Bite (4699-4744) DOG BITE 4699. If a dog goes mad after biting someone, that person will also go mad. To prevent this, kill the dog at once. 4700. Sometimes they say a person becomes mad, if the mad dog that bites him is killed. To protect himself against this possibility, thus neutralizing in advance the effects of the dog's subsequent death, the victim must make a bow round the animal's leg with a small woolen string and then tie the bow into two knots. 4701. "I know a woman that was going to the store one day and a mad dog tore her dress. When she got home she sewed it up and forgot to cut the thread off, she bit it off, and in nine days she got mad." 4702. Hair from the dog that bites you should be mixed with lard and bound on the wound. 4703. Remove some hair from the belly of the dog by which you were bitten and put on the wound as a remedy. 4704. Cure a dog bite by cutting some hair from his tail and binding in over the wound. 4705. The person who wears about the neck a tooth from a mad dog that has bitten someone is never attacked by mad dogs. 4706. "This is very old --- my grandfather lived when the Indians were here, he was part Indian himself. He said when a dog bit anyone and they thought they would go mad, they would always hunt a deer, kill it, take the liver out and rub over the bite. If not so bad, they would cut a square piece off the dog's back and put on the bite. They thought that good, but not as good as the deer liver." 4707. If you are bitten by a dog, take the precaution of touching a madstone; you will not go mad, even if the dog does. 4708. Hold a madstone against a dog bite to test the animal's sanity: if the dog was not mad, the stone will fall off immediately; if mad, it will stick to the wound until all poison has been absorbed. 4709. A madstone, according to an old farmer who once saw one used, is grey and resembles a hog kidney. Years ago someone living near him had been bitten by a mad dog, and the owner of a madstone was called in to work the cure. The latter began by putting his madstone against the bite, where it stuck for a long time like a magnet and could not be removed. This signified, said the operator, that the madstone was sucking out the poison; further, as soon as it was thoroughly saturated, it would drop off the wound. Thus the madstone eventually let loose, and he placed it in a crock of milk which turned grey immediately. This process of administering the madstone and then dipping it into the milk was repeated seven times. When it was applied for the eighth time, it no longer adhered, indicating that all the poison had been extracted; but to make certain, the healer asked for another crock of milk and swished the madstone in it as a final test. The milk remained white. INSECT BITE OR STING 4710. Bites and stings do not swell, provided the insect is caught and rubbed over the wound. 4711. A clay or mud poultice may be used on a sting to check the swelling and to lessen the pain. 4712. Three kinds of weeds applied to a bite or sting prevent swelling and assuage the pain. 4713. Cure a bee sting with an application of earwax. 4714. When stung by a bee or wasp, leave the stinger in the wound and the insect will die. 4715. If you get chiggers, you can make your blood distasteful to them by eating five drops of turpentine dropped on a half teaspoonful of sugar. 4716. To keep mosquitoes from biting you, rub coal oil behind your ears. 4717. Draw a cross over a mosquito or spider bite; the swelling will cease itching and disappear. 4718. The person who eats meat on Good Friday will be bitten by mosquitoes all summer. 4719. Greens eaten on Green Thursday (Maundy Thursday) protect you against mosquitoes bites that year. 4720. As soon as a mosquito lights on your bare flesh, tighten your muscles while holding your breath and you can kill the insect, for it will not be able to fly away. 4721. "A spider bit me one Sunday on the eye. My eye was all swollen up. I looked and looked and didn't find it for a week, then found it on the foot of my bed. I killed it and my eye got well right away after I killed it." SNAKE BITE 4722. "This is over two hundred years old [?]and a' Indian remedy. A chief told my great-great-grandma. For a snake bite take the large wing feathers out of a buzzard and take the quill part, roast them on the stove until you can make powder of them, then mix this powder good with fresh lard and put it on a cloth, then put over the bite. A little drop of green will come on the cloth. This is the poison. As long as you see one drop, keep changing the cloth until you see no more green drops on the cloth. Years ago we took up a homestead down in the Ozark Mountains [in southern Missouri] and the snakes were very bad. We used this remedy on our horse and cow when snake bitten. My mother kept buzzard-wing feathers in the house all the time, would not be without them for snake bite. I remember well one day that a woman that lived several miles from us came carrying her little girl crying to our house. A copperhead had bitten her little girl and her leg was all swollen up. She knew mother had the buzzard-wing feathers. Mother started right in to putting the poultice on her leg and would take one off and put on another. The woman stayed all day and mother worked with the child and saved it. Our family don't think there is anything better for a snake bite." 4723. "Down here in the South Bottom forty years ago my cousin when she undress threw her dress down on the floor. When she picked it up in the morning to dress, a rattlesnake was coil up in it. Of course she didn't see the snake until it bit her on the finger. They ran out in the yard, picked up a young chicken, cut it right open, and put her finger in this chicken to draw the poison out. It saved her life, but she has a scar on her finger where the snake bit her." 4724. Poultice a snake bite with the warm gizzard from a chicken. 4725. If you are bitten by a snake, apply warm chicken guts and then drink whiskey. 4726. A wing should be wrested from a live chicken and used as a poultice for snake bite. 4727. Cut a black chicken open and tie half of it about a snake bite.

105 4728. "Sixty years ago [1876] about sundown a little girl was playing in a path and a snake bit her on the foot; it was a poison snake, and the foot was swelling. An old remedy for snake bite is to kill three chickens one after the other and put on a bite while warm to draw the poison out. They got a chicken, kill it, put her foot right in the chicken until it got cold; then they kill another and put her foot in; and the third. They worked with her all night, but she never had any more trouble. The third chicken drew all the poison out." 4729. Treat a snake bite by splitting open a live frog and applying it to the wound. 4730. "A boy I knew years ago had a bad snake bite, and I knew an old German man out here at Burton that brought a madstone over from Germany. And we got that stone and put on this boy's arm and let stay on until it fell off, then put it in milk and leave for three days; will draw all the poison out of the stone so you can use it for the next person that has a bite. When the poison was all out we gave it back. And the boy never had any trouble." 4731. Mud rubbed over a snake bite draws out the poison. 4732. If the first thing you eat on Easter is a green onion, a snake will not bite you that year. 4733. A person carrying an onion in his pocket is never bitten by snakes. 4734. You will never recover from the bite of a green snake or a snake that has any green on its skin. 4735. "I remember this [in Missouri] when I was seven years old [1855]. Our neighbor boy was out hunting rabbits with his dog. The boy was about thirteen years old. His dog went to barking and barking around an old hollow stump. The boy thinking there was a rabbit in the stump ran his hand into the stump to get the rabbit and it was a snake. The snake bite him on the arm. He came on to the house, to the cookhouse. In those days they always had a cookhouse out in the yard. His father was sitting out in the yard talking to another man. They got right up to go and look for the snake, for it's an old saying, very old, if you can get a piece of the snake and bind on, will cure the bite. They didn't find it. And when they got back the boy's arm was a sight, swelling so fast. Then they knew another remedy for snake bite, to catch a chicken and run a knife down its back and put on the bite. They did this and this didn't work. By this time the boy arm looked like a stovepipe and all spotted. Then they knew another. They got whiskey and poured down the boy. They saved him. But every year at the same time, this boy's arm would turn all spotted like, where the snake bit him." 4736. If a rattlesnake strikes you, the snake must be killed at once, slit open, and the warm insides placed on the wound. Some say that the blood alone is sufficient. 4737. Some say you must first cut off the head of the snake that bites you, before the poison goes through its body, and then apply a piece of the snake flesh. 4738. Only the flesh taken from between the second and third rattle and applied to the wound will cure a rattlesnake bite. 4739. Snakes do not bite those who wear a belt made from a rattlesnake skin. 4740. "See here on my arm, this snake. If you are marked with a snake, a snake will never bite you. Well, I can pick up a snake anywhere and they I will not bite me." 4741. In the spring drink tea brewed out of snakeroot and you will not be bitten by a snake that year. 4742. As a treatment for snake bite, cover the wound with crushed leaves off a thorn tree while thrice saying Poison kill poison. 4743. An application of urine, salt, and onion juice cures a snake bite. 4744. "Fifty-five years ago [1883] my husband was down by the creek. In those days they went without shoes a lot. This day he didn't have any on. We lived on a farm out here. Well, he step on a rattlesnake by the creek; bit him right on the bottom of the foot. He put tobacco juice on it right away, then came to the house with his foot swelling. Then I went out and got some clay. We put that on; didn't help. His foot was swelling all the time. Then we sent to one of the neighbors on the next farm for whiskey and got him good and drunk; that didn't help. Someone said, 'Get some cow manure and make a poultice and put on; that is very good.' But I said, 'Yes, and your own manure is better than any cow manure; will tell you two people that was saved with their own manure.' Well, I told my husband to go out and do a job. Well, he couldn't right away, but did. We made a poultice of his own manure and put on, and the poison came right out. It is sure good for poison. And the next day his foot was all right. I will tell you one when I used my own manure. One day I step on a nail in the chicken yard. Of course you can't do a job whenever you want to, you just have to wait. So I make a poultice of plantain leaves and put on until I could do a job; then, right away after I did, made a poultice of it and put on. I never had any trouble with the nail." BLEEDING Cuts - Nosebleed (4745-4831) CUTS 4745. If you cut yourself during the dark of the moon, the wound will not bleed much; if during the light of the moon, it will bleed profusely. 4746. The full moon is an unlucky time for cutting yourself. 4747. Wounds from cuts will heal better in the first and second quarters of the moon. 4748. If you cut yourself on a dark moon, you will have a scar; if on a light moon, you will not. 4749. A cut made in the sign of the heart (Leo) always causes greater pain. 4750. A cloth washed out on Sunday quenches the flow of blood immediately when bound about a cut. 4751. Blood poisoning never attacks a cut in the foot of a swimmer during the first ten days of August. 4752. "My grandfather cut his foot very bad and, when it heal up, his leg was all stiff; and the remedy he used was very old. He took those bugs that stay under old rotten logs --- I don't remember what you call them --- cooked them, made a salve of them, rubbed his stiff leg with it, and it cure him." 4753. Salve for cuts is prepared by boiling down in lard the red part from chicken manure and straining it through a rag. 4754. "I can tell a true story about a boy years ago that was playing out in the yard and cut his hand bad on some glass and got some of the pieces in his hand. His mother knew my mother well, but didn't know about the yellow clay. This boy's hand got so bad that the mother had to take him to the doctor. I am sure he had his hand lanced five times; blood poison was setting in. The doctor told the mother he was worried; he may have to take the hand off if he couldn't get it better. One morning, after being to the doctor, his mother and the boy came along Ninth Street, and mother wanted to know what was wrong, and they told her. Mother said, 'Let me see your hand.' My mother looked at it and said, 'I am going to help you save that hand, and did. She took the bandage off, the doctor had put on, got some yellow clay and hot vinegar and put on; had the folks to stay at her house all day, and every time the vinegar got cold, would put hot again. By the next day she had all the fever out of the arm, and the third day he went back to the doctor to have him take the glass out of his hand that this clay and vinegar had drawn down, and his arm was saved. That boy is around seventy now, and he often stopped here at the gate and talked about my mother saving his hand when the doctor wanted to take it off." 4755. Cobwebs are used in three ways to stop the bleeding of a cut: first, after they have been applied, wrap tightly about them a piece of brown paper as a bandage; second, first cover the wound with sugar, then soot, then cobwebs, and then a cloth bandage; and third, apply a mixture of

106 cobwebs and soot. Some only use the soot, which has a reputation for healing qualities; but other reject it, separately or in combination with cobwebs, for it is said to leave a black scar. Cobwebs almost always means dusty spider webs, usually gathered from a dark cellar, and rarely clean ones. 4756. "My cousin was cutting wood and one morning he came home with his big toe cut open to the bone. As he came through the barn lot he took off his shoe and walked through the cow manure, and when he got to the house he said, 'I have cut my toe open to the bone, but I stopped in the barn lot and walked through the cow manure.' Grandma said, 'You could not of done anything better.' And he never had any trouble with his toe." 4757. "It will amuse you to hear that my brother Walter, fourteen at the time, just then made a great slash in his leg with his new Christmas pocketknife. In the excitement, the knife disappeared and was not found for months. It at last turned up, swathed in grease and rags, where it had been hidden by our faithful colored maid, who did not intend that her favorite Walter should be endangered in life and limb by any foolish negligence of his family. A man who lived next door to us many years ago cut his foot with an axe. He was given medical attention, but for good measure the family greased the axe head and laid away carefully, usually in a dry place, until the would heals. If the axe had rusted, the wound would not have healed." 4758. "Years ago my brother was out in the field and he cut his three fingers almost off with a scythe --- the finger was just hanging on. We took that scythe and greased it good, then hung it up --- hang it up and you will not have any trouble with blood poison — and my brother just got along fine with his fingers." 4759. A man who cuts himself with an axe should wipe the blood off the blade, rub coal oil over the steel, and lay the implement under his bed; he will not only cure the wound but also never be cut with that axe again. 4760. "One day a man was out in the field cutting corn and he cut his leg with the corn knife, and he stuck the knife right down in the ground and his leg stopped bleeding." 4761. A cut heals and never leaves a scar, if a horsehair is tied about it. 4762. Scrapings from the hoof of a horse makes a good poultice for cuts. Sometimes these scrapings are parched on the stove and mixed with soot. 4763. To check a bleeding caused by a cut, bore a hole into a soft maple tree and plug up in this hole some of the blood. 4764. As a remedy for cuts, bind on it three leaves, taking each leaf from a different plant. 4765. To stop the bleeding of a cut, bind a piece of silver on it. Silver is particularly good for the bleeding of varicose veins. 4766. In checking the flow of blood, tie a snake skin about a cut. 4767. "Here is one of my grandfather's: if you have a bad cut and blood poison sets in, get the flesh of a blacksnake and bind on; will draw the poison out." 4768. Urine on a cut stops the bleeding and disinfects the wound. NOSEBLEED 4769. Nosebleed can be cured or prevented by wearing a necklace of amber beads. 4770. Red beads about the neck will prevent nosebleed. 4771. If you wipe some of the blood on three beans while saying the Lord's Prayer and then bury them, your nose will stop bleeding. 4772. Beets (because they are red) may be put in a sack and hung over the head of the bed as a preventive against nosebleed at night. Cow beets (sugar beets) are sometimes required. 4773. "One day I had nosebleed bad, I was trying cold water, and a man came along and said, 'Do you want me to stop your nose from bleeding?' I said, 'Sure I do.' He walked around me three times; saying to himself a certain verse out of the Bible; then he stop and said, 'Blow your nose three times.' I did. And on the third blow there was no blood." 4774. You can stop nosebleed by letting three drops of blood fall on a brick (red) and throwing the brick over the house. 4775. "I know a man up here at Mendon had someone to give him a buckeye to carry, and he has been carrying it for twenty years and never had nosebleed after he started to carrying the buckeye." 4776. To cure nosebleed, tie a strip of buckskin around the neck. 4777. "If you have nosebleed, hold a shovel of hot coals and let the blood fall on them. It will dry the blood up. When I went to school in the country the teacher tried everything, and the shovel of red coals was all that would help it." 4778. Red corn strung on a string and worn as a necklace cures nosebleed. 4779. A nose stops bleeding, if you count twenty. 4780. Fifty counted backwards is a nosebleed remedy. 4781. "My sister always does this to stop nose bleedings: take some of the blood and make a cross with the blood over the forehead." 4782. Your nose will stop bleeding at once, if you think of someone who has been dead a long time — over fifty years say some. 4783. In curing a child's nosebleed, bathe the child with a dirty dish rag using dirty dishwater. 4784. It is lucky to have nosebleed on Friday. 4785. A nosebleed is stopped by raising and holding both hands above your head; but usually, in addition, a string is tied about the middle finger — of the left hand say some, of the right say others. 4786. "If I have the nosebleed on the left side, always stand up and hold my right hand up as high as I can; if on the right side, I hold my left hand up as high as I can." 4787. A key may be held against the back of your neck or in the middle of your back to cure nosebleed. Sometimes the key is wrapped in a wet cloth. 4788. "My husband always does this when his nose goes to bleeding: hangs three keys on a string down his back." 4789. When your nose begins to bleed, put the end of a key up the bleeding nostril and then, without wiping off the blood, bind it about your neck; and as long as that key remains there, you will never be bothered again by nosebleed. 4790. To be freed from nosebleed, wear a key on a green string about your neck. Occasionally a bunch of keys is tied to the green string. 4791. "I used to have nosebleed all the time until I started wearing a key on a red string around my neck all the time and now I don't have it any more." 4792. Nosebleed in a man can be cured, if he transfers his pocketknife from the right pocket to the left. 4793. As a remedy for nosebleed, let some of the blood drip on the blade of a knife or ax and then thrust the blade into the ground. 4794. "One I try and think good for nosebleed is to let a steel knife down your back right in the middle, then let it lay right at the bottom of your spine."

107 4795. A piece of lead hanging down the back or worn about the neck, in the hollow of the throat say some, cures nosebleed; but this cure frequently requires the lead to be round-shaped --- therefore, either the metal is flattened into a disk, or gun shot are used as a necklace or put in a sack. 4796. If you hold a piece of lead behind your lip your nose will stop bleeding. However, with the mistaken belief that a pencil contains lead, the point of a lead pencil is thought to be just as good. 4797. "When I was young I had nosebleed all the time, when one day an old Indian told my father to get a lead spoon, mash it up into a round piece, put a hole in it, then put it on a red string and let me wear it, letting the piece of lead lay on my chest. Father took an old spoon, fixed it, and I never had nosebleed after I started to wearing it." 4798. Wear a piece of lead that has never touched the ground and your nose will not bleed. 4799. If worn about the neck, a bullet with which something has been killed is a nosebleed remedy. 4800. As a treatment for nosebleed, drop a nail down your back. 4801. Leave rusty nails in cider vinegar until the rust comes off and then drink this liquid when stopping nosebleed. 4802. A nutmeg kept about the neck is good for nosebleed. 4803. "When I was a little girl I had the nosebleed all the time, and my mother put two nutmegs on a red string and made me wear them all the time to school. If I would take them off, my nose would start to bleed." 4804. Nosebleed is cured with paper in these ways: against the back of the neck or down the back use paper of any kind, especially brown paper, and better yet, brown paper soaked in vinegar; between the teeth bite hard on paper or cardboard; and under the inside of the upper lip hold any type of paper, chewed into a wad, folded, or soaked in vinegar. 4805. "My brother was with a friend one day and his nose started to bleeding bad. They were near the river and he thought of his grandma's remedy, so he told the boy to lie down; and he took a wet pebble out of the river and put up under his lip, and a handful down his back, and it stop bleeding." 4806. A gold ring held under the inside of the upper lip or pressed against the roof of the mouth is a cure for nosebleed. 4807. Go where you cannot be seen and let your nose bleed on a white rock, then turn the rock over and depart, and the bleeding will cease. 4808. If you pick up a white stone, let three drops of blood fall onto the underside, restore the stone to its original position so that the blood touches the ground, your nose will stop bleeding. 4809. A pair of scissors, some say they must be open, may be held against the back of the neck or dropped down the back to cure nosebleed. 4810. You rid a person of nosebleed by dropping a pair of scissors down his back three times. 4811. To get rid of a nosebleed, tie a pair of scissors to a red string about your neck and let the point hang down. 4812. Silver, usually in the form of a dime, is good for nosebleed: it may be worn on a string about the neck; it may be held against the back of the neck; it may be tied on the forehead or merely placed there if the patient lies down; it may be bitten; and it may be put in the mouth — under the tongue, against the roof of the mouth, and behind the upper or lower lip. A nickel or penny may be used in the same ways. 4813. For nosebleed you may wrap two dimes in separate pieces of brown paper and insert one of these under the lower lip and the other under the upper lip. 4814. If your nose bleeds, put a dime in a small sack, tie this about your neck, using a red-yarn string, and, having opened the Bible, say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, stop my nosebleed. 4815. To cure a nosebleed, whittle a pine stick to a point, let three drops of blood fall on this point, and bury the stick in an ash pile. 4816. Cross two sticks, let some blood drop on the place where they are crossed, and your nose will stop bleeding. 4817. To cure a nosebleed, either keep a spoon under your tongue or pressed against the roof of your mouth. A spoon dropped down your back is also an effective cure. 4818. Your nose will never bleed, if you wear a blue string tied in a bow around your neck. 4819. Use a black silk cord or thread about your neck as a nosebleed remedy. 4820. A piece of red string or yarn about the neck cures nosebleed. 4821. "My father always did this: if you wear a red silk ribbon around your neck, will stop nosebleed. My mother kept a red silk ribbon in the drawer all the time, for my father's nose bled so much, and he would put it on just as soon as it would start to bleed, to stop it." 4822. You can cure nosebleed by wearing a piece of red string or yarn about your neck for three days. A woman said she had tried this remedy. As soon as she removed the yarn, her nose began to bleed; but when she replaced the yarn, the bleeding stopped immediately. By experiment she discovered that the yarn could be taken off only after the third day. 4823. "I used to have nosebleed bad. I remember one day I went to the little country school and my nose bled all morning. The teacher didn't try to do anything and it bled most of the afternoon. In those days they made the children all walk to school, didn't care how far it was. Well, I was walking home, I was so weak that another girl had my arm helping me along the road. We had to pass by where an old man and woman lived. The woman saw me and said, 'Are you sick?' I told her my nose had been bleeding all day and I could not stop it. She took me in the house, saying, 'We will have that bleeding stop right away.' She got a red-yarn string, tied it around my front finger [index finger] of my left hand, saying, 'It will stop now.' And it did. This is so. Some laugh when I tell it, but it's the truth." 4824. In treating a nosebleed, tie a string or a piece of yarn, black or red, about the little finger; some say the left, others say the right. 4825. Your nose will stop bleeding, after you tie a piece of red yarn around your neck and little finger. 4826. Bind a piece of red yarn on the thumb for nosebleed. 4827. "I always do this when my nose goes to bleeding and it will stop: take a white cord string and wrap around your first [index finger], keep wrapping it around." 4828. Nosebleed can be stopped by binding a white string around your arm just above the elbow: if it is the right nostril, tie the string above the right elbow; if the left nostril, above the left elbow. 4829. "Those little balls [galls] that come on the white oak tree, keep in the house all the time. They are good for nosebleed. Take the cotton out and you will find in that cotton something like red powder. That powder is very good to put on, to stop nosebleed. My mother kept a jar of them all the time, so if anyone got nosebleed, she could use it." 4830. If a small child suffers from nosebleed, put a few drops of the blood in a hole that you have bored into a tree to mark his height; and after he grows higher than this hole, his nose will never bleed again. 4831. This is a good nosebleed remedy: if the blood comes from the left nostril, lay a wet cloth on the left lower part of your bare belly; if the right nostril, the right lower part of your bare belly. BOWEL TROUBLE (4832-4846)

108

4832. "Years ago my boy had running-off. I just tried everything. He got so weak he couldn't walk around, when I met an old woman that lived down in the Bottom close to Hannibal [Missouri], and she told me about cutting up the burdock root: take burdock roots, cut fine, and hang around the neck. I got some right away and tied them around his neck. It sure stopped the running-off. I always tell everyone about this, for I think it good." 4833. Pulverize a dried chicken gizzard and administer to children having diarrhea. 4834. "My grandfather had locked bowels. One day they thought he was going to die, and they stuck a rooster in the throat and let him drink the blood while the rooster was dying. And it cure my grandfather." 4835. If the first diaper soiled by a newborn baby is burned, the child will never have bowel trouble. 4836. You can force your bowels to act by scrapping your finger-nails upwards. 4837. To cure the chapping caused by a baby's loose bowels, lay a corncob over its bottom. 4838. "My mother would always make a jarful of light-bread biscuits on Good Friday and whenever any child in the neighborhood would get the summer complaint, my mother would take one of these biscuits and grate it up real fine like powder and give to the child, and they would get over the bowel trouble." 4839. Bark on the east side of a white oak tree supplies an excellent tea for loose bowels. 4840. A good laxative may be obtained by boiling the bark from the east side of a peach tree. 4841. Scrape the bark on a peach tree upwards, never downwards, and use the tea made of these scrapings as a cathartic. 4842. "Take ragwood [not ragweed] leaves, pull the leaves up from the stem, never down, and put the leaves in a bowl. Pour boiling water over them. After it stands half an hour, strain and sweeten, and give a baby a teaspoonful every few hours. It is very good for the diarrhea. We lived out in the country years ago and could not get a doctor. Our baby spoiled fifteen diapers in one hour. We thought she was going to die. Someone told us about the ragwood-leaves tea and we gave it to her." 4843. "My great-grandmother said sheep dung makes a good tea for flux." 4844. Children weaned in the sign of the bowels (Virgo) have summer complaint. 4845. By weaning her baby in the sign of the knee (knees = Capricornus), a mother protects the child against bowel trouble. 4846. If you wean a baby when the sign is in the thigh (thighs = Sagittarius) going down into the knees (Capricornus), you will never have any trouble with its bowels running off. BURNS (4847-4860) 4847. "Mrs. O's neighbor had a little girl and one day she fell against the stove and burnt her hand very bad, and the mother couldn't stop the child from crying, and she thought she was going to get in convulsions. So she brought her over to Mrs. T. to see if she could quiet her any; and some man was delivering coal to Mrs. T. and asked what was the matter with the little girl, and she told him. He said, 'I can make her stop crying if her mother wants me to.' So he mumbled a few words over the child's hands, and Mrs. T. said the child stopped crying instantly. Mrs. T. asked him what he said, and he said he couldn't tell anyone; if he did tell, he would lose the power of healing all burns." 4848. "A man has got to tell this to a woman, or a woman to a man. A man told it to me. If you burn yourself, blow on it real easy, and hold your breath while repeating this, and say Blow in frost and come out fire. You must say this nine times and the burn will not hurt." 4849. "My sister could take out a burn on your body. She would make a cross over the burn, then say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and it would come out." 4850. Unless you bury the bandage that has been wrapped round a burn, the wound will never heal. Burning the bandage causes greater inflammation. 4851. If you burn yourself and a blister is raised, wait until after sunset to open it and the burn will not become a sore. 4852. A burn can be relieved by poulticing it with cat hair. 4853. "My sister got some liniment in her eyes one day and it burned her face and eyes bad. Mother said all she did was to run out to the henhouse, pick up a handful of fresh hen manure and put all over her face, took out all the burns." 4854. Mix the white part of chicken droppings with lard and apply to a burn. 4855. Burns are poulticed with dusty cobwebs. 4856. Spread cow manure over a burn. 4857. "A good remedy for a burn, my grandma always kept on hand, was to go to a elderberry bush on the north side, and scrape the outer side bark up and throw away, then scrape the inside bark up, then fry in a little piece of fresh lard and a little piece of alum. Makes a wonderful salve for burns." 4858. When you burn your finger, touch the lobe of your ear and this will remove the soreness immediately. 4859. "My daughter pulled a tub of hot water over on her and I put this goose- droppings salve, fry them down in lard for ten minutes, on her and the burns never left a scar." 4860. Use the fat from a rabbit kidney on burns. CHILLS (4861-4897) 4861. To treat chills, set an ax under the patient's bed so that the cutting edge points upward. 4862. "I knew a man at Marblehead that had chills so bad he just shook like a dog all the time. I made him a bag of camphor and had him to wear it [usually about the neck]. After he started to wearing the bag, never had any more chills." 4863. The person who sits in the sun gazing at a yellow caterpillar will catch chills. 4864. "When I was a boy I had chills all the time. My mother took me to several doctors but they didn't help me. I was sick all the time, when one day an old German woman came to our house and told my mother about the gall out of three chickens. My mother got the three gall from three different chickens and give it to me. She had a time making me take it. My sister had to help me, but they got it down. I am a man forty-seven years old and I have not had the chills since." 4865. Administer tea brewed from the lining of a chicken gizzard for chills. 4866. A cyclamen plant in the house causes chills. 4867. "My mother always said, if you have chills, to run around the house six times, then jump in the door, and leave your chills outside." 4868. If you have chills, take three drops of tea made from hops, do this for three successive mornings, then skip three mornings, repeat this alternate process until you have taken nine doses, and your chills will be gone.

109 4869. You can get rid of chills in the spring by blowing your breath into a mole run. 4870. "I have a friend that does this all the time in the spring and fall to keep from having chills: cut an onion in half and bind under both arms." 4871. Tea made of leaves pulled downwards from a peach tree cures chills-and fever. 4872. Red pepper pods in your stockings wards off chills. 4873. Carry a potato in your left pocket as a treatment for dumb chills. 4874. A rat crawling over the face of a sleeping person is followed by chills next day. 4875. "My mother always wore a little sack of salt around her neck to keep from having chills." 4876. "My husband and I put salt in the heels of our shoes all the time to keep away chills." 4877. Salt worn in your shoes for nine days banishes chills. 4878. Drink a teaspoonful of salt in a half glass of water before breakfast for three mornings and then skip three mornings. Repeat this alternate process until freed from chills. 4879. As a prescription for chills, toss salt over your shoulder while repeating In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 4880. "My sister had the chills years ago and she took a cup of salt and went down to this creek that goes through South Park now, and stood on the bank with her back to the water and throw this salt over her shoulder into the creek, saying in the Three Highest Names, and she got well." 4881. Arise before dawn and, not uttering a word, dig a hole, urinate into it, drop in a handful of salt, cover with dirt, and your chills will soon disappear. 4882. "If you have chills and don't like someone, go to their land and make three holes in the ground and put some salt in each hole. As you put the salt in one hole, say In the Name of the Father; in the other hole, say Son; and in the last hole, say Holy Ghost, I hope this leaves me and will bother you. And they will get your chills. My husband, before he died, had chills bad down in the Bottom. And he didn't like one of the neighbors, and he went over on his land and did this; and he got well, and the neighbor got the chills." 4883. Eat baked sheep lice in jelly as a chills remedy. 4884. Chills may be cured by drinking sheep-manure tea. 4885. "My uncle had chills for years, tried everything, when an old Negro woman told him this: take soot out of the chimney and molasses, equal parts, then make a flour poultice of it, put one on each ankle and one on each wrist- He tried it and it cured him. I also had chills, did this, and it cured me." 4886. "Here's another thing that happen down around Fall Creek. There's an old saying, take a spider web, roll them in little balls and take for chills, will cure you. I had a friend down in the Bottom did this every time he had chills. I told him some day he would get some spider eggs on the web, would kill him. He said, 'I always look good so there will be no eggs on the web'." 4887. "My father had chills bad. He went to town after medicine but they were out of it, for that was years ago. You see: I am eighty-nine [1936], and I was only a child, so it was a long time ago. When he got home an old woman was at our house and she told him about tying the string [usually white] on his arm above the elbow and one below the knee on the opposite leg. He laughed, but he tried it, and he got over the chills. I have tried it myself since those days and the chills always left me." 4888. "I had chills bad. A neighbor man came in to see me and said, 'What's wrong?' I said, 'I have chills.' He said, 'I sure would be ashamed to have chills,' and left the room. It sure made me mad to think he would say that, for I didn't want them. In a few minutes he came back with a wet white piece of string, walk up to the bed, laid it over my head, then around my left arm, then told me to shut my eyes and not look [measuring?]. He picked up the string and left the room. I have never had chills since and I am seventy-five year' old. Several days after he left the room, we saw a white string hanging on the eaves of the house. We thought it was the same string, but we never asked him. But we were sure it was." 4889. "My sister had chills bad and she put a string around her waist, then went to a big tree and tied the other end around this tree, wishing in the Three Highest Names the chills will go, then started to run --- the string will break and you will leave your chills on the tree. She left her chills too, for she never had them after that." 4890. "I will tell you something that's a fact. I tried it. My uncle came home from the [Civil] war. He had the rheumatism and chills near a month, and a fellow, in the same regiment he was in during the war, that was always full of projects, told him how to get rid of them. He sure got rid of them. I was twenty-one in March, and the middle of April I took chills and ague, and shook for six months. The last two months I shook mornings and afternoon both. My uncle came over to see my mother. He was telling me what to do. I said, 'I will try that.' I had been to three doctors and they didn't help me. Next morning I got up and took a long piece of yarn string and went about one-half mile from home to a white oak tree. You have to get up before anyone else gets up, and dress, and never speak to anyone. I had told my mother the night before, I was going out of the house early in the morning, that when I passed through the room not to speak to me. I went up the hill to the white oak tree. The hill was not so steep. The tree was three feet over [in circumference]. Then I tied the string to a piece of bark on the tree. I am too fast. While going to the tree you have to tie a knot in the string for each chill that I had. I did this. Then I went around that tree with that string and tie the string to the other end where I had started at, and broke the rest of the string off. I could hear the roots of that tree breaking. My uncle told me not to get scared or look back [after leaving the tree]. I had about fifteen or twenty yards to the tow path along the river. I thought every moment that tree would come over on me. That day I was to have two chills, one in the morning and evening. I never had chills again until I took typhoid fever years after. A fellow that I knew, that was a cut-up, happen to come along and pass that white oak tree on the hill — seeing a yarn strung around it full of knots, pulled it off. And he had just as many chills as there were knots in that string." 4891. "My husband had the chills and he wrote on a piece of paper I want to get well. Then he folded it up and took it to a oak tree in the woods, and took a piece of bark off and put the paper against the tree, and put mud over the bark to hold it in place. My husband got well and the tree died." 4892. People having bad chills should never cross running water, because the ailment will return. 4893. Either ague or three-days-chills is treated by taking a plunge into cold water. 4894. Place a pan, jug or bucket, of water under your bed to drive away chills. 4895. Use in a tea for chills the bark scraped downwards from a willow tree. 4896. Seventy-seven willow leaves boiled down in water to a pint of liquid is a good chills tonic. 4897. Swallow an earth-worm for chills. FEBRILE DISEASES (4898-4967) Fever - Malaria - Measles (4898-4949) FEVER 4898. If you see a caterpillar, it will give you ague unless you spit. 4899. If you see a caterpillar crawling towards you, it will give you fever unless you spit over your little finger.

110 4900. If you see a fever-worm (a yellow caterpillar), it will give you fever unless you spit three times. 4901. Some say your seeing a caterpillar will not give you fever unless it crawls across your path; if it does cross your path, you can prevent fever by spitting. 4902. The person who touches a wooly-worm (caterpillar) takes a fever. 4903. Kill a caterpillar and you will catch fever before the summer is gone. 4904. To secure a good remedy for fever or measles, ask for one from a stranger on horseback; if the stranger is riding a white horse, the remedy will be more effective. 4905. Fever may be treated by tying one piece of fat bacon on the pulse and another piece on the back of the neck. 4906. Bind cabbage leaves on your forehead as a fever remedy. 4907. Cut the ear of a cat and let three drops of blood fall into some brandy, add a little pepper, and have a patient drink this for fever. 4908. "My daughter had a very high fever and one day someone told me about bathing her in cockleburs. So I went out in the woods and got a handful and mashed them, and made a tea and started to bathing her. That night when the doctor came he took me out in the kitchen and said, 'What have you done to your daughter? She is so much better tonight. Her fever is going down.' Then I told him I had been bathing her all day with the cockleburs. The doctor said, 'Keep it up, for she sure is better.' And in a few days she was all right." 4909. Bruised garlic kept in the room keeps out fever. 4910. Apply a garlic poultice to the soles of your feet at night and your fever will be gone by morning. 4911. "My mother when a girl lived in the South and she told me, if anyone was sick, if they would put a knife between the mattress and featherbed, would cut the fever down. So when I have anyone sick I always put a knife between the mattress and springs, because I have no featherbed, to cut the fever." 4912. High fever in a child goes up to the heart and causes death. A mustard poultice on each sole draws the fever down and sends it out through the feet. 4913. If a person has fever, lay an onion under the bed and the fever will go into the onion. Some say the onion must be hung over the bed and a fresh one used every morning. In this latter belief, however, the symbolism of the former is nullified --- that of making the fever go down. 4914. You can reduce a high fever in a child by laying sliced onions on its palms. 4915. Fever can be cured by poulticing the bottom of each foot with chopped onions and salt. 4916. Onions bound to the ankles and wrists reduces a fever. 4917. "I remember my mother telling many a time when she used to go to someone's house when a child had fever. I remember her telling one story about a little boy that had such a high fever, was out of his head. She went to help his mother. She started in mashing up plantain leaves, said about every fifteen minutes she would put fresh ones in the bottom of his stockings. In an hour time the fever started down, and she save that boy with only plantain leaves. " 4918. In curing a fever administer to the patient tea made of sheep droppings. 4919. To cure or to prevent fever, put a silver coin and a piece of salt of equal weight in a sack and carry it hanging over the heart. Some say the coin must be new. 4920. "Years ago my mother always kept a snake hide in the house to tie around our heads, if we got the fever. " 4921. "If a baby has high fever, take and put two tablespoonfuls of soda in a pint of hot water, and take rags and wet them good, and tie them around each foot and each ankle, and each wrist, and around their head; and when the rags get dry, wet them again. This will break the fever. Three weeks ago Mrs. C's baby was very sick with high fever. She done this and broke the fever. When the doctor came he wanted to know what she done, and she would not tell him, afraid he would laugh. But some old woman told her this." 4922. Drink your own urine to get rid of a fever. 4923. As a precaution against fever being taken by a baby with a coated tongue, wipe off its tongue with a soiled diaper. 4924. Set a bowl or pan of water under the head of the patient's bed in treating fever. 4925. Fever going up on a child results in death. To make fever go down, and to draw it out through the child's feet, keep a bread-and-yeast poultice on the soles. MALARIA 4926. A person who has had malaria will have it every seven years. 4927. "My husband had malaria fever. He tried everything. The doctor could not do him any good, and at last he went to a witch doctor down in Hannibal [Missouri], and he blew on his back three times, holding his hand on my husband's chest, saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and my husband got well right after that." 4928. "Every summer my family all wear a white silk bag with camphor in to keep malaria away." 4929. To check malarial chills, tea made from the dried lining of a chicken gizzard may be administered. 4930. Pulverize an egg shell, after you have removed the lining, and administer this powder for malaria. 4931. "I knew a man that had malaria fever, and they could not find anything that would help him; and they gave him the white droppings from a dog, in whiskey, and it cure him." 4932. Never let goldenrod grow in your yard, for it will give you malaria. 4933. "My husband was very sick with malaria fever and I did not have any onion in the house, so I took two large potatoes and cut them in halves and put them under the bed. His fever left and went into the potatoes and he got well." 4934. As a treatment for malaria, wear in each shoe a teaspoonful of salt and pepper mixed. 4935. "My brother had malaria. For months he was under the doctor's care, and he tried everything anyone would tell him, and it did no good. One day a real old German man told him if he would drink his own urine, it would cure him; he did, and he got well." 4936. "I had malaria bad and nothing would help. If you have malaria, it is a very old saying to go to a river and cross it where another river runs into it. So my folks took me down to St. Louis so I could cross over the Illinois River that runs into the Mississippi River. And I got better." MEASLES 4937. The breaking out of measles in a dark-complexioned person takes twice the amount of time it requires in a person with a light complexion. 4938. A baby that has measles before it teethes will have the disease again. 4939. If measles are contracted during apple-blossom time, the case is always a mild one. 4940. Keep a piece of asafetida round your neck and you will not catch measles. 4941. To induce the usual eruption in measles, administer tea made from black- haw bark sliced upwards, then downwards, from the tree. 4942. Protect a child against measles by letting it swallow three buckshot daily for three days.

111 4943. As a cure for measles, drink tea brewed from bark stripped off the north side of a cherry tree. 4944. "My boy had black measles bad and they would not come out. I gave him a cup of the water in which the white droppings from the chickens were boiled and in two hours you couldn't put your finger on his body; he was broke out from toe to head." 4945. Measles may be cured by drinking blossom-tea. This word, said to be an old one, derives its name from chicken droppings with brown centers and white edges, which are supposed to resemble blossoms. This remedy is also good for chickenpox. 4946. The rubbing of a rind from salty meat over the body forces out measles. 4947. A child with measles is helped by letting it wear a penny about the neck. 4948. Use sheep-manure tea as a sudorific agent in measles. 4949. Babies with measles became well, if rubbed with their wet diapers. Scarlet Fever - Smallpox - Typhoid Fever (4950-4967) SCARLET FEVER 4950. As a remedy for scarlet fever, rub black-cat blood on the patient. 4951. Cure scarlet fever by the administration of cobweb pills. 4952. Tea made from sheep manure is drunk in treating scarlet fever. SMALLPOX 4953. "Years ago a man died with the smallpox and after he was dead five years, they gave his shoes to a man to wear, and that man took the smallpox and died." 4954. A person who has had smallpox will never have tuberculosis. 4955. As a protection against smallpox, wear a piece of garlic around your neck. 4956. You make yourself immune from smallpox by carrying an onion in your pocket. TYPHOID FEVER 4957. You may cure typhoid fever by using a picked chicken in one of the following ways: split the chicken into halves and tie a half to each foot of the patient, gut two chickens and let the patient put a foot in each chicken, and lay a whole chicken against each foot. This remedy for typhoid fever, called brain fever years ago, was supposed to draw the fever down from the brain and out through the feet. 4958. Drink goat milk three times a day for typhoid fever. 4959. A woman, who as a girl in 1860 had had typhoid fever, then called brain fever, described the symptoms by saying that the eyes ran and became red, misery attacked the head, and hot steam issued from the ears. After she got well, her mother, complying with a custom of that time on Mc Gees Creek near the county-line, blew up a hog bladder, tied it, and let it dry; then she cut the inflated bladder crosswise, making two skull caps. The informant wore one of them to facilitate the regrowth of her hair. 4960. "My son years ago had typhoid fever and the doctor gave him up, could not get his fever down. An old colored woman told me to get jimson-weed leaves and cover him with them, and I did, and it brought the fever down when nothing else would." 4961. To cure typhoid fever, keep a pan full of slaked lime under the sickbed. 4962. Sliced onions placed in the room of a typhoid fever patient will suck up the poisonous odors. The onions will turn black. 4963. "My baby was dying, when the doctor came, with brain fever years ago. He said he could not help my baby. A neighbor came in. We peel onions, chopped them up fine, put salt over them, and made a poultice; put one on each wrist, one on the bottom of both feet, and one across its chest. [These five places are an excellent example of the magic number five equaling the five nails or wounds of the Cross.] And we saved my baby. Of course, we worked all night, when a doctor would not do that." 4964. "Sixty years ago [1879] my sister had typhoid bad. They did everything, when someone told the doctor, if he would give her urine, would help. And he put my sister's urine in all of her medicine after that and she got well." 4965. "My daughter was real sick with typhoid fever. The doctor told us she was going to die, that he could not do anything more for her. A neighbor told me, if I would get apple vinegar and bathe her, it would help. So after the doctor left, I sent my other girl to the store to get some apple vinegar, and started to bathing her all over, and kept it up. When I started to bathing her, she was so weak she didn't know us, and the second day she started to knowing us. And I got her well after the doctor said she would die. And apple vinegar was what save her." 4966. "In the last stages of typhoid, put cotton socks on their feet and fill the socks full of corn meal. Put in all the socks will hold, then soak feet, socks and all, in apple vinegar; and it will cure nine times out of ten." 4967. Spit when you see a woolly-worm [caterpillar] and you will not catch typhoid fever. FEMALE DISORDERS (4968-4992) 4968. To regulate the flow in menstruation, boil the inside bark of a sweet- apple tree and use as a tonic: if flowing too much, the bark must be scraped upwards from the tree; if too little, downwards. 4969. "When my mother was about twelve [1845] an old Indian doctor told them to wear black beads around their neck to keep the blood from going to the brain. All the girls in that time wore black beads all the time to get their monthly to come when coming into womanhood, for it made the blood come down." 4970. If a woman flows too freely, restrain it by painting round her knees with bluing. 4971. Sour food and drink must be avoided by menstruating women, for it will cause tuberculosis. 4972. If women during menses eat too much cinnamon or nutmeg, it will dry up their blood; and if they eat fish, anything that lives in water, they will die from an excessive flow. 4973. "If a young girl's sickness stops on her from a cold, don't let her eat bread or anything white; let her have everything red to eat, like red onions, red beets, and red tomatoes, and that will bring her again." 4974. A girl entering her first monthly period will have an easy experience and be sick three days only, provided the cloths are handled with three fingers when washed. 4975. The more you change your grandy rags, the greater the flow. 4976. The burning of menstrual cloths makes the woman absent-minded. 4977. Monthly cramps vanish, if the menstrual cloths are burned.

112 4978. "I knew a girl that always burned her monthly cloths and she got so thin and sick that they had to send for the doctor. And he told the mother, 'Do you mean to tell me you don't know what is wrong with this girl? Well, she is burning up her cloths every month and she is just burning up her life. If she don't stop, she will die. And I can't do a thing for her as long as she does." 4979. Burnt sanitary napkins bring on tuberculosis. 4980. "My mother always made me pee on red-hot coals whenever I would get any pains in my ovaries. I would have to stand over the bucket and let the steam come up." 4981. "My sister had milk leg bad and she used the yellow corn. She got well. Take the ears of yellow corn, boil them good and keep hot, put one ear on each side of the leg, and just as soon as cool, put another two on; will turn black, for it draws out all the fever." 4982. "You can always tell if a girl is menstruating by feeling the palm of her hand: if the center is very warm and all the rest of her hand cold, that is a sure sign." 4983. Beat up a pint of holy water with similar quantities of alcohol and olive oil, dip a sponge into this ointment, insert within the vagina nightly for nine nights, then cease during the next nine-night period, and continue this alternative process for whites. 4984. Throughout the nine-day period preceding a day in any month, the numeral of which corresponds to the date of your birth, soak a cord string in holy water, bind this around your waist, letting it remain there until the identical day next month, to free yourself from menstrual cramps. You must begin the rite during the dark of the moon between midnight and the first cockcrow. 4985. "I believe if anyone live out in the moonlight, will make them sick. I remember one night I could not sleep and I went out and lay on the top of the porch floor all night, and the moon was shining right down on me. And I took sick the next day and in a few days my monthly would not come. Then mother had father to get a pine board and take the knot out of it and shave real fine and put in a quart of whiskey. They gave it to me three times a day and I got all right. I always tell everyone not to sleep out and let the moon shine on you all night." 4986. "A woman told me to wear a potato in a sack around my waist for falling I of the womb." 4987. "Just before your monthly, if you have pains in your sides, take and put some salt in the palm of your hand and take your first finger and rub it around [circular motion] in that salt three times, then rub that finger on your sides, rubbing down, and the pains will leave. I tried this and know it is so." 4988. "When I was young I wore a red string around my neck all the time to make the blood go down, even to make my monthly come; for if I took that red string off my neck, they would not come, the blood would go up. So I wore it all the time to keep my blood going down." 4989. A white cotton string worn about each wrist arrests an excessive flow during menstruation. 4990. To check cramps while menstruating, roll a yarn string in sulphur and tie it around the leg. 4991. "If flowing real hard, put vinegar on the lower part of the stomach; will stop the flow. I have heard my mother say that was an old remedy of my grandma's, and she was a midwife." 4992. Never wash your head during menstruation; it will cause poor health. FOOT AND HAND AILMENTS (4993-5177) Ingrowing Toe-Nail - Sweaty Feet - Frostbitten (4993-5019) INGROWING TOE-NAIL 4993. Ingrowing toe-nails are prevented by trimming toe-nails on the light of the moon. 4994. A person who trims an ingrowing toe-nail during the increase of the moon always has trouble with it, but if it is trimmed while the moon decreases, the toe-nail will soon become normal. 4995. To cure an ingrowing toe-nail, cut it square at the beginning of a dark moon and keep scraping the nail from the center towards the outer edges until the moon becomes light. SWEATY FEET 4996. Bathe your feet with beer that has stood in the sun three days, to keep them from sweating. 4997. A good remedy for sweaty feet is to walk barefoot in the dew. 4998. Sweaty feet are cured by running barefoot round the house in the dew on three successive mornings. 4999. If you get up before sunrise on the first of May and walk in the dew, it will prevent sweaty feet. 5000. As a remedy for sweaty feet, wash them with the water in which a hog was scalded to remove its bristles. 5001. The person who at night keeps his shoes under the bed so that the toes point inward never has sweaty feet. 5002. Three pieces of white thread worn in the bottom of each shoe cures sweaty feet. 5003. To rid yourself of sweaty feet, they should be bathed with your own urine. 5004. For nine nights keep a pan of water beneath that part of the bed on which your feet lie and they will not sweat again. FROSTBITTEN FEET 5005. Pour hot water over chicken dung and bathe your feet with it for frostbite. 5006. Frostbitten feet are treated with applications of cow droppings. 5007. The burning in frostbitten feet can be removed by wiping them with an old dish rag. 5008. "We lived in the country and mother always kept several bladders out of the hogs, when they killed in the fall, for us children; for we had so far to walk to school we were always getting our feet frozen, and mother would rub this bladder over our feet." 5009. As a remedy for frostbitten feet, hold them in hot water containing horse manure. 5010. Warm rabbit guts in a bucket of hot water makes a good bath for frozen feet. 5011. "Another thing they did when I was a boy [the informant was ninety-seven in 1936], if you had frostbitten feet, was taking a rabbit and while warm wrap it around your feet; and if one didn't take the frost out, put another warm rabbit skin on." 5012. Salt worn in your shoes helps the circulation of the blood and thus keeps your feet from becoming cold or frozen. 5013. "We had a man living upstairs in our house years ago and we had a big snowstorm. I was looking out the window and saw this man walking around barefooted in the snow. I said, 'What is wrong with you? Do you want to die?' He said, 'Every winter I walk barefooted in the first snow and I never have cold feet all winter'." 5014. Feet will not become cold or frozen, if a person walks round the house every morning barefoot in the snow. 5015. You prevent a burning or itching in frostbitten feet by walking barefoot three times round the house in the snow and letting the latter dry on your feet. 5016. To prepare a salve for frostbitten feet, boil snow and lard together until all the snow water has boiled away. 5017. Sulphur may be kept in the shoes as a protection against cold or frozen feet.

113 5018. If you dip a string into pine tar and tie it about your ankle, your feet will not suffer from cold or frostbite. 5019. Chilblain is cured by trimming your toe-nails and placing them outdoors under a bucket. Sore Feet - Foot or Hand Cramp or Pain - Corns (5020-5144) SORE FEET 5020. A baby weaned in the sign of the feet (Pisces) never has sore feet. 5021. To cure sore feet, walk barefoot in the early morning dew. 5022. Run up and down the road barefoot before sunrise on Good Friday and you will not have sore feet all year. 5023. Elder leaves are worn in the bottoms of the shoes for sore feet. 5024. You can remove a pain from your foot by binding a small fish to the bare sole. 5025. As a prevention of sore feet, wear grape leaves in your shoes. 5026. If whiskey is kept in the shoes, sore feet are prevented. According to a Civil-War veteran this was a common practice among his comrades. 5027. Zinc insoles in your shoes cures sore feet. FOOT OR HAND CRAMP OR PAIN 5028. A sack of alum kept in the bed is good for cramps in the feet. 5029. Cramps in the feet or legs are prevented by keeping a sack of camphor tied under each knee. 5030. Leg cramps may be cured with a piece of copper wire worn as a band either below or above the knee. 5031. A bracelet of copper wire on the wrist is good for cramps in the arm. 5032. The person who wears a brass ring never has hand or leg cramps. 5033. "My father always laced his shoes up with copper wire and put a piece of paper under the tongue [of the shoe] to keep from having cramps in his feet." 5034. If you have a pain in your leg or arm, make three crosses over it as a cure. 5035. If you have a pain in your leg or arm, make three crosses over it: the first cross while saying Father; the second, Son; the third, Holy Ghost. The pain will soon be gone. 5036. "When I have cramps in my arms, and I have them a lot, I only make a cross on my arm, then spit on it, and they will go away." 5037. One rids himself of cramps in the legs by spitting on a finger and marking with this saliva a cross against the bare sole of each foot. 5038. Cramps in your leg are stopped by crossing the other leg over the one that hurts. 5039. "My mother wore an eelskin around her knee to keep from having cramp in her lower legs." 5040. Ward off cramps in the feet or legs with a flat file beneath the mattress of the bed. 5041. "My own aunt had cramps in her legs. A woman came in and wanted to know what was wrong --- she was all bended over, thought she was sick — said she would stop the cramp. She went home and got two black-silk handkerchiefs and tied one around each leg, and she was well in one hour. You see, my aunt had put vinegar in her husband's whiskey to break him, and he caught her. She was so scared that she turn black and went to bending over with cramp. But this woman brought her out in one hour with the black silk handkerchief tied around each leg." 5042. "My uncle, whenever he gets cramps in his legs in the field or any place, he always ties a red handkerchief around his knees to stop them." 5043. "My husband does this all the time: put three hops in a tobacco sack, tie up real good and put under the sheet near your legs, will keep cramps away." 5044. "I have tried this and it worked: paint a circle around your ankles with black iodine and if you have cramps in your legs, they will leave." 5045. Keep a piece of iron at the foot of the bed for cramps in the legs. 5046. A leather strap about the wrist prevents cramps in the arms. 5047. "Take new muslin that has never been used for anything and make a wide garter, and wear around your leg; will stop cramps. I have tried this." 5048. As a protection against cramps in the legs, sprinkle red pepper into your shoes. 5049. Either a rock or a brick kept in or under the bed will prevent cramps in your legs. Some say the rock must be white. 5050. A pair of scissors under the sheet or mattress, or under the pillow, protects you against leg cramps. Some say the end of the scissors must be pointed, not round; others say they must be open, not closed. 5051. Never sit down with one shoe on and one off; it will give you cramps in your feet. 5052. If you keep your shoes higher than your head, you will have cramps in your legs. 5053. "Whenever I take my shoes off, I always set them with the heels up so the perspiration will run out of them, and to keep from having the cramps in my I legs. I keep my Sunday shoes always sitting upside down and I don't have cramps." 5054. To be freed from foot or leg cramps during the night, take off your left shoe first and lay it upside down in the corner of room that is nearest to your bed and on the left-hand side. 5055. On going to bed, set your right shoe down first, your left behind it, both toes pointing the same way, and you will not have foot cramps during the night. 5056. "I didn't believe this, but I had cramps in my toes and I thought I would try it, and I set my shoes up against the wall with toes out, and it stopped my cramp." 5057. "I never have cramps when I do this. Several times I have forgot and I get cramps in my feet. When you go to bed, set your shoes against the south wall and with the toes together." 5058. As a riddance of cramps in the feet or legs, arrange your shoes so that the toes point toward the east. 5059. You will not suffer from cramps in the feet or legs, if your shoes are turned upside down with the toes pointing northward. 5060. "I always do this to keep cramps away: if you have cramps in your legs, take and put your shoes upside down under the last chair you set on before you went to bed." 5061. "I do this when I go to bed: when you go to bed at night, always set your shoes by the bed like you were walking away from the bed; will keep you from having cramps in your legs when in bed." 5062. You can get rid of leg cramps by letting your shoes rest anywhere beneath the bed; but some say the head of the bed, others say the foot of the bed. 5063. You can get rid of leg cramps by letting your shoes rest upside down anywhere beneath the bed; but some say the head of the bed, others say the foot of the bed.

114 5064. "I do this every night before I go to bed to keep cramp out of my leg; put your shoes upside down at the head of the bed, make three crosses over them, say the Three Highest Names." 5065. To cure leg cramps: some say your shoes must be laid under the bed so that the toes point outward, others say inward; and further, some say the shoes should be completely beneath the bed, others say half the shoes only. 5066. As a protection against leg cramps, at night set your shoes upside down with both toes pointing away from the bed and make over them the sign of the cross three times: the first one while saying Father; the second, Son; and the third, Holy Ghost. 5067. In treating foot or leg cramps, set your shoes under the bed so that the toes touch, form the letter V, and point outward. 5068. In treating foot or leg cramps, set your shoes under the bed so that the heels touch, form the letter V, and the toes point outward. 5069. Foot cramps while in bed may be avoided by setting your shoes in the shape of the letter T. 5070. "My dad always did this before he went to bed to keep from having cramps in his legs. He stood working on a ladder all day. And he said if you would put your shoes in one another, you would never have cramps in bed." In this rite they are usually set under the bed. 5071. Always keep one shoe across the other at night and you will not catch leg cramps. They are generally kept beneath the bed. 5072. Keep your shoes crossed and upside down under the bed, to obtain relief from cramps in the legs. 5073. As a treatment for cramps in the legs, stuff your socks into your shoes and lay the latter upside down under the bed. 5074. One of your soiled socks or stockings kept beneath the bed protects you against cramps in the legs. 5075. "My husband keeps his socks on the bed all the time, and when he feels a cramp coming on, he puts his socks on, for they stop the cramps." 5076. Just before going to bed, exchange your cotton socks for woolen ones, and sleep in the latter as a protection against toe cramps. 5077. A man can get rid of leg cramps by wearing in bed at night a woman's stockings; a woman, a man's socks. 5078. Hang up your stockings by the toes at night to prevent cramps in your legs. 5079. A silver ring on the hand will protect you against cramps in the fingers. 5080. "I wear a string with a dime on it on my leg all the time to keep away cramp." 5081. "My grandmother always wore two skunk hide strips, one on each leg above the knee, to keep away cramps in the legs." 5082. Bottle a few live black spiders and keep them in the foot of your bed as a remedy against cramps at night. 5083. To stop cramps or pains in your arms or legs, tie a string about the aching place. 5084. If you have cramps below the knee, tie a string anywhere below the knee; if above the knee, tie it anywhere above the knee. 5085. As a remedy for leg cramps, tie a black, red, or white string about the ankle, or above the knee, or just below the knee. Cotton, silk or yarn may be used. Sometimes the white string is a candlewick. Sometimes the string is dipped into kerosene or turpentine. The string is tied on the leg affected; if both legs, use two strings. This statement condenses twenty- seven separate beliefs. 5086. You can cure cramps in one leg by tying a black string around the opposite leg. 5087. Three strands of red or white yarn tied below the knee or worn as a garter will cure cramps in the legs. 5088. "There would be many a night that I would not sleep, if I didn't tie twelve red yarn strings around my leg that has the cramp." 5089. To prevent cramps in arms or legs, tie a white string in a bow knot round your arm or leg. 5090. For foot or leg cramps, keep a sack of sulphur in a pocket, or at the bottom of the bed, or against each foot at night, or sprinkle some of it in your shoes. 5091. Put a bowl or pan of water under your bed at night as a remedy for cramps in the feet. Some add; the colder the water, the better. 5092. A pan of water kept under the bed for seven days cures cramps in the feet. CORNS 5093. To rid yourself of a corn, always scatter the parings over an ant mound. 5094. After you have taken off a corn, bury it in the ground and it will never bother you again. 5095. "My mother had a bad corn. One day she was cutting it and she cut it so, it went to bleeding real hard. She was afraid of blood poison, so she put the blood on a piece of bacon and buried the bacon back of the barn; and the corn didn't come back, and she didn't get a sore foot." 5096. You lose a corn, if on three consecutive nights you dip a piece of raw boiling-beef into vinegar and use it as a poultice. 5097. The alternate ritual of painting your corn with bluing three nights in succession and then refraining for an equal length of time will eventually remove it. 5098. A corn or bunion can be cured by rubbing it three times with the kernel of a buckeye. 5099. "Chewing-gum is very good for a corn. I had a very bad corn on my little toe. I was working up in the North Bottom and a girl said, 'I can cure your corn.' I said, 'I will give you $5.00 if you take it off.' She took some chewing-gum, chews it, then put it on my corn. She did this three times. I lost my corn. I am sorry to say it, but I only gave her $4.00. She was glad to get that and I was glad to lose my corn." 5100. Without being seen by anyone, jerk off some leaves as you pass a cherry tree and wipe them over your corn, bury these leaves, and the corn will have disappeared after the leaves decay. 5101. Heat some sap from cherry tree and spread it over a corn, letting it remain there three days, and the corn will fall off if soaked in warm water. 5102. One loses a corn by feeding the trimmings to a chicken. 5103. As poultices on corns, the inner lining from a rooster gizzard may be used. 5104. Soreness in a corn is relieved with applications of yellow clay. 5105. Coal oil removes a corn, if it is applied on seven nights and seven mornings. 5106. To cure a corn, apply coal oil for nine nights. 5107. "I had two bad corn. I tried everything, and someone told me this; we lived on a farm and I did the milking, thought I would try it. So I took off my shoes and stockings and went milking in my bare feet, walking in all the fresh droppings I could find, and I lost both of my corns." 5108. In treating a corn, one rubs over it a candle with which he stroked a corpse. 5109. Corns are removed by paring them with the razor of a dead man. 5110. A callus on the sole can be cured, if a person walks barefoot in the dew for three successive nights or mornings. 5111. If you walk barefoot through the dew on the first three mornings of May, your corn soon disappears. 5112. Smear a dime with blood from your corn; when this wears off the coin, you will no longer have the corn. 5113. Rub your dish rag over your corn, go to the back fence, stand with your back to the fence, throw the rag across your shoulder and over the fence, walk away without looking back, and your corn will soon be gone. 5114. Steal a dirty dish rag, rub it over your corn for seven mornings, bury the rag, and you will lose the corn. 5115. Earwax is a good corn salve.

115 5116. Garlic worn in your shoes cures a corn. 5117. A corn may be anointed with a mixture of dandruff from a hog's back, lard, and turpentine. 5118. Bathe a foot callus with water in which a slaughtered hog was scalded to soften the bristles. 5119. Unsalted lard bandaged to a corn for five mornings and five nights takes it off. 5120. If you swathe a corn with lard nightly for seven nights, it drops off during the seventh night. 5121. A lemon rubbed over a corn on nine nights soon removes the corn. 5122. Whittle a match to a sharp peg, press it round your corn, moving in a circle, and then hammer the peg into the north side of a tree. This rids you of the corn. 5123. You should pare a corn when the moon is full and, every morning thereafter until the new moon, cover it with saliva. This prevents the growth of corns. 5124. Some say corns trimmed in the dark of the moon neither bleed so much nor grow so fast; others say they will decrease as the moon decreases. 5125. As a method for removing a callus on the bottom of the foot, hold it in hot salt water under a dark moon. 5126. In ridding yourself of a corn, it must be rubbed In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost just as the moon is taking off. 5127. "I had a real bad corn on my foot, so I sit down on the back porch and took off my stocking and did this, and I lost my corn. In the last quarter of the moon, look at the moon, take off your stocking, spit on your finger and say to the moon, making a cross over your corn, say Corn, corn, corn, go away: In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 5128. "My mother tried this and the corn went: when you go to bed at night, blow your nose, then touch your corn, and say Good night, Mr. Corn. You must not speak while doing this or again that night. Next morning, as soon as you awake, and before you speak to anyone, blow your nose and say Good morning, Mr. Corn. You must do this for nine nights and mornings." 5129. Onion juice rubbed on a corn for seven nights will cure it. 5130. Enter your bedroom in the darkness, take off shoes and stockings, and bind a piece of onion on the corn. Next morning, remove rag and onion, and drop them into a hole so that they disappear from view after falling. Wait one night and the corn will be gone. 5131. If a dirty dish rag is rubbed over a corn three times and secretly buried in the back yard, the corn will disappear as the dish rag rots. 5132. A callus pared during a rain never returns. 5133. One can take away a corn, if it is rubbed with saliva on a piece of cotton. 5134. Rid yourself of a corn by rubbing it with your first spittle in the morning. Some add, you must not speak or do anything before trying this remedy. 5135. Each night before going to bed and every morning after getting up, spit on your corn until it disappears. 5136. "My sister had a bad corn and for a week [seven days] every morning she would rub her spit over it before she took a drink or spoke and it went away." 5137. Treat a corn by spitting on it for nine nights or mornings. 5138. "I did this, for I had a corn. I could not wear my shoes. My corn went away. When you get up in the morning, don't spit until you wash your hands. Then take that spit and rub on your corn. Do this for nine mornings and your corn will go away." 5139. Night and morning for six months rub saliva on a corn to make it leave. 5140. "I had a corn, it hurt me all the time. Someone said, 'Where do you keep your shoes or slippers?' I said, 'In a wall-pocket on the door.' 'Never do that, for your feet will hurt all the time. Put them on the floor.' I did. And my corn hurts now [only] when it is going to rain." 5141. To cure a corn, set your shoes upside down at night. 5142. If your corn aches, remove your shoes and place them so that the toes point under the bed. 5143. They say a person who accidentally hits his corn during a peal of thunder will soon lose it. 5144. You can get rid of a corn by washing it three times: first, in warm water, and throw that away; next, in soda water, and throw that away; and finally, in vinegar, and throw that away. Swelling - Gout - Splinter - Nail Wound - Sprain (5145-5177) SWELLING ON FEET 5145. To remove a swelling on the leg, bandage it with a piece of linen taken from a corpse. 5146. A white swelling on the leg can be cured with an application of cow manure. 5147. I was sick for a long time in the hospital --- six weeks. Dr. X. [a well-known Quincy physician] was my doctor. When I came home from the hospital I had a blood clog [clot] on my leg. I could not get my shoe on. I said, 'Dr. X., when will that leave?' He said, 'I don't know. You are lucky you are here.' My husband didn't like my doctor. He liked Dr. Z. [another well-known Quincy physician] and he made me call Z. He came and he said, 'Dr. X. is doing all he can. I can't do anything.' I went for three months without putting my shoe on. Then I said to my husband, 'I am going to try an old German remedy and leave the doctors alone.' So I got a young dog that was fat and well, and let that dog lay on my leg right where the blood clog was. In three day's time I felt a tingle in my leg. In two week's time the swelling started to go down. And in six week's time I could put my shoe on. I let that dog lay on my leg all the time. And I got well from the old German remedy, not from the doctor's. This is so. Some people laugh at you, but I don't care. I will try an old remedy now any day before I send for a doctor." 5148. Swollen feet (particularly during pregnancy) can be cured or relieved by keeping both shoes beneath the foot of the bed. 5149. "I had a swelling in my foot. It was twice the size it should be. My father took me to a man and he spoke over it, saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. He said that three times. And my father had to take me three mornings. And I got well." GOUT 5150. Cook a hill of ants in a bag and use it as a poultice for gout. 5151. Gout may be cured by applying a mixture of goat-milk butter and cow manure. SPLINTER 5152. A wound caused by a splinter in the foot will not become infected, if the extracted splinter is buried. 5153. Remove a splinter from the hand by covering it with rabbit grease. Some say this must be rendered from the fat at the back of a rabbit's neck. NAIL WOUND

116 5154. The person who steps on a nail should burn it up at once to prevent blood poisoning. 5155. "This was my mother's saying: if you step on a nail, the rags you use to bandage it with, never burn them, always put them in a rat hole so the rat will take the poison away. My brother step on a nail in the barn lot and she made us children find a rat hole to put the bandages in." 5156. "My father, when I was young, kept a piece of fat hanging up in the barn, and whenever we children or the horses step on a nail, he would stick it in that fat and leave the nail in it. That old piece of fat was just full of nails and tacks, but we never had a sore foot." 5157. "My son step on a nail three years ago and we drop the nail in the coal oil can and it is still there. Never take it out. He never had any trouble with his foot." 5158. As a remedy for a nail wound, grease the nail and carry it in your pocket. 5159. "I step on a nail in a board several months ago. I pulled the nail out of the board, put it in my bedroom window for nine days. Always put it in a window for nine days to keep from having any trouble. I didn't." 5160. To avert soreness or blood poisoning, the nail on which you have stepped must be placed higher than your head --- on a shelf, over a door, or up in the chimney. The nail is usually greased. 5161. If you bury the nail on which you have stepped, the wound will not bleed very much and will heal rapidly. 5162. If you grease the nail on which you have stepped and drive it into the ground, the swelling will soon go down and lockjaw will be prevented. 5163. The nail on which you have stepped must be covered with lard and buried under the eaves to effect a cure. 5164. If you step on a nail, put it some place where it cannot get wet; if it gets wet, you will have a sore or an infected foot. 5165. A nail wound in the foot does not become sore, if the nail is hidden where no one can see or find it. Sometimes the nail is wrapped in a greasy dish rag. 5166. "Ninety years ago my mother run a rusty nail in the bottom of her foot. Blood poison set in and they had sent for the doctor and when he got, there he said, 'Go out and get a fresh cow pancake and we will put her foot in it.' They did. And my mother got well, for the cow pancake drawed out all the poison." 5167. "Years ago my brother, up here on a farm near Ursa was running a hog. He jump over a hedge fence after the hog and jump on one of those old short weed stumps [a scythe in cutting weeds leaves certain types of cut-off weeds with sharp stumps] --- went right up through his shoe, taking pieces of his sock and some of the bottom of his shoe along. He was suffering so, he sent to Quincy for a doctor just as soon as he got to the house. The doctor came for about a week and he was getting no better --- suffering all the time. Blood poison had set in. The doctor didn't draw the pieces of sock out of the foot. One day he said, 'I am getting tired of the Quincy doctor coming out here and only using bread poultice, I am going to try my grandfather's remedy.' And he did. The next day he had someone go out and catch hot cow manure --- and for three weeks and three times a day to catch it. He put it on the bottom of his foot, hot, three times a day. And the first day, pieces of sock and leather started to come out, until he got it all out and got well. That was the only thing that saved him. If he had of kept on the Quincy doctor, he would of died." 5168. If you step on a nail, scratch three crosses on a pine board with the nail and then throw the nail away as a precaution against infection. 5169. Hog manure poultices are applied to a nail wound in the foot. 5170. For an inflamed wound made by stepping on a nail, let a piece of red flannel smolder over hot coals and hold your foot in the smoke. 5171. "Just this week the little boy across the street run a nail in his foot, and I went over and rubbed soap all over it [the nail] and drove the nail in the north side of a tree and he didn't have any trouble at all." 5172. Guard against blood poisoning after you have stepped on a nail by applying tobacco to the wound In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. SPRAIN 5173. Yellow clay and salt make a good poultice for a sprain. 5174. As a treatment for a sprained ankle or wrist, wrap an eelskin around it three times and leave this bandage on. 5175. Tie a piece of rattlesnake skin around your wrist to keep it from spraining or straining while chopping wood. 5176. A sprained ankle or wrist is cured with applications of your own urine. 5177. You can cure a sprain in the leg or wrist by tying a woolen cord about it. GOITRE (5178-5232) 5178. Goitres are removed by applying human afterbirth. 5179. "I had a friend that had a goitre bad. Someone told her to wear a big bag of asafetida around her neck. She did and it cure her goitre." 5180. A bag of alum worn about the neck is good for goitre. 5181. "My sister had a goitre. She had a fine string of amber beads. If you wear amber beads, it will draw all the poison out of your body. If the beads turn black, that is the poison in your body. Bury the beads for a while and you will bury the poison. She wore them. They all turn black on her. She buried the beads. When she dug them up they looked like new again, for she had buried the poison." 5182. Black beads on the neck prevent goitre. They also rid you of one. After the supporting string rots, the affliction disappears. 5183. A necklace of red beads about the neck frees you from a goitre. 5184. "I had a very bad goitre. It hung way down over my breast. And that was all I did, was to take nine different kind of bean leaves and put them on a cloth, so the smooth side of the bean leaves would be next to my goitre, and put it around my neck, and it cured me. You can see for yourself it is gone." 5185. If a person with big neck (goitre) walks through a field, picks up the first animal bone found, rubs that over his swelling, buries it at its original location, departs without glancing back, the ailment will fade away as the bone decays. 5186. A piece of chammy (shammy) round your neck protects you against goitre. 5187. Guard against or cure a goitre by wearing a necklace of coral beads. 5188. "My aunt had a bad goitre, suffered for years with it, nothing she tried helped her. Someone told her about the dead hand, to rub a dead hand over it, the goitre will not grow any more. She tried it and lived for years without it growing any more or suffering with it." 5189. "If you have a goitre; you should go to a corpse; and if your goitre is on the left side, take the dead person's left hand and rub over your goitre on the left side; and if on the right side, take the dead person's right hand and rub on the right side. Never only take one hand and rub all around your neck. My sister had a bad goitre and when our mother died she took her left hand rubbed it allover her left side, and her goitre got well on the left side and never did get well on the right side." 5190. "My brother saw a little girl fourteen years old with a bad goitre. She went to where a dead person was laid out. And this girl took the dead person's hand, rubbed it over her goitre three times, and lay the dead hand back in the same position that it was in; and in a year my brother

117 met this girl and her goitre was gone." 5191. A woman loses her goitre by passing the hand of a dead man over it three times; a man, the hand of a dead woman. 5192. To get rid of a goitre, rub back and forth over it the hand of a dead person three times --- making six times in all --- but be sure not to remove the hand until the rubbing is finishing. 5193. Goitre on a woman can be removed, if she touches it thrice with the hand of a dead man while repeating In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 5194. "I [a woman] had a bad goitre. I tried everything and nothing help. Then my uncle died. Then I went in the room and shut the door, all by myself in the dark, for no one must see or know that you are doing it. I took my uncle's dead hand and rub over my goitre three times, saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, take my goitre with you. And in three weeks after he was buried, my goitre was way down. Everyone could see the change in it. 5195. If you kneel down near a dead person and ask the Lord to transfer your goitre to the corpse, the goitre will waste away as the body decomposes. 5196. The person who wipes a piece of bacon on the hand of a dead person, applies this meat to his goitre, then lays it in the coffin or drops it into the grave, will soon be cured. 5197. As a treatment for goitre, rub a greasy dish rag over it and bury the rag. 5198. If you steal a dish rag, keep it wrapped about your goitre for three nights, bury the rag, the goitre will disappear after the dish rag rots. 5199. Drop a live frog into a skillet of hot lard and let it fry until dead. This makes a good ointment for Goitres. 5200. "I have a sister living in California that has a very bad goitre and I am going to send her out a box of wart frogs this spring. You take toads, some call them wart frogs, cut open alive, and bind around your neck for a goitre." 5201. You free yourself from a goitre by binding a live toad to the neck. 5202. A live toad passed over the neck takes off a goitre. 5203. Move the belly of a live frog over your goitre three times and throw the frog over your left shoulder. The goitre will disappear and the frog will die. 5204. In curing a goitre, lift up a live toad and, having pressed its belly over your neck three times, restore the toad to the exact spot on the ground from which you lifted it. 5205. "My grandmother that lives in Quincy wears garlic all the time around her goitre and she can see where it is going down." 5206. The wearing of a gold-bead necklace cures a goitre. 5207. If you let some of your hair touch your goitre, braid the hair, cut this off and tie it around a small tree; or, if you braid some of your hair, cut this off and wrap it about your neck, then tie around a small tree; after the tree grows and breaks the band of hair about its trunk, your goitre will be gone. 5208. Every night paint your knees with iodine, always painting downward, and you can force a goitre down through your body and out the feet. 5209. A necklace of Job's tears is good for goitre. 5210. Job's tears may be used for a goitre; but, as the goitre grows smaller, one tear must be taken from the necklace every few days. The cure will be complete after the necklace has been completely unstrung. 5211 "I had a bad goitre, the doctor wanted to take it out, I kept putting it off, when a woman told me to put a silver knife in the pillowslip, sleep on it every night, and that I would wake up some morning without my goitre. Well, I tried it every night for five months and one morning woke up without my goitre. This is the truth. It is six years since I did this and my goitre has not come back. Several people told me I was crazy, even the doctor. Well, I didn't care what they said, for my goitre was gone. I guess the doctor was mad because I didn't have to pay him big money. This is true too: I told another woman that had a goitre up near our place [near Fowler] after I lost mine, so she tried it too. But she didn't lose hers until after six months." 5212. Gaze at the moon the first time it begins to wane, and, while rubbing your goitre, say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Do this for seven consecutive nights. 5213. "I had a very bad lump [goitre] on my throat. It worried me. And someone told me this: go to the four-crossed roads when the moon is increasing and look up at the moon, and put your thumb on the lump and say What I see is increasing, what I squeeze is decreasing. And I went to the four corners of the road and stood right in the middle and squeeze the lump, looking at the moon, and said this. And my lump disappear right after that." 5214. "I had a goitre when eighteen years old and some old woman told my mother about mussel shells. We had some shells in the yard, so I washed them and scraped them into powder, made it into three doses, put one dose on the end of a knife, looking at the moon when it was taking off, and making the cross over my goitre, saying the Three Highest Names: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I did this for three nights. I lost my goitre. I have told a lot of people this remedy that have Goitres, but they are afraid to try it. But I say it is good." 5215. "I have a goitre and I keep a nutmeg around my neck all the time. Whenever I take it off, I get a choking spell right away." 5216. "My sister had a large wen on the back of her head and it went away without her having a doctor. I just know she took a potato and rubbed over her wen. I would beg and beg her to tell me how she lost her wen, but she would not tell me. I guess she was afraid to tell me. She was afraid it would come back. She was always telling me to cut a potato in three pieces and rub over my goitre. So one day I did, and took the pieces a-way-way out in the country and buried them right up against a tree, so no one could walk over it. And when I buried them, I said In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I didn't wait long enough to see if my goitre went away without the doctor, for I had a very bad goitre. One night I almost choked to death and they took me right to the hospital. I know the potato would of helped me, if I had of rubbed it on sooner." 5217. "I know this will cure it, for I had a goitre and I put a wide silk piece around my neck and it left." 5218. Black silk ribbon kept round your neck makes a goitre leave. 5219. If you tie a black velvet band round your neck and each morning cut a little of the tape off to tighten the band, your goitre will soon be gone. 5220. Blue silk ribbon about the neck removes a goitre. 5221. Kill a garter snake, wrap it round your neck, leave it on until sundown, throw the snake away, and the goitre will soon be lost. 5222. If you skin a garter snake and wear it tied round the neck until the skin wears off, you will be rid of your goitre. 5223. A goitre will no longer trouble you, provided a live snake is dragged across it. 5224. Twist a live garter snake round your neck so that the tail rests in its mouth, and release the snake after reciting: "Goitre, goitre, go away, Before the sun rises another day." 5225. "My niece had a goitre and she put a blacksnake around her neck three times and let it crawl away, and it cured her goitre."

118 5226. "A man's sister had a goitre. He went and killed a blacksnake, cut its head right off, and tied a string around the snake's neck, then wrapped that snake around his sister's neck three times, then took it off and wrapped it around again three times, then again three times. This last time he let it stay on his sister's neck until she started to getting blue in the face, then took it off, and the goitre went away." 5227. "When I was a girl sixteen years old I had a goitre. My mother tried everything she could think of --- let me wear a black band around my neck, red beads and amber beads, but nothing help --- when one day an old gypsy woman came along and she told mother about the sponge; said it would cure a goitre, that it was an old gypsy remedy. So mother got a sponge and burn it, then divide the ashes in nine equal parts, and gave me one of the nine parts for nine mornings in the decreasing of the moon. And I lost my goitre. I am sixty-two years old and it never come back, and that was when I was sixteen years old. So I think this very good." 5228. A goitre is taken off by keeping a black string tied round the neck. 5229. A goitre is prevented or cured by keeping a red string tied round the neck. 5230. "A woman had a goitre and another woman said she would take it off. She went to her just when the moon was changing from light to dark, she went at one o'clock at night, and went nine nights, and stopped nine nights, then went again nine nights. She took a white cord string and tied around the woman's neck the first night, and left it on until she made three times nine trips [that is, until she had gone three periods of nine successive nights separated by two of the same duration]. Then she took the string off and soaked it in iodine, then she buried the string under a rock, and while burying it she asked God to remove the goitre off of Helen or whoever's it is neck. She asked this three times. And in nine months after that the goitre had gone." 5231. Having folded a white linen handkerchief like a diaper, fold it again in the same manner, dip into turpentine, and bind to your neck for three nights. Then leave this bandage off during the next three nights, redip into turpentine, and replace it on your neck. Repeat this alternate rite until you have had the handkerchief about your neck nine nights, and you will lose your goitre. 5232. "My great-great-grandmother's saying was, if you wear those old-time wooden beads around your neck, you will never have goitre." HEADACHE (5233-5300) 5233. A buckeye carried in your pocket or the band of your hat prevents headache. 5234. Powder the dried lining of a chicken gizzard and give for a headache. 5235. To pin on the clothesline a woman's dress or a man's shirt by the hem, thus letting it hang upside down, brings a headache to the wearer. 5236. Copper wire round the neck preserves you from headaches. 5237. A person subject to frequent headaches can check the attacks by wearing gold earrings. 5238. "My father always wore an eelskin around his head to keep from having headache." 5239. Persons trimming their finger-nails or toe-nails on Monday never suffer from headaches. 5240. You rid yourself of headaches, if your finger-nails or toe-nails are trimmed every Friday. 5241. In curing a headache, cut your finger-nails and toe-nails, drop the cuttings into a small sack, and bury this in the woods while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 5242. For getting rid of pains in a severe headache, apply a hot flatiron to your feet so that it will draw the blood down from your head into the feet. 5243. Hair cut in the dark of the moon gives you a headache. 5244. Hair cut after dark gives you a headache. 5245. The person who cuts his hair in March may expect headaches all year. 5246. Do not singe your hair after cutting it, for it will cause a headache. 5247. Some say the burning of hair combings or cuttings causes a headache, others say this protects you against headaches. 5248. Some say the burying of hair combings or cuttings causes a headache, others say this means headaches until the hair rots. 5249. "An old saying of my grandmother's was: if you have the headache, take some hair off the top of your head and bury the hair; when it rots, your headache will not come back." 5250. As a treatment for headache, hair must be cut and buried beneath a rock. 5251. Headache is prevented by keeping your combings in a dark place. 5252. Never throw any of your hair out into the yard; you will have headaches until the hair decays. 5253. Birds picking up and making a nest of your hair will bring you a headache — headaches the rest of your life say some. 5254. After birds have found your discarded combings and made a nest of them, you will not lose your headaches until the nest is destroyed. According to some, you must destroy the nest by burning it. 5255. Headaches come from mice or rats getting your discarded hair. These pains will not leave unless you recover the hair. 5256. Always wear a few strands of your hair in a braid and you will not be bothered with a headache. 5257. One strand of your hair cut off every morning for five days is a headache remedy. 5258. The child whose mother clips some hair from its head immediately after birth, saves it, buries it when the baby is a year old, will always be immune from headaches. 5259. Pluck a few hairs from your eyebrows and forehead just as the moon begins to wane and, while invoking the Three Highest Names, bury them at the garden gate in ground over which you frequently walk. Repeat this rite on three wanings of the moon and your headaches will disappear. 5260. A woman rids herself of frequent headaches by keeping a rubber hairpin in her hair for nine months and then burying it before sunrise. 5261. You can cure a headache with a red hanakerchief tied round your forehead. 5262. A man's hat falling to the floor will make his head ache that day. 5263. To sit in the house with your hat on produces a headache. 5264. If you dig seven holes in the ground and stick your head into each hole every morning for nine days, you will soon lose a headache. 5265. "I remember my mother saying, it was my grandmother's saying too, take the hair out of a horse's tail and mane, sleep on this, it will stop the headache. Of course I don't believe this. It was their old sayings." 5266. A cap or hat woven of hair from a mare's tail is good for headaches, unless the mare was in heat when you secured the hair. In the latter case your headaches will be worse. 5267. Hold wilted horse-radish leaves to the back of the head and slowly move them down the entire length of your body. This forces a headache downwards and out through your feet. 5268. A woman can drive away her headache by letting a man squeeze her head. 5269. A match worn in your hair wards off a headache.

119 5270. If you put a small mustard plaster on the calf of your leg, a second a little higher, a third just above these, a fourth and larger plaster so that it covers all three, a sick headache will go away. 5271. A woman should never fold her nightgown and lay it under her pillow when making the bed; she will be sick with a headache all day. 5272. Headache is cured by wearing a nutmeg round your neck. 5273. Headache is cured by wearing a nutmeg on a red string round your neck. 5274. The lucky stone from a perch head when carried in your hair is good for a headache. 5275. An effective remedy for headache is a potato kept in your pocket until it withers. 5276. Red ribbon tied round your neck stops a headache. 5277. As a protection against headaches, a black velvet band should be wrapped about your head. 5278. "My mother always did this as soon as she started to get the headache and it would stop --- wear a green velvet ribbon around the neck." 5279. Salt eaten every morning for ten days will cure a headache. 5280. If you put on your left shoe first, you will get a headache. 5281. A headache is caused by setting your shoes under the bed at night. 5282. Some say a headache comes from sleeping with your head to the west; others say, your head to the east. 5283. The first snake of the year killed and made into a hatband is a good headache remedy. 5284. "When I was a girl I had to work hard in the harvest fields and always had the headache until an old man told me to get a rattlesnake skin in the spring about the first of April — that is about the time they come out. After that, every spring I tried to get as many rattlesnake skins as I could, to wear in my hat, and I didn't have the headache after I started to wearing them. In those days snakes were very numerous. I lived out back from Mendon." 5285. "My grandmother did this to keep headache away: took a piece of rattlesnake skin and rolled some of her hair on it, just like a curler." 5286. "My father wore a rattlesnake rattler pin in the top of his hat to keep away the headache." Sometimes two are worn in the hat. 5287. "My grandmother had headache bad all the time and someone told her this. Of course this was years ago. And she got three rattlesnake rattlers and always kept them tied in the back of her hair. They wore long hair in those days and no one could see the rattlers in her knot. She said she never had the headache again after she started to wearing them." 5288. "Look! I am wearing a rattle with twelve rattles and one button in my hair. [These were attached to her side comb which she removed so that they could be seen.] Been wearing it for four years to keep from having the headache. 5289. To be freed from headaches, wash your head with snow-water on Good Friday. 5290. Tea from sparrow droppings is administered for headaches. 5291. One remedy for a headache is to find a spider on the ceiling and watch it drop to the floor. 5292. "One day I was working out in the field and I said to a man, 'I have such a bad headache, I wish I had some medicine.' He said, 'Take your fingers and rub under your arms real hard, then smell them.' I did and my headache went right away." 5293. Headache is driven away by hanging one of your pulled teeth about the neck. 5294. Drop your first pulled tooth into a bird nest and you will never be troubled by headaches. 5295. Headaches will no longer trouble a woman, if a live toad is bound to her forehead. 5296. "I know a person that carries a black walnut in their pocket all the time to keep headache away." 5297. A powdered wasp nest poulticed to the forehead will draw from your brain all the gas that is causing your headache. 5298. "If you have the headache, dip your hand in cold water, rubbing it over your head, then shake all the water off your hand before you put it back in the pan of water. Keep doing this. But never let any water stay on your hand that went over your head, for you will be putting the headache back and will keep it. You must throw your headache away every time." 5299. Babies should never be weaned in the sign of the head (Aries); they will have headaches all through life. 5300. The person who while lying down hears the first whippoorwill of the season will be annoyed with headaches all year. MUMPS (5301-5310) 5301. Let a dog sleep near the pillow of a person having mumps and the disease will be transferred to the animal. 5302. Use a mixture of warmed cow and hog manure as an application for mumps. 5303. "About seventy-two years ago [1862] my brother, sister and I had the mumps bad, and a school girl we went with. My mother took some of the slop around our hog trough and made hot poultices and put on our mumps. My sister said, 'I will not let you put that dirty poultice on me. ' And she got very sick. My brother and I let mother put it on us and we were not sick at all. And our school girl friend let her mother put one on her and she got along fine. But my sister almost died." 5304. "Years ago I took mumps in the morning. My mother took me out to the hog trough, rubbed my neck over the hog trough, just got my neck full of that old green slime. I was well by night." 5305. A person can rid himself of mumps by rubbing his jaws three times on a trough where hogs rub themselves. 5306. In treating mumps, anoint them with Negro hair fried in lard. 5307. Women who have mumps should keep a string or towel tied around the body just above the breasts to prevent the disease from going down; for if it goes down, they will never bear any children. 5308. To keep mumps from going down, a man must tie a black silk cord around his waist; a woman, about her neck. 5309. Mumps will not go down on the person who keeps a red string tied around the neck. 5310. A white string tied round the waist keeps mumps from going down or falling on a person. MUSCULAR COMPLAINTS Crick - Hiccough - Sideache - Swimming Cramps (5311-5365) CRICK 5311. For a crick in your neck, rub it on a tree against which a hog has rubbed itself. 5312. If you lay a piece of blanket over a stiff neck and iron down on the blanket, the pain will go out through your elbow; but if you iron up, the stiffness will spread to every part of your body. 5313. Wear a woolen string as a necklace to prevent cramps in the neck. HICCOUGH 5314. Hiccough is sometimes caused by an absent person talking about you --- usually telling a lie.

120 5315. According to another belief in which hiccough does not have a physiological origin, to hiccough three times in the morning means three letters that day; next day say some. 5316. A cure for hiccough is to hold your breath while counting nine. 5317. Count ten while holding your breath and your hiccough will stop. 5318. If a person counts backwards starting at fifty, his hiccough will be gone before he reaches three. 5319. To check hiccough, hold your index fingers out in front of you and try to see how near you can bring them together without touching. 5320. In getting rid of hiccough, try to cross your index finger and little finger over or under the two middle fingers so that they touch each other. 5321. Cross your arms over your stomach, bend down and draw in your breath, and hiccough will disappear. 5322. With your arms held straight down in front, hold the ends of two black strings stretched taut between the thumb and index finger of each hand, twist the two ends on the right side one direction and the two ends on the left side the other direction, keep twisting as you slowly raise the two strings upwards, and when they are on a level with your nose, your hiccoughs will be gone. 5323. "If someone is hiccoughing, say I can stop it. Look me right straight in the eyes. Both holding their breath, you hold your thumbs on the two nerves in the wrist on their right arm, still holding your breath, hold it as long as you can hold your breath, then throw their arms away, saying Hiccough if you can. I'll give you a dollar if you can. But they can't. This will even cure a drunken hiccough." 5324. Wear a nutmeg round your neck and you will not have hiccough. 5325. A person can treat hiccough by blowing up a paper bag and inhaling from the bag. 5326. For a severe attack of hiccough, eat a potato three nights in succession instead of supper and then take a tablespoonful of castor oil in hot coffee. 5327. Grate a raw potato and apply it to your navel as a hiccough remedy. 5328. To drive away hiccough, lift up one end of a rock (be careful to keep the other end on the ground), spit under it, and restore the rock to its original position. 5329. Hiccough can be stopped, if immediately before or during the first hiccough you can slowly say One or That's once. 5330. A string tied about either index finger cures hiccough. 5331. "This was a saying of my grandma: If you had hiccoughs, to think of the seat you set in last at church and they would stop." 5332. You can rid yourself of hiccough by recalling the text of last Sunday's sermon. 5333. Think of your best girl friend or boy friend when you have hiccough and if she or he loves you the hiccough will stop. 5334. While drinking water think of the first person you ever loved and your hiccoughs will go away. 5335. If you hold your two little fingers together in front of you just so that they do not touch, and at the same time think of someone you love, your hiccoughs will be cured. 5336. Sit in a rocking-chair, think of someone who has been dead a long time, then begin to rock, and your hiccough will be stopped. 5337. Think of six persons who have been dead over ten years and this will cure your hiccough. 5338. One of the commonest remedies for hiccough is taking swallows or drops of water — usually while holding your breath and drinking slowly. The number of swallows is variously given: three, six, seven, nine, ten, twelve and twenty-one. 5339. "Drink three cups up, Will cure the hiccoughs up." 5340. Three dry swallows cures hiccough. 5341. Occasionally, as a hiccough remedy, both ears are held tightly closed with the fingers while someone gives you three swallows of water. 5342. As a remedy for hiccough, take three swallows of water and say: on the first Hiccough, on the second Snicup, and on the third Snacup. 5343. It is sometimes said you must look straight up while you take six; swallows of water to cure hiccough. 5344. Hold nine sips of water in your mouth, count nine backward, turn round nine times, and your hiccough will be gone. 5345. Your hiccough will vanish, if you take a drink from a cup, set the cup upside down, and then lay a safety pin on top of it. 5346. If you put a silver spoon in a glass of water and drink the water while looking at the spoon, your hiccough will go away. 5347. If you put a silver or steel knife in a glass of water and drink the water while looking at the knife, the knife will cut away your hiccough. 5348. If you hold a knife crosswise in your mouth while drinking water, the knife will cut away your hiccough. 5349. If you let someone hold a knife on your tongue while you drink water, the knife will cut away your hiccough. 5350. "I was down here in Payson several years ago and several men were talking about a woman that had dying hiccups, had been under the doctor's care for six weeks, said she would die. I said, 'Why, I can stop hiccups.' One of the men said, 'Hell, I will take you right over to her house and see if you can, after the doctor has tried six weeks.' I went and I took a butcher- knife, don't put your hand on the blade, stuck the knife in a glass of water, then told the woman to drink all the water without touching the knife. The knife always falls on the floor. It stopped her hiccups. She got well." 5351. Rid yourself of hiccough by wishing it on someone you do not like. SIDE-ACHE OR STITCH IN THE SIDE 5352. A stitch in the side comes from stirring coffee or tea with a knife. 5353. If a woman catches a pain in her side and happens to be wearing an apron, she can tuck one corner of the apron under her belt and the pain will stop. 5354. To cure side-ache, pick up a clod of dirt, spit on the underside, and restore the clod to its original position. The same thing may be done with a rack or a chip of wood. An uncommon variant of this remedy requires that you keep both feet together throughout the rite. 5355. Side-ache can be cured by picking up a rock, spitting on it three times, and then throwing it over your shoulder: some say this must be thrown over the left shoulder with the right hand; others say, over the right shoulder with the left hand. 5356. Whenever you have side-ache, find a small rock, hold it against the aching side while you run a little and walk a little, then drop the rock without looking back, and the pain will soon leave. 5357. Squeeze on both thumbs held tightly inside your closed fists to get rid of a side-ache. SWIMMING CRAMPS 5358. Cramps attack a person who swims during dog days. 5359. You avoid a swimmer's cramp by wearing sewed in a bag the lucky stone from the head of a perch. 5360. A swimmer protects himself against cramps, if preceding his entrance into the water he picks up a rock, spits on it, and restores it to the original position.

121 5361. Prevent swimming cramps by wearing a small rubber band round each ankle and wrist. 5362. Swimmers who after undressing lay a forked stick on their clothes are not bothered by a cramp. 5363. As a protection against swimming cramps, keep a chew of tobacco in your mouth while you swim. 5364. If when about to enter the water you urinate and rub this warm urine over your body, you will be immune from swimming cramps. 5365. To guard yourself against cramps during a swim, do not plunge into the water until you have performed three acts: test the temperature of the water, first with the feet, then with the hands, and finally, sprinkle some of the water on your discarded clothing. NERVE MALADIES (5366-5402) Hysteria - Nervousness (5366-5368) HYSTERIA 5366. Grind dried chicken dung into a powder and give a pinch of it in a prune for hysterics. NERVOUSNESS 5367. If you kill a chicken and let it die in your hand, you will become nervous. 5368. "My daughter worked in grapes for three days straight and had a nervous breakdown. Never work in grapes for several days without stopping; will make you very nervous." Neuralgia - Neuritis - Shingles (5369-5402) NEURALGIA 5369. A brass ring may be worn either as a remedy for or as a prevention of neuralgia. 5370. To rid yourself of head pains, particularly those caused by neuralgia, pluck a four-leafed clover while wishing this riddance, and then wear the leaf in your hair. 5371. Keep an eelskin round the head for neuralgia. 5372. Neuralgia is avoided by trimming your finger-nails and toe-nails on Friday. 5373. After you have pared your finger-nails and toe-nails, wrap these parings in a cloth and throw them into running water to stop neuralgic pains. 5374. "If you have neuralgia, take a white string and dip in holy water and wear that string around the top of your head. I know a woman that does this. I will not tell her name, for we are good friends and I am afraid she would get angry at me." 5375. "My face was all swollen up from neuralgia, couldn't find anything to do it any good, when someone told me to wear a nutmeg around my neck on a string. Some say the nutmeg must rest on your breastbone, others say the string must be woolen. I did, and am still wearing it. That was five years ago. Every time I take off the nutmeg I get the neuralgia back, so now I only take it off long enough to change the string when it gets dirty. Some people laugh at me, but it's so, and I don't care as long as it keeps neuralgia away." 5376. "Every fall, when it turns a little cool, I take two nutmegs and I put a nutmeg on a string and wear it around my neck to keep neuralgia out of my head, and the other I wear around my waist to keep the pains out of my body." 5377. "I had neuralgia bad, could not sleep at night. Someone told me about the nutmeg, and I thought I would try it; and I put a nutmeg in a little sack and pinned it on my underclothes, and wear it all the time, and I have never been bothered with neuralgia since I put it on." 5378. As a treatment for neuralgia, a nutmeg should be attached to a red string and tied round the neck. Some say the nutmeg must lie at the back of the neck. 5379. "1 know several that have tried this --- keep a potato in your pocket all the time and you will not have neuralgia — and it was good." 5380. "Years ago Mrs. X. had a bad case of neuralgia. A traveling-man told her husband that she should always put on her left stocking and left shoe first. She did and her neuralgia left and has never returned. Even today when she goes to buy a new pair of shoes, she makes the clerk put on the left shoe first, because she is afraid the neuralgia might come back." 5381. "My grandmother, if she has neuralgia, she will put a blue ribbon [a blue silk string is sometimes used] around her neck when going to bed. When she gets up in the morning she will be well." 5382. "1 knew a woman that had neuralgia for ten years and someone told her to get a piece of cloth [ribbon or string may be used] grass-green and wear it around her neck, it would help her. She got the green cloth and put it around her neck; only had it on three weeks when she got well." 5383. "My mother had very bad teeth and someone told her this: always wipe your hands first and your face last to keep neuralgia away. And she started to wiping her hands first and has never had neuralgia after she started to doing it." NEURITIS 5384. Keep a bag of alum in the bed for neuritis. 5385. To prevent neuritis, wear round your neck the hearing bone from the head of a hog. 5386. Neuritis can be cured by smoking jimson weed seed. SHINGLES 5387. When the two ends of a chain of shingles meet, the patient will die. 5388. "I remember another thing that happen down at Marblehead. They say take the blood out of anything black and rub a person with shingles, will cure them. We had a black cat, and the neighbor had shingles so bad, they wanted us to kill it so he could get the blood. I remember I cried. But at last they killed our cat." 5389. Paint shingles with blood taken from the tail of a black cat. 5390. As a remedy for shingles, daub them with three drops of blood out of the tail of a black cat. 5391. In treating shingles that cover both sides of your body, take three drops of blood from the tail of a black cat and spread this on the left side. 5392. You can get rid of shingles by cutting off a black cat's tail and keeping it wrapped round your waist next to the skin. 5393. Put at the edge of your patch of shingles some hot blood from a chicken and rub that blood back to the place where they are thickest. This is called Rubbing the shingles back. 5394. To cure shingles, daub them with blood from a black chicken. 5395. To cure shingles, kill a black chicken by sticking it in the throat, and then let the warm blood drip on them drop by drop. 5396. To cure shingles, cut open a black chicken and bandage them with the blood, feathers, intestines --- everything. 5397. To cure shingles, wear about your neck the head of a black chicken.

122 5398. If you split open a black hawk and poultice it over your shingles while the blood is warm, you will soon be cured. The person of Irish-Indian descent who gave this remedy said it was an Indian one that had been handed down in the family. 5399. "I know several families in the North Bottom that had shingles and I told them this and it cure them. If you have shingles, take and get some oats straw, cut it all up and boil, then drink the water off of that. Also, take some oats, fry in lard, then take that and rub your shingles. Always rub them down. [Some say the rubbing must be with a circular motion.] If you rub up, they will close up inside and you will die." 5400. A person will lose his shingles, if he kills a snake and wraps it about them. Sometimes the snake is skinned so that the inside of the skin may be applied. 5401. The skin of a copperhead snake worn as a belt against the skin cures shingles. 5402. Round your patch of shingles draw a circle with juice from an old pipestem and this will prevent them from spreading and also effect a cure. OCULAR MATTERS (5403-5510) Bi-Colored Eyes - Blindness - Cataract and Growth (5403-5411) BI-COLORED EYES 5403. "I knew three different men that their mothers let them lie in the moonlight before they were a year old and all three have different color eyes [one eye of one color, the other eye of a different color --- iridis heterochromia]." BLINDNESS 5404. Blindness at birth is cured by the mother squeezing some of her milk into the baby's eyes. 5405. "A girl went blind with the measles and her mother said that she hoped the day would come when she could see. When her mother was dying they rubbed her hand over the girl's eyes and in three days she could see." 5406. You never become blind, if you wear earrings. 5407. The person who looks into a mirror that has an ornamental wreath round it will go blind. 5408. "My mother always said never to burn black or red pepper on the stove; sure sign you will lose your eyesight some day and go blind." CATARACT AND GROWTH 5409. "I have a bad cataract on my eye and I have been thinking of trying this. A woman told me this was very good, to take egg shells and brown them good so you can make a fine powder of them, then put this powder in a quill and blow this powder in your eye, will cut the cataract off. Her grandfather had a very bad cataract and he did this, and it cut it off without him going to the doctor. So I think I will try it on mine." 5410. "A woman had a growth on her eyes and she took a radish and said In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and rubbed the radish over her growth and it went away." 5411. "Mrs. B's mother had something growing on her eye and she said it was very painful. It was the size of a pea. And one day some old German fellow said, 'Let me see your eye.' And he spit on his finger and rubbed it across her eye. And the next week he asked her how her eye was getting along, and she said it was still growing and it was still painful. So he spit on his finger and rubbed her eye again. And in another week he came back and asked her the same thing, and it wasn't any better. So he spit on his finger and rubbed her eye the third time. And she didn't notice it, and when he came back to ask her about her eye it was completely gone [!]. She asked him how he did it and he said he just used the spit and said nothing. But a man has to use his spit on a woman and a woman has to use her spit on a man, once each week for three weeks." Cross-Eyes - Pink Eye - Particle in Eye (5412-5421) CROSS-EYES 5412. Always keep a baby in a dark room for six weeks after birth and it will never become cross-eyed or have sore eyes. 5413. You make a baby cross-eyed by letting it look into a mirror before it is a year old. 5414. A child laid where the moon shines into its eyes becomes cross-eyed. PINK EYE 5415. Pink eye can be cured if you let a mother with a new baby squirt some of her milk against the infection. PARTICLE IN EYE 5416. A particle can be removed from your eye by holding the upper eyelid over the lower one while you count twenty. 5417. To remove a particle from the eye turn back the eyelid and blow the nose. 5418. Close the eyelid, blow your nose, and any particle in your eye will come out through one of the nostrils. 5419. If you get anything in your eye, raise and close the eyelid three times and then blow your nose hard. 5420. Keep one nostril shut as you blow the other one and at the same time pull down the upper eyelid over the lower. This brings a particle out of the eye. 5421. When there is something in your eye, hold one nostril shut and blow your nose. The particle will come out through the open nostril. Sore or Weak Eyes - Sty - Sun Pains (5422-5510) SORE OR WEAK EYE 5422. On meeting people with sore eyes you will not contract their ailment, provided you turn your back to them. 5423. Those who meet an acquaintance with sore eyes should stop and count their finger-nails before speaking, to avoid catching the disease. 5424. If you blacken your finger-nails with blackberries on Friday and wash this off next morning, you will never catch sore eyes from anyone. 5425. As a treatment for sore eyes, you must use a poultice, each separately and in the following order --- of cow manure, slippery elm, and bread and milk. Repeat this process indefinitely. 5426. Pierce the ears to strengthen the sight and to prevent sore eyes. This will be more effective when done in childhood. Incidentally, you can keep the ears from becoming sore by piercing them on the first of May. 5427. To make the eyes stronger and to remove any inflammation, at the beginning of the new moon wipe off a needle in a piece of flannel, cover the point with vaseline, and use silk for threading it. After you have pierced your ears, run the thread through the holes three times. Do this after sunset and repeat next morning before sunrise. 5428. Always take off your glasses before looking at a new moon, for looking at a new moon through glasses weakens your sight.

123 5429. To protect yourself against sore eyes, you should wear earrings. This remedy is sometimes considered ineffective unless gold ones are worn. 5430. Weak eyes can be strengthened by singeing the eyelashes. 5431. Boil eggs laid that day, slice them in halves lengthwise, and bind one half on each eye every night for three nights to improve impaired sight. 5432. When you have pains in your eyes, rub three fingers over the eyeballs for relief. 5433. "My daughter had a very sore eye and I put a live frog on the eye and let stay overnight. It drew all the soreness out." 5434. To heal sore eyes, they should be rubbed with the sap taken from grapevines in March. 5435. In changing the lenses of your eyeglasses, bury the discarded ones and sprinkle them with holy water before filling the hole so that additional power be given to your sight. 5436. "My husband had very sore eyes and could not see. He went to a woman before sunrise and she said In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, make this man's eyes better. He went for three mornings, and on the third morning he was well and could see good." 5437. Wash a baby's eyes with milk from its mother's breast, to cure its sore eyes. 5438. Among the remedies to prevent sneezing are the following: press on the groove (philtrum) beneath your nose, rub a finger up and down the ridge of your nose, and rub a finger back and forth across the tip of your nose. However, all three of these devices, particularly the third, cause sore eyes. 5439. Smoke dried poke roots for pains in the eyes. 5440. "I knew a man that could not see for nine days, his eyes were so bad, and another man got a rattlesnake and cut off its head and rendered out the grease and put on this man's eyes, and in no time his eyes were all right. If the snake should bite itself after you catch it, don't use it, for that grease would poison the person you put it on. 5441. As a remedy for sore eyes, anoint them with the saliva of a newborn baby. 5442. Cure diseases of the eye by rubbing them with the saliva of the first- born child on the male side of the family. 5443. Use the juice from sheep buttons (manure) on sore eyes. 5444. "My brother had very bad eyes. Someone told him to wash his eyes with his urine. He did and his eyes got well." 5445. Sore eyes should be bathed in the water you melt from Good Friday snow. 5446. Treat sore eyes with March snow-water. 5447. Water melted from the last snow in March cures sore eyes. 5448. Bottle some of the last snow that falls in April and preserve it as a wash for sore eyes. 5449. Bathe sore eyes with water from the last snow of the season. 5450. "My mother always caught the first rain-water in May and put it in bottles to keep for her sore eyes because it will never sour." 5451. During the light of the moon visit a hollow stump on a morning that follows an evening rain, scoop out the standing water, and bathe your inflamed eyes with it nights and mornings at an uneven hour. 5452. A good remedy for granulated eyelids is washing them in spring-water before sunrise on Easter. 5453. You can cure your sore eyes, if you wash them in a running stream before breakfast and do this on seven mornings. 5454. "My grandfather run a sawmill years ago down in the south part of Quincy. My dad, just a little boy then, had sore eyes bad. He was sitting out on the front steps of the building one day when an old man came along. He stop and talked to my dad about his eyes looking so bad. He asked him if his father could swim, knowing my dad was too young to swim. He told him he was a good swimmer. Then he had my father go in and get my grandfather. He came out. And this man told him he should take his boy on his shoulders and swim every morning across a body of water back and forth for seven days early in the morning, will cure them. My grandfather took him down to the river every morning early before he went to work and would swim out in the river down here near Front and State Street, back and forth, and he cured his sore eyes. Of course this is a long time ago, for I am seventy years old, and this was my father when he was a little boy" STY 5455. If an eyelash falls into your eye, you will get a sty. 5456. The person who stops in a path to urinate while crossing a field will get a sty. 5457. It was once a common expression, to say of one who had a sty: he has wet in an alley. 5458. "When I was a kid I had a sty, oh! so often; and they told me I wet in the road, then looked at it, to get my sty." 5459. "I did this to lose my sty; wet in an alley." 5460. To get rid of your sty, wet in the road and the next person who walks over your urine will catch the sty. 5461. If you stop in the road to defecate, you will get a sty. 5462. Rub three beans over your sty, lay them down in the road, and the first person stepping over the beans will soon have your sty. 5463. "I had a sty. I took my white cat's tail and rub over my sty three times and I lost my sty." 5464. A sty can be cured by rubbing it with the tail of a black cat. 5465. "I have had several sties and I always take the end of a black cat tail and rub over my sty three times and they always go away." 5466. Visit the crossroad with a black cat in your arms and pass its tail over a sty while repeating Sty, Sty, go away and go on the next one that comes by. Then release the cat and return home. 5467. In curing a sty, mumble the following rhyme when you meet someone on the road: "Sty, sty, go off my eye, Go to this one I pass by." 5468. To cure a sty, stand at a crossroad and say: "Sty, sty, leave my eye, Take the next one passing by." or "Sty, sty, leave my eye, Go to the next passer-by." 5469. People may rid themselves of a sty by standing in the middle of a crossroad and uttering this couplet: "Sty, sty, leave my eye, And go to the next man riding by." 5470. As a sty treatment, go to the crossroad and announce: "Sty, sty, leave my eye,

124 And come on the next ass [buttocks] that passes by." 5471. A sty may be removed, if a person during the new moon stands at the crossroad as the sun is sinking and makes this declaration: "Sty, sty, sty, go off my eye, And go to the eye, of the first person that passes by." 5472. Cure a sty by rubbing it with a dish rag while saying: "Sty, sty, leave my eye, Catch the first one passing by." Then throw the dish rag over your left shoulder without watching to see where it goes. 5473. To lose a sty, rub a stolen dish rag on it and throw the dish rag into running water. 5474. A dish rag should be rubbed over a sty and buried; when the dish rag rots, the sty will be gone. 5475. You can cure a sty by plucking a hair from your eyebrows. 5476. As a remedy for a sty, look through a knot hole in a fence. 5477. A sty may be treated by rubbing it nine times with your finger-nail. 5478. On nine successive mornings before sunrise, rub your hand over a sty, always rubbing towards your nose, and this will remove the sty. 5479. "I [a woman] had a sty and I let a real old man take a gooseberry brier and pick it, and my sty never did come back after he picked it. If you are a man, let a very old woman do it." 5480. A sty can be thrown away, if a person pierces it with a gooseberry thorn and then throws the thorn over his left shoulder. 5481. A gooseberry brier when rubbed nine times over a sty removes it. 5482. The removal of a sty is accomplished by pulling off nine of those little stickers from a gooseberry bush, pointing each one at your sty, and then tossing them over your right shoulder. 5483. Let a person prick a sty with nine gooseberry thorns as he says In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and it will soon vanish. 5484. If you have a sty and someone says, "Oh! there is a sty on your eye" or something similar, you must answer You lie and the sty will soon depart. 5485. If you have a sty and someone asks, Have you a sty? and you reply It is a sty and then that person says It is a lie, the sty will soon disappear. 5486. In ridding yourself of a sty, rub it with a piece of paper and drop the paper as you walk down the road mumbling: "Sty, sty, sty, go off my eye, To the next one that passes by." 5487. A sty is lost by rubbing it three times with a potato and burying the latter. 5488. As a riddance for sties, look through a gold ring three times. 5489. A gold ring rubbed over a sty will drive it away. Occasionally the ring is first heated by rubbing it on cloth. Sometimes they require that the ring should have been blessed — a wedding ring. 5490. Make the sign of the cross with a gold wedding ring as you rub it over your sty and the sty soon disappears. 5491. At night heat a gold ring by friction and rub twice one way and once the other over a sty, thus making the sign of the cross, and your sty will vanish before morning. 5492. For removing a sty, rub it three times with a gold band ring. 5493. On three mornings fasting and before sunrise free yourself of a sty by rubbing it with a gold wedding ring. 5494. You can transfer a sty to another person, if you sit daily on your porch for three days, rub a gold ring over it, and call out: "Sty, sty, leave my eye, And go to the next one who passes by." 5495. Treat a sty by rubbing it nine times with a gold ring, each time saying Sty, sty, leave my eye. 5496. Treat a sty by rubbing it nine times with a gold ring, each time saying Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 5497. Sties may be disposed of, if they are rubbed nine times up and nine times down with a gold ring. 5498. Let a person having picked up a rock rub it over a sty, put the rock in his pocket, and the sty will be lost after he loses the rock. 5499. A traveler catches your sty, if you pick up a white rock, rub the infection with it, carry the rock to where three roads meet, and drop it while exclaiming: "Sty, sty, sty, go off my eye, And come on the next that passes by." 5500. If you have a sty, go to a crossroad, find a rock there, pick it up, spit on it, turn it over, walk away without looking back, and you will lose your sty. 5501. In destroying a sty, anoint it seven times with saliva. 5502. A piece of silver, often a dime, rubbed on something until it becomes hot and then applied to a sty, cures the ailment. 5503. A brass thimble should be heated by friction and rubbed over a sty for a cure. 5504. To give your sty to a passer-by, walk three times round some large tree on a public road as you make this request Sty, sty, sty, go off my eye; go to the first man that passes this tree. 5505. A person rids himself of a sty by washing it with his own urine. 5506. Your sty will flow away, if at a running stream you rub some salt on the sty, then cast the salt into the water, and issue this order three times Salt disappear like malt on the water. SUN PAINS 5507. A person who sleeps with his head to the sun will get up with sun-pains. 5508. To remove sun-pains from your eyes, arise before dawn and wash your eyes in dew. 5509. "My son had sun-pains over his eyes. They would come just before sunup and leave just at sundown. Someone told him about going to the spring before sunup and sticking his head under the water. So he thought he would try it. And he went nine mornings just before sunup and put his head under the water, and he got well. " 5510. "My husband knows of a good living spring down at Marblehead. Take a lock of hair out of the crown of your head, then take that hair to a living spring, and put it under a rock to lose their sun-pains. You see, we used to live at Marblehead." PAROXYSM Colic - Epilepsy - Spasm - Piles (5511-5603)

125 COLIC 5511. Alum kept in a sack about a baby's neck prevents colic. 5512. As soon as a baby is born, let it suck a bacon rind. The child will never have colic. 5513. Take a baby to a blackberry patch where the drooping vines touch the ground and pass the baby back and forth under these arches to cure its colic. 5514. "A man out here in the country had colic bad. He was suffering so with pains, his wife said he was all double up, she didn't know what to do. She remember the old remedy about the white droppings of the chickens. She told it herself, that she went to the henhouse with her lantern and got a pan of the white droppings, as she had nothing else in the house to give him. She made a strong tea out of the droppings and strained it so her husband would not know what it was. She took a cup of this hot tea to him, saying, 'Drink this, will help you,' but didn't tell what it was. He was suffering so, he didn't ask what she was giving him. He drank the cup of tea and in an hour he fell asleep and was well by morning. This is so, for it happen right out here near Quincy." 5515. Tea made out of the dried egg bag of a chicken is good for colic. 5516. Make a tea with the dried lining of a chicken gizzard and use as a colic or cramp-colic remedy. 5517. The person who rocks the baby's empty cradle will give colic to the child. 5518. Administer hourly to a child with colic a teaspoonful of tea made from the white dung of a dog. 5519. After a baby is six weeks old, prevent colic by letting it lick the spoon every time you eat something. 5520. "When my first baby was born it had the colic all the time, and someone told me this old remedy. And when my next child came, the first time I sit up in bed to comb my hair, I put the baby across my knee and let the hair fall over it. But she never did have the colic. And I know several that tried it and it worked." 5521. Unless a curly-haired girl marries a straight-haired man, her children will be troubled by colic. 5522. Horse-manure tea cures colic. 5523. Never kiss an infant on the mouth; you will give it colic. 5524. A baby who laughs in its sleep soon has colic. 5525. "I did this many a time when I was younger when someone's baby had colic: put meal shuck in a pan, then set them on fire, then hold a baby over the pan, and let the smoke go up their clothes." 5526. You can cure colic by keeping a rabbit foot round the baby's neck. 5527. Never put a rubber sheet under a baby before it is six weeks old; the rubber will cause colic. 5528. A good treatment for colic is a heated bag of salt laid on the baby's stomach. Sometimes cornmeal is used. 5529. Someone should hold the newborn baby by the feet before it is dressed, letting its head hang down, and administer a gentle shaking. This prevents colic. 5530. As a colic cure, lay a child down on its stomach and, picking it up by the feet, give it a shaking in one direction; then, letting the child lie on its stomach again, it is to be picked up and shaken in the opposite direction (making sign of cross?). 5531. "This is another remedy my mother did for colic, to keep the child from getting it. When the child is about two weeks old, take it by the heels, head down, and shake it good; then lay the child across your lap for a few minutes, then shake it by the heels again; then lay over your lap, then shake again and lay over your lap; doing it the three times the same morning, and the child will never have colic after that." 5532. Sheep-dung tea is good for colic. 5533. If a mother removing her shoe pours some water into it and lets the baby take a few sips from the shoe, the baby's colic will soon leave. 5534. Chimney soot boiled in water is good for a colicky child. 5535. Put every kind of spice in a bag and dip the bag into hot water. Keep this bag on a child's stomach for colic. 5536. Tie a black silk string round a baby's neck to ward off colic. 5537. Colic is not caught by babies who wear woolen stockings. 5538. Pass a child three times round the leg of a table to cure its colic. 5539. Do not allow a teakettle to steam in the same room with a baby, for it gives colic to the child. 5540. Treat colic by blowing tobacco smoke on the infants stomach or up under its clothes. 5541. "My baby had colic for three months when someone told me this, and I did it and she was cured. Let the mother take a little piece of tobacco and hold it on her tongue for a while until some of the strength is gone [sometimes the tobacco is merely dipped into boiling water], then put this tobacco on the baby's navel." 5542. Tobacco smoke blown into breast milk and administered to a baby takes away colic. 5543. "I remember when my first grandchild had the colic. That son of mine and his wife had a fight. They were always fighting. It was one of those cold days in December when ice was on everything. He brought the four-weeks-old baby down in the Bottom to my house to take care of. Coming through that cold the baby took the colic. I was up half the night when I thought of my grandmother's remedy for colic. I took a big spoon of milk, then I got my husband's pipe, smoked it, then blew the smoke three times into the milk, and gave it to the baby. The baby went right to sleep. I had four more grandchildren after that and did this to every one when they had colic." 5544. "If you let a child after it is five months old smoke on a pipe, it will never have colic. We are letting our baby smoke on the pipe." 5545. To cure a baby's colic, pull it through the fork of a tree during the dark of the moon. 5546. Give a little water to an infant as soon as it is born and the child will never have colic. 5547. Sprinkle a small quantity of cold water on a baby immediately after its birth as a precaution against colic. 5548. The first time a woman arises from childbed she should carry a thimble full of water round the house three times to make her baby immune to colic. 5549. Write the baby's name, the names of its parents, and seal the slip of paper in an air-tight can. Three days preceding the dark of the moon, the mother, carrying her child, must throw the can into running water while saying Father, Son and Holy Ghost, remove the colic. EPILEPSY 5550. "If you have epiliptic fits, take the white part of chicken droppings and dry them and make a powder, and give to the person a teaspoonful after each meal. I knew a child that had fits all the time and the doctor could not help, and someone told the mother about the white part of the chicken droppings and she tried it, and the child got over the fits." 5551. You will never have epilepsy, if you grind up an emerald and wear the powder. 5552. As an epilepsy remedy, visit a hop vine seven mornings in the spring, before sunrise and without speaking, and each morning bite a different sprout of the plant. 5553. A cure for epilepsy is to administer marrow taken from the bones of a horse.

126 5554. Give three seed of the jimson weed thrice daily to a person who has epileptic fits. 5555. Epileptic fits are always more frequent and more severe during the increase of the moon. 5556. Rattlesnake rattles worn about the neck so that they hang in the hollow of the throat cure fits. 5557. "I have heard my grandmother tell one for fits: take a black silk ribbon, put it around the neck with a little key hanging right in the hollow part of the neck, and never take it off only to change the ribbon when dirty." 5558. "I know several people that did this and it cured the ones that took it: if anyone has fits, take off their shirt they have on while having it, cut out the piece over their chest and boil it good, when cool strain, and give to the person to drink --- it takes poison to kill poison." The same remedy is used for a spasm. 5559. "I knew a young man that had fits. They did everything anyone told them, but it didn't help, when one day a woman came along and they were telling her. She said, 'I will cure that boy,' and did. She went to his house when he was having one of those fits. She pull his shirt off over his head, put it on a pan and set it on fire. She took the ashes and told the family to feed him a spoonful before each meal. They did and he never had another fit." 5560. Epileptic attacks are checked, if you remove the person's undershirt immediately after an attack, let it smolder on live coals, mix a teaspoonful of these ashes in a glass of holy water, and say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. These ashes in holy water must be administered three times a day. 5561. To cure a woman who has epileptic fits, give her three times a day a tablespoonful of urine from a man whom she has never seen; and do the same thing for a man with epileptic fits by using the urine of a strange woman. 5562. "I had a friend and she told me when her grandmother came over from Germany that her daughter had fits all the time in the old country, but just as soon as they landed over here she never had another. Bringing her over the large body of water cured her." 5563. A person will never have epileptic fits again, if during an attack you draw some of his blood, put it on a white handkerchief, and then throw that handkerchief into running water. SPASM 5564. "A doctor said years ago spasms was always caused by a worm in the child's neck. Give carrot juice; worms don't like carrots, and they will crawl back out of the neck." 5565. "My mother always did this, she had eight children, and I was the only one that didn't have spasm. If you want to bring anyone right out of a spasm, put the beef gall in a little water and keep it. When they get in a spasm, give them three drops of the beef-gall water." 5566. Pulverize the dried lining of a chicken gizzard and administer for a spasm. 5567. All the clothing or merely the shirt that the child wears during a spasm should be taken off immediately and burned, to prevent a recurrence of the trouble. 5568. If a child is suffering from convulsions, remove its shirt at once and hide it under a rock to stop the attack. 5569. "I knew a woman about thirty-five years ago that had a baby and it was having one spasm after another. It had eleven spasms that day. An old woman came along and wanted to know what was wrong, for the woman was crying, and said, 'My baby is going to die.' The old woman said, 'I will stop that. Just take off her flannel skirt and turn it wrong side out, then bury the skirt.' And they did. And the baby never had another spasm." 5570. As a treatment for convulsions, wash the child in hot dish water. 5571. Stand a child subject to spasms against a door, bore a hole into the wood on a level with the top of the head, and in this put a lock of his hair. After he grows taller than the hole, the attacks will not recur. 5572. To rid a child of spasms, put some of its hair in a hole that you have bored into a tree and plug it up. 5573. "When I was young I always kept a black silk handkerchief handy, so, if any of my children had a spasm, I could throw it over their face; will bring it right out." 5574. Holy water is given to a child who has spasms or fainting spells. 5575. Wilt horse-radish leaves on the stove and bind them to the palms and soles of the baby for spasms. 5576. A mother can free her teething baby from convulsions by biting off the head of a mouse. 5577. In treating a spasm, tie onions on a baby's soles. Sometimes the onions are raw, sometimes fried. 5578. "I had three children and this is what I did for spasm: cut an onion in half and let the child hold half in each palm of the hand." 5579. Pieces of onions bound over the hands and wrists make a spasm disappear. 5580. A child recovers from a spasm as soon as you rub a white onion on its palms and soles. 5581. Convulsions cease after the entire body of a baby has been rubbed with onions. 5582. If a baby is inclined to clinch its fingers while in a spasm, you can revive the child by prying the hands open and dropping salt into them. 5583. Turpentine placed in the left hand and on the left foot brings a baby out of a spasm. 5584. A spasm soon vanishes, if a person rubs round the child's navel with turpentine. 5585. "I always bring a child out of a spasm by giving it a drop of turpentine for every year old it is and rubbing turpentine on their stomach." 5586. "This is Dr. X's old remedy. She told me this years ago. If your child is born with a veil on it, if you will dry that, make a powder of it in a box, and if your baby has spasms, give it to them, it will cure it. But it is not good for any child, only the one that the veil was on." PILES 5587. To prevent piles, carry alum in your pocket. 5588. As a treatment for piles, a buckeye is worn: in the pocket (usually the left), or one in each pocket, or one pinned to the underclothes, or one round the neck, or one rolled in the top of each stocking. 5589. Powder obtained by grinding the dried lining of a chicken gizzard, with the addition of butter or lard and sometimes salt, makes a good salve for piles. 5590. In curing piles, a hot dirty dish rag should be pressed against them and then burned. 5591. An ointment for piles is made by cooking in lard some white droppings from a dog. 5592. "Years ago my husband had piles bad. Some man told him if he would get elderberry leaves and wear in his hip pocket, would cure him. He did, and is not bothered any more, and he is eighty year old." 5593. There are two methods by which hog manure can be prepared as an ointment for piles: either bake it with lard all day in a tin can; or, melt it on the stove, adding when cool a few drops of turpentine. 5594. "If you have piles, take and get a dozen lemons, and eat three a day without sugar. When they are gone, get another dozen and eat two a day. When they are gone, get another dozen and eat one a day. And when they are all gone, you will be well. This is so, because I tried it and got well."

127 5595. Piles do not bother the person who carries mullein leaves. 5596. A nutmeg carried in your pocket frees you from piles. 5597. "My uncle had piles for years, tried everything anyone told him, when one day an old Indian man told him about the Epsom salts and sulphur: take equal parts of Epsom salts and sulphur, a spoonful every night for nine nights, then skip nine nights, then take nine nights, then skip nine nights, then take nine nights --- until you take the twenty-seven nights. So he put the equal parts in a jar, shook it up good, and took like he said. And my uncle cured himself of piles after he had them for years." 5598. Eat a whole black pepper daily for three days, then skip three days," and repeat this rite until nine have been eaten. At the end of this period your piles will be gone. 5599. The person who eats a raw potato nightly for three nights and then takes a tablespoonful of castor oil has cured his piles. 5600. You protect yourself against piles by keeping in your pocket several rattlesnake rattles. 5601. Never sit on a stone, especially a cold one; you will catch piles. Some say, "The poison in the ground goes up through the stone and into you." 5602. As a remedy for piles, wipe them with a piece of your old underwear and then burn it up. 5603. If you cook a wasp nest in honey and strain, it makes a good salve for piles. PULMONARY AFFECTIONS Lung Trouble - Pneumonia - Tuberculosis (5604-5639) LUNG TROUBLE 5604. "If a child has lung trouble, take off all the child's clothes. Take and boil corn on the ear, just like you feed a horse. When it gets good and hot, wrap it in towels and put all around the child. Put a cold rag on its head [to keep the trouble from rising into the head]. My boy had lung trouble bad, next to pneumonia. I put the boiling-hot corn around him and the cold rag on his head. It sure did help him." 5605. Let a person with weak lungs drink billy-goat urine. 5606. To cure lung trouble, put sheep lice in some article of food and eat it. 5607. The person who wears a black silk string round the right arm will have strong lungs. 5608. As a remedy for lung trouble, poultice the chest with skunk grease. PNEUMONIA 5609. "I had a boy that was very sick with pneumonia. The doctor said he could not get well. After the doctor left, I took fat bacon and put a piece on each arm, and tied a piece on each bottom foot, and a piece back of his neck [five places], and left it on all afternoon. About time for the doctor to come, I started to taking it off, and the doctor caught me. He wanted to know what I was doing, and I told him. He let me put it back on, and in two days we could see he was getting better. And he got well. That bacon took out all the fever." 5610. Pneumonia can be cured by keeping on the chest a chicken that was freshly killed. 5611. "My boy was very sick with pneumonia. The doctor told me one night he could not get well, he was very low, and to call him in the night if anything went wrong. After the doctor left, I was sitting in the kitchen crying, when a woman that lived in Slab Holler [Hollow] came to my house. She had heard how low my boy was, and said, 'If you will let me, I will help you get your boy better.' I said, 'I will try anything.' Then she told me about the cow manure and bread dough. I said I would try it. So she went and got the cow manure and I made up some light bread. We tied his feet up in that light-bread dough and started to putting on hot-cow-manure poultice on his lungs. Just as soon as they would get a little cool, we would put another one on. We kept that up all night. The next morning when the doctor came, when I open the door, he said, 'How is the boy? I was looking for you to call me last night.' I said, 'I believe he is better.' He just looked at me. When he saw the boy, he said he was better, 'I believe he will live. What happened?' I said, 'Doctor, I don't want you to laugh at me, but I will tell you what I did.' When I told him about the cow manure and dough, he said, 'That is a good one for the doctor's book, cow shit and dough.' I knew he was making fun of me, because he said cow shit. I said, 'Well doctor, you can make fun of me if you want to, but I saved my boy and that is all I care about. Put it in the doctor's book if you want to'." 5612. "I knew a boy that had pneumonia years ago and they gave him one-third cup of cow-manure tea every hour to break the fever — you put it in a rag and boil it --- and kept cow-manure poultices on his lungs; and they saved him after the doctor said he would die." 5613. "If someone is dying with pneumonia, if you can take the sweat off of their face while dying and rub over your throat, you will never have pneumonia or any kind of cold. I was sitting up with a man that was dying with pneumonia and he was just full of sweat. I have always been sorry I didn't rub some of that sweat over my throat, to keep from getting colds, when I had a good chance to get some sweat." 5614. "If you take the hog's bag bladder and cook it down, then take the grease out of it, it is good for pneumonia or any kind of lung trouble." 5615. "It's a funny thing about doctors. They claim that they can cure everything but the pneumonia, but the superstitious people say that they can cure pneumonia with hogs hoof. They say, take some hogs hoofs, wash them clean and then put them in hot boiling water and let them boil until they steam, then take the water and drink it and it will cure the pneumonia. The name of the water is hogs-hoof tea. " 5616. Tie up some slaked lime in a piece of mosquito netting, hang it over the bed of a pneumonia patient, and this will prevent the disease from turning into tuberculosis. 5617. "If you have a cold in the chest take a flannel shirt and grease it with lard, then take three nutmegs and grate on the shirt, then wear the shirt for three days, then change and do it again. It will even cure pneumonia." 5618. Onions tied to the springs of the bed on which a person with pneumonia lies will soon absorb the disease. Within thirty-six hours the patient's condition improves. 5619. Wash your child in the first snow and it will not catch pneumonia that year. 5620. "My boy was very low with double pneumonia. The doctor said he would not get well. I said to the doctor, 'I have an old remedy. Can I try it?' The doctor said, 'Do anything you want. Your son is very low.' I had some Granger Twist tobacco in the house. I took it and pulled it all apart and put it in a pan. Then I put skunk oil over it, put it on the stove. When it was good and hot, I put it on the bottom of his feet, lungs, just everywhere; and my boy got well. I will tell anyone, that when a doctor fails with pneumonia, take and cure them with skunk oil and tobacco and they will get well." Some- times the skunk oil is put on a rag, which is then dusted with nutmeg, applied to the chest, and covered with a piece of brown paper. TUBERCULOSIS 5621. A cat sleeping at the foot of the bed prevents tuberculosis. 5622. Tea made from a dried chicken gizzard will cure tuberculosis. 5623. Administer red-clover-blossom tea for tuberculosis.

128 5624. A consumptive person should burn a red corn cob to ashes and swallow a pinch of them daily. 5625. To drink the warm milk from a red cow is a tuberculosis remedy. 5626. Let those having tuberculosis inhale the fumes from manure in a cow shed or a horse stall. 5627. In curing tuberculosis, go to the stable early each morning for three days and drink a spoonful of dew from the cow-manure pile. 5628. Dog fat rendered into lard and used for cooking everything eaten by a tubercular patient is a good cure. Similarly, a pup may be cooked and fed to the patient. 5629. "If someone has consumption real bad and in the last stages, take and put six whole eggs in a jar with the shells on them, take six lemons and cut and put in the jar, put the lid on and let stand until the lemons eat all the shells up to a thick syrup, then give to the sick one, one tablespoonful at mornings for nine mornings, then stop for nine mornings, then start again for nine mornings, then stop again for nine mornings. Just keep this up for nine months, and the one that has consumption will get well." 5630. A person with freckles never has tuberculosis. This is a variant of the belief that a freckled person always has good health. 5631. Visit a hickory tree and, having bored a hole into the east side, cram into it same hair from the crown of your head. The hole must then be plugged up. As this hair rots, your tuberculosis disappears. 5632. "If you have T.B. [tuberculosis], take some hair right out the top of your head, then go to a soft-maple tree and bore a hole in the tree to the heart, save all the sawdust, then put your hair in this hole, then the sawdust, then the plug; and when the hair and sawdust rot, you will be cured. I know a lady down here in the South Bottom did this and she got well. I know one that is trying it now." 5633. Anyone can free himself from tuberculosis by boring a hole into a red-oak tree, ramming in some of his hair, and plugging it up. After the bark grows over this aperture, the disease will be gone. 5634. Tuberculosis will soon leave, if a person drinks a cupful of hot blood from a hog that has just been slaughtered. 5635. Milk from a sow is good for children with tuberculosis. 5636. Never sleep with your face to the wall; it will cause tuberculosis. 5637. As a treatment for tuberculosis, a snail should be eaten daily on alternate periods of seven consecutive days. 5638. Those who are very low with tuberculosis in the summer usually survive until the leaves fall. 5639. "My aunt would never let me touch a weed in August that had turn yellow, said they had T.B. in them." RESPIRATORY DISTURBANCES Asthma - Catarrh - Hay Fever (5640-5676) ASTHMA 5640. Asthma may be cured by keeping a necklace of amber beads about the neck. 5641. Break a loaf of hot bread over a child's head to cure its asthma. 5642. As a treatment for asthma in a child, cut a broomstick so that it is as long as the patient is tall, then lay this under the front doorstep, and the disease will disappear after the child grows taller than the length of the broomstick. 5643. To rid a child of asthma, bore a hole into the door jamb on a level with his head, put in this one of the patient's hairs, and stop it up with putty; and when the child's height exceeds that of the stopped-up hair, he will no longer be bothered with the disease. 5644. "If you have asthma, take and stand the person up against a door — the door must be an outside door — bore a hole in the door at the top of their head, save the sawdust, then put a lock of their hair in this hole, then the sawdust, then the plug. When the person grows above that hole, they will be well. Do you see that hole in the kitchen door over there? Well, that is where we tried this on my niece, and she got well." 5645. Stand an asthmatic child against a door and into the jamb bore a hole that will be as high as the top of his head; then, having crammed into this hole some of the child's hair, finger-nails and toe-nails, it must be plugged up. The child will lose his asthma after he grows taller than the height of the hole. 5646. "When I was twelve years old I had asthma bad. My mother took and stood me up against a door. Just at the top of my head she bore a hole in the door, put some of my hair in that hole, then plug it up, praying the house would not burn down before I grew above that hole, for if the house should burn down before I growed above that hole, I would die. My mother said she would never bore a hole in a tree like so many do, for if the tree should die, the person would die too. She thought the house safer." 5647. Dandruff from the back of a cow may be burned and inhaled as an asthma cure. 5648. An eelskin worn about the neck is an asthma cure. 5649. "If someone has asthma, take the person and stand them up against the fireplace, and take a nail and mark their highest place; and as they grow by the mark, they will get well. My grandmother tried this." 5650. "I have asthma bad. They say if you get a hornet nest and smoke it, very good for asthma. I have always wanted to try to get a hornet nest, but I am afraid of hornets so have never tried it." 5651. As a riddance of asthma, a mud dauber nest is kept about the neck. 5652. "My mother had asthma bad and someone told her about wearing the muskrat over her lung [some wear the flesh side, others the fur side, to the skin], and she got one and it sure did her a lot of good." The skin may be worn about the neck. 5653. You can cure your asthma by wearing a nutmeg. 5654. A pillow stuffed with shoemake berries (staghorn sumac) and slept on for nine nights will rid you of asthma. 5655. To free yourself from asthma, kill a poisonous snake, skin it, dry the skin and split it open, and then bind the skin on your chest. 5656. If one stake is driven at the head and another at the foot of an asthmatic child lying on the ground under the eaves of the house, the disease will disappear as soon as the child's height is greater than that of the distance between these two stakes. 5657. Never remove your socks or stockings at night when you go to bed and you will not be troubled by asthma. 5658. Sap taken from the roots of three varieties of trees is boiled into a tea and administered daily for asthma. 5659. If what you spit up during an asthmatic attack is put on a rag and plugged into a hole that has been bored into a tree, your asthma will go away as soon as the rag rots. 5660. After you have stood an asthmatic child against a tree and under a limb that just touches the top of the child's head, cut the limb off at the trunk of the tree, and bury it; and when the patient has grown above this mark, he will no longer suffer from asthma. 5661. While an asthmatic child stands against an oak, measure his height and note this length by driving three nails into the tree; and when the child's height surpasses this mark on the trunk, his asthma will have vanished. 5662. To cure asthma, bore a hole into a tree, putting in this some of your hair, and the disease will leave within nine days. 5663. When a small child has asthma, bore a hole into a young tree, and in it plug up some of his hair; and as the tree grows, he will outgrow the disease.

129 5664. "My brother had asthma bad. My father took him out in the woods and stood him up against a tree, then took his knife and cut a piece of bark off and put some of my brother's hair in that hole; and just as soon as my brother's head was above that hole, he got well. My brother is an old man and he has never had the asthma since that." 5665. Let an asthmatic child stand against a tree as you bore into the trunk a hole indicating the child's height; then, lift up a lock of his hair and, having wedged it tightly in this hole, sever the hair from the child's head; and after this hair decays, the asthma will be gone. 5666. "I knew a little girl about five years ago that had asthma, and they took her out in the timber and chopped her hair into a tree: take it out in the timber and hold its hair up against a tree; take the axe and chop the hair into that tree; when the child gets three inches above that cut on the tree, it will be well. And she got well." 5667. "If a child has asthma --- when the moon is first turning to dark, take the child and stand it up against a tree; then take a ten-penny nail and hammer that nail in the tree even with the child's top of the head, then pull that nail out, then cut a lock of the child's hair and put in that hole, then drive the nail back into the hole up to the head. When the child grows above the head on the nail, it will be cured. You must say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost when driving the nail in the hole." 5668. "That boy across the street there had asthma bad last spring. He came over here. I have a big linden tree in the back yard. I will show you before you go. Take the person to a linden tree, bore a hole, and take some hair off the person's head on the top, put in this hole, do this in the spring when the sap is going up; and when it grows over, the person will be well. I bored a hole in my linden tree and put some of his hair in it, and the hole is almost covered over and he is a lot better. I am going to have him over again this week, before the sap goes up, and bore another hole. You see, once would be enough, but he had it very bad and I am going to bore another hole for him." 5669. Bore into the west side of a honey locust tree a hole just as high on the trunk as a child with asthma is tall and in this hole stop up some of his hair. The child will lose the disease after he grows above the hole. 5670. A person with asthma may bore a hole into the east side of a white oak tree and in the hole plug up some of his hair. After the bark has grown over the hole, the disease will vanish. 5671. If an asthmatic person hides a lock of his hair in an old stump, his disease will go away as soon as this hair becomes rotten. 5672. Let an asthmatic sufferer hide some of his hair between the outer wall and plaster of a house; when this hair rots, he will be freed from asthma. 5673. "I know three people, one was my brother, that had asthma and did this and got well: take a cup of trinity seeds and put a quart of boiling water over it and let cook, then strain it and sweeten a little, and take a cup every three hours for two days, then three times a day before meals for nine days, and you will get well of asthma." CATARRH 5674. "I knew a man that had catarrh real bad and that was all that would help him --- he snuff up his own urine." HAY FEVER 5675. "I had several children --- we were all exposed to the hay fever. An old colored woman told me about crossing water, so I put all my children on the ferry boat and went across the river to run away from the hay fever, and we didn't get it." 5676. "I met a lady at the cemetery last week and she had three sunflower seeds in her pocketbook to help her hay fever." RHEUMATISM (5677-5804) 5677. As a cure for rheumatism, either a lump of alum is carried or the patient sleeps on a sock filled with powdered alum. 5678. "I know this is a cure for rheumatism. Take pure ammonia, one drop, and put in a pint of cold water and drink just before going to bed. Do this every night, increasing a drop each night until you have ten drops. Then start back and decrease one drop each night until you get back to one drop, always using a pint of cold water. Then rest three nights and start in again. You must do this whole thing three times. I knew a man that lived out here in Augusta [Illinois] that had rheumatism for years. He had tried several of Quincy's best doctors and they could not help him. He had been in a wheelchair for two years when an old quack doctor came along and told him he could get him out of that chair. And that about the ammonia is what he told him. The man used the ammonia, and after he had tried it the three times, he could walk." 5679. Put the eggs from large black ants in alcohol and use as a liniment on stiff joints. 5680. Let yourself be stung by the first bee each spring and you will not suffer from rheumatism that year. A bee sting at any time is supposed to be good for rheumatism. 5681. Three teaspoonfuls of honey after each meal will rid you of rheumatism. 5682. The person who carries the knuckle bone out of a beef never has rheumatism. 5683. Do not burn bones in a stove, for it gives you rheumatism. 5684. One buckeye is worn in one of several places as a rheumatism remedy: about the neck, on the breast, in a pocket (especially a hip pocket), round the waist, and under the bend of the knee. Sometimes, they say buckeyes are ineffective for rheumatism, unless you begin by using an unripe one. Moreover, it is occasionally said, to lose this nut in the process of curing yourself brings bad luck. And finally, because a buckeye is also called a horse chestnut, the real chestnut is worn as a substitute, but this seems to be rare. 5685. Buckeyes used for curing rheumatism should always be carried in pairs. This also makes you lucky at the same time. 5686. "If you carry three buckeyes in a sack so they will be on your skin, good for rheumatism; if the buckeyes dry all up when wearing, then they are doing you good; but if they don't dry all up, they are doing you no good." 5687. Buzzard grease is good for applying to rheumatic pains. 5688. "I will never have the rheumatism, because every night when I go to bed I tie a bag of camphor under each knee to keep from having it." 5689. "My grandma had rheumatism and she just hated a cat, but she slept with one every night and she got over rheumatism." 5690. Never let a chicken die in your hand while you are killing it; to do so will give you rheumatism. 5691. If one foot or leg is rheumatic, cut open a live chicken and put your foot into it as a cure; if both feet or legs, two live chickens --- a foot in each chicken. 5692. A coffin nail carried on your person prevents rheumatism. 5693. Cure rheumatism by keeping a penny in your left shoe. 5694. Rheumatism is cured with an insole of copper in each shoe. Sometimes, as a substitute, a penny is worn under each inner sole at the ball of the foot. 5695. As a preventive against rheumatism, use copper in one shoe and brass in the other. 5696. Copper in one shoe and zinc in the other protects you against rheumatism. 5697. The person wearing copper wire around the left ankle will not be bothered with rheumatism.

130 5698. Free yourself from rheumatism with copper wire about the ankle and waist. 5699. If you have rheumatism in the left arm, wear copper wire round the right arm and left ankle; and conversely, if in the right arm, round the left arm and right ankle. 5700. Tie a penny under each knee before going to bed and your rheumatism will soon vanish. 5701. A piece of copper wire round your leg just above the knee is good for rheumatism. Similarly you may pin safety pins together in the form of a circle and wear this as a garter. 5702. If you have rheumatism in one of your legs, wear copper wire on the opposite leg. 5703. For rheumatism you may wear copper wire on the right leg and left wrist. 5704. Three copper wires about each leg controls rheumatism. 5705. If you have rheumatism in the right arm, keep copper wire round the right wrist; if in the left arm, round the left wrist. 5706. If you have rheumatism in one of your arms, keep copper wire round the other arm. 5707. To be immune from rheumatism, put a copper wire or band about your waist. Some say this belt should be soaked in apple vinegar and salt. 5708. A brass ring or a copper ring made from a penny may be used for rheumatism. Some say you must not wear a gold ring at the same time; others say this remedy is good only for rheumatic pains in the hand, arm, or shoulder. 5709. A brass or copper ring on the middle finger of the left hand wards off rheumatism. 5710. Always keep a piece of copper --- usually a penny --- in your pocket and you will not have rheumatic pains. 5711. Persons with a piece of copper wire worn as a necklace are not subject to rheumatic trouble. 5712. If you kiss three pennies, one at a time, wrap them in white paper, put them in a small white sack, and wear this, rheumatism will never bother you. 5713. Another thing my father is carrying for rheumatism: he took a quarter and had some copper put in the middle of it and carries that for his rheumatism. They say silver and copper together are very good for rheumatism. 5714. Rheumatism can be cured by sleeping with corks in your mattress; they absorb the disease. 5715. I live down here in the South Bottom and I know several that did this and got well of rheumatism. Get the roots of the cottonwood tree on the north side of the tree. Take the inside bark and make a strong tea and drink. I know another person that tried it, but she got the roots out of the black dirt. I told her to get them out of the yellow clay. And she started it this week and I know she will get well now. 5716. "I have a brother-in-law out here beyond Fifth and Locust Street that had rheumatism bad, walked with a cane all the time. I told him about how cow manure poultice, would help him. He didn't want to try it, but he did at last. And he has not walked with a cane for ten years now." 5717. Cow urine in a flannel cloth applied to the pains will cure rheumatism. 5718. Take a teaspoonful of cream of tartar in a glass of water each morning for nine days and then discontinue the medicine during a similar length of time. Repeat this alternate process to get rid of rheumatism. 5719. "I know a good cure for rheumatism --- just let a cyclone hit your house, will cure you, if you have rheumatism bad. This is so, every word. When I was a girl going to school we lived back on the creek near Mendon. My father had rheumatism bad, he walked with a cane all the time, never went without one. He sit around all the time with copper wire around his legs, had mother making him poultices of ground glass to put on his joints. Well, he had it so bad that mother and us children did all the work on the place --- we hated to see him hobble around and suffer, said every step he took made him suffer. Our near neighbor was about a mile across the creek. I can remember so well. There was a big old tree that had fell across the creek and we would walk this tree across the creek to go to school or to our neighbor's house. Mother had a barrel by the kitchen door with a hen in it, setting. The old hen was about to hatch, when one day a big cyclone hit our house. Poor father was sitting by the window feeling so bad. We had all been out doing the chores, for we saw the storm coming. When it hit our house, we saw the old barrel go up in the air, hen and eggs --- it was a sight. It took the roof off the house and turn it clear around. We looked for father and he was not there in the chair. We thought he too had went up in the air, for his cane was by the chair. We didn't know it then, but did in a little while. He ran over to get this neighbor that lived a mile across the creek. He even walked across the old log tree we all used. When he got to this farmer's house, the farmer said, 'How did you get here? you even don't have your cane.' My father said, 'Hell, I left my cane back home. The cyclone scared the rheumatism out of me. I don't need a cane any more.' The man came home with my father and help us. But my father never used his cane any more, and we children and mother didn't do all the work on the farm, for my father was cured of the rheumatism where nothing else help." 5720. "About forty-five years ago a man had rheumatism so bad that for several years he could not walk or do any kind of work. He had a man to row him across a slough down in the South Bottom, I forgot just where he was going, but when they got about halfway over the slough, the man ran the skiff into a tree. And when they looked, there were three or four big water moccasin snakes lying there. It scared the man so, he jumped out of the boat into the muddy water and walked to shore. He never had the rheumatism after that. He said he didn't know if the scare cure him or walking in the mud, but he was well." 5721. As an aid against rheumatism, rub the finger of a dead person over the ailing joints In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 5722. To walk barefoot in the dew every morning drives away rheumatism. 5723. "I was boarding at a place years ago and they had a little dog there. We all thought so much of the dog, and if the man had of told me the dog would die, I don't believe I would of done what I did. I had rheumatism bad. I would go to work and they would have to bring me home. I got so I could not even walk. One night when I came home on my cane an old man said, 'I will tell you something to get rid of your rheumatism, if you don't tell anyone in the house.' But he didn't tell me the dog would die. He said, 'When you go up to bed tonight, you take the little dog and let it sleep with you, but be sure and put the dog out of bed before sunup. Put it in bed with you for nine nights.' I liked the dog and didn't see any harm letting it sleep with me. So that night I took the dog to bed with me and done just as the old man said. And on the seventh morning I could walk to work. But when I came home that night I notice the dog was limping. I put the dog out on the ninth morning and when I came home that night the dog didn't meet me. And on the tenth night the dog started toward me and it just screamed and screamed, it was in so much pain. The man at the house thought I had kicked the dog. I said, 'I never did a thing. I think too much of the dog.' The dog was sick all night and died on the eleventh morning. Then the old man told me the dog had got my rheumatism and had died from it, and not to let anyone know what I did. And I got well. I am sixty-five now and have never had rheumatism since." 5724. If you shoot a stray dog --- it must be shot with a gun --- cut off the tail while the carcass is warm, split the tail and rub each half over your rheumatic pains, you will soon be well. 5725. "A woman out here in Payson keeps a pair of ring-neck doves in the house all the time to keep the family from getting rheumatism. She would not be without them." 5726. An eelskin is variously used for rheumatism: about the neck, round the waist, as a garter or garters, on the ankle, and tied to the pains. 5727. Some say those who sleep on feathers will never have rheumatism, but others say those who sleep on feathers will always have rheumatism.

131 5728. Red flannel is good for rheumatism when used in one of the following ways: on the ankle, as garters below or above the knees, about the wrist, round the arm below or above the elbow, and sleeping between red flannel blankets. 5729. Pains in rheumatism can be alleviated by drinking three cupfuls of garlic tea daily for three days and then eating one garlic a day for five days. Continue this alternate rite until well. 5730. Women who wear their garters below the knees never contract rheumatism. 5731. "I had rheumatism bad when someone told me about the fresh dirt. If you have rheumatism, get someone to plow up a piece of ground and walk over fresh dirt every day barefooted, will cure you. I went out here near Twentieth and Cedar and rented eight lots. Of course [in contrast with her present poverty] this was about thirty years ago. I had a man to plow the ground and I walked over fresh dirt every morning; soon as it would get a little dry, have it plowed again. I am seventy-five years old this week and I am cured of the rheumatism. You can see for yourself I am a very spry old woman at seventy-five and with no rheumatism." 5 732. The person who keeps a guinea pig in bed with him at night never has rheumatism. 5733. Hair cuttings or combings thrown on the floor gives you rheumatism. 5734. Unless a person burns his hair clippings or combings, he will get rheumatism. 5735. To strike a child anywhere above the hips is one of the causes of rheumatism. 5736. The eye tooth of a hog may be carried in guarding yourself against rheumatism. 5737. Rheumatism can be kept away, if you carry that little round bone from a ham joint. 5738. If you have rheumatism in the upper part of the body, sleep with a bag of wild hops under each arm; if in the lower part of the body, under each knee. 5739. A horseshoe-nail ring is worn for rheumatism, but some say you must wear it on a little finger. 5740. A horseshoe-nail ring is no good for rheumatism, unless you accidentally find a lost horseshoe containing eight nails and make the ring from one of them. 5741. As a treatment for rheumatism, carry an Indian turnip in your pocket. 5742. "A man right here in Lorraine wears an iron bolt hanging down his back and a bolt hanging in the front to keep rheumatism away." 5743. "If you have rheumatism, take jimson seed, and take one, then the next day two, the next day three, the next day four, the next day five, the next day six, the next day seven, the next day eight, the next day nine. Then wait three days and start all over. Do this until you get over the rheumatism." 5744. Treat rheumatism by carrying a lemon in your pocket. 5745. A lodestone in your pocket is a rheumatism remedy. 5746. Mare milk as a drink helps rheumatism. 5747. People with rheumatism should wear a mole skin. 5748. "My husband kept mud dauber nest in the house all the time. He would look for them all the time, because he had rheumatism. If you have rheumatism, get a quart of the mud dauber nest, put them in a skillet with one-half cup of salt and one cup of vinegar, cook good; then put this on your knee as hot as you can stand, leave on, then put another hot one on before the first gets real cool. You will find relief from rheumatism. This was an old Indian remedy that an Indian gave to my grandfather." 5749. As a remedy for rheumatism, keep a nutmeg in your pocket, or wear one round your neck — on a white string say some. 5750. Stay away from oleanders; they cause rheumatism. 5751. You will not be bothered by rheumatism, if you string a potato and wear it about your waist against the skin. Sometimes two potatoes are worn in a belt. 5752. Halve a potato and wear one half on each knee to cure rheumatism. 5753. "My husband went to work in a damp place, worked there for four years, and he didn't take rheumatism. They say if you work in a damp place, carry a potato on you all the time to keep rheumatism away. Nine times out of ten you will get it. You can tell if the rheumatism is going into the potato and not you --- if the potato starts to getting hard, it is getting it; if the potato stays soft, look out! for you are getting it. He put a potato in his pocket and when that potato got hard as a rock he knew the potato was getting the rheumatism and not him. He buried the potato, put another new potato in his pocket, and when that got hard buried it, and kept on doing that the four years. When he stop working in that damp place he didn't have any rheumatism, it had all gone into the potatoes he carried on him." But some say: if you are carrying a potato and it becomes hard, the remedy will be unsuccessful; if it rots, successful. 5754. Three small potatoes are carried in the pocket for rheumatism. 5755. Potatoes will not cure rheumatism unless you steal them. Further, in all potato-cures for rheumatism, the potatoes may be peeled. 5756. A rabbit foot may be worn for rheumatism. 5757. Your rheumatism is cured by keeping a fresh rabbit skin on the affected place. 5758. Thirteen raisins in a sack over the affected place will take away rheumatic pains. 5759. Spit on a rock for three mornings, hide it under your front porch, and after you have forgotten about the rock your rheumatism will be gone. 5760. "I had been suffering for months with rheumatism pains when a man told my husband on the W. P. Works that a bag of salt on the chest was very good. I put a bag on right away. I am telling you the truth, I don't have any more pains." 5761. Salt sprinkled in your shoes is a good remedy for rheumatism. 5762. You may treat rheumatism with a teaspoonful of salt and red pepper mixed in each shoe. Sometimes a pod of red pepper without the salt is kept in each shoe. 5763. The warm gall of a freshly butchered sheep may be rubbed on stiff joints. 5764. Rheumatic pains will never attack the person who always puts on his left shoe first. This is the general rule, but some say the right shoe should , be put on first. 5765: One shoe set in the other when going to bed at night is a help for rheumatism. 5766. "My mother did this. She was eighty-five when she died, and she had her shoes turned upside down under the bed when she died. She did this for the rheumatism." 5767. "They told me that, years ago when I was young, if you burn old shoes, you will get the rheumatism. But I didn't pay any attention, and have burnt many a old shoe to get a meal. And now I have the rheumatism so bad I can't get around, for not listening to other people telling me not to do it." 5768. A silver coin tied on your ankle guards you against rheumatism. 5769. For ridding yourself of rheumatism, wear a silver bracelet on either arm and another one on the opposite leg. 5770. Skunk oil is an ointment for rheumatism.

132 5771. A rattlesnake skin is carried in the pocket for rheumatism. 5772. A rattlesnake skin tied about each arm prevents rheumatism in the arms. 5773. A snake hide --- blacksnake, rattlesnake or water moccasin is the snake usually prescribed --- can be worn against your skin as a belt to help rheumatism. 5774. Any kind of snake skin when applied to rheumatic joints will lessen the pains. But some say this skin must come from the first blacksnake of the season. 5775. A hatband made from the skin of the first snake killed in the season will take away rheumatic pains. 5776. Rattlesnake rattles are used for rheumatism in one of the following ways: they are worn next to the skin of the waist, in the hatband, and in the pocket. 5777. Anoint rheumatic joints with grease rendered from a blacksnake. Some say you must render this oil from the severed head of a blacksnake that was captured before it could bite itself. In this remedy, and in the snake remedies preceding, it is often required that you yourself must kill the snake. 5778. You can cure your rheumatism by eating some blacksnake meat. 5779. You can cure your rheumatism by eating the heart of a rattlesnake. 5780. Take a teaspoonful of soda night and morning for three days, stop for three days, and keep repeating this alternate rite for rheumatism. 5781. "If you carry a squirrel right-hind foot, will make you limber, you will never be stiff and have rheumatism, for you know a squirrel is always jumping around. Of course, you must know how to fix this squirrel foot. You just can't take a foot and carry it. You have to take a squirrel, skin its foot up above the first joint, then strip the flesh up toward the body above the first joint, then cut the skin off, then tie the sinew around the upper part of the body, then unjoint the leg at the first joint --- never break it, if you do, will do no good --- always unjoint it; and if you carry this leg, you will never be stiff." 5782. Sulphur in your shoes will cure rheumatism. Some say the sulphur cures you by going up through your system. Instead of this, the sulphur may be kept in the mattress of your bed. 5783. Sunflower seed in your shoes protects you against rheumatism. 5784. If you trim your toe-nails on Sunday, you will get rheumatism. 5785. If you bore a hole into a sugar maple tree and stop up in this hole some of your toe-nail and finger-nail cuttings, the rheumatism in your hands will soon leave. 5786. "The nurse at X. told me today that she went to see a very old Negro woman who had a severe case of rheumatism. This old Negress said to the nurse, 'If I could only get a thunderbolt, I sure would get well.' The nurse asked, 'What is a thunderbolt?' The old Negress explained that they are found under the trees after a big thunderstorm. 5787. As a remedy for rheumatism in your feet or legs, rub a turkey wishbone on both knees and burn the bone. 5788. Rheumatism can be cured by rubbing the ailing parts with the gold meat [yellow meat] of a turtle. 5789. If you have rheumatism, bathe the affected parts with your own urine. 5790. If you have rheumatism, wrap round the aching part a red flannel rag that was dipped into the urine of a child. 5791. Keep an unripe walnut in your pocket as a remedy for rheumatism. 5792. Treat rheumatism by setting a pan of water under the bed and keeping it there. Refill the pan when empty. 5793. "Another old rheumatism saying: if you will put a bucket of water under the bed every night, set it outdoors in the morning, not spilling a drop or putting a drop more water in that bucket, will keep away rheumatism." 5794. You will never have rheumatism, if after washing your hands and face in the morning you dry your hands first. 5795. Do not throw out the water in which you wash your feet at night, wait until the following day, and your feet will always be free from rheumatism. 5796. "I knew a man that had rheumatism and he went to a clear stream of water early in the morning, and he walked across and back seven straight mornings barefooted, and it cured him of the rheumatism." 5797. "I knew an old colored man well, poor soul, he's dead now, he had rheumatism bad. And he went down here at the foot of Chestnut Street to a little stream of water that ran into the Quincy Bay and stood barefooted three times a week in this stream with his feet pointing to the Bay, so the water would take his rheumatism on into the Bay." 5798. A person gets rid of rheumatism by mashing up fresh wintergreen plants, rubbing them over the affected parts, and throwing the plants away. 5799. Oil made from the common worm --- variously called angleworm, earth- worm, fishingworm and redworm --- is one of the best known remedies for rheumatism. The oil can be secured either by letting the worms decompose in the sun, or by boiling them down in water or frying them. Sometimes the live worms are bound on the rheumatic pains. 5800. A piece of yarn, usually red, is tied in one of the following places for rheumatism: over the pain, round one finger, above or below the knee, round the arm, am about the ankle after the yarn has been dipped in turpentine. 5801. Twist two strands of white yarn together, roll this in sulphur, and use it round the knee for rheumatism. 5802. A white woolen rag may be tied round your leg or arm for rheumatism. 5803. A piece of zinc in a woolen cloth about your neck is good for rheumatism. 5804. "I know a man that is doing this and it is helping him fine, taking away the pains. If you have rheumatism, take a piece of zinc, then put a piece of copper on top of it, and wear it in both shoes for a week. Then change and put the copper down and the piece of zinc on top for a week. Change every week, keeping them on top of one another, and in both shoes." SKIN COMPLICATIONS (5805-5904) Blister - Chafing - Chapping - Eczema - Erysipelas (5805-5827) BLISTER 5805. Never open a blister before sunset; you will have bad luck. 5806. A person rubs a finger behind the ear and wipes it on a fever blister as a remedy. 5807. "If you have a cold sore [fever blister] on your lips, take a match and stick it in your ear, then rub it over the cold sore. I will bet you anything it will be well by the next night." 5808. "I had a bad fever blister several weeks ago and I took the saliva on my finger, then some of my earwax, and rubbed on it, and it cured the fever blister right away." 5809. A blister or a pimple on the tongue comes from telling a lie. 5810. To cure a blister on the tongue, spit into the fire three times while saying Blister, blister, blister, go away.

133

CHAFING 5811. As a cure for chafing or galling, one of the following things may be carried --- usually in the pocket: alum in a bag, bitterweed, buckeye, dogweed (dog fennel) leaves, elder leaves in the hip pocket for galling of the crotch and on the shoulders for galling in the armpits, elder and mullein leaves mixed, grape leaves in the pocket or under the sheet of your bed, mule tail leaves, mullein leaves in the hip pocket or a leaf in the baby's diaper for a baby, green mustard tops, ragweed tops in the hip pocket, and a bag of saltpetre pinned on the corset or shirt tail for galling between the legs and on the arm for galling in the armpit. 5812. Mix the white part of chicken manure with fresh lard and rub on a baby's chafed bottom. 5813. Fresh yellow clay or dirt from a road may be applied for chafing. 5814. For chafing in young children, powder a mud dauber nest and apply. CHAPPING 5815. To cure chapped lips, rub a finger behind the ears and then wipe it on your lips. This is the general rule, but the finger may be rubbed in the armpit, on the sole, or between the toes. 5816. A person who washes his hands with the first snow prevents them from chapping that winter. 5817. Hands do not chap during the winter, if they are washed in March snow- water. This water should be bottled and kept so that it is ready for use at the beginning of cold weather. 5818. Treat chapped hands by washing them with your own urine. ECZEMA 5819. Let the warm blood from a freshly killed beef drip on eczema of the hands for a cure. 5820. Eczema can be cured by stroking it with the hand of a corpse. 5821. Get up before sunrise, find three twigs and rub them over your eczema, and then burn the twigs while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Do this for three successive mornings as a remedy. 5822. "This old man said, years ago everyone that had any diseases would go down to this creek [in South Park] and wish it in the creek. He said he knew a woman one day that was well and walked across the bridge that went over that creek and got eczema bad and almost died." 5823. "I know a man that had eczema bad on his hands and he came to the blacksmith shop where I worked and washed his hands in that slack water every day for two weeks and he got well." ERYSIPELAS l5824. "I knew a woman that lived on Sixth and Washington Street that had erysipelas very bad. She could not see out of her eyes. She had had two doctors and they didn't seem to help her. My father run a butcher shop near Sixth and Washington. Those days they let the stock all run loose and father had a lot of cows, and he had several cats around the butcher shop. He went over and told this woman: if she would let him, he could help her with an old German remedy that he had heard about from the old country; it was not very nice, but he knew he could help her. She told him to try. So he went back to the butcher shop and killed one of the cats, skin it, and put that cat skin all over her face, warm; left it on twenty-four hours, took it off, and it had drawn out all the inflammation in her face and eyes. That woman got well. The doctor and some other people made fun of my father, but he said he got her well when the doctor didn't do any good, would of let her go blind. Those old remedies are a lot better than the doctor's remedies." 5825. "I lived in the South when I was a girl, and I had St. Anthony fire bad, that's a breaking-out, when one day an old Irish woman came in and told my mother I would die if she didn't do something for me. And she told her to do this: take two inches of a black cat tail and cut off, then take that tail with the blood end and make a mark, starting at the top of the head and going down the front as far as you can, then the back the same way, then both arms. And I got well. 5826 Several years ago [1936] my sister and I while in the country heard of an erysipelas cure that had been worked with an Indian arrowhead by an old woman formerly well known as a healer. Our informant, who was related to the healer's family, did not know any details, but said two of the old woman's sons, elderly men, were still alive --- the one, a nearby farmer, professionally engaged in the healing tradition of the family; the other, a business man, the owner of a hardware store in the small town a few miles away. I decided to visit the business man first. The purchase of a dipper, which I actually wanted, served as an excuse. After the usual talk about things in general --- the weather (it was about ninety-five in the shade), people on relief, business conditions, prospects from the approaching harvest --- I told the man who I was, explained my work, and offered what credentials I could muster. Fortunately, he knew a boyhood friend of mine who at that time lived on a farm in the neighborhood, and he had also known my father. He became quite friendly. Our conversation ended something like this: "So you're going over to see my brother about that old cure of my mother's." He seemed amused. "Wait a minute." He went over to his desk, opened a drawer, took out two implements, held them up and asked, "What do you think of them?" One of the objects was an Indian arrowhead; the other was a piece of steel shaped like this --- u-shaped --- two prongs sticking out from a handle. "Wonderful! May I hold them?" "Sure." "Your mother's?" "No, mine. Fact is, I've done that cure for years. Not so much recently. Just do it as a favor. Only cure I know. But that's good for any kind of skin trouble; not only erysipelas." "Why is the steel in a shape like this?" "No reason. I had it made like that years ago by a blacksmith. Easier to hold. See, I put my hand through here and let these two prongs stick out. Just like a handle. Those prongs are like a guard. No danger of skinning your hand." "Must you use an arrowhead?" "No, any kind of flint will do. But my mother used an arrowhead. I found this one myself." "Have you ever told anyone how you use these?" "No." "Could you?" "Yes, but I couldn't tell you. Have to tell a woman. And I have to tell a woman younger than myself. And she could only tell a man, and he would have to be younger than her. If you don't, you'll lose your power." "Suppose you gave this secret to a woman younger than yourself and she abused your trust, say, by telling it to another woman or to a man older than herself?"

134 "That wouldn't hurt me. She would lose her power, I wouldn't." "Would you be willing to give the secret to a woman younger than yourself?" "I might." "How old are you?" "I'm X. years old." "See that automobile out in front? See that woman in it? That's my sister. She's younger than you and older than I. Suppose I go out, send her in, and you explain everything to her?" After some hesitation he agreed to the plan. So I went out, explained the hocus pocus to my sister, and she went into the store while I stayed in the car. In about a half hour my sister came out. We had the cure. Wrote down the details immediately. Here they are. You must hold a piece of steel in your right hand and strike downwards on a flint held by your left hand --- our informant called this striking fire --- as you go through the following four actions of the complete rite: (1) Start at the top of the patient's head, in the center, begin to strike down on the flint, making sparks; then, come down, slowly, continuing the sparks, over the right ear, shoulder and arm, to the finger tips; and, while striking these sparks from the top of the head down to the finger tips of the right hand, you must repeat three times: "While fire flies away, Tame fire devours you." This whole act must be done three times; hence, the incantation is repeated nine times. (2) Start at the top of the patient's head, in the center, and strike sparks down to the left finger tips while repeating the incantation three times. This whole act must be done three times. (3) Start at the top of the patient's head, in the center, and strike sparks down over the face, nose, mouth, center of the body as far as there is pain or the disease can be seen, even if it extends to the toes. The incantation must be said three times and the whole act repeated three times. (4) Start at the top of the patient's head, in the center, and strike sparks down the back of the head, down the middle of the back, and as far as the pain or disease extends, even to the heels if necessary. Repeat the incantation three times and the whole act three times. The complete rite --- containing the four separate acts, each of which, as already stated, is repeated three times --- must be performed after sunset or before sunrise, and it must be repeated on three different occasions as follows: if you commence after sunset, perform the complete rite at that time, then again just before the following sunrise, and then again after the next sunset; if you commence before sunrise, perform the complete rite at that time, then again just after the following sunset, and then again just before the next sunrise. Now, if the complete rite performed on three separate occasions fails to cure the patient, wait awhile, three days or a multiple of three, and perform the rite again; then wait once more, and perform the rite for the third time. Therefore, in this extreme case, the complete rite is performed 9 times and each of the 4 acts 27 times ---which means going down the body 128 times and repeating the incantation 324 times. And if this fails to cure the patient, I do not know what happens. Probably the healer will need a healer for himself. This remedy, which has been worked in the community since about 1850, was brought over from Germany by the informant's grandmother. With our arrowhead cure safely bestowed, and with high hopes, we next went out to see the other brother, the professional healer. He refused to tell us anything. It was another one of the hundreds of disappointments and failures one meets while collecting folklore. 5827. "When I was a girl I had erysipelas bad. My mother took me to an old woman. This woman put me on a long board, made me lie down, then took three long strings, one white, blue, and red, and started at my head and went to my toes with the three strings, just like she was measuring me. She done this three times at a time and three times a day, and she would powwow [not a local term; probably directly or indirectly from Pennsylvania-Dutch] all the time. And in two days I was well." Freckles - Hives - Itch - Pimple - Poison Ivy (5828-5890) FRECKLES 5828. "Years ago two girls out in the country near Burton and Liberty was going to a party. They had their dresses made, but both girls had a lot of freckles; and they heard that if you would put cow manure all over your face, it would take them off. So they made up their mind to try before the party. They both stayed at one house, and put it allover their faces. The next morning when they washed, they were all green. The cow had been eating something green and it stain their faces. It took the girls several days to get the green off their faces. They got rid of the freckles but didn't get to go to the party, for their faces were too green. It got out, and the boys and girls had a good time over them missing the party over getting rid of the freckles." 5829. To remove freckles, you must go to the pasture, catch some fresh urine from a cow, and wash your face with it. 5830. There is a rhyme about how you can get rid of freckles: "Wash in water, neither rain nor run; Dry by towel, neither woven nor spun." This means you must wash in dew and dry in the sun. Do this on seven mornings. 5831. A remedy for freckles is to wash your face with dew before sunrise in March. 5832. You will never have freckles, if on the first day of May you bathe your face in the dew off growing wheat. 5833. Go out to a wheat-field in your nightclothes on the first of May and wash your face with dew to remove freckles. 5834. If you arise on the first of May, walk out of the house backwards, bathe your face with dew, your freckles will leave. 5835. "My face was just full of freckles, so I got up on the first day of May and washed my hands in the early-morning dew --- then lay your hands on some other part of your body and the freckles will go to that place --- then I put my hands on my shoulders, and the freckles left my face and went to my shoulders." 5836. If you kneel down in the grass on the first of May before sunrise, lay the palms of your hands flat into the dew, cross your hands and keep them crossed while you rub downwards over your face to the shoulders, your freckles will transfer to the latter place." 5837. On each of the first three mornings of May get up before four o'clock and wash your face with dew that you have scooped up in your hands, then rest , your hands on some part of the body to which you want the freckles transferred, and they will soon appear at that spot. 5838. Your freckles will soon vanish, if you get up before sunrise on the first three mornings of May and wash them with dew from red clover. 5839. As a cure for freckles, wash your face in dew before dawn on the first seven mornings of May, wipe it off with your hands, and rub it on that part of your body to which you want them transferred. 5840. Freckles can be removed by washing your face with dew from grass on the first nine mornings of May.

135 5841. If you bathe your face before sunrise on the first ten mornings in May, then go back to bed and let the dew dry on your face, you will soon lose freckles. 5842. Never wash your face with water in which eggs have been boiled; it will give you freckles. 5843. Lemon juice rubbed on freckles for nine nights and nine mornings removes them. 5844. To make a lotion for removing freckles, put lemon-rind juice and ten raisins in a bottle filled with water that has run or dripped from the eaves of the house. You must shake the bottle daily for nine days and wash with the liquid after the ninth day. 5845. "If you want to get rid of your freckles, milk a mare in your hands and wash your face with that milk, then put your hands where you want your freckles. I did this, and see, I put my freckles on my elbows." 5846. Grate horse-radish into mare milk and use as a lotion for removing freckles. 5847. It was a spring past time among children years ago to pop into each other's faces the squirters or soft seedpods of the silver maple tree. This juice was supposed to cause freckles. 5848. Use the first snow of the season as a wash to take off freckles. 5849. Water from the first snow of March makes a good lotion for taking away freckles. Some say any snow of March can be used. 5850. "My grandmother said wash in the first snow of May, would take away your freckles." 5851. Bottle the last snow of the season and use it as a lotion for washing away freckles. 5852. To make freckles disappear, wash your face with water standing in a hollow stump. An oak stump is occasionally required. Some think bran put in this water and allowed to sour makes the remedy more effective. 5853. Lose freckles by washing them with your own urine. 5854. Wipe your face daily with a baby's wet diaper to get rid of freckles. 5855. The urine of a healthy child used as a face lotion three times a day is a good freckle remover. 5856. As a rite for losing freckles, bathe your face in a running stream before sunrise on the first of May while saying: "This is the first of May, I wash my freckles away." 5857. Early on Easter morning go to running water, walk downstream, stop three times, each time taking up some water and putting it in a bottle, and then return home. All of this must be done before sunrise. This water is a good wash for freckles, provided you say the Lord's Prayer while washing. HIVES 5858. "I knew a woman that did this to all ten of her children and they never had hives. Take a razor and cut a little place on the shoulder of a new baby, and take about two drops of the blood and feed to the baby, will never have hives." 5859. The first rule in the cure of hives requires that they be forced out as soon as possible, for turning in or going in the person will bring death. Sometimes they go in the patient because he gets them wet; hence a person with hives should never go swimming. One of the best remedies to force out hives, especially out of children having bull hives (large hives), is tea made from the white part of chicken manure. 5860. Bathe hives with tea brewed from dog manure. 5861. Hives can be cured by rubbing hog dung over them. 5862. As a remedy in curing hives, rub them against a hog trough. 5863. Sheep-dung tea is a good wash for hives. ITCH 5864. For a toe-itch cure, wrap an apple peeling round it while saying Apple Peeling, take this itching away from my toe. 5865. The white part of chicken manure mixed with lard makes a good itch salve. 5866. Cobwebs rubbed on an itching caused by a crack behind your ear will cure it. 5867. Rub the itching soles of your feet with coffee grounds; the itch will be thrown away with the grounds. 5868. "I have often heard my grandmother tell this: it's an old saying, to go through a patch of corn after dark will give you the itch." 5869. If you step on a spot where a cow has urinated, the skin of your toes will crack open. This ailment is variously known as cow-itch, ground-itch and toe-itch. 5870. Ground-itch can be cured by holding your toes under a cow that is relieving herself and letting the urine run over them. 5871. A person who wiggles his toes in a fresh cow-cake or cow-plaster and lets the manure dry on them will lose ground-itch. 5872. Your mother's dish rag rubbed on the soles of your feet takes away an itching in them. 5873. "I just tried this just last week. I had toe-itch and I spit on it and it cured it." 5874. To cure barber's-itch, rub saliva on the affected place three times a day and cover with cigar ashes. 5875. One shoe pointed east and the other west will stop an itching on your foot. 5876. Wear a black-yarn string on your toe for cow-itch. 5877. "I always wear a red-yarn string around a cracked toe. I am wearing one now, for my toes are so bad from being out in the strawberry patch." 5878. "Another thing I used to do for toe-itch was to take a piece of white yarn off my white-wool shawl I was wearing and tie around my toe." Sometimes this string is dipped into bacon fryings or turpentine. 5879. Regardless of the toe affected with cow-itch, a yarn string about the little toe cures it. 5880. To rid yourself of ground-itch, a white woolen string is worn round the ankle. 5881. A toe never cracks open, if you keep about it three strands of yarn. 5882. Cracked toes are treated by binding them with a yarn string that was dipped into melted lard, but this remedy must be repeated for nine days. 5883. As a wash for itch, boil down twelve walnut leaves in a quart of water to a pint and having strained this add a teaspoonful of sulphur. PIMPLE 5884. To free yourself from pimples, arise before daylight on the first three mornings of May and bathe your face in dew. 5885. Pimples can be cured by washing them with lemon juice for nine mornings. 5886. "I always wash my face every morning in my own urine to keep from having pimples." This is also a cure for blackhead or fleshworm. In this case, you are supposed to let the urine remain in a pot overnight, remove the scum next morning, and use the clear liquid.

136 POISON IVY 5887. The person who gets poison ivy has it seven consecutive summers. 5888. If you were born in a month containing the letter R, you will always be poisoned by poison ivy; but if the month of your birth does not have the letter R, you are immune. 5889. Slack-water, the water in which a blacksmith cools hot iron, is a good wash for poison ivy. 5890. Treat poison ivy by bathing it with your own urine. Rash - Scrofula - Tetter - Thrush (5891-5904) 5891. A person born after his father's death has the power to cure such childhood ailments as rash, tetter, and thrush --- commonly called thrash --- by blowing on the disease. Sometimes the breath is blown into the patient's mouth. 5892. A posthumously born person whose father did not die a natural death can cure a baby's sore mouth by breathing on it. 5893. Scrofula can be cured by cutting open a live frog and using it as a poultice. 5894. Six frogs or toads fried in a quart of lard down to a pint of grease make an ointment good for scrofula. 5895. If a child has tetter, put a lock of its hair in a hole that you have bored into a tree to indicate the child's height; and when the child grows above this mark, the disease will be gone. 5896. "I know this is so, for when my baby got the thrash and nothing would help, I took him out in the country to a farmhouse and let him inhale the steam from a hot manure pile, saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and he got well." 5897. Hold a live minnow so that it breathes (opens and closes its gills) three times in the child's mouth as a thrush remedy. 5898. An old shoe should be burned and the ashes used in washing out the mouth of a child with thrush. 5899. As a treatment for thrush, let an adult, of the same sex but unrelated to the child, carry it a drink that he or she has secured from a running stream by using the left hand to dip up the water with the right shoe. This rite must be repeated on three successive mornings. 5900. The water in which a blacksmith cools hot iron, called slack-water or blacksmith-water, is used as a wash for rash and tetter; but to be effective the water must dry on the skin. 5901. Three sow-bugs carried alive in a sack about the child's neck cures thrush. 5902. "My baby had the thrush bad and all I did was to wash its mouth out every morning with the corner of her wet diaper." 5903. Thrush is prevented, if you wipe out a baby's mouth with its first wet diaper. 5904. To rid a baby of thrush, its mouth may be rinsed out with the father's urine. SLEEP DIFFICULTIES (5905-6004) Insomnia - Snoring - Sleep-Talking (5905-5948) INSOMNIA 5905. You will not sleep well, unless your bed rests east and west --- the direction in which the earth revolves. 5906. Never sleep with the head of your bed to the west; you will not sleep well. 5907. "If I can't sleep at night, I get up and put my head at the foot of the bed to make me go to sleep." 5908. "My mother, if she couldn't sleep at night, she would get up and walk around the bed so she could." 5909. An open Bible kept under your pillow prevents restlessness at night. If you do not have a Bible, any book containing the Lord's Name may be used. 5910. Insomnia is cured by keeping a four-leafed clover beneath your pillow. 5911. Count one hundred backwards after you go to bed and you will soon fall to sleep. 5912. If you are restless during the night, rub the bottom of your left ear and you will soon be asleep. 5913. A file beneath your pillow makes you sleep well. 5914. As a remedy for nervousness at night, keep a hatchet beneath the mattress. 5915. People who sleep badly should put a butcher-knife under the pillow. 5916. You can sleep well at night by having a knife and fork crossed beneath your pillow. 5917. A person sleeps well with two needles crossed beneath the pillow. 5918. Those unable to sleep well should lay an onion under the pillow or hang one over the head of the bed. 5919. Brown paper beneath your pillow will make you sleep better. 5920. To cure insomnia, during the night get up, take off the pillowcase, turn the pillow over, lie on it that way, and you will sleep better. 5921. You will sleep soundly, if you always carry seven grains of red popcorn in your hip pocket. 5922. Salt anywhere under or in the bed is effective against sleeplessness. 5923. "My daughter was working down in the shoe factory and she was so nervous she could not sleep. Then she put a pair of scissors [they must be open say some] under her pillow and slept fine." 5924. The person who sleeps with his shoes beneath the bed will be restless all night. 5925. If you sleep with your shoes beneath the foot of the bed, you will not rest; if beneath the head of the bed, you will rest well. 5926. To have another person's shoes beneath your bed will give you a sleepless night. 5927. Some say your shoes must rest beneath the bed so that the toes point towards the bed, to make you sleep well; others say your shoes must rest beneath the bed so that the toes point away from the bed, to make you sleep well. 5928. If you awaken during the night and cannot go back to sleep, get up and change the position of your shoes or turn them in the opposite direction. 5929. To secure a sound sleep, lay your shoes under the bed with the toes touching each other and make the sign of the cross while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 5930. Keep your shoes turned upside down at night and you will sleep well. 5931. A person unable to sleep should get up and put some garlic in his shoes. 5932. "My mother said, whenever she would worry and could not sleep at nights, she would always get up and put her stocking with the foot under her chin, and wrap the rest of the stocking around her neck, and she would go to sleep right away." 5933. Water in a bucket or pan beneath the bed cures insomnia. SNORING 5934. To keep yourself from snoring, put a Bible under your head. 5935. The person who sleeps with legs spread apart will never snore.

137 5936. If a person snores, lay a lemon under his pillow. 5937. The snores of a sleeper can be stopped at once by telling him to stop snoring. 5938. Whistle at the sleeper and he will stop snoring. SLEEP-TALKING 5939. The person who keeps a Bible under his pillow will not talk in his sleep. 5940. "If anyone is talking in their sleep and you want to know what they are saying, lay a horseshoe on their breast with the points up and they will tell you all they know. Years ago we were living on a farm out near Burton and my brother came to town [Quincy]. When he got home he forgot what he did with the money. I said, 'Mother, wait until tonight and I will find out.' So when he went to bed I put a horseshoe on his breast and he started to tell what he did with the money — he bought a girl a cheap dress and a pair of stockings. The next morning I told him what he done with the money and he said he did buy them." 5941. If you hold a mirror before the face of a person who is talking in his sleep, he will tell you what you want to know. 5942. You can ask a sleeptalker questions and he will answer correctly, provided you do not mention his name. 5943. Scissors kept beneath the bed or mattress prevents a person from talking while asleep. 5944. To make a person talk while asleep or to understand what a sleeptalker is saying, hold his big toe. 5945. A sleeping person will talk when his little finger is held in a glass of water. 5946. As a method for learning the secrets of a person who is asleep, put his hand in a glass of water. 5947. Make a person talk in his sleep by holding his hand in muddy water. 5948. If you lay a wet cloth on a sleeptalker's head, he will tell you his secrets. Sleep-Walking - Night Sweat - Nightmare (5949-6004) SLEEP-WALKING 5949. Never awaken a sleepwalker; you might kill him by the sudden shock (separate his wandering or confused soul from his body). 5950. As a protection against your sleep-walking, a Bible should be kept beneath your pillow. 5951. If an onion is cut in half and laid under the pillow, a person will not walk while asleep. 5952. Sleep-walking can be prevented by secretly keeping a glass or pan of water under the victim's bed. It is sometimes said this water must be emptied each morning unknown to the sleeper. 5953. "My son walked in his sleep. One night he came down the stairs. The second time I said, 'I am going to put a pan of water for you to fall in, if you come down again.' In about an hour I heard my son coming down the stairs for the third time. I went and put a big pan of water at the foot of the stairs. When he got to the bottom he fell in the water. That broke him. He never walked again in his sleep." NIGHT SWEAT 5954. To cure night sweat, lay an ax or hatchet under your bed. Some say the head of the tool must lie beneath the lower part of your back. 5955. Sleep with cedar bark or leaves in a bag under your pillow and you will not have night sweat. 5956. If you boil red corncobs in your teakettle until you have a quart of juice and drink a half cupful of this tea each night until it is exhausted, your night sweat will soon be gone. 5957. Rid yourself of night sweat by keeping grape leaves under the sheet. 5958. A potato kept under the bed is a good remedy for night sweat. 5959. Your night sweat can be cured, if someone secretly puts under your bed a pan of water in which potatoes have been boiled. This is occasionally called potato-water. 5960. Night sweat can be stopped by putting a cup of cold sage tea under the bed. 5961. Salt beneath the bed or under the sheet cures night sweat. 5962. The person who keeps his shoes under the bed will have night sweat. 5963. Night sweat is prevented by keeping your shoes under the exact center of the bed. 5964. Shoes kept under the side of the bed with toes pointing out prevent night sweat. 5965. To prevent night sweat, keep your shoes under the bed so that the toes point toward the foot of the bed. 5966. "Whenever my husband has night sweats I always get up and set his shoes by the bed with the toes from the bed and it sure helps. But don't put them under the bed." 5967. As a remedy for night sweat, turn your shoes upside down under the bed. 5968. If you rub your finger between the large toe and the next one just before going to bed and smell your finger, you will not be bothered by night sweat. 5969. A bucket or pan of cold water secretly set under the patient's bed will cure night sweat. 5970. A pan of boiling water set under the bed just beneath the patient's back will cure night sweat. This must be done in secret. 5971. You can cure night sweat in four nights with a tub of water beneath the bed, but the depth of the water must be different each night as follows: on the first night the distance from the water to the top of the tub is the width of a silver dollar; the second night, of a half dollar; the third night, of a quarter; and the fourth night, of a dime. Do this without the patient knowing anything about it. 5972. Water in a pan or bucket beneath the bed for seven nights is a remedy for night sweat. The patient must not know what you are doing. 5973. "If you have night sweats, take a bucket of water and set it under the bed. You can't spill a drop of the water after you have it in the bucket. In the morning take it out, set in the sun; then put the same bucket of water under the bed that night, then set in the sun again next morning. You must do this for seven nights, using the same water, never spilling a drop or putting a drop to it; and the eighth morning, throw the water away and you will throw your night sweats away too." 5974. The person beneath whose bed you keep a pan of water for nine nights will soon lose his night sweat. The patient must not be aware of what is being done. 5975. "When my husband starts to have night sweats I always put a pan of water under the bed with an ax across the pan and it will keep them away." NIGHTMARE 5976. If an ax with the point up is secretly laid under the bed of a person who has nightmare, a cure will soon follow. 5977. Keep a Bible beneath your pillow and you will not have nightmare. 5978. A person when disturbed by nightmare should turn his pillow over and make the sign of the cross on it.

138 5979. You can rid yourself of nightmare by sleeping with a file beneath the mattress. Frequently a rusty file is prescribed. 5980. A fork under your pillow rids you of nightmare. 5981. Nightmare is prevented with a fork and knife crossed beneath your pillow. 5982. As a nightmare remedy, go to bed wearing your left garter. 5983. Nightmare does not attack a person who sleeps with a hatchet beneath the head of the bed. 5984. A horse halter hanging on the head of the bed drives away nightmare. 5985. If you hang a horse halter on the head of the bed and tie the rope or strap about some part of your body, nightmare will not disturb you. 5986. To ward off nightmare, a horse halter should be hung on the foot of the bed and a bridle put under the bed. 5987. You will never be attacked by nightmare, after you lay a knife under your pillow and stuff the keyhole of the bedroom door with cotton. 5988. A butcher-knife under the head of the bed is a preventive against nightmare. 5989. The woman who keeps a man's pocketknife beneath her pillow will not be molested by nightmare. 5990. Nightmare is driven away by an open pocketknife laid under the pillow. 5991. Do not sleep where the moon can shine on you; it will cause nightmare. 5992. Nightmare is always worse on a rainy night. 5993. Protect yourself against nightmare by laying a pair of scissors under your pillow or the head of the bed. 5994. You drive away nightmare by setting your shoes under the bed, usually the foot, so that the toes point away from the bed. Sometimes the heels are beneath the bed and the toes are out; one half the shoe under, the other half out. 5995. If you set your shoes together near or under the bed so that the toe of one shoe sets about three inches beyond the toe of the other shoe with both toes pointing away from the bed, nightmare will not molest you. 5996. If in the manner of walking you lay one of your shoes about two feet in front of the other near or under the foot of the bed so that each toe points away from the bed, nightmare will walk away from you. 5997. Your shoes upside down near or beneath the bed is a protection against nightmare. 5998. With your shoes upside down and heels together making the letter V, set them near or under the bed, toes pointed out, and you will not be troubled by nightmare. 5999. As a precaution against nightmare, lay your shoes upside down near or under the head of the bed so that the toes point away from the bed. 6000. If a woman wants to stop her nightmares, she should tie a man's shoe to one of hers and put these two shoes under her bed; if a man, he should tie a woman's shoe to one of his and put both under his bed. 6001. Persons keeping the toes of their shoes pointed east during the night will not have nightmare. 6002. If on taking off your socks or stockings at night you rub the left one between all the toes of the right foot and rub the right one between all the toes of the left foot, you will not get nightmare. 6003. If you smell your finger after you have held it about ten minutes between your little and next toe, nightmare will never trouble you. 6004. Always dip your fingers in a pan of cold water before going to bed and nightmare will not come to you during the night. SORE AND BEDSORE (6005-6039) SORE 6005. Some say the burning of a bandage taken off a sore inflames it and delays healing; others say this dries up the sore and makes it heal quicker. 6006. If the bandage is burned, a sore will burn; but if the bandage is buried, a sore will stay cool and heal quickly. 6007. Do not wash a bandage; the sore will run all the time and never heal. 6008. In curing an inflammation sore — a sore that has become inflamed --- cut open a black chicken and apply. 6009. "I know a woman that had her mouth full of canker sores, and they heat chicken droppings and gave it to her through a straw, and she got well." 6010. Poultice a sore with a piece of the pouch from a cow that has just been killed. 6011. "Years ago a gypsy woman [an Indian or a half-breed Indian] lived near my mother out here on Mill Creek. She had a very bad sore that would not heal. She told my mother it was a old gypsy saying, if you could get a crane and take the lining [insides] out and dry it and make powder, it would heal. She said, 'I have been praying every day and night that we will find one on the creek.' I don't remember now just how long it was before they kill a crane, for it's been a long time. But mother did say the sore was all black. She put this crane powder on and it was no time until the sore started to getting red, then got well. I have heard my mother tell this over and over. If living, she would be over a hundred. I think this happen about eighty-five years ago [1851]. 6012. A woman with a bad sore should rub the hand of a dead man over it while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, take this sore away. A man having a bad sore must use the hand of a dead woman and repeat the same words. 6013. You can cure any kind of sore on your arm or leg by putting one of the bandages under a coffined corpse. 6014. If you wash a sore with the cloth used in washing a corpse and bury the cloth, the sore will be gone after the cloth rots. 6015. Treat a sore by letting a dog lick it. Sometimes, as an incentive for the animal, the sore is covered with butter or anything sweet. 6016. A black-nosed dog licking a sore cures it, but a red-nosed dog licking a sore inflames it. 6017. "I knew a man that had a very bad running sore and he fried a dog and greased it and his sore got well." 6018. Earwax is a good salve for sores. 6019. Rid yourself of a sore on any part of the body by carrying elder leaves in your pocket. 6020. To secure an ointment for a running sore, scrape downwards on the roots of a year-old elder bush and boil these scrapings with mutton tallow. 6021. "My mother used this years ago when we lived in the country, goose droppings. If anyone had a sore, she put this on to draw to a head." 6022. An excellent remedy for sores is the water in which a blacksmith cools hot iron. 6023. Sores may be treated with applications of mud taken from the bottom of a pond in which cattle have stood. 6024. Dissolve a mud dauber nest in water, add one cup of salt and a cup of vinegar and heat, and swab a sore with this liquid. 6025. Rabbit fat on a sore cures it. 6026. Anoint a sore with raccoon grease. 6027. The gall of a sheep and a half teaspoonful of salt boiled twenty minutes in a cupful of water makes a liniment for a sore. 6028. Sheep manure used as a poultice on a sore will draw it to a head. 6029. The person who steps on a snake will get sores on his fingers.

139 6030. Water from the last snow of March is good for sores. 6031. "Years ago we had a boy in our neighborhood and his head was just full of sores, and they could not find anything to get the sores well. One morning this boy was standing near a window and a neighbor, not seeing him, threw the chamber out the window and it went all over the top of this boy's head. And the sores got well right away." 6032. Stew a veal bone and bathe an open sore in that pot-liquor for three days. Then obtain a new bone, bathing the sore another three-day period, and continue this rite until cured. 6033. A sore should be bound with three leaves, each picked from a different vegetable, laid one above the other. BEDSORE 6034. Lay an ax under the bed of a sick person and he will not have bedsores. 6035. Bedsores can be avoided, if a china dish is inserted between the mattress and springs of the sickbed. 6036. Old iron kept under the bed prevents bedsores. 6037. "My father had rheumatism for years, was in bed for years, when an old woman told my mother if she would keep a pan of rusty nails under the bed with a little water over them, my father would not get bedsores. So my mother put the pan of nails under the bed and father never had a bed sore." 6038. A bed-ridden person never has bedsores after a piece of sod is laid below the mattress. 6039. Water beneath the patient's bed keeps bedsores away. STOMACH DISORDERS (6040-6071) 6040. "I know a woman that had heartburn and indigestion so bad, she just tried everything and nothing would help her. An old German woman told her about rubbing her hands under her armpits several times and smelling it. So she tried it and she got well." 6041. "My mother always wore a brass ring to keep from having cramp in the stomach." 6042. A buckeye carried in the pocket prevents stomachache. 6043. Small burdock roots strung as a necklace and worn by a baby are good for stomach complaint. 6044. If you are sick at your stomach, put camphor on your throat and a cold cloth on your head. 6045. To wheel an empty baby carriage back and forth gives a stomachache to the absent baby. 6046. Burn the first soiled diaper taken off a baby and the child will never have any stomach complaint. 6047. A baby weaned in the sign of the Stomach (Virgo) will have stomach trouble. 6048. "My father was riding on the train and he told an old man he had stomach trouble bad and they wanted to operate on him. The old man said, 'Never do that; you may die. Just take a teaspoonful of egg-shell powder before each meal.' He did and he got well." 6049. A teaspoonful of powder obtained by pulverizing the dried lining of a chicken gizzard may be administered in a little water for upset stomach, catarrh of the stomach, heartburn, and stomach ulcer. 6050. To cure cramp in a woman's stomach, hang her dress upside down; in a man's stomach, his trousers upside down. 6051. Cramps in a woman's stomach are to be treated by tying the hem of a man's shirt tail round her waist. 6052. To relieve pains in your stomach, hold a live goose on it and the goose will absorb them. 6053. "This is very old. If you have stomach trouble, get a ground-hog claw and carry it in your left-hand pocket all the time and the stomach will soon be healthy. This was one of my great-grandfather's sayings." 6054. There is a bone near the ear of a hog used in curing stomach trouble. It must be tied on a string and suspended over the bare stomach. 6055. Smoke a hornet nest in your pipe as a remedy for stomach cramps. 6056. Horse-radish leaves dipped into vinegar and laid on the stomach relieves a stomachache. 6057. Dried mullein leaves smoked in a pipe stop a heartburn. 6058. Wear a piece of nutmeg on your belt to become immune against stomach trouble. 6059. "I know several cases where the doctor could not do any good for an upset stomach and they mashed up some onions good and put them in two socks, then put under the armpits. It will help every time. 6060. An upset stomach is settled by applying a poultice of peach leaves. 6061. Bore three holes into a pine tree and walk round the tree thrice, saying while you make each circuit, Biliousness, go away. 6062. "One day my brother had stomach cramps good. He was out in the barn lot and he got so sick he had to lay over the wagon tongue. An old German woman came along and wanted to know what was wrong. Then she told him about putting the salt in the palm of the hand, rubbing it around and around in your hand so it will go into your skin, and also on the bottom of the foot. He tried it right away and got over the cramps and was never bothered after that with cramps." 6063. People born in September always suffer from stomach trouble. 6064. "A man out by Kinderhook [Illinois] by the name of F., his stomach was always coming up [not vomiting, but the stomach seemed to rise in his body]. He just could not stand the feeling. He called in the doctor and the doctor said, 'I will give you something that will hold your stomach down.' The doctor took number two buckshot and sugar-coated them, and told him to take three a day until he had taken twenty-four, and that would hold his stomach down. He took the pills the doctor gave him and did not have any more trouble until thirty-five years after that. He called in the same doctor and he gave him a good physic, and the twenty-four buckshot passed from him and he lived to be an old man." 6065. A yarn string tied round your middle finger stops a cramp in the stomach. 6066. To get rid of pains in your stomach, make seven knots in a cord string and tie it round your waist. 6067. "Years ago [1855?] my grandmother was at a country church and a man got the cramps so bad they didn't know what to do with him. One old lady said, 'If we could just get some chamber-lye, he would get all right.' So they look around and found a can and let someone use it, and gave it to this sick man and he got all right. Years ago they called urine chamber-lye." 6068. Treat cramps in a child's stomach by giving him vaseline on a knife for three nights. 6069. Green violet leaves crushed and laid on the stomach is a treatment for inflammation of the stomach. 6070. A baby given a spoonful of water immediately after its birth never has a bellyache. 6071. To cross a large body of water helps stomach trouble. THROAT INFIRMITIES (6072-6219) Cold - Cough - Croup - Diphtheria (6072-6147) COLD

140 6072. If on the day a baby is born the father takes it outside and tosses it up into the air so that the sun can shine on its face, the child will never have a cold. 6073. Do not drive through an alley at night; you are certain to catch a cold. 6074. Asafetida and tobacco worn in a bag is a protection against either a cold or croup. 6075. "I can remember when I was a girl, when we children had a cold, my father would take a bucket of beer and heat pokers red-hot and put them in the beer and give it to us. One time he had three pokers in the bucket at the same time. We were all sick but we got well." 6076. To guard against a cold, wear a bag of camphor round your neck. 6077. A severe cold may be cured by rendering fat from a dog and taking a teaspoonful of this grease three times a day. 6078. The person who removes his flannels on the first of May never catches a cold. 6079. A piece of red flannel pinned to a baby's shirt so that it lies on the navel protects the baby all winter against a cold. 6080. Colds are relieved by garlic kept in your bed. 6081. Garlic and tobacco in your shoes is a preventive against colds. 6082. Goose grease mixed with quinine and applied to the chest, or a hot poultice of goose grease and nutmeg on the chest, is a good remedy for a cold. Goose grease is also sweetened and administered to a baby with croup. 6083. Anoint the chest with goose grease, then the palms of the hands, and finally the feet. This drives a cold out of the body through your feet, but the rubbing must always be downwards. 6084. A cold can be treated by drinking hog-hoof tea. 6085. Steam some horse manure and rub it on the person who has a cold or influenza. 6086. "I know an old man at Marblehead that does this every fall, breaks the first ice in the fall and eats a little so you will not have a cold, and he has never had a cold and he is eighty-two years old." 6087. "I always let my small children wear a mole foot around their neck to keep from getting a cold." 6088. As a treatment for a cold or croup, poultice the chest with boiled or fried onions --- usually in a flannel bag. Diphtheria may be treated similarly, but in the latter case the patient must also drink onion juice. 6089. A cold or cough will soon disappear, if a roasted onion is rubbed on the soles of your feet. 6090. Baked onions applied to the chest and the soles of the feet cures a cold. 6091. A peeled onion beneath the foot of the bed will cure a cold, and onions anywhere in the room will cure influenza. 6092. "My mother always did this and we never had a cold; kept a green onion in water under the bed." 6093. "I always wet my head in every rain to keep from getting a cold in my head winter or summer." 6094. You can avoid a cold by wearing rosin in your shoes. 6095. A small sack of salt about the neck will protect you against a cold. 6096. Babies wearing a black silk vest never contract a cold or pneumonia. 6097. In the fall put a black silk ribbon round your neck and you will be protected against a cold all winter. 6098. Skunk grease is rubbed on the chest for a cold and on the throat for croup, and is eaten both for a cold and croup. 6099. "I have been sleeping with my head to the west for the last twenty years and I have not had a cold in twenty years, and was always having one before I started to sleeping with my head to the west." 6100. A person eating some of the first snow will be free from colds all winter, and a child doing this will not catch croup that winter. 6101. "My father always got up the first thing in the morning, if there was snow on the ground, and went around the house barefooted so he would never get a cold in the winter." 6102. "During [Civil] War times my mother would make all of us children, nine of us, when the first snow came, run around the house barefooted three times before she would put our wool stockings on, to keep from having a cold." 6103. As a precaution against colds, in winter one should walk barefoot about the house every night. 6104. "My father would always make us go barefooted on the first day of May. He did not care how cold it was. He would make us so we would not have a cold that year." 6105. "My mother always would rub tallow on the bottom of our feet when we had a cold." 6106. "I always do this, as soon as I start to get a cold, so I never have one, rub between your toes and put it up your nose." 6107. Rid yourself of a cold by drinking your own urine or gargling with it. Some say the urine must be boiled first. 6108. They say, "A child will not catch a cold lying in its own pee." 6109. Secretly set a pan of water under the bed of a person with a cold and he will quickly recover. 6110. As a protection against a cold after you have washed your head, always dampen your hair three times with cold water. COUGH 6111. Dip a soft cloth into strong brandy and rub the soles of the feet morning and evening for a cough or cold. 6112. A bad cough may be cured, if you stroke your throat with the hand of a corpse. 6113. To stop a child's cough, pull three hairs from the crown of his head. 6114. As a treatment for a coughing spell in a baby, rub the soft spot on the top of its head. According to the first edition of Folklore from Adams County, Illinois, "There is a soft spot, the sutures, on the top of every baby's head, and until this place becomes firm the child will not talk" (2593); also, "A baby is unable to walk until the soft spot on its head grows hard" (2594). 6115. "I knew of an old German doctor right over on Fifteenth Street, he is dead now, if living would be way over a hundred year old, and he used potato-bugs for cough medicine. They say years ago he bought up all the potato-bugs he could. When he died they found among his remedies he used the potato-bugs for his cough medicine." 6116. A good cough syrup can be made by covering snails with sugar and letting them stand for a while. CROUP 6117. Fat babies always have croup; lean ones never. 6118. A string of allspice about a baby's neck prevents croup. 6119. Alum in a bag about a baby's neck will keep croup away. 6120. To cure croup, administer chicken brains with a small quantity of salt. 6121. A child with croup should be given tea from the white part of chicken droppings. 6122. "I knew a little boy that had membranous croup that the doctor gave up, and his mother did this and he got well; make a poultice of hot dog manure and bind on the throat."

141 6123. "I have a friend that lives on Tenth Street that has three children and she let them wear a hog tooth around their neck for croup. She said it was the best remedy she could find." 6124. "I did this: take a baby's left stocking and dip in holy water and tie around its neck. It will cure croup or sore throat." 6125. Let a baby wear a nutmeg about its neck for croup. 6126. Administer sheep-nanny tea for croup. 6127. "My brother always had the croup. After my mother put the black silk ribbon around his neck and let it hang down over his stomach he never had the croup again." 6128. "If you will put a black yarn string around a baby's neck when born and keep one around all the time, it will never have croup. Some people laugh over this, but it is so." 6129. "My grandmother took black silk thread and crochet a chain of it to keep around her children's neck for croup; said it kept it away." 6130. "My sister did this for croup for her baby and it help her: if your baby has croup, take three black silk threads, braid them together, then tie around it's neck." 6131. A red yarn string about the neck protects a child against croup. 6132. "My neighbor across the street said her little boy was taking croup, just last week. She didn't have any white silk thread, so she sent over and got mine, and kept it around his neck for several days. He didn't get the croup." 6133. "I kept a leather shoestring in the house all the time to hang on my children's neck, if they got the croup. My son had croup bad, he was almost choking to death, and all I did was to put the leather shoestring around his neck with the end hanging on the chest and he got all right." The leather is variously described as buckskin, calfskin or rawhide. 6134. A small white button strung on a white silk thread about a baby's neck is good for croup. 6135. A nutmeg strung on a black silk thread about a baby's neck is good for croup. 6136. "My baby was real sick with the croup and someone told me about the urine. And I gave my baby a teaspoonful of my urine and it got well right away." The mother's urine must be used. 6137. "My boy had the croup bad. I told him to rain some urine in a glass and I gave it to him hot with butter and sugar and it cured him." The patient's urine must be used. 6138. If you stand a croupy child against a tree and into the trunk drive nails just above his head, after he grows as high as these nails the disease will be gone. 6139. If a child having croup is stood against a peach tree and a nail driven into the trunk on a level with his head, the disease will go away as soon as he can chin the nail. 6140. Children who wear a weasel hide about the neck never catch croup. DIPHTHERIA 6141. Red-clover tea may be drunk for diphtheria. 6142. "Years ago they were dying all around me with diphtheria. I had it very bad. They said I would not live until morning. My mother took and put the hog manure poultice all around my neck and it stayed on all night. The next morning I was some better. Then my mother put on a new one and I got well soon; and they said that was all that save me." 6143. Make a strong tea from fresh hog manure and administer for choking- spells in diphtheria. 6144. A dose of medicine for diphtheria is prepared by burning a sheet of writing paper and administering these ashes. 6145. "If someone has diphtheria, take the droppings of the sheep and put in a bag, put boiling water over them and let boil good, then let the person with diphtheria gargle; and if too low, give one-half teaspoonful of this in the last stages. This is old but good." 6146. Children wearing a bag of sulphur about the neck will be immune from diphtheria. 6147. Diphtheria is not caught by children who live in a house that has toads in the cellar. Sore throat - Tonsilitis - Whooping Cough (6148-6219) SORE THROAT 6148. "Years ago a child had quinsy and they sent for a man to cure this child. They told this child not to look at the man. And this man came between daylight [after sunset] and sunup, and took each thumb and rubbed over each side of the child's neck three times, then went and sit down, then got up and went home. He came three mornings and did the same thing three times. And the child got well." 6149. Never remove a bandage from a sore throat, but let it fall off of its own accord; otherwise you will not rid yourself of the cold. 6150. If you wear a string of amber beads about your neck, you will never have a sore throat. 6151. "Just as soon as it starts to getting a little cold in the fall, I put on beads and wear them until it gets hot, to keep from getting sore throat." 6152. Black beads should be worn the year round as a precaution against a sore throat. 6153. Sore throat can be relieved by a piece of copper about the neck. 6154. Treat a sore throat by bandaging it with a red flannel cloth. 6155. A red flannel cloth saturated in skunk oil and bound to a sore throat is a remedy. 6156. Pluck three hairs from the top of your head and rub them over your throat while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, take my sore throat away. 6157. Hog manure makes a good poultice for a sore throat. 6158. If you bind a piece of salted mackerel round your neck at night, your sore throat will be well next morning. 6159. A pimple on the tongue shows that you are catching a sore throat. 6160. To sleep with your left stocking about your neck prevents a sore throat. 6161. Turn your stocking inside out before going to bed and place its foot against the sorest part of your throat, then wrap the whole stocking round the neck, and next morning your ailment will have disappeared. 6162. As a treatment for sore throat, smell the inside of your shoe and then let a soiled sock or stocking remain on your neck all night. 6163. Your left dirty sock or stocking about your neck at night cures a sore throat. Occasionally the right is used. 6164. A sweaty stocking filled with salt and wrapped over your neck at night is a good sore-throat remedy. 6165. The unclean sock of a man when worn round a woman's neck at night will cure her sore throat. The left one is occasionally required. 6166. "I had ten children. I always kept a silk string around their neck and we never did have any sore throats in the family." 6167. Black silk thread or black yarn round the neck makes a person immune to sore throat. Sometimes a black silk ribbon is used. 6168. One either loses or protects himself against a sore throat, if he folds a red yarn string three times about his neck and lets it stay there. 6169. Gargle a sore throat with your own urine.

142 6170. A baby whose mouth is washed out with its first wet diaper will never have a sore throat. 6171. If a child writes on a steamy window with his finger, he will catch a sore throat. TONSILITIS 6172. "My sister had a bad cold every winter and bad tonsils. She suffered for years until someone told her about the amber beads. If you can get the genuine amber beads and wear them winter and summer, you will never take a cold. She got a genuine pair of the amber beads and put them on, that was twenty-five years ago, and she has wore them ever since; of course, not the same beads, because after you wear them so long they start to getting smaller all the time, seems like they go in the neck. Anyway, she has had several pair in the twenty-five years, but she has never had a cold or bad tonsils since she put the amber beads on twenty-five year ago." 6173. "I wore a bag of asafetida around my neck when I had tonsilitis. It sure did cure me when nothing else would." 6174. A person who wears a necklace of white crystal beads is not bothered by tonsils. 6175. "My daughter had very bad tonsils. She was going to have them taken out. One morning I was talking to a neighbor and told her about my daughter. She said, 'Why not try an old German remedy before she has them taken out.' We took fat bacon and dip in hot vinegar, then put salt and pepper on the bacon, and put around the neck. She never had them taken out. It sure worked good. I believe those old German remedies are better than most of the doctors we have. They just want to cut you. " 6176. "Years ago an old tramp told my father this. A man stop at the farm, wanted something to eat. My father told him my mother was very sick in bed, was choking all the time with her tonsils. The man said, 'I can help you for that. Get me some fresh hog manure.' And father did. They fry it and put it between two cloths and apply to the tonsils, as soon as cold put on another hot one, one after another. And mother was all right in several days." 6177. "I have tonsilitis and when I wear a black silk ribbon around my neck, they don't bother me; but just as soon as I take the black ribbon off, they start to hurting." WHOOPING COUGH 6178. As a whooping-cough remedy, administer thrice daily for three days a mixture of powdered alum and honey, then stop during the next three-day period, and keep repeating this alternate process. 6179. "I knew a woman that her child was almost choking to death with whooping cough. I told her about the asafetida. She put some on her child's neck and it went right to sleep and stop coughing." 6180. To cure whooping cough, let the child urinate on a piece of bread, burn the bread well, and throw it into a hog pen so that the hog can eat it. 6181. If you have been or will be exposed to whooping cough, you can immunize yourself by breathing into the face of a cat. 6182. "I had a fine cat years ago, I would not of took a thousand dollars for her, and my child got whooping cough bad, and they killed my cat and render out the lard and gave to her, and put it all over her body. And it help her fine." 6183. Chicken-gizzard tea checks coughing spells in whooping cough. 6184. Tea made from the white ends of chicken droppings is good for whooping cough. 6185. "My mother did this for all her children for whooping cough: take the yellow of a hard-boiled egg, cut it all up, put salt and pepper over it, then put in a little sack, and wear around your neck." 6186. Whooping cough is treated by letting the child wear several pennies (copper) in a sack about its neck. Some say one penny is sufficient. 6187. "If a child had whooping cough in my days, they would kill a crow, make soup of it and give to a child with whopping cough, and they would not whoop." 6188. A greasy dish rag round a child's neck cures whooping cough. 6189. Bark from the north side of an elm tree makes an excellent tea for whooping cough. 6190. Garlic in their shoes keeps children with whooping cough from coughing. 6191. Children with whooping cough should be carried through the city gashouse for a cure. 6192. If you carry a child with whooping cough through a gas works on three successive days, the disease will soon be cured. 6193. To prevent whooping cough, the first time a mother during confinement sits up in bed she should hold the baby across her lap while combing her hair. 6194. A case of whooping cough will not be severe, if the child wears about its neck a lock of hair clipped from a boy who never saw his father. 6195. As a treatment for whooping cough, let a horse, usually a stallion, breathe into the baby's face. 6196. Make a stallion windless by running and then have it pant nine times into the face of a child with whooping cough. The latter is done by quickly lifting the child up and down or holding it back and forth in front of the horse's mouth. 6197. "If a child has the whooping cough real bad, take a horse and run it up and down the road real hard until the horse is almost out of breath. Then hold the child up by the horse's mouth and let the horse throw what little breath he has left in that child's mouth. Do this for three mornings and the child will get well. Seventy-five years ago [1859] my brother and sister had the whooping cough bad. And my mother run a horse up and down the road for three mornings, and let the horse blow its breath in their mouth. She said she almost killed the horse, but my sister and brother got well." 6198. "My little girl had whooping cough real bad, thought she was going to die. All I did was to go out in the field and milk the old mare and give her the milk, and it brought her right out." 6199. Milk of a black mare is given to children having whooping cough. 6200. Use the milk from a white mare as a whooping-cough remedy. 6201. To free a child from whooping cough, a teaspoonful of mare's milk must be administered each morning for seven days. 6202. Whooping cough can be cured by passing the child under or letting it crawl under the belly of a mule four consecutive times. 6203. Let a child who has whooping cough sleep on a sack containing hair from the mane of a mule. 6204. You can cure whooping cough by holding the baby on the grain in an old-fashioned corn hopper while you grind up the grain. The ground-up grain must be fed to an animal. 6205. Set a baby before it is a year old upon the upper burr or grist of an old-time stone mill and turn the mill three times. This either drives away whooping cough or produces immunity. 6206. If a mother having rubbed a live minnow over the mouth of her child releases it in water, the minnow will swim away with the child's whooping cough. 6207. If a mother thinks her baby is catching whooping cough, make the child swallow a live minnow as a preventive.

143 6208. "One day some children came over to play with my little girl and they had whooping cough. I didn't know it. I was just sick, afraid my girl would get it. I told an old German woman and she told me about the cellar bugs [sow or pill bugs]. 'I will go right down with you and get them.' So we went right down and got nine cellar bugs, and put them in a bag, and put them around my little girl's neck, and she never took the whooping cough." 6209. Give three times a day for whooping cough a tablespoonful of sheep- droppings tea to which lemon juice and sugar have been added. 6210. A live spider in a bag about the child's neck is good for whooping cough. Some prescribe several spiders. 6211. "An old colored slave told my mother this years ago [1850 decade], if a child had whooping cough, to get several [three] hard-shell terrapins and drill a hole in their back and take three drops of blood out [a drop from each animal] and give to the child. Do this until the child has nine drops. Will cure it." 6212. A black velvet band on the child's neck protects it against whopping cough. 6213. Children carried across running water lose their whooping cough. 6214. As a method for curing whooping cough, carry the child over a bridge above running water and bring it back the same day. 6215. If a mother carries her sick child across a river and lets it play in the water on the other side, its whooping cough will flow away. 6216. "I tried this: take a trip upstream, if you have whooping cough, and you will leave it there. I got on a boat and went up the river forty miles [to Keokuk, Iowa] and I didn't whoop when I came back." 6217. "My child had whooping cough bad and we could not find anything to help her, when my husband's brother came up from Hannibal [Missouri] and told us about the woolly worm. We were several days before we found one, but we did find it and put it [in a bag] on her neck and she started to getting better right away." 6218. Yarn string round a baby's neck keeps it from getting whooping cough. 6219. Whooping cough is lost by keeping three strands of red yarn about the child's neck. TOOTHACHE (6220-6261) 6220. To cure a toothache, fold a handkerchief three times into six layers of cloth --- this is done by folding the handkerchief twice one way and once the other (three foldings) — blow your breath through these folded layers thrice, and then rub your open hand down your face nine times. 6221. If you throw a pulled tooth away and a bird carries it to her nest, you will suffer from toothache as long as that tooth remains there. 6222. A child who has a tooth pulled should always burn it so that he will not be bothered by the tooth growing in its place. 6223. "I knew a woman that said she had a tooth pulled and she buried it in the ground, and after it was buried fifteen years she took it up just to see if she would get the toothache --- because she had always heard her mother say, that as long as the tooth was in the ground you would not have toothache. And she said just as soon as that tooth was out of the ground she got the toothache, and she had not had the toothache for fifteen years." 6224. "My brother had toothache bad one day and he filled it with hen manure [only the white part of the manure according to some informants], and it stop aching right away." 6225. "I will tell you another about hot cow manure. I had a very bad tooth, jaw all swollen up, and my mother put hot cow manure on it and I got over the toothache. Of course, people will not do that now. This was my mother's remedy of the Civil War." 6226. "If you have the toothache, take and bite into a white dog turd [the white part of dog dung], then throw the turd away, and your toothache will stop. I know several people that done that, and it always stopped their toothache." 6227. "I had several bad teeth and I did this for three years to keep away toothache: when you first get up in the morning, before you do anything, speak or eat, rub behind each ear." 6228. Apply earwax to a painful tooth. 6229. "Two years ago we had a neighbor that had two bad teeth aching. He didn't know about this cutting your toe-nails [some say finger-nails] on Friday to keep from having the toothache, so he went to the dentist one Thursday and had his teeth worked on, and the dentist told him to come back the next week and he would fill them. That, night he was telling me about it, and I said, 'Trim your toe-nails on a Friday.' The next day he got up and trimmed his toe-nails on Friday, and has been doing it ever since. And he never went back to have the two teeth filled, because they have not ached since, and that is two years ago." 6230. He who cuts his finger-nails during a new moon never has toothache. 6231. You prevent toothache by trimming your finger-nails on the first Friday after a new moon. 6232. If a person trims his finger-nails and toe-nails on Friday, carries the trimmings to a tree that leans out over running water, bores a hole into that part of the trunk which is above the water, and in this hole plugs up these trimmings, he will never be troubled by another toothache. 6233. Always bury your finger-nail and toe-nail parings at the north side of the house and you will not suffer from a toothache. 6234. Your tooth will stop aching at once, if you stop up in a goose quill a small clipping from each finger-nail and toe-nail and bury the quill. 6235. Dried horse manure may be smoked in a pipe as a toothache remedy. 6236. A nutmeg worn about the neck prevents toothache. Some say you must square the nutmeg. 6237. Quail-breast feathers in your pillow will protect you against toothache. 6238. If the pain lingers after a tooth has been pulled, lay the tooth on a rock and hit it with a hammer. This guards you against toothache in the future. 6239. Free yourself from a toothache by heating a sack of salt and putting it on top of your head. 6240. Toothache can be prevented by salt worn in a white bag round your neck. 6241. Persons who take off the right shoe first never have a toothache. 6242. To put on your right stocking and shoe first rids you of or protects you against toothache. This is the general rule, but some say the left stocking and shoe first. 6243. As a protection against toothache, put on the left stocking and shoe first, and the left arm in your clothes first. 6244. "An old Indian doctor years ago told my mother he was the seventh son of the seventh son, and if you don't want to have toothache, let someone shoot a blacksnake in the head so it couldn't bite itself; for if it did, the snake would be poison. Before this snake is dead, draw it through your mouth, letting it touch every tooth, and you will never have toothache." 6245. "I had always heard my father and grandmother say if anyone kill a rattlesnake and you could bite into that snake back with your teeth before the snake bit itself, like they always try to do, you would never have the toothache or a bad tooth. When I was a boy about fourteen years old and my brother about sixteen years old we were helping out in the hayfield near Payson. We were unloading a wagon load of hay at the barn when my brother happen to stick his pitchfork into the head of a rattler that was in the hay. We knew the snake couldn't bite itself, so brother said, 'Let's bite into its back, so we will never have any bad teeth or toothache.' Boys like, I reached down and bit into its back while brother held the

144 snake, then I held the old snake while brother bit into its back. Well, you can see my teeth. I have not a false tooth in my head. Never had the toothache in my life. I am seventy years old this year, [nineteen] forty-one. My brother died two years ago and he never had the toothache or a bad tooth." 6246. "I have heard my father say: if you will wear a rattlesnake rattler in your hatband, will keep you from having toothache." 6247. Eat some of the first snow that falls and you will not have a toothache that year. 6248. "I have a white silk string tied around my tooth now to keep it from aching." 6249. "I knew a woman that had a tooth pulled and she buried it in a hollow place in a tree. She went for years without the toothache, when someone cut this tree down and cut it up for wood, and she got the toothache right away, for the place she buried that tooth was disturbed." 6250. "If you have the toothache, go to a oak tree, cut a little splinter out of the tree, then pick your tooth until it bleeds, then put the splinter back in the tree and put the bark over it, then walk away and not look back. My uncle stop my tooth one day this way." 6251. "When I was a girl I had the toothache all the time, so my father found a tree that had been struck by lightning and took a piece of the wood home. And every year I would make a toothpick out of some of that wood and pick my teeth, and after I started that I never had the toothache again." 6252. "When my mother had toothache years ago bad one day and nothing would help her, she put her urine in the cavity and it stop. That was an old remedy from Germany." 6253. "My mother always held her own manure in her mouth while hot when she had toothache." 6254. "After the tooth has been pulled, take a little vinegar in your hand and put it on the root of your pulled tooth, then take that tooth and lay it in the sun to dry, and you will never have the toothache again." 6255. Each morning wash your arms and hands before washing your face and you will not have toothache. 6256. "Every time you wash your hands and face, always wipe your hands dry before you touch your face; if you do this every time, you will never have toothache. I am seventy-three and never had a toothache in my life. An old Indian told this to my father when I was a little girl." 6257. To stop a toothache, lay a cold cloth on your head and hold your feet in hot water. 6258. Each time you wash your face say I don't want the toothache and you will never get one. 6259. A tooth pulled while the sign of the knee (knees = Capricornus) is going down does not bleed much. 6260. If you have toothache, fill your mouth with water and sit on a hot stove until the water boils. A variation of this remedy is to fill your mouth with urine and do the same thing. 6261. If you have a toothache, jumping through a window will take away the pane (pain). TUMOR - CANCER - BOIL (6262-6293) 6262. Always burn your apple peelings and you will never have a cancer. 6263. Boils will remain indefinitely regardless of the remedy attempted, unless the bandages are burned. 6264. A boil, formerly considered a method by which poison could leave the body and therefore an indication of good health, was said to be worth five dollars or a doctor's bill. 6265. One boil will soon be followed by seven, nine or thirteen more. 6266. "I know a man out here [near Ursa] that had a bad sore on his arm. He doctored with a Quincy doctor for a long time. The doctor told him he had a cancer and his arm would have to be taken off. He went to another doctor and he told him he had a cancer. I know this man well and he did have a very bad sore. One day he was talking to an old woman about his cancer and they wanted to take his arm off, and she said, 'Don't do it. Do as I tell you and you will get well.' She told him to go to a bean patch and to pick one bean off of the first hill In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, then miss two hills and pick two beans, then miss three hills and pick three beans, then miss four hills and pick four beans, then miss five hills and pick five beans, then miss six hills and pick six beans, then miss seven hills and pick seven beans, then miss eight hills and pick eight beans, then miss nine hills and pick nine beans --- he had to say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost at each hill — and bury all the beans. When the beans rot the sore will be well. It takes about seven weeks for all the beans to rot. It took this man a little longer, because he had a very bad sore, but he got well. I was talking to him this summer. And if he had of listen to the doctor, he would not have a arm. And this is only three years ago [1932]." 6267. While the priest pronounces the benediction in church, keep stroking your tumor as you repeat three times What I look at is sin; what I stroke, may it vanish. 6268. A buckeye either carried in the pocket or worn about the waist protects you against boils. 6269. The dried lining of a chicken gizzard may be taken internally for cancer of the stomach and applied externally to a boil. 6270. "A Quincy woman was sick for a long time with cancer. She had one breast taken off. Her husband was a druggist and worked in one of Quincy's best drug stores. Her father was a druggist. And they could not find a thing that would do her any good. This woman got down in bed. She could not even sit up in bed for nine months. My mother went to work there. She told this druggist if he didn't care, she would get his wife out of bed, that she had got two women out of bed with cancers years ago over in Missouri. So he told her to do whatever she wanted to. My mother went out in the country and got a flour sack full of red clover and a sack full of red corn. The corn and ear both must be red. She came home and told the druggist she was going to get his wife well. Then she put on a big pot of clover to boil and a big pot of corn, and let boil good for one-half day. Then she strained both and started to giving her the tea off of both. In three weeks that sick woman started to sitting up a little each day, and after she had took the tea for four months she was able to do most of her work. And the woman got well and lived thirty years after she took the red-clover tea and red-corn tea." 6271. You can cure a cancer by rubbing it with musty corn (corn smut) you yourself have stolen from somebody's cornfield. 6272. "I had a wen on my hand. I tried several things and it would always come back. A negro man got burned in a fire and died. I went to see him and took his hand and rubbed it over my own, and it left and never did come back." 6273. "If you have a tumor [or wen] on the outside of your body, take it and rub it over the corpse of a dead person three times and it will go away. I know this is true, because when my father died, our neighbor had a tumor on her arm and she came and rubbed her tumor over my dead father three times, and in no time the tumor was gone." 6274. Tie a string round a finger of a corpse, take the string off; tie it round an outside tumor, take the string off; put it in the coffin, and you will be well after that string rots. 6275. To cure a tumor or abscess, get a human bone from a graveyard and rub it over the tumor or abscess, then bury the bone under a waterspout of a roof where neither sun nor moon can shine on it. 6276. Gold rubbed over a boil soon cures it.

145 6277. Three tablespoonfuls of goose droppings in three quarts of water are boiled down to a quart. Administer a glassful of this liquid night and morning for cancer. 6278. As a remedy for a boil, stick it with a gooseberry thorn until blood comes and then throw the thorn over your left shoulder. 6279. Fresh hog manure fried in fresh lard with a few drops of turpentine makes a good ointment for cancer of the rectum. 6280. Horse-hoof scrapings made into a tea is good for cancer; cooked with jasmine roots into a salve, it is good for a boil. 6281. "I am telling this for the truth. If I had a cancer of the mouth, I would do this. My aunt help a woman do this about forty year ago [1899] with a cancer of the mouth, when her doctor gave her up. This woman got well that did this. If you have a cancer of the mouth, go to a shed or any place where there's a knot-hole, letting the sun shine directly on your cancer, then while the sun is shining on the cancer, saying the Lord's Prayer. Do that for nine mornings and your cancer will disappear." 6282. "If you have pain in the top of your head all the time, take a pan and hold right over your head, then put a small piece of lead in the pan — if the lead in the pan roll to the front, you have a fawn [German name, spelling uncertain, for some kind of tumor]; and if it go to the back, it is not a fawn. And the only way you get well of a fawn is to have some one speak over it. I know a man over here on Eighth Street that tried this, and the lead roll to the front; but he will not let anyone speak over him, so he keeps the pains in the top of his head." 6283. The lead shot from a gun shell will cure boils: any number of shot cooked in a pint of milk and the liquid drunk for three mornings; or, three shot swallowed in a glass of water; or, nine shot taken in one dose or one by one at different times. 6284. Look over your left shoulder at a new moon and rub your hand on your tumor while saying What I see is increasing, what I feel is decreasing: In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 6285. For a boil you may soak a mud dauber nest in vinegar and apply. 6286. A nutmeg round the neck guards you against boils. 6287. Salve for a boil is made by rendering the fat from the back of a rabbit's neck. 6288. A rabbit foot should be rubbed over a boil to relieve the soreness. 6289. If you swallow a small dose of saltpetre on each of three successive mornings, then stop for three days, and repeat this alternate rite until you have taken nine doses, your boil will vanish. 6290. A white-silk thread tied round your wen, left on for three nights, then buried under the eaves, will take the wen away as soon as the thread decays. 6291. "I had a bad boil under my arm, had used everything I knew, when an old colored man told me about the toad salve. Take a live toad-frog and put it in a skillet with butter, with a lid on. Put the skillet on a fire out in the yard. After it is done, take and strain it. And I tried it and it sure was good." 6292. To rid yourself of a large boil under the arm, urinate on the road. 6293. Never wash your feet and you will not catch a boil; for the poison causing a boil then stays in the feet. URINARY PROBLEMS Bed Wetting - Kidney Trouble (6294-6325) BED-WETTING 6294. To break the habit of bed-wetting, heat a brick and let the child wet on it. 6295. As a bed-wetting remedy, kill a tom cat and place his hide between the mattress and blanket so that the child's buttocks will lie directly over it. 6296. "An old German farmer told me this that lived near Lima when my little girl was wetting the bed every night. Take the lining out of a chicken gizzard, dry it, then make a power, fill three two-grain capsules, give one each night before going to bed for three nights, will stop them from wetting in bed." Chicken-gizzard-lining tea (without magic) is also a remedy. 6297. Bed-wetting is cured by concealing a piece of the child's clothing in a coffin that contains a corpse. 6298. Pour some of the child's urine into a bottle, hide this with a coffined corpse, and the child will stop wetting the bed. Sometimes a hole is punched through the stopper so that the urine can drip out --- the cure being effected after the bottle becomes empty. 6299. If a female child wets the bed, put some of her urine in a bottle so that it can drip out as in the preceding remedy, and drop the bottle into a grave opened for a male corpse. The open grave of a female corpse is used for a male child. 6300. Let a person who wets the bed urinate into an open grave and a cure will follow. If the patient is too young or incapacitated, throw some of urine into the open grave. 6301. To cure bed-wetting, let the child urinate into three open graves while you repeat a prayer at each grave. 6302. Tea from the white droppings of a dog cures bed-wetting. 6303. One of the causes of bed-wetting is a child's playing with hot ashes or fire. Matches has been added to them. 6304. If you make a child wet on a pig toe and then bury this toe, the child will stop wetting the bed. 6305. Either a knife or a pair of scissors kept under the child's pillow cures bed-wetting. 6306. A head louse on a piece of bread is fed to a child that wets the bed. Some say this louse must not come from the child's head. Occasionally the louse is baked. 6307. Remedies for bed-wetting will not give permanent results unless tried in the light of the moon. 6308. One of the commonest cures for bed-wetting is to eat a mouse variously prepared: mouse tea (sometimes a rat is used) made by boiling a mouse or pouring hot water over a roasted mouse, soup from the tail of a mouse, one leg of a fried mouse, the two hind legs of a fried mouse, and a whole roasted mouse. Any of these five variations may be taken all at one time or bit by bit until the cure is effected. 6309. "If a child wets the bed, take and tie a mouse in a cloth and bite off mouse's head, then put the head and cloth around that baby's neck and throw the mouse's body away, and let the child wear that head tied in that cloth for several days. That will stop it from wetting the bed." 6310. The child that sings in bed will wet the bed. 6311. Make a child lie on its back under a red-hot stove to cure bed-wetting. 6312. To keep a child from wetting in bed, hollow out a turnip, let him urinate into it, and then hang the turnip up in the chimney. 6313. As a treatment for bed-wetting, spread the wet sheet over the child's head and make the child stand out in the sun until the sheet dries. 6314. "I did this for this boy you see standing here. Get up the first thing in the morning and squeeze that urine out into a cup, put in just a teaspoonful of milk, one-third teaspoonful of sugar, and let them drink before they eat anything else." 6315. Water kept in a bucket or pan under the bed is a bed-wetting remedy. KIDNEY TROUBLE

146 6316. Stew a hive of bees and feed the broth to those suffering from kidney trouble. This remedy requires the cooking of a complete beehive, bees and hive together; but it refers to the old-fashioned skep, an inverted and domed-shaped basket woven of twisted straw. 6317. If a newborn baby is unable to urinate, lay the skin of an egg over its privates. 6318. Egg-shell tea is used for kidney trouble; some parch any number and let them soak in cold water, others boil six shells in a cupful of water for ten minutes. 6319. A person can rid himself of any kidney complaint by drinking goat urine. 6320. You free yourself from kidney trouble by digging three small holes in the ground, blowing into each one, and covering them up again. Some people say that you are not to blow into these holes simultaneously or in rotation, but into the first and fill it, then into the second while filling the first, and finally into the third as the second is being filled. 6321. Tea made from the leaves of a male peach tree cures kidney trouble. This tree is said to be one always full of blossoms which drop off and bear no fruit. 6322. As a treatment for kidney trouble, carry a potato in your pocket. 6323. During the wane of the moon urinate on a sack of rye meal, tie the sack to a tree, and before the moon wanes again the meal will become moldy and take away your kidney trouble. 6324. Pains in your kidney are relieved, if you apply to them a sack of heated salt. 6325. To discontinue nocturnal visits caused by kidney trouble, keep a pan of water under your bed. WART ORIGINS (6326-6335) 6326. Never let the blood from anyone's wart touch you; you will get the wart. 6327. "I know this is so: if you pick a wart and the blood gets on you, you will have a wart for every drop of blood. My boy had one wart and he picked it, and his hands got full of them --- for every drop of blood he had a wart." 6328. The person who washes with water in which eggs were boiled will soon have warts. 6329. Do not hold a frog in your hand; you will get a wart. 6330. A bullfrog wetting on you gives you warts. 6331. You will catch a wart, if you touch a toad. 6332. Kill a toad and your hands will be covered with warts. 6333. Unless you spit as soon as you see a toad, a wart will appear on your hand. 6334. Warts come from lying on your back and counting the stars. 6335. Count the stars by pointing at them with a finger and a wart will come on that finger. WART DOCTOR (6336-6340) 6336. A woman living near Clayton said that a house painter took her son's warts off merely by looking at them. This, she heard, was a special gift accorded to most members of that trade. 6337. The seventh son of the seventh son is able to cure warts. 6338. An old wart healer complained of diminished power to take off warts because his blood had become too thin; further, that every wart formerly removed by him was now appearing on his own body. He displayed a considerable number of warts in proof of this belief. 6339. If a healer reveals his secret for removing warts, the power will disappear. 6340. It is possible for a man to remove a woman's warts, but a woman is unable to cure a man's warts. WART CURES (6341-7051) Apple - Bacon - Baking Soda - Bean - Beef (6341-6452) APPLE 6341. "My niece did this and she lost her wart: take an apple peeling, rub over your wart, then bury the peeling." 6342. "I know this is so because I tried it and I lost my wart: take an apple, cut it in half, throw one half away, then rub the other half over your wart, then bury that half at the corner of the house where the water will drip on it." Sometimes this second half is buried anywhere. 6343. To lose your wart, rub it with each half of an apple and, having put or tied these halves together, bury them. Under the eaves of a house is usually selected as the best burial place. 6344. Let a person while rubbing the two halves of an apple over his wart say Take this wart away. This rite is completed by burying the apple beneath the eaves of a house. 6345. Rub the two halves of an apple over your wart three times: once, as you say In the Name of the Father; again, while saying Son; and finally, at the words And Holy Ghost. After the apple is buried below the eaves of a house, the wart will leave. 6346. If one rubs both halves of an apple round his wart while thrice repeating In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and buries the apple, the wart soon vanishes. 6347. This cures a wart: an apple should be quartered, one of the pieces rubbed on the wart and thrown away, and the remaining quarters buried. 6348. Use this remedy for a wart: quarter an apple, rub each piece on your wart, rejoin the four quarters by tying them together with a white string, and bury the apple. 6349. A rotten apple rubbed over a wart and then buried is a cure. 6350. Having stuck your wart with a straw, stick that straw in and out an apple as many times as you are years old, and throw the apple away. Some say you must leave the straw sticking in the apple to make the cure effective. 6351. "I had a wart, and a woman said, 'Mrs. X., I will take away your wart.' She took an apple sprout and chewed it all up, then rubbed it over my wart, then threw the chewed-up sprout away, and my wart left." 6352. "I know this works, for my daughter had a wart. She tried several things, and this took her wart away: walk up to a young apple tree — if you have a wart — walk around to the opposite side and cut two notches in the bark, then rub your wart over the two notches, then walk back the same way you came; when the bark grows over the cut places, your wart will be gone." BACON 6353. You free yourself from a wart by rubbing it with a piece of bacon and throwing the latter away.

147 6354. If you chop a piece of bacon into small bits, tie them in a piece of paper, rub this over your warts, then throw it away, whoever picks up that package catches your warts. 6355. Hang in a tree the piece of bacon that you rubbed over your wart and after birds have eaten the meat the wart will disappear. 6356. The person who rubs his wart with a piece of bacon and buries the meat will soon be freed from the wart. 6357. If a piece of bacon with which you have rubbed your wart is put in a rat hole, the animal will eat the meat and get the wart. 6358. A piece of bacon rubbed on a wart and buried under a rock is a good remedy. 6359. To cure a wart, you must rub it with a piece of bacon before sunset and bury the meat before sunrise. 6360. 6361. Just before going to bed stick your wart until it bleeds, bandage the wound with a piece of bacon, take off the meat next morning and bury it, and you will soon lose the wart. 6362. Tie a piece of bacon over a wart, keep it there for one night, next morning bury the meat on the east side of the house, and the wart will go. 6363. "Here's another one of my mother's: steal a piece of bacon, rub over your wart, then bury the bacon in a pile of ashes." 6364. As a remedy for a wart, one rubs it with a piece of stolen bacon and buries the meat under the house. 6365. Bacon rind rubbed over your wart three times and buried under the eaves of a house takes off the wart. 6366. "I had a wart, the only one I ever had, and I did this and lost my wart: steal a piece of bacon, rub over your wart three times, then bury the bacon." 6367. "My mother told me to do this: if you have a wart, take a piece of bacon and rub over your wart seven times, then bury the bacon, and you will lose your wart." 6368. To remove a wart, a person keeps it covered for seven nights with a piece of bacon — this must be removed each morning and not replaced until evening — says a prayer on the seventh morning, and buries the meat. 6369. In curing a wart, rub it nine times with a piece of bacon and bury the meat. 6370. A wart will vanish after you rub it with a piece of bacon In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and throw the meat over your shoulder. 6371. Before the sun rises, and In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, take the bacon with which you have rubbed your wart and bury it where water drips. This takes off the wart. 6372. One removes a wart by rubbing it with a piece of bacon at sunrise, making the sign of the cross while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and burying the meat under the eaves of a house. 6373. Two days after the full moon, rub your wart with a piece of bacon as you say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, wart go away, and bury the meat so that water can drip on it. 6374. Bacon drives your wart away, if it is rubbed over the wart on the decrease of the moon and then buried. BAKING SODA 6375. "I had a bad wart on my hand. One evening my beau said, 'Let me take off your wart.' He pick it until it bled; then told me to go somewhere and steal some baking soda without anyone knowing it. He rub it all over my wart, and in a few days my wart was gone." 6376. A person loses a wart by picking it on three successive days and sprinkling baking soda over the blood. 6377. "My brother did this and his wart left: put baking soda on it, then take a match and hold to the soda and burn it. Do this three mornings." 6378. For ridding yourself of a wart, cover it with baking soda on nine mornings. BEAN 6379. A bean rubbed over a wart and then burned up is a remedy. Some say the bean must be white. 6380. If you rub your wart with a bean which is afterwards buried, the wart will be cured when the bean sprouts. 6381. To make a wart leave, rub it with a bean which you must immediately bury in an ash pile. 6382. As a wart remedy, it is rubbed with a bean which must then be buried under the eaves. This belief, the usual one, implies the disappearance of the wart after the bean has rotted away; but some believe the contrary, that the wart leaves only as the bean begins to sprout. 6383. Pick your wart until it bleeds, smear some of the blood on a bean and bury it, and the wart will soon be gone. 6384. Some say you may do this rite for yourself, others say it must be done by another person: halve a bean and rub the halves over the wart and bury them. 6385. "My grandmother did this to my wart and it went away: split a white bean in half, then rub each half over your wart, then put the two pieces under the front porch." 6386. Rid yourself of a wart by breaking open a bean, rubbing the pieces over the wart, and burying them under a rock. 6387. A wart is taken off by the person who cuts a white bean in half and on the wart rubs one of the halves and buries it; then buries the other half in another place. 6388. If one half of a white bean is rubbed over your wart and buried and the other half carried in your pocket, you will soon miss the wart. 6389. "I had a friend that had a big wart right up in her nose and it bother her all the time. She did this and lost her wart: take a lima bean, cut it in half, then pick your wart and let a little of the blood drop on the bean, then stoop right down and dig a hole and put the lima bean in." 6390. The person who wishes his wart away as he rubs it with a bean, then buries the latter, will soon be without the wart. 6391. One rids himself of a wart by rubbing it for five mornings with a bean which is then buried. 6392. You will lose your warts, if you rub each of them with a different bean and conceal these beans in a hillside. 6393. A bean rubbed three times on a wart and buried under a white rock cures a wart. 6394. If you rub three beans over your wart and bury them, you will get rid of it. 6395. Let a person prick his wart until it bleeds and then spread this blood over eight beans which must be buried at once: if these beans grow, the wart grows; if they rot, the wart rots away. 6396. A person who pricks his wart until it bleeds, smears some of the blood on each of nine beans, buries them, soon loses the wart. 6397. For curing a wart, tie a string about it and rub it with a bean; then, gouge up a round piece of sod with a knife, place the string and bean in this hole, and replace the sod. 6398. Having removed a green bean from its pod, cut the bean open and rub it over your wart, then throw the bean away, and your wart will soon be gone. 6399. If you divide a bean, rub one half on your wart, throw the other half away, then swallow the half used in rubbing, you will soon be without the wart.

148 6400. To take off your wart, rub it with a bean, and spit on the bean and throw it away. 6401. A wart is cured by rubbing it with a bean and feeding the bean to the chickens. 6402. Warts are soon lost, if they are picked until they bleed and a bean covered with this blood is thrown into a vacant house. 6403. A bean may be rubbed on a wart three times and cast over the house as a remedy. 6404. The person who rubs his wart with a bean and throws the latter over his left shoulder takes off the wart. 6405. "My sister had a wart, she picked it until it bled, then took a green bean out of a green shell, rub the bean over the blood, then threw the green bean over her left shoulder to lose her wart, and she did." 6406. Your wart soon leaves, if you make it bleed, put some of the blood on a white bean, and throw the bean over your right shoulder. 6407. To transfer your wart to someone you dislike, rub it with a bean while wishing this transference, and then pitch the bean over your left shoulder. 6408. If the two halves of a divided bean are rubbed on your wart and thrown over your shoulder, the wart will soon vanish. 6409. If you take one bean from a green-bean pod, split it, tie one half on your wart and throw the other half away, a cure will be effected after the half tied to the wart is lost. 6410. A person rubs a bean on his wart, puts the bean in a small cotton sack, throws the sack away, and whoever steps on that sack will get the wart. 6411. For a wart cure, drop three beans into a sack, rub this over your wart three times, and throw the sack away. 6412. Take nine beans, or let a grocer lay them out for you --- laid in a row according to some --- lift up one bean at a time, rubbing it over your wart, and do this until the entire number has been used; then, having placed these beans in a sack, they may be thrown over your shoulder or else casually dropped while taking a walk. Whoever picks up the sack will pick up the wart. 6413. If you rub each of your warts with a different bean, wrap these up in a piece of paper, walk a mile and drop this package, your warts will be transferred to the person who takes up the beans. Sometimes they are put in a paper sack and left at a crossroads or at a T or Y intersection of two streets. 6414. You can rid yourself of a wart by stealing two beans, rubbing these over your wart, and dropping them at a crossroads. 6415. A wart will go away, after you rub it with a bean and drop the bean into a hollow stump. 6416. A wart will go away, after you rub it with a bean and drop the bean into water standing in a stump. 6417. You may rub your wart three times with a bean and throw the bean into running water for a cure. 6418. One drives away a wart by rubbing it with a bean and dropping the bean into a water-closet. 6419. If you divide a bean, rub the inside of each half over your wart, tie the halves together and throw them into the privy, the wart will go. The same thing may be done with a bean pod. 6420. To get rid of a wart, a person rubs it with a bean that is then thrown into a well. For several warts, rub each one with a bean and throw the beans into a well. 6421. Lose your wart by splitting a bean in half, rubbing both halves over the wart, and throwing the two pieces into a well. Some say you must use a white bean. 6422. In losing a wart, you may rub it three times with a bean and drop the bean into a well; but you must not hear the bean hit the water — run away as soon as you let go of the bean. 6423. A person who spits on a bean, rubs it over his wart three times, then drops the bean into a well, will lose the wart. 6424. Two beans may be rubbed on a wart and dropped into a well as a cure. Two lima beans and an old or abandoned well are sometimes prescribed. 6425. For getting rid of a wart, rub it with a bean while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Repeat this rite on three mornings, using the same bean throughout or a different bean each time, and finally throw the bean or beans into a well. 6426. If you pick your wart until it bleeds, put some of this blood on each of three beans, drop these into a well, your wart will soon be cured. 6427. You can lose your wart by naming each of eight beans after some spiteful woman, rubbing these over the wart, and throwing them into a well. 6428. "I know this is so, because I had some warts; and I took nine beans and rubbed over my warts, and put the beans in a well, and it was no time until my warts were gone." 6429. The person who picks his wart until it bleeds, puts some of the blood on each of nine beans, drops them into a well, will soon be free from the wart. 6430. A method for curing a wart is to anoint it three times with the juice from a bean leaf. 6431. Another method for curing a wart is to anoint it with the juice from three bean leaves. 6432. Persons with a wart may rub a bean leaf over it and bury the leaf as a cure. Usually the wart should be made green by the rubbing. 6433. To drive a wart away, rub it with a bean leaf and bury the leaf under the eaves of the house. 6434. Your wart will go away, if you rub it with a bean leaf and bury the latter under a rock. 6435. If you pluck a bean leaf and let someone rub it over your wart, your wart will go away after that person buries the leaf. 6436. Scratch a wart until it bleeds, smear some of the blood on a bean leaf, bury the leaf, and the wart will disappear within three days. 6437. A dry bean leaf may be rubbed over your wart three times and buried as a remedy. 6438. "I tried this and lost all my seven warts: take as many bean leaves as you are old, rub both sides over your wart or warts, then give the bean leaves to someone to hide for you so you will not know where they are." 6439. "I took a bean leaf, rubbed over my wart, then threw the leaf over my right shoulder, and my wart left." 6440. An excellent device for getting rid of your wart is to steal some bean leaves, rubbing these over the wart until it and your hands smart, and throwing them away. 6441. Whenever a person goes to a bean patch, plucks a bean leaf, rubs his wart with this until the wart is green, throws the leaf over his shoulder, walks backwards to the place from which he started, the wart will soon be removed. 6442. "Years ago my hand was just full of warts. My brother took me to the bean patch, and took a handful of leaves and rub over my warts; then went a little way and took another handful of the leaves and rubbed over my warts, and then threw them down in the patch [this was probably done three times] and said You will leave all your warts in this bean patch. And I did, for my warts went away." 6443. They say the fifth child has the power to take off a wart by rubbing it with a bean leaf and throwing the leaf away. 6444. If a person shells a green bean, rubs the pod over his wart and buries the pod, the wart will soon be gone. 6445. Either close your eyes or do not watch the operator during the following rite: while making a wish to lose your wart, let someone break a green bean pod, rub it over the wart, and bury the pod. 6446. If you rub a green bean pod over your wart and throw the pod over your shoulder, after the pod dries up the wart will dry up.

149 6447. After rubbing your wart with a green bean pod, put the pod under the front doorstep and some visitor will walk away with the wart. 6448. Cut off one end of a green bean pod, throw this smaller piece away, rub the cut surface of the larger piece over your wart, lay this part of the pod under your front door, and the wart will soon be taken away. BEEF 6449. In curing a wart, rub it with a piece of beef and bury the meat. 6450. "Grandmother's old remedy for a wart was to take the rind of a piece of beef, rub over, then bury that rind under the door." 6451. A piece of beef rubbed over your wart three times and concealed in a crack in a barn, house or elsewhere, removes the wart. 6452. Make the sign of the cross with a piece of beef as you rub it over your wart and perform this rite on three mornings; then bury the meat, and the wart will soon be gone. Bone - Bread - Broomstraw - Button (6453-6476) BONE 6453. Upon finding an old bone, it may be rubbed on your wart and cast over your shoulder as a cure. 6454. If you pick up an old bone that has been lying on the ground, rub the underside of it over your wart, throw the bone away, your wart will eventually come off. 6455. To remove a wart, pick up an old bone from the ground, rub it over your wart three times, and throw the bone over your shoulder. 6456. On finding an old bone, pick it up and rub it over your wart, restore the bone to its original position, and the wart will soon vanish. 6457. To lose a wart a person walks a mile, there searches for an old bone, picks it up, rubs over his wart the side that touched the ground, wishing the wart away, and replaces the bone exactly as found; then without looking back, returns to the place from which he started. 6458. Find an old bone and, having rubbed it on your wart, throw it over your left shoulder; if you then hunt for the bone and bury it where found, the wart will be cured. 6459. Whoever rubs a dry bone over his wart while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, then buries the bone, will cure the wart. 6460. Scrapings from an old bone may be rubbed on a wart and buried as a remedy. 6461. As a cure rub the wart three times with a bone from which you have eaten the meat and bury the bone. 6462. While you are eating at someone's house, steal a bone from the table, rub this over your wart after you leave the house, then throw it over your left shoulder, and the wart will soon be gone. 6463. "I have tried this: when eating, if you have two bones, rub them together, then rub over your wart, go to the door and stand with your back to the yard, and throw the bones over your shoulder as far as you can, without looking; your wart will go soon." 6464. Steal a bone from a dog, or pick up a bone on which a dog has been chewing, dip it in hot water, rub it over your wart, repeat the rite next day, and within two more days you will be rid of the wart. BREAD 6465. The person who steals a piece of bread, rubs it on his wart, throws the bread away, will not have the wart long. 6466. If you steal a piece of dough from somebody making bread, rub this over your wart, then throw it away, the wart will soon leave. 6467. "My father told my sister that had several warts to steal a piece of bread the next place she went, rub it over her warts, then bury the bread; as the bread rots, your warts will start to go. She did this and lost her warts." 6468. A wart soon disappears, if you stick it with a pin, put some of the blood on a piece of bread, and then bury the bread. 6469. Blood from your wart when wiped on a piece of bread and fed to chickens is a remedy. 6470. Bread rubbed over your wart and fed to a dog is a remedy. BROOMSTRAW 6471. As a wart remedy, burn a broomstraw and with its charred end draw a circle round the wart on three mornings. 6472. Scarify a wart until it bleeds, lay two broomstraws in the shape of a cross over the blood, bury these broomstraws, and the wart will soon be gone. 6473. In removing a wart, rub it thrice with three broomstraws and bury them where water drips. BUTTON 6474. To get rid of a wart, sell it for a button and keep the button. 6475. A wart can be driven away, if you rub it with a button and throw the latter over your left shoulder. 6476. One loses a wart by rubbing it three times with an old button and hiding the button where it cannot be found. Castor Oil - Chalk - Chicken - Cloth or Rag (6477-6508) CASTOR OIL 6477. You can make a wart go away by anointing it with castor oil morning and evening for three days. 6478. "I had twenty-eight warts. I did this: take equal parts of castor oil and coal oil, and rub over your wart for three days. On the fourth morning I was washing dishes, and when I got through they were gone." 6479. An application of castor oil nightly for seven nights will drive away a wart. 6480. Castor oil applied to a wart for nine mornings is a cure. 6481. Warts anointed with castor oil morning and night for nine days will soon disappear. CHALK 6482. Mark your wart with a piece of chalk and you will lose the wart when the chalk mark wears off. 6483. Chalk rubbed over a wart for three mornings and then thrown away removes the wart. 6484. Chalk rubbed over a wart for seven nights and then thrown away removes the wart. 6485. If in the light of the moon you rub your wart with a piece of chalk at sunrise for nine mornings, the wart will be gone by sunset on the ninth day. 6486. Let a person with a piece of chalk draw a mark round his wart and make a corresponding mark on a stove (stovelid is sometimes specified); and after the chalk burns off the stove, he will no longer have the wart.

150

CHICKEN 6487. Blood from a black chicken when rubbed on a wart is a cure. 6488. "I have a friend that her hand was just full of warts. She did this and lost them all: if you have a wart, kill a chicken, take the blood, rub over your wart, then take the head and throw it over your head; and when the head rots, your wart will go." 6489. To lose your wart, rub it with a chicken bone and then throw the bone over your left shoulder. 6490. A wart is taken off by rubbing it with the foot of a dead chicken. 6491. The person who sticks his wart until blood comes and then rubs it with the inside of a chicken gizzard soon loses the wart. 6492. "My grand-daughter had a wart. One day I gave her a chicken gizzard and told her to rub it over her wart, then throw it over her left shoulder and not look where it went; but child-like she looked and her wart didn't go. Several months after that she was out here in the country again and I was dressing chickens. I said, 'You are going to lose your wart this time.' So I took her out in the backyard, put a handkerchief over her eyes, gave her the chicken gizzard to rub over her wart and throw over her left shoulder. I led her back into the house saying, you will lose your wart now, because you didn't get to look where the chicken gizzard went. And she lost her wart." 6493. By rubbing the lining of a chicken gizzard over your wart and burying the lining, the wart will be cured within three days. 6494. "I remember when I was a young girl living over in Missouri --- that is a long time ago, for I am eighty year old now [1938]. If you have a wart, take the lining of a chicken gizzard, rub over your wart, then bury the lining under a rock. I had several bad warts. Mother one hot day was cleaning some chickens down by the spring house, for it was so cool down there. She threw the chicken entrails back behind a tree, and I went and found several of the gizzards, rubbed over my warts good, then buried them under a rock. I lost all my warts." 6495. "I know this is so, for I did this: if someone is dressing a chicken and you can steal the lining out of the gizzard and rub over your wart, then bury it, your wart will leave. I went to see a friend, she was dressing a chicken. She went out in the yard to get a bucket of water, and I took the lining out of the gizzard while she was gone and rubbed over my wart, then buried it out in the yard, and my wart left in no time." 6496. To remove a wart, rub it three times with the lining of a chicken gizzard and bury the lining. 6497. If a person rubs a chicken gizzard over his wart and buries the gizzard, the wart will soon come off. 6498. For a wart cure, twist a chicken gizzard three times above your head and throw the gizzard away as you depart without looking back. 6499. "My brother had a big seed wart, and he killed a chicken and took the head and rub over his wart while the head was warm, and his wart went away." The head is thrown away or buried. 6500. "A chicken will always gap [gape] three times before it dies. If you kill a chicken and rub that head over the wart before the chicken gaps for the last time, will take it away. I had a very bad wart, and I killed a chicken and rub the head over my wart before it gap the second time, and lost my wart." 6501. For a wart cure, kill a rooster, immediately rub its head on your wart, and bury the head. 6502. If a person cuts off the head of a chicken and rubs it thrice over his wart and buries the head, the wart will soon disappear. 6503. The intestines of a black chicken rubbed over your wart and buried will take off the wart. CLOTH OR RAG 6504. If you tie a knot in a white rag, rub the knot over your wart, and throw the rag away, the wart will soon be gone. 6505. If you take a square piece of white cloth, rub the center of it over your wart, tie the center into a knot, and throw the cloth away, you will soon be rid of the wart. 6506. In removing a wart, you may rub over it a clean white rag, spit on the rag while wishing the wart away, and lay the rag under a rock. 6507. Someone must do this for you, to remove your wart: make the wart bleed, put some of the blood on a white cloth, and bury the cloth where you cannot find it. 6508. Wart blood wiped on a small white rag and dropped at a crossroad is a cure. Corn - Counting - Crossroad - Dandelion (6509-6574) CORN 6509. By taking as many grains of corn as you have warts, rubbing each wart with one of these grains and burying the corn, you can remove the warts. 6510. As a wart cure, a person may take as many grains of corn as he has warts, rub all of these grains over each wart, and bury the corn. 6511. One grain of corn rubbed on your wart and buried under the eaves of the house takes off the wart. 6512. "My sister bought my warts with corn: rubbed a grain over each wart, then put them where the water would drip on them for me to lose them, and I did." 6513. "I did this and my wart went: let someone give you a grain of corn for a wart, wrap it in a piece of paper, then bury it in the northwest corner of the cellar." 6514. A wart is lost, if you hold a grain of corn in your hand while wishing the wart away and then bury the corn. The corn must not touch the wart. 6515. To get rid of a wart, a person rubs it with a grain of corn, digs out the heart of the kernel and spreads this flour over the wart, and then buries the empty shell. 6516. You lose a wart by picking it with a grain of corn until blood comes and letting somebody bury that corn in a secret place. 6517. A remedy for removing a wart is to pick it until you draw blood, halve a grain of corn, rub some of the blood on both halves, and bury each half in a different place. 6518. If a person picks a hole in the blunt end of a grain of corn, draws one drop of blood from his wart, puts this in that hole, buries the corn, the wart will soon disappear. Sometimes the blood is drawn from the wart by picking it with the same grain of corn. 6519. A person with more than one wart may count and set aside a grain of corn for each wart and then bury these grains as a remedy. The corn must not touch the warts. 6520. Two grains of corn rubbed in blood from your wart and buried under the front doorstep will take away the wart. 6521. The person who rubs his wart with three grains of corn and buries them under a rock will soon find the wart gone. 6522. Five grains of corn smeared with blood from your wart and buried any- where will rid you of the wart. 6523. Seven grains of corn rubbed on your wart and buried under a stone will effect a cure. 6524. Seven grains of corn rubbed on your wart and buried seven inches in the ground will effect a cure. 6525. A wart may be cured by rubbing it with nine grains of corn which must afterwards be buried.

151 6526. You can drive your wart away, if you cover a three-cornered grain of corn with saliva by holding it in your mouth, successively rub each of these wet corners over the wart, and then bury the corn. 6527. To lose a wart, spit on a grain of corn and rub this over the wart. The corn may be buried or thrown away. 6528. If you spit on a grain of corn, rub it over your wart, repeating this rite three times, the wart will soon go away. The corn may be buried or thrown away. 6529. "My uncle came to see me one day. I had some warts on my hands. He said, 'Do you want to lose your wart?' I said, 'Sure I do.' He said, 'Well, give me a grain of corn for each wart.' I had five warts. I went and got five grains of corn and gave them to him. He rubbed each grain of corn over my warts, put them in his pocket, saying, 'Your warts will soon be gone.' And they were." 6530. In curing a wart, make it bleed, daub a grain of corn with some of the blood, and cast the corn away. 6531. "Mother always said, to take a wart off, take a grain of corn, rub over your wart, then throw that corn over your left shoulder." 6532. Prick your wart with a grain of corn until blood comes, throw the corn over your left shoulder, and whatever picks up the corn will catch the wart. 6533. The person who draws blood from his wart by scratching it with a needle, cuts a grain of corn in half, rubs this blood on these two halves, then ties them together and throws the corn away, will lose the wart. 6534. A grain of corn rubbed over your wart three times and thrown over your shoulder is a remedy. 6535. Let someone else work this remedy for you: bite a grain of corn in two, rub each half over your wart three times, and toss the halves away. 6536. You may rub your wart seven times with a grain of corn and throw the corn over your shoulder as a cure. 6537. Count your warts, rub each one with a different grain of corn, and put these grains in a bag. Lose the bag and the warts will be lost. 6538. If you cut across the top of your wart with a sharp knife, first one way and then the other way, making a cross, then rub that cross with a grain of yellow corn and throw the corn over your left shoulder, you will soon lose the wart. 6539. For a wart remedy, one rubs a wart with a grain of corn and lets a chicken eat the corn. 6540. To get rid of a wart, rub it with a grain of corn and toss the grain over your left shoulder. As soon as a chicken eats the corn, the wart will be gone. 6541. A grain of corn rubbed over your wart until blood is drawn and then fed to a chicken will drive off a wart. 6542. If you rub an ear, not a grain, of corn on your wart until blood comes, shell those grains stained with the blood, feed them to a chicken; the chicken will soon die, and after that you will find the wart gone. 6543. "When I was younger I had seventeen warts on my two hands. I took seventeen grains of corn, that was one for each wart, then I took the heart out of one grain of corn, throw the hull over my left shoulder, then I picked one wart until it bled, put the blood on the heart and threw it over to the chickens. I did this to all seventeen warts using up the seventeen grain of corns and I lost my warts." 6544. "Here's another, if you have a wart, you could try: take a grain of corn, rub over your wart, then toss it in the chicken yard --- if the old rooster get it and eat the corn, you will lose your wart; if a hen eat it, your wart will stay with you." 6545. "I had a bad wart and I picked it until it bled good, then put it on corn. I went to the chicken yard, turn the old rooster out of the yard so he would be sure to get the corn, and he did. I lost my wart. If a hen get your corn, you keep your wart." 6546. In freeing yourself from warts, scratch the largest with a needle and wipe a drop of this blood on as many grains of corn as there are warts. The corn must be given to a rooster. 6547. You can take off your wart by pricking it with a grain of corn until blood comes and feeding the corn to a red rooster. 6548. Some blood from your wart when put on a grain of white corn and thrown over your head to a white rooster will give the wart to him. 6549. "I know this works, for I did it and my wart left: take a razor and scrape your wart until it bleeds, then rub a grain of corn over the wart and blood then give it to a black chicken to eat, and the wart will go." 6550. Get rid of a wart by rubbing it with a grain of corn and feeding the corn to a setting hen. 6551. A wart goes away, if a person rubs it with six grains of corn and feeds this corn to a speckled hen. 6552. For removing your wart, rub seven grains of corn over it and give the corn to the chickens. Sometimes the corn is given to a neighbor's chickens. 6553. If after rubbing a grain of corn over your wart you put this corn in a chicken gizzard lining and bury it, the wart will soon come off. 6554. Rub your wart with a grain of corn and wrap the corn in the skin peeled from a chicken leg; then bury this under the eaves of the house and the wart will leave. 6555. Warts are cured, if you take some corn (or as many grains of corn as you have warts), remove the kernels, rub each kernel on all the warts (or one kernel on each wart), and feed these kernels as well as the outer husks to a cow. 6556. Wart blood put on a grain of corn and fed to a hog will remove the wart. 6557. You will get rid of a wart, if you rub it with a grain of corn and drop the corn into the privy. 6558. "Another thing, if you have a wart: take a grain of corn, rub over your wart, then throw the grain of corn in a body of water — the water must be round like a pond; just any water, just so round --- to lose your wart." 6559. If a person pricks his wart with a grain of corn until it bleeds and drops the corn into a well, the wart soon disappears. 6560. One counts his warts, rubs them with as many grains of corn as he has warts, and lets the corn fall into a well as a cure. 6561. A wart is removed by rubbing it with a grain of corn and dropping this corn into a well while saying Here goes my wart." 6562. Take a grain of corn from a feed trough where a black horse has slobbered and, having rubbed some of the slobber over your wart, drop the corn into a well. This cures the wart. 6563. If from a whole corncob you break or cut a piece about two inches long, whittle this cylinder into the shape and size of a spool of thread, rub that over your wart, tie it up in a piece of paper, and drop the package at a cross- road; the wart will be transferred to the person picking up the package. 6564. Fill a small white bag with corn meal, rub the bag over your wart, and let someone who does not have a wart throw the bag into a country lane. You will get rid of the wart. 6565. As a wart cure, make three notches in a cornstalk, smear each notch with wart blood, and bury the cornstalk. COUNTING 6566. Sometimes you lose your warts because someone has counted them off without your knowing anything about it. 6567. Your warts may be removed by letting someone count them off; but if the counter counts one wart too many, this cure will be ineffective. 6568. Healers when counting off warts will sometimes touch each wart as it is counted. 6569. "Never count anyone's warts; if you do, you will get them. I didn't have a wart, and one day I met a woman, her hands were just full of warts. I just could not keep from counting them, I wanted to see how many she did have. I started to counting when someone made me stop; said

152 I would get every wart I counted. I had already counted six. It was no time until I had six warts. Sure was glad I didn't count them all, for I believe she had around twenty-five warts on her hands." CROSSROAD 6570. A person may stand at a crossroad and rub his wart while saying Wart, wart, wart, go away; go to the first that passes by. The wart will soon be gone. 6571. If you meet a stranger at a crossroad, grasp your wart and pretend to throw it at him as you say You can have this. The stranger will carry away the wart. 6572. On reaching a strange crossroad near which there is a house, clutch your wart with the tips of your three fingers and go through the motion of drawing it out and throwing it towards the house, saying the while You can have this wart. The wart will be transferred to somebody living in that house. DANDELION 6573. To cure a wart, rub a fresh dandelion stem over it each morning for three days. 6574. Juice from an early spring dandelion when applied to a wart on three mornings before sunrise is a remedy. Dead: (6575-6610)Cemetery - Grave - Tombstone - Coffin - Corpse - Funeral Bell - Candle - Procession DEAD 6575. After someone dies or has been buried, go to the cemetery and call on the devil to come and take away your wart. 6576. Dirt from a newly dug grave may be sprinkled on a wart as a cure. 6577. A method for removing a wart is to visit a cemetery and rub your wart over a tombstone three times. 6578. Cure a wart by taking a dead cat to the cemetery and leaving it there. Presumably the carried cat comes in contact with the wart. 6579. A wart may be removed, if you bury a dead cat in a graveyard at night. 6580. To drive away a wart, a black cat should be buried at midnight by the grave of someone who was wicked in life. 6581. As a wart cure, kill a black cat, take it to a graveyard at midnight, and rub the animal on your wart. 6582. If you catch a strange black cat, rub its nose on your wart, carry the animal to a graveyard after dark, kill it, bury it beside the road, the wart will go away. 6583. Go to a graveyard at midnight with a black cat and swing the cat round over your head three times, then wipe your wart with the tail of the cat, and the wart will soon be lost. 6584. The person who at night carries a dead cat --- passing through a cemetery on his way ---to a crossroad and there rubs the animal on the wart, will be rid of the wart by morning. 6585. To cure a wart, take one standing by a coffin and rub it over the corpse. 6586. A person may lose his wart by stealing one of the pennies used in closing the eyes of the corpse, rubbing it over the wart, and throwing the coin away. 6587. "I had three warts on my hand. I went to a dead woman's house, I knelt down and prayed for the dead, everyone else was praying, and while praying I rubbed my warts over the coffin. My warts left. A woman told me to do this and it worked." 6588. Rub over your wart the rug that was used in washing a corpse and bury the rag under the eaves of your house where water will drip on it. This will cure the wart. 6589. Years ago a wart was sometimes removed by wiping it with the cloth formerly laid over the face of a corpse and then hiding that cloth in the coffin. 6590. The cloth used in washing a corpse may be rubbed over your wart three times and buried under a rock as remedy. 6591. If you rub three peas over your wart while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and lay them with the corpse in its coffin, you will not have the wart long. 6592. A string tied round your wart for about fifteen minutes and then put in a coffin holding a corpse will take off the wart. 6593. A knot tied in a black string and rubbed over your wart will rid you of the wart, provided the string is laid in a coffin with a corpse. 6594. "A neighbor's little girl had a wart and when my little girl died and was laid out, she came over and wanted to know if I would let her rub her wart over my girl. I let her, and she lost her wart." 6595. A wart rubbed on a dead person's face will soon leave. 6596. You can get rid of a wart by rubbing it on a corpse three times. 6597. The person saying the Three Highest Names as he rubs his wart three times on a corpse will soon lose the wart. 6598. A woman cures her wart, if she rubs it three times on a male corpse; a man, on a female corpse. 6599. For an effective cure, say some, a wart must be rubbed over a corpse, once only and on three separate occasions. This may be done the same day or different days; it may be done during one visit --- by leaving and reentering the room — or during three visits. 6600. Just as the full moon begins to decrease, rub your hand on a corpse and then pass the hand over your wart. This will make the wart depart. 6601. The hand of a corpse is rubbed over a wart as a cure. This may be done by rubbing the wart on the dead hand or by picking up the dead hand and rubbing it over the wart. 6602. Remove a wart by stroking it with the hand of a corpse while you say Wart, wart, go away; it is no good to me, and it will do you no harm. 6603. "I had several warts and did this and they left: take the front [index] finger of a dead person and rub it over your wart in the Three Highest Names." 6604. When you see a funeral passing by you may wish your wart on the corpse and the wart will be taken to the cemetery. 6605. Just before the funeral procession starts from the house, rub your wart on the face of the corpse and say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, take my wart; after the body decomposes, a cure will follow. 6606. During the tolling of a church bell at a funeral, say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and make the sign of the cross three times. This will take away a wart or a growth. 6607. While the bell is tolling, as a corpse is being taken from church, say Now the bells are tolling for to put the dead one in its grave, with this I will wash my warts away; then, rub your hand over the wart, saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and the wart will leave. The word "wash" would indicate that the informant either had forgotten or did not know something here. See 6610 and the modernized version 6609. 6608. "My grandmother said if you have a wart, just as the bells at the church toll for a funeral, pull a hair out of a horse's tail, tie a knot in that hair for every wart you have; then, saying the Three Highest Names, bury that hair under a rock where the water will run over it. You will lose your warts."

153 6609. Before a Catholic funeral leaves the church, stand by a sink and be ready to let the water run over your wart as soon as the procession starts. While the water is running you must say three times As the dead sinks in its grave, so I will wash my wart away, and turn off the water. 6610. "I had a big wart on my first finger, it bother me all the time, until one day I saw a funeral passing the house. I got a pan of water and did this: Hold your wart in the water and say What I see is a funeral passing by; what I wash is my wart, I wash away. Then say the Three Highest Names. Then turn and throw the water out and don't look at the funeral any more. I lost my wart." Dish Rag - Dog - Dress - Elder - Hair - Horse (6611-6675) DISH RAG 6611. A greasy dish rag rubbed over a wart and burned up is a remedy. 6612. "I had three warts on my hand. I went to spend the day with a woman and at noon, when she was washing dishes she went to do something, I stole her dish rag. When she started to washing the dishes again she said, 'Why, I just left my dish rag there. Mary, did you see it?' I said, 'No.' I sure felt real sneaky, for I had it in my pocket. I just could not find any paper to put it in; sure felt guilty sitting there with her dish rag in my pocket, for I had never stole anything before. I went home late in the afternoon and when I got home I started the cook-fire. Then I took the dish rag out and rub over my three warts, then started to put the rag in the fire to burn, for it's an old saying: steal a dish rag, rub over your warts, then burn it and you burn up your warts. Just as I was dropping the rag on the fire, my son came in and said, 'Mother, what are you doing?' I said, 'Mind your own business and go and get your wood in.' I still felt guilty. And I am eighty-seven, and I have never stole anything but that dish rag. But I lost my warts." 6613. To get rid of a wart, rub it three times with a stolen dish rag and burn up the rag. 6614. To get rid of a wart, rub it with a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and bury the dish rag. 6615. To get rid of a wart, pick it until it bleeds, wipe the blood on a dish rag (a stolen one say some), and bury the dish rag. 6616. As a wart remedy, a dish rag may be rubbed over the wart and buried under a board. Some say you must steal the dish rag. 6617. You take off a wart by rubbing it with a dish rag and burying the rag under the eaves of the house. 6618. You take off a wart by rubbing it with a dish rag and burying the rag under the eaves of a house or barn, provided you lay a white rock on top of the ground exactly over the buried rag. 6619. "I had one of those ugly May warts and I tried several things, then on Good Friday [it must be on this day] I pick my wart and stole my neighbor's dish rag and rubbed over the blood, then buried it under the eaves of the house, and it was no time until that May wart left." A May wart is sometimes called a dew wart; it breaks open and bleeds. 6620. Warts can be taken off, if they are rubbed with a dish rag that is afterwards buried under the doorstep. In this and the two following beliefs, some say the front doorstep, others say the back doorstep. Sometimes the dish rag is merely laid under the doorstep. 6621. Wart blood wiped on a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and buried under the doorstep takes off the wart. 6622. If you steal a dish rag from a neighbor, rub it over your wart and bury the rag under that neighbor's doorstep, the wart will soon go away. 6623. Get rid of a wart by a dish rag rubbed over it and buried under a log in the woods. Some say if the log is moved, by you or anyone else, you will keep the wart. 6624. For taking off a wart, rub it with a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and bury the rag under a rock. A white rock is sometimes specified. 6625. If you want to lose your wart, rub it with a strip torn from a dish rag and bury the strip under a rock; and if you have several warts, rub each one with a separate strip torn from a dish rag and bury the strips under a rock. A white rock is sometimes specified. 6626. To lose your wart, tie round it a thread taken from a dish rag and bury the thread under a rock. A white rock is sometimes specified. 6627. You can lose your wart by cutting off one of the four corners of a dish rag, rubbing this over the wart, and burying the piece under a rock. 6628. The person who picks his wart until it bleeds, wipes some of the blood on a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and buries the rag under a rock, will soon miss the wart. 6629. A cure for a wart is to rub it three times with a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and bury the rag under a rock. 6630. If you steal a dish rag, rub it over your wart in the Three Highest Names, take three grains of corn for each High Name — nine grains of corn — lay the corn in the rag, bury the rag under a rock; the wart will be taken away. 6631. "I sure don't believe in those old signs; still, I don't like to hear a dog howl, and I will not sit down to a table where there is thirteen; not that I am superstitious, but my mother would not. If I meet a black cat, I always go the other way; not that I think the cat will hurt me, but I just do. I am getting away from the wart. I had several warts between my thumb and first finger. I didn't believe this --- if you have a wart, take a dish rag, rub over your wart, then bury the rag under a red rosebush --- but I took my dish rag, rubbed over my warts good, then put my dish rag under the red rosebush we had in the yard. Well, one day my warts were all gone, even if I don't believe in signs." 6632. "An old saying of my grandmother's was: to take a greasy dish rag, rub over your wart, then take that dish rag out in the woods, find an old rotten stump, hide the rag in it; when the rag rots, your wart will be gone." 6633. After you have rubbed your wart with a piece of greasy dish rag and buried the piece near an old tree, you will not have the wart long. 6634. Someone's dish rag should be stolen, rubbed over your wart three times, and buried in a cemetery at midnight as a cure. 6635. You must steal a dish rag, rub it over your wart, chop that rag into small pieces with a hoe — only a hoe may be used --- and bury those pieces to lose the wart. 6636. During the dark of the moon, rub a dish rag over your wart, bury the rag after dark, and the wart will be gone before the next dark of the moon. 6637. Each morning for nine days rub your wart with a dish rag and finally bury the rag to get rid of the wart. 6638. Go to a neighbor's house and while she is not looking, pick up her dish rag, rub it over your wart, and put the rag back where you found it. Your wart will soon leave. 6639. To take off a wart, rub it with a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and throw the rag away. 6640. To take off a wart, rub it with a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and throw the rag over your left shoulder. You must not look back. 6641. "What I did to lose my wart: wash your wart with a dish rag, then throw the rag in a barn lot." 6642. A dish rag (a stolen one say some) may be rubbed on your wart and thrown over the eaves of the house as a cure. 6643. You can get rid of a wart by making it bleed, wiping the blood on a dish rag, and throwing the rag over the house. 6644. If you wipe your wart with a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and drop the rag at the forks of a road, the wart will soon leave. 6645. Blood from your wart when put on a dish rag and dropped at a crossroad is a removal remedy. 6646. If you tear a strip off or cut a piece from a dish rag, rub this in your wart blood, and roll the strip or piece into a ball and drop it at a crossroad, the wart will soon be lost. 6647. In curing a wart, rub it three times with a dish rag (a stolen one say some) and throw the rag over your shoulder. The left shoulder is usually preferred.

154 6648. Let a person wipe his wart with a dish rag, walk to a small hill, stand on one slope with his back to the ridge, throw the rag over the left shoulder so that it will go over the ridge and fall on the opposite slope, then return home without looking back, and the wart will soon disappear. 6649. You must walk backwards throughout the whole of the following wart- cure rite: carry a dish rag to a stump having standing water, dip the rag into the water, wash your wart with the rag, and then return home. 6650. "My grandmother would say: take your dish rag after you get through washing your dishes at night, rub over your wart, then go to running water and throw your dish rag in it for your wart to run away from you. This must be done after dark." 6651. A wart is lost by wiping it with a dish rag and dropping the rag into a well. DOG 6652. A good wart remedy is to grease it with butter and let a dog lick off the butter. 6653. "I tried this myself after someone told me: take where a dog squats, take up the dry dung, rub over your wart, then throw that dung over your left shoulder, and your wart will go. I sure lost my wart." DRESS 6654. The first time you see a woman wearing a new dress, rub your wart on the dress and she will catch the wart. 6655. If a woman with a wart finds a ravel on her dress, she can get rid of the wart by rubbing it with the ravel and throwing the ravel away. ELDER 6656. "I have tried this and my wart went: if you have a wart, pick it until it bleeds good, then get a elder stick and take the peth [pith] out of the inside of the stick and rub over your wart, getting the blood on this peth, then bury the peth and your wart will soon go." 6657. "Years ago my hand was full of warts. My mother got a elder stick and laid it over my warts and made a notch in the stick; then told me to go in the house and not watch where the cut would drop. Then she started to walking around the yard, cutting on the stick, without looking to see where it [the various pieces cut off the stick] went; and when the stick was all gone, went in the house. In a few days my warts were gone." HAIR 6658. Several strands of your combings may be tied round your wart and buried for a cure. 6659. For ridding himself of a wart, a person may rub it three times with a lock of his hair and bury the hair. HORSE 6660. If you see a white horse, wish your wart on the animal and he will get it. 6661. If while standing at a crossroad you see a white horse, wish your wart on the animal and he will get it. 6662. If you see a man riding a white horse, wish your wart on the man and he will get the wart. 6663. If you see a man riding a grey horse, wish your wart on the man's buttocks and he will get the wart. 6664. "This is not so nice about a wart, and a man has to tell it to a woman, and a woman to a man. My son had a wart and he tried several things and it didn't go away. One day a woman was at our house and said to my son, 'I will tell you something to get your wart to leave,' and whisper in his ear. I asked him several times what she said, he would not tell me. I notice he was always watching his wart to see if it was leaving. When one day it was gone, he said, 'Mother, it isn't nice, but I will tell you what Mrs. X. told me to do: said --- watch, and when you see two people riding on a horse together, wish your wart in the behind of the person riding in the back. I watched, and when I saw two people on the same horse, I sure wished it and you see I lost my wart'." 6665. If you count ninety-nine white horses and then a mule and wish your wart on the latter, he will take the wart away. 6666. While wishing to lose your wart, rub it with a bone from a dead horse; then throw that bone over your right shoulder, and the wart will soon be lost. 6667. If you tie round your wart a hair from the tail of a horse and bury the hair, you will soon lose the wart. 6668. If you dip into vinegar a hair from the tail of a horse, tie this hair round your wart and then bury it, you will soon lose the wart. 6669. If you tie round your wart a hair from the tail of a black horse and bury the hair, you will soon lose the wart. 6670. To cure a wart, tie round it a hair from the mane of a horse. You must use a fresh hair each day until the wart is cured. 6671. Tie a horsehair round your wart and every morning for nine days pull the knot tighter; on the tenth morning the wart will be gone. 6672. Somebody does this for you. During the day, he ties round your wart a hair from the mane of a horse, cuts the hair off before night, and waits one day before repeating the rite; after a hair has been tied round the wart three times --- on the first, third and fifth days — you will soon miss the wart. 6673. Rub on your wart a piece of the frog from the hoof of a horse, put this piece of frog under a doorstep, and the wart will soon leave. 6674. If you rub over your wart a piece of dirt from the bottom of a horse's hoof and throw it over your shoulder, the first rain melting that dirt will wash your wart away. 6675. Horse manure may be rubbed over your wart every day as a remedy. Match - Meat - Milkweed - Moon - Nail (6676-6718) MATCH 6676. Anyone can get rid of his wart by rubbing it with the head of a match and burying the latter. 6677. As a wart remedy, rub it three times with the dampened head of a match and bury the match. 6678. If you make your wart bleed, rub a match round in this blood In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and bury the match, the wart will not stay with you long. 6679. To drive away a wart, rub it with nine matches and hide or bury them where they cannot be found. 6680. You will lose your wart within nine days, if you take nine matches, rub each match nine times over the wart, and bury or throw them away. 6681. The person who makes as many notches in a match as he has warts and buries the match will soon be without the wart. MEAT 6682. If you rub a piece of meat or meat rind over your wart and bury the meat, the wart will soon vanish. 6683. If you rub your wart with a piece of stolen meat and bury the meat, the wart will soon vanish. 6684. If you rub your wart with a piece of meat and bury the meat under a rock, the wart will soon vanish.

155 6685. If you rub your wart with a piece of stolen meat and bury the meat under the doorstep of the house where you stole the meat, the wart will soon vanish. 6686. If you make your wart bleed, rub some of the blood on a piece of meat, and bury the meat, the wart will soon vanish. 6687. If you rub your wart with a piece of meat and throw the meat into the privy, the wart will soon vanish. 6688. If you rub your wart with a piece of meat and throw the meat out where some animal can eat it, the wart will soon vanish. 6689. "People may laugh at you for telling this, but it is so, for I tried it and my wart left. If you have a wart, steal a piece of meat rind, rub over your wart, then bury the rind; when you think the rind is about rotten away, dig it up and rub over your wart again, then throw it away." 6690. In curing another person's wart, rub it with your finger, walk into the house backwards and get a piece of meat previously laid out so that you can reach behind you and pick it up, come out of the house, and then bury the meat. 6691. "If you have a wart, let someone rub a meat rind over your wart, with your eyes closed. They should hold the rind behind them, backing away from you, still keeping your eyes closed, so you can't see where they bury it to lose your wart." 6692. "Take fat meat, cut it all up, rub over your wart; but before you do this, dig a hole out in the yard. After you have your meat rubbed over your wart, stand with your back to this hole and throw this meat over your left shoulder into this hole, and let someone else cover it up to lose your wart. 6693. "My sister did this to her wart and lost it: rub raw meat over it, saying the Three Highest Names, then bury the meat." 6694. A fat piece of meat rubbed over your wart three times and buried under a log or an old stump removes the wart. 6695. Get up in the morning and, before speaking to anyone, rub a meat rind over your wart three times while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Bury the meat under the eaves of the house and you will lose the wart. MILKWEED 6696. Walk up to a milkweed, break off a piece of the plant and rub the juice on your wart, then throw the piece of milkweed over your left shoulder without looking back, and the wart will soon be gone. 6697. As a cure, break a branch from a milkweed and rub the juicy end of this branch over your wart. You must then bury the branch. 6698. Three drops of milkweed milk applied to your wart cures it. 6699. One may remove a wart by rubbing it with milkweed milk thrice daily for three days. 6700. To lose a seed wart, burn a milkweed and put the ashes over the wart on three days. 6701. "I had thirty-five warts, they were all over my hands, and that is what I did: take a piece of new milkweed each morning for seven mornings and rub all my warts, and in no time they were all gone." MOON 6702. Pass your hand over your wart while looking at the new moon and say: "you grow, And you go." Do this three times. 6703. On first looking at the new moon, wet your finger and rub it round your wart while saying What I see, grow; what I go around, I wish away. Do this three times. 6704. This rhyme can be said while you rub your wart and look at the new moon: "What I see is growing, What I am rubbing is going." Do this on three consecutive nights. 6705. A person says this rhyme while he rubs his wart and looks at the new moon: "What I see is growing, What I am rubbing is going." Do this exactly at midnight on three successive nights. 6706. To rid yourself of a wart, rub it seven times with your finger while you look at the new moon and say Moon is increasing, wart decrease. 6707. If your wart is rubbed with a green bean during the decrease of the moon, the wart will vanish with the old moon. 6708. To cure a wart, rub it with a green bean leaf during the decrease of the moon while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 6709. You must keep your eyes on the new moon all the time you are working this wart cure. Go outdoors, look at the new moon, reach down to the ground, pick up whatever you find, rub the article round your wart, and then throw it over your left shoulder. 6710. You must keep your eyes on the new moon all the time you are working this wart cure. Go outdoors, kneel down, look at the new moon, count seven, reach behind you, pick up a handful of dirt, rub it over your wart, throw the dirt away, get up, and return to the house without looking at the moon again that night. 6711. You must keep your eyes on the new moon all the time you are working this wart cure. Go outdoors, look at the new moon, stoop down, pick up a handful of dirt from behind you, rub it against your wart, get up, turn your back to the moon, throw the dirt over your shoulder at the moon, say three times New moon, take my wart away, and return to the house without looking at the moon again. 6712. During the full moon your mother's dish rag may be rubbed on your wart and buried in the center of a crossroad at midnight as a remedy. 6713. When the moon is waning, bite a radish in half, rub each piece on your wart, throw both pieces over your shoulder, and the wart will soon leave. 6714. When the moon is waning, bite a radish in half, rub each piece on your wart, saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, throw both pieces over your shoulder, and the wart will soon leave. 6715. You must keep your eyes on the waning moon all the time you are working this wart cure. Walk outdoors, carry with you a small white rock on which you know the moon has shone, look at the moon, rub the rock round your wart three times, say As you go away, take this I am rubbing, throw the rock away, and return to the house without looking at the moon again that night. Do this three nights in succession and the wart will be gone before the moon wanes again. 6716. "When Mrs. N. was a little girl, her mother took her to a man who said he could take warts away, but he told her she had to come on Friday night and it had to be a moonlight night. So they went. And he took her out on the front porch in the moonlight and repeated In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost three times, and in a week's time her warts were gone." NAIL 6717. To get rid of a wart, rub it with a rusty nail and bury the nail.

156 6718. "My daughter had her hand just full of little warts. One day we went out in the country to see her uncle. While there he said, 'What are you doing with all those warts?' 'I got them because I can't get rid of them.' 'Do you want to sell them?' 'Sure do.' 'What will you take?' 'Anything to get them to go.' Her uncle picked up a nail and said, 'Here, take this nail for your warts.' Nothing more was said about the warts. That night we came back to Quincy. In about two months my daughter's warts were gone. And we went out in the country to see the uncle, to tell him, and he had all her warts on his hands just like she had them." Needle - Onion - Osage Orange - Paper (6719-6764) NEEDLE 6719. "I always do this for a wart. Stick a needle through it, then hold that needle to a lamp, when hot stick it through again. You will lose your wart." 6720. A wart is cured by heating a needle, thrusting it through the wart several times, and throwing the needle away. 6721. Do this for three mornings as a wart cure. Heat the point of a needle and thrust it into the middle of the wart before sunrise. 6722. After drawing blood from a wart by scratching it with a needle, burn up the needle and the wart will be cured. 6723. "Take a new needle and stick that needle in your wart. Then take nine matches, one at a time and light them, and hold the match to the eye of the needle until it burns out. Then light another and hold to the eye of the needle, and when you get to the ninth match you can lift that wart right out. I had a wart. I took a new needle and nine matches and burned each match to the eye of the needle until I used all nine. It sure did hurt and burn, but when I got to the ninth match the wart came right out." 6724. Your wart can be taken off, if you scratch it with a needle until blood comes and bury the needle. 6725. If you pierce your wart with a needle until it bleeds and push the needle down into the ground near your front doorsteps, the wart will go away after the needle rusts. 6726. "A man went to see a doctor. He had a very bad wart. The doctor wanted to burn the wart off. The man could not make up his mind, said he would study about it, and left. Several people were in the office and one old man left at the same time. When he got outside he said to this man that had the wart, 'I will tell you how to take your wart off without that doctor burning it off. You take a needle at sundown and stick your wart until it bleeds, then go to the back door and stick that needle down in the ground so you can't see it.' This man told me here in this baker shop he did just as the man told him and he lost his wart without going back to the doctor." 6727. The person who makes his wart bleed by running a needle into it, then wraps up the needle in paper and drops it at a crossroad, will soon be rid of the wart. 6728. As a remedy for a wart, draw blood from it with a pin or needle, put some of the blood on a white rock, and throw the rock over your shoulder. 6729. Warts may be scratched with a needle and the blood washed off in a puddle of snow-water as a remedy. 6730. If a person picks his wart with a needle for three mornings and covers it with baking soda on the fourth morning, it will come out on the seventh morning. ONION 6731. "Take an onion, cut in half, soak in vinegar three hours, then bind on your wart; it's the only thing that will take a wart off, I think." 6732. For a wart cure, make it bleed, halve an onion and rub each half over the blood, and burn up both halves. 6733. An onion rubbed on a wart and buried is a cure. 6734. A rotten onion may be rubbed on a wart and buried as a cure. 6735. Just like coring an apple, take the center out of an onion, rub this on your wart, put it back in the onion it is sometimes tied in place --- bury the onion, and you will soon lose the wart. 6736. If you halve an onion, rub each half on your wart and bury both halves, you will soon find the wart gone. The two halves are usually tied together when buried. 6737. To take off a wart, halve a white onion, rub each half on the wart, tie both halves together with a white string, and bury the reunited onion. 6738. A wart can be lost, if you halve an onion, rub each half on the wart three times, tie both halves together, and bury the reunited onion. 6739. "I did this and lost my wart. Take an onion and cut in two, rub over your wart, then bury the onion, then put a white rock over the dirt. Don't tell anyone where you bury it." 6740. "I took off two warts this way. Take an onion, cut it in two, rub both halves over your wart, then bury it under the eaves of the house where the water will drip on it." 6741. Cure a wart by halving an onion, rubbing each half on the wart three times, and burying the onion under the eaves. 6742. If a person halves a red onion, spits on each half, rubs both halves on his wart and buries them near a post he will not see again, the wart will soon be gone. 6743. A wart remedy is to cut an onion into seven slices and rub one slice over your wart each morning for seven days and bury them. 6744. Your wart will soon leave, if you halve an onion, rub one half an your wart, put the two halves together, and bury the reunited onion while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 6745. "I know four people that did this and lost their warts. Steal an onion, peel it, then cut it in half, throw one half away; and the other half, rub over your wart until it burns, then bury the half where no one sees you." 6746. One half of a freshly halved onion is rubbed on a wart and thrown away as a remedy. 6747. This may be done to lose your wart. Cut an onion into two unequal pieces, rub the smaller piece on your wart, throw the larger piece away, and bury the smaller piece where water can drip on it. 6748. A wart can be removed by rubbing it with an onion and throwing the onion away. 6749. You may do this to get rid of your wart. Make it bleed, wipe some of the blood on an onion, and throw away the onion. 6750. The two halves of a freshly halved onion may be rubbed on a wart and thrown away as a cure. 6751. If your wart is picked until it bleeds and some of this blood is wiped on each half of a freshly halved onion which are then thrown away, the wart will soon leave. 6752. An onion dipped into salt and rubbed over your wart is a cure, provided you afterwards throw away the onion. 6753. "My son had warts allover his hand and a man did this to his warts and they all left my son's hand. Take an onion and rub over your warts until your warts turn red, then put that onion up in the fork of a tree." 6754. "My son did this and lost his wart. Cut an onion in two, rub the parts over a wart until red, then put the two pieces up high somewhere to dry up, and your wart will dry up."

157 6755. "I had a wart, tried this and it worked, lost my wart. Take an onion and a potato, rub both over a wart, then bury them both." OSAGE ORANGE 6756. Some milk taken from an osage orange (also called hedge apple, hedge ball, or hedge orange) and applied three times to your wart is a cure, but you must afterwards bury the osage orange from which you took the milk. 6757. Punch into an osage orange a hole about the size of your wart and, having twisted this hole over your wart three times in a circle, throw the orange over your left shoulder without looking back. This will cure the wart. PAPER 6758. After you have picked a wart until it bleeds, rub the blood (some say one drop only) on a piece of paper (some say white paper) and bury the paper. The wart will soon disappear. 6759. A person can lose his wart by picking the wart until it bleeds, putting some of the blood on a piece of paper, and burying the paper under the eaves. 6760. If you pick your wart until it bleeds, put some of the blood in an envelope, and drop this on a road, the person who finds that envelope will get the wart. 6761. If you pick your wart until it bleeds, put some of the blood in an envelope, seal the latter, and drop this at a crossroad, the person finding that envelope will catch the wart. 6762. If you pick your wart until it bleeds, put some of the blood on a piece of paper, go to a crossroad and throw the paper over your left shoulder, whoever picks up that blood will soon have your wart. 6763. If you pick your wart until it bleeds, put some of the blood on a piece of paper, run down the road as fast as you can, and throw the paper over your head while running and as you make a wish, you will lose the wart and also get your wish. 6764. "When I was a girl going to school I had several warts, and I put the blood on paper and folded it up, wishing my wart on a girl in school I didn't like, and put the paper on her front gatepost so she could get it; and it was no time until my warts were gone and this girl got some warts on her hands." Pea - Peach - Pebble - Penny - Pin - Pork (6765-6821) PEA 6765. To take off your wart, rub it with a green pea, drop this into a well, and walk away as soon as you hear the pea hit the water. 6766. To take off your wart, rub it with a dry pea, toss this into a well, and run away before you can hear the pea hit the water. PEACH 6767. Each morning for seven mornings apply a hot poultice of fresh peach leaves to your wart as a cure. 6768. Peach leaves are rubbed on a wart and buried to cure it. 6769. You must rub three peach leaves over your wart and place them on the ground. Do this three times. The person who walks over these three leaves will get the wart. 6770. To cure your wart, find a dead peach leaf lying on the ground, pick it up, rub the top side over the wart three times, put the leaf back where you found it, and be sure the leaf is reversed so that the top side will now touch the ground. 6771. Your wart can be cured by rubbing it with peach leaves three times each day on three separate days, but these days must be separated from each other by a waiting-period of three days; that is, the wart is rubbed three times on the first, fifth and ninth days. 6772. Cut in a peach tree a notch for each of your warts and never look at the tree again; when those notches grow together you will no longer have the warts. 6773. The person who cuts three notches in the limb of a peach tree will lose his wart after the notches have grown together. 6774. Walk to a peach tree, scrape off some bark, cut several notches in the place from which the bark was scraped, and rub your wart on each notch; after the bark grows back over those notches, the wart will be gone. 6775. Walk to a peach tree, strip a piece of the bark down but not off, make your wart bleed, put some of the blood on the inner surface of the stripped-down bark, and tie the bark back in its original place against the trunk; after that strip of bark has grown to the tree again, the wart will be gone. 6776. As a wart remedy, break a small limb off a peach tree, cut in this as many notches as you have warts, and bury it where water drips. 6777. If you cut a small fork from a peach tree, make your wart bleed, let one drop of the blood fall down in the place where the two prongs of the fork join, and then bury that peach fork, you will soon be without the wart. PEBBLE 6778. To remove a wart, rub it with a pebble and bury the pebble. 6779. To remove a wart, rub it with a pebble and bury the pebble under some- body's doorstep. 6780. "I did this --- pick up a small rock or pebble and rub my warts until they smart, then wrap that rock in paper and throw it in the road. I knew the fellow who picked up the piece of paper I threw in the road, and he got the same two seed warts on his hand that I had, for mine left and he had them. It was a mean trick, but I didn't want them and someone told me to do this." 6781. A cure for a wart is to rub it with a pebble and throw the pebble over your left shoulder. 6782. Several pebbles rubbed on your wart and put in a sack which must be thrown over your shoulder will cure a wart. 6783. If you tie up a handful of pebbles in a white rag, rub this package on your wart, and then throw it over your shoulder, you will soon lose the wart. 6784. To be freed from a wart, rub it with a pebble, cross running water, stand with your back to the water, throw the pebble over your left shoulder into the water, and go home another way. PENNY 6785. A penny rubbed over your wart and buried takes the wart away. 6786. The person who rubs a penny over his wart and gives the penny to someone is giving that person the wart. 6787. If you rub a penny over your wart three times and throw the penny away, you are throwing the wart away. 6788. You can rid yourself of a wart by rubbing it three times with a penny and throwing the penny over your left shoulder.

158 6789. "One day I stopped at a house and a little boy was just full of warts. I said to the little boy, 'I will give you a penny for your warts.' The boy said, 'Mister, when are you going to take my warts?' I said to the little boy, 'Oh, sometime when you are not watching I will get them.' I forgot all about the warts and the next season [the speaker sells fruit trees] when I stopped there, the boy said, 'O Mister, have you got all my warts? For they are all gone.' I looked and sure enough they were gone." 6790. "Mrs. H. gave her niece a penny for each wart she had and in a week Mrs. H. had a hand full of warts." 6791. If you sell your wart for a penny and put that money away so that you cannot spend it, the wart will soon vanish; but if that coin is ever spent --- even after the wart vanishes --- the wart will reappear. PIN 6792. A wart will soon disappear, after you rub a pin over it and bury the pin in ground over which people will walk. 6793. If you stick your wart with a pin until blood comes and bury the pin, the wart will soon be gone. 6794. For taking off your wart, make it bleed by using a pin taken from a new package of pins and bury or hide the pin. 6795. Your wart will soon vanish, if you let someone pierce it with a pin which you yourself must then bury or hide. 6796. Either keep your eyes closed or do not look while performing this wart-removal rite: scratch your wart with a pin until blood comes and bury the pin. 6797. "I know a woman that took off two warts this way: rubbed a pin over the wart, stuck the pin up in a post to rust; when the pin rusted, the wart was gone." 6798. "I did this: stuck a pin in my wart until it bled, then stuck that pin in the ground by a post in a fence; I lost my wart." 6799. A wart can be cured by piercing it with a pin and driving the pin into an old stump. 6800. If a person sticks his wart with a new pin, walks backwards to a tree, puts his hand behind him, pushes that pin into the tree, leaves without looking back; when the pin drops from the tree, he will no longer have the wart. 6801. To make a wart leave, gouge out a small piece of it by using a pin and bury this piece and the pin in rotten wood. 6802. Steal a pin, rub it over your wart, and thrush the pin into a rotten log as a cure. 6803. "I remember I had a large wart on my hand, it bother me all the time, and someone told me about the brass pin. I took a brass pin and picked and picked until the blood was running down my hand. Then I walked over to the woods that was close to our house and throw it over into the woods, not looking where it went, and went back to the house. And it was no time until my wart was gone." 6804. They say a brass pin stuck into a wart and thrown away makes the wart leave within three days. 6805. Blindfold the person who has a wart, let him stick it with a pin and throw the latter away, and the wart will soon go. 6806. As a method for removing your wart, stick it with a pin until blood comes and throw the pin over your shoulder. 6807. "My aunt came here from Kansas City [Missouri] and told my son if he would let her stick his wart with a brass pin until you get some of the blood on it, then stick that pin in a piece of paper, giving the paper back to the person that you stuck their wart, telling them to throw the paper over their head, when that paper rots away, your wart will be gone. And he did." 6808. Make your wart bleed by pricking it with a pin, throw the pin directly in front of you as far as you can, turn round and walk in the opposite direction, and you will soon lose the wart. 6809. A pin stuck into your wart until blood comes and then dropped into someone's pocket will transfer the wart to that person. 6810. "I know several that did this to lose their wart: take a new pin out of a paper [of pins] that has never been used and pick your wart until it bleeds, with the pin; then stick that pin in someone's clothes without them knowing it; when that pin rusts, your wart will be gone." 6811. "I had a big wart right on the end of my thumb. My aunt said one day, 'You don't want that wart, I will buy it from you.' She took out a pin from her dress and gave it to me saying, 'I am buying your wart with this pin. Put the pin away so you will not lose it until the wart is gone, and be sure you don't tell anyone about me buying it.' I did just what she told me and I lost my wart." 6812. "I had a bad wart. One day a woman came along and said, 'I will give you a pin for your wart.' She took a pin out of her dress and stick it in my coat and said, 'I am buying your wart.' This may seem funny to you, but my wart went away. " 6813. "I used to live in Quincy at Ninth and Cedar. Our neighbor man had twenty-two warts, said he would like to get them off. I told him I would buy them for a pin for each wart. I took twenty-two pins, would stick in a wart, then stick the pin on his coat until all twenty-two pins were gone. Told him not to try and keep the pins; for if he did, he would keep his warts. The sooner he lost the pins, the sooner his warts would go. And he lost all twenty- two warts." 6814. "I had two warts on my hand. A woman said to me, 'Do you want to lose those warts?' I said, 'Yes.' 'Well, here, take this pin out of my clothes and stick it in your coat and wear it.' I did and my two warts went away." 6815. A woman may sell her wart for a pin and put the pin in the shoulder of her dress; when the pin is lost, she will lose the wart. 6816. A woman may sell her wart for a pin and put the pin in the lining of her petticoat; when the pin is lost, she will lose the wart. 6817. You may sell your wart for a pin and bury the pin; when the pin rusts, the wart will be gone. 6818. Sell a pin to someone for money and your wart will soon disappear. PORK 6819. "I had about nine warts on my hand. One day I took a piece of pork meat and rubbed over my warts and gave the meat to the dog, and I lost all my warts." 6820. Take the rib bone out of a piece of pork, rub the bone on your wart, throw the bone over your shoulder, and you will soon be rid of the wart. 6821. Without speaking and by previous arrangement, go to someone, hold out your hand, and let that person rub a pork rind over your wart In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and bury the rind under a rock. This will cure the wart. Potato - Raisin - Ring - Rock - Saliva (6822-6891) POTATO 6822. A potato rubbed on a wart and buried is a remedy when the potato rots, say some; when it grows, say others. 6823. To lose your wart, rub it with a potato and bury the potato under the eaves of the house. 6824. To lose your wart, rub it with a potato three times and bury the potato under the eaves of the house. 6825. To lose your wart, rub it with a potato, tie a white string round the potato, leave the string on, and bury the potato under the eaves of the house. 6826. With a white string cut a small potato in half, rub both halves and the string over your wart, tie the potato together with the string, and bury the tied-up potato. You will soon lose the wart.

159 6827. Halve a potato, rub each half over your wart, and bury the halves (they are sometimes tied together) under the eaves of the house as a cure. 6828. If you halve a potato, rub each half over your wart, put the halves together again and plant them at your kitchen door, the wart will leave as the potato grows. 6829. Let someone halve a potato, rub each half over your wart, join the halves together by sticking a match through them, and bury the potato. This takes off the wart. 6830. "This is an old saying of my mother's: take a potato, cut it in half, rub them over your wart, saying three times — 'Here, what I see, grow; Here, what I see, go.' Plant the two halves. If they grow, your wart will leave; for the wart will go into the potato." 6831. A person rids himself of his wart by quartering a potato, rubbing each quarter over the wart, tying the four quarters together, and burying the potato. 6832. In getting rid of your wart, quarter a potato, rub each of the quarters over the wart, sprinkle salt on them so that they cannot grow, and bury the four pieces at your front door. 6833. One slice from a potato may be rubbed on a wart and buried as a remedy. 6834. One slice from a potato may be rubbed on a wart and buried as a remedy, but you must do this on nine mornings and use a fresh slice each time. 6835. Make your wart bleed, peel a potato and cut off one slice, rub this in the blood, bury it, and the wart will soon disappear. 6836. A potato peeling may be rubbed on a wart and buried as a cure, but the peeling must not have an eye. 6837. If you see someone peeling potatoes, steal one of the peelings, rub this on your wart, and bury it; the wart will soon be gone. 6838. If you see someone peeling potatoes, steal several peelings, rub these on your wart while saying the Three Highest Names, and bury them, the wart will soon be gone. 6839. A potato peeling rubbed on your wart three times and buried under a rock is a cure. 6840. The person who cuts an eye from a potato, rubs this over his wart, buries it, soon loses the wart. 6841. If with a knife you cut across the top of your wart one way and then the other way (making a cross), do the same thing on a potato, and bury the potato, the wart will soon leave. 6842. To cure a wart, halve a potato, rub one half on the wart and throw it away, and bury the other half. 6843. A wart will soon be gone, if it is rubbed with a potato morning and night for fourteen days. The potato may be buried or thrown away. 6844. Anybody can get rid of a wart by rubbing it with a potato and throwing the potato out where a hog can eat it. 6845. As a remedy for ridding yourself of a wart, rub it with a rotten potato and throw the potato over your left shoulder. 6846. The two halves of a freshly cut potato when rubbed on your wart and thrown over your left shoulder rids you of the wart. 6847. The two halves of a freshly cut potato when rubbed on your wart and thrown into a well rids you of the wart. 6848. "I had a wart and I took a potato and cut it in four pieces and put some blood from the wart on each piece, then put it together, then went to the kitchen door and threw the potato as far as I could, and my wart left." 6849. Rid yourself of a wart by rubbing it with potato peelings and throwing them over your left shoulder. 6850. Potato peelings rubbed over your wart and thrown into an outside toilet will take off the wart. 6851. A potato peeling may be rubbed over your wart three times and thrown into an outside toilet for a remedy. 6852. While you are rubbing your wart with a potato peeling, say I wonder where you came from, I wonder when you will go away. Throw the peeling away and the wart will soon vanish. 6853. In the morning or at night rub a slice of potato over your wart and throw the slice away. You must do this for seven days, using a fresh potato each day, to remove the wart. 6854. Whoever slices a potato into nine pieces, rubs each piece over his wart, wraps them in a piece of white paper, ties this with string, and drops it on the road, will lose the wart as soon as someone picks up that package. 6855. "I tried this and my wart went: take a potato, cut open, rub over your wart, then wrap the potato up in a white cloth, then carry it in your pocket." 6856. A small potato may be rubbed on your wart and carried in your pocket as a cure; but every time you think of the wart, you must rub it with the potato. 6857. To remove another person's wart, halve a potato which he has given you, rub both halves over the wart, and put one half in your pocket and the other half in his pocket. RAISIN 6858. Some people cure a wart by rubbing it with a raisin and burying the raisin. 6859. A raisin tied on your wart and left there nine days is a cure. RING 6860. A wart rubbed with a gold ring will soon come off. 6861. On three consecutive mornings rub a wart rapidly with a wedding ring as a remedy. 6862. A wedding ring rubbed on a wart three times while you say the Three Highest Names cures a wart. 6863. You can get rid of your wart by rubbing it with a gold ring and then making over the wart the sign of the cross. 6864. "I know a woman that did this: spit three times on her wart, then rub a wedding ring three times double-crossed over it, and it will go." ROCK 6865. As a wart remedy, one picks up a rock from a spring, rubs this over his wart, and replaces the rock in its original position. 6866. To drive away your wart, rub it with a rock picked up at midnight and then replace the rock in its original position. 6867. A rock rubbed over your wart three times and replaced in its original position on the ground is a remedy. 6868. For curing a wart, spit on it three times, pick up a rock and spit on the underside three times, and put the rock back in its original position. 6869. If you make your wart bleed, let some of the blood fall on a rock lying on the ground, pick up another rock, lay the underside of this second rock on top of the first rock, and cover both rocks with dirt, you will soon be rid of the wart. 6870. Do this on nine mornings before breakfast to lose your wart: wash it with water that stands in a hollow rock. SALIVA

160 6871. Wet your finger with saliva when you first awake in the morning and rub on your wart as a cure. 6872. You can take off your wart by licking it with your tongue as soon as you awake in the morning. 6873. "I tried this and my wart went: take the first [index] finger and spit on it and rub over your wart. Do this every day and every time you think of it." 6874. This will take away another person's wart: rush up and seize that person unexpectedly and spit on the wart. 6875. A wart can be driven away by wetting it with saliva three times on one occasion. 6876. If a person spits on his wart and rubs the spit with his finger going round the wart three times in a circular motion, he will soon be rid of the wart. 6877. As a cure for a wart, go round it three times in a circular motion with your finger, and then wet the end of that finger and rub it on top of the wart. 6878. For three mornings in succession lick a wart with your tongue before eating or drinking and its cure will soon be effected. 6879. Saliva may be applied to a wart for three mornings and three nights as a remedy. 6880. "I [a woman] had a bad wart over my eyes years ago when we were running a grocery store. One day a man came in the store and I was picking at the wart. He wanted to know what was wrong. I told him my wart was bothering me. He said, 'Let me take it off, I can.' Then he wet his finger with spit and rubbed over my wart, then said, 'I will see you tomorrow.' He came back the next day and the third day. On the third day he said, 'Just forget about your wart.' And it was no time until my wart was gone. A man must do it for a woman to lose her wart, and a woman must do it for a man." 6881. "I had a wart about five years ago and I met a man and he said, 'Do you want me to take your wart off?' and I said, 'Yes.' Then he spit on his finger and rubbed it over my wart three times, then spit on his finger again and rubbed over my wart three times, then spit on his finger again and rubbed over my wart three times again, and it was no time until my wart was gone." 6882. Someone must work this cure for you: spit on his finger and rub it on your wart three times while saying Go off this good person's hand and go on some bad person's hand. 6883. Someone must work this cure for you: spit on his finger and rub it on your wart while saying Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 6884. "I [a woman] had a big wart on my face. One day a man said, 'What's that on your face?' taking his spit and rubbing over my wart in the Three Highest Names. In about a week he came back, said, 'How's the wart getting along?' and rub some more spit over it. The third week he came along, did the same thing. And the fourth week my wart was gone. But if you are a man, a woman must put her spit on." 6885. Three mornings in succession rub saliva over your wart while saying In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, take my wart away. 6886. This wart-cure rite must be repeated for seven mornings: wet your finger with saliva and rub it in the form of a cross on your wart while saying the Three Highest Names. 6887. "I had twenty-seven warts and that is all I done, was to spit on my finger and make the sign of the cross three times on each wart, and I lost all twenty-seven warts." 6888. If on awaking in the morning you spit on your wart and do this for seven mornings, the wart will be gone by the fourteenth morning. 6889. Your wart can be taken off by spitting on your finger and spreading this saliva on the wart each morning for nine mornings. 6890. Your wart can be taken off by spitting on your finger, putting the finger in dust, and spreading this saliva-mud on the wart each morning for nine mornings. 6891. Your wart can be taken off by spitting on it and rubbing salt over this saliva each morning for nine mornings. Salt - Shoe - Soap - Snow - Spoon - Stick (6892-6906) SALT 6892. Salt rubbed on a wart and then fed to a cow is a cure. 6893. To cure a wart, make it bleed and rub it well with salt. This is sometimes called salting down a wart. SHOE 6894. Let a person rub his shoe over his wart, put on the shoe, and then take a walk. This is sometimes called walking your wart away. 6895. "My brother had his hands full of warts. He took the leather out of an old shoe and rub over his warts In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, then buried the old piece of leather to rot; when it rotted away, his warts were gone." 6896. A shoe string stolen from someone's left shoe may be rubbed over your wart and buried for a remedy. SOAP 6897. For getting rid of a wart, rub it with a piece of soap and bury the soap. 6898. If you rub over someone's wart a small piece of soap — he must not know what is being used --- and throw the soap away, the wart will disappear after a rain washes the soap away. 6899. Wash your wart in a snow pile and the wart will go away after the snow melts. 6900. Wash your wart three times with water melted from the first snow and the wart will soon disappear. SPOON 6901. A silver spoon rubbed over your wart every night just before you go to bed soon removes the wart. 6902. A brass spoon rubbed over your wart and buried soon rids you of the wart. STICK 6903. "Years ago we were going through the woods to school and we had a neighbor girl that her feet was just full of warts, she could not even wear her shoes. One day her sister held her and I took a pin and picked every wart until they bled, then picked up a stick and rub allover the warts, getting the stick full of blood, with the girl howling all the time, then threw the stick away and went to school. It was no time until all of the warts were gone and she could wear her shoes again." 6904. "I had a cousin that had twenty-one warts, she tried everything and nothing would take them off. I went to see her and she told me. I said, 'Don't worry, I will take them off.' I went out in the yard, got a crooked stick and cut twenty-one notches in the stick, then rubbed each notch over a wart until I rubbed over all twenty-one, then buried the stick. And in no time all her twenty-one warts were gone." 6905. For each of your warts cut a notch in a stick and lay the latter near the house so that water can drip on it. The warts will vanish after the first rain.

161 6906. If you carve on a stick one notch to represent each wart and dip this into vinegar and rub these notches over the warts, you will not have the warts long. The stick may be buried or thrown away. Straw - String and Thread and Yarn - Teeth (6907-6975) STRAW 6907. Break a wheat straw at one of the joints, rub this broken joint over your wart, and bury the straw; when it rots, you will be without the wart. 6908. Slowly but firmly press the end of a straw against your wart so that a little piece of the straw will break off. This pressure must be continued until the whole straw is broken into small pieces. Then bury these pieces and you will soon lose the wart. 6909. You may cut a small piece off both ends of a straw (three pieces; two small, one large), rub each end of the large piece round your wart three times in a circular motion, and then bury this larger straw. Some day soon the wart will be missed. 6910. "When we lived over in Missouri my sister Ada was full of warts; she had about one-hundred of those little warts on one hand, about fifty on the other. I don't know why, but years ago people was full of those old warts. We often went over to see old grandy that was an old woman that lived across the creek from our farm. One day we were all sitting on a bench in front of her spring-house, it was just covered with green ivy, sitting between four big trees --- the sun never did get to it, for it was in the woods. While we were sitting there grandy said to Ada, I can take your warts off, but I can't do it all at one time, you have too many, will have to take them off of one hand at a time. Ada spoke up and said, 'Mother would sure be glad if you did.' Grandy went to the house, got a long straw out of her straw tick on the bed and came back. She counted the warts on one hand, then she cut a little notch in this straw for every wart on that hand, then rubbed that straw three times over the warts, then buried it under a stone. It didn't take them off the first time, because she had too many. Sister went back several times and Grandy cut notches in straw until she lost every wart she had." 6911. This may be done to lose a wart: wrap a straw round your finger so that the wart is covered and then throw the straw over your shoulder. 6912. This may be done to lose a wart: tie a wheat straw round your finger so that it touches the wart, leave this on for three days, and then throw the straw away. 6913. "My sister had a big seed wart on her knee and an old German woman told her to do this: get nine straws, make a knot in each straw, rub each knot over your wart, make a cross over those nine knots of straw, then put them in an envelope, seal this envelope and put someone's name on it, and drop it where someone can find it, and whoever picks it up will get your wart. She did this and lost her big seed wart on her knee." 6914. Each morning for seven mornings light the end of a straw and rub this charred end round your wart as a remedy. STRING - THREAD - YARN 6915. If you tie a string — thread or piece of yarn — round your wart, leave it there, and do not look at it again, the wart will disappear after the knot has been lost. You may use string or thread of any material and color, or yarn of any color. 6916. If you have a wart, knot a black-silk thread round it and each night thereafter add another knotted thread of black silk until the wart vanishes. 6917. For losing a wart, rub it with a knot tied in a string and then wear the string round your waist until the string is lost. 6918. To take off your warts, let someone loop a piece of yarn round each wart and draw the loops into knots as you count them. 6919. Warts will soon leave, after you tie a knot in a string for each wart and burn up the string. 6920. If you break off a long piece of thread from the spool, light a match and burn this thread, rub over your wart these thread ashes, and wipe the charred match on your wart, the wart will soon leave. 6921. Tie a string round your wart, take off the string, burn it to ashes, and bury the ashes as a cure. 6922. You can lose a wart, if you tie a knot in a string — thread or yarn — and bury the string. String or thread of any material or color, or yarn of any color may be used. Colored material, especially red, is often preferred to black or white; they say it rots quicker. 6923. You can lose a wart, if you tie a knot in a string — thread or yarn — and rub the knot over the wart and bury the string. What was said about material and color in the preceding remedy also applies here. 6924. You can lose a wart, if you tie round it a string — thread or yarn — and then bury this knotted string. What was said about material and color in the two preceding remedies also applies here. 6925. If a knot is tied in a string for each wart and buried where you can walk over it, you will lose a wart each week until all of them have been lost. 6926. "I had a big wart and I took a string and tied it full of knots, and then rub the knot over my wart and buried the string under a board, and my wart left." 6927. The removal of a wart is accomplished by knotting a silk thread round it and burying the thread under a brick on the north side of the house. 6928. As a remedy for a wart, tie a knot in a string and bury the string under the eaves of a barn. 6929. If you make a loop round your wart with a string, slip this loop off and pull it into a knot, bury the string under the eaves of the house, the wart will be cured. 6930. The person who makes a knot in a string for each wart, rubs the knots on his warts, buries the string under the eaves of the house, will soon be without the warts. 6931. A wart remedy is to tie a knot in a string and bury the string under an old log. 6932. A black thread in which a knot is made for each wart can be buried under a rock for a cure. 6933. You rid yourself of a wart, if you tie a white-silk thread round it and bury the thread under a white rock. 6934. To be freed from warts, you must make a knot in a string for each wart, chew this string in your mouth, and bury the string under a rock. 6935. Someone not having a wart must perform this cure for you: tie a string round your wart, slip the knotted string off your finger, and tell you to bury the string under a white rock. Be sure the string is buried under a white rock; otherwise the operator himself will get the wart. 6936. In a black-silk thread tie a knot for each wart, rub these knots on the warts three times, and bury the string as a cure. 6937. A white string rubbed three times on your wart and buried under an old board is a remedy. 6938. Whoever makes three knots in a string looped round his wart and buries the string under the eaves of the house will soon be rid of the wart. 6939. "I did this and my wart went: take a white string, rub over the wart seven times and bury it." 6940. You may make a knot in a piece of yarn, tie this over your wart so that the knot will rest on top of the wart, let it remain there all night, next morning bury the yarn, and the wart will soon be gone. 6941. If you tie a string round your wart, add three double knots so that they lie on the wart, and bury the string, the wart will soon vanish. 6942. Rub a string over your warts while counting them and then bury the string as a remedy.

162 6943. If you hold a white cord string while counting your warts, then make a knot for each wart, and finally bury that string under the eaves at the north corner of the house, the dripping water will soon wash away the warts. The string may be buried under the eaves at the north corner of the chicken house. 6944. While tying a string round your wart, make a wish to lose the wart and then bury the string. 6945. While tying a silk thread round your wart, make a wish about something other than the removal of the wart and then bury the thread, and you will not have the wart long. 6946. Do this three times: rub a string over your wart while wishing the wart away and then bury the string. 6947. Wart blood wiped on a string and buried is a cure. 6948. Wart blood wiped on a knot made in a string and buried under the eaves of the house is a cure. 6949. Wart blood, as in the two preceding beliefs, is a cure, provided you obtain the blood by tying the wart tightly with a string; but to complete the cure, you must bury the bloody string under a rock. 6950. Cut your wart off with a string and bury the string as a remedy. 6951. To get rid of a wart, tie a string round it, rub the wart with fat, take off the string, and bury both string and fat. 6952. Warts will soon came off, after you go to the fireplace and put soot over them, sit in a corner (near, or close by, the fireplace) and tie in a string a knot for each wart, return to the fireplace and rub soot on the knots, and then bury the string. 6953. If while tying a knot in a red string you say One and nothing else until you have buried that string, the wart will soon go away; and similarly, for several warts, you tie as many knots and say One as many times as you have warts. 6954. "My daughter had several bad warts and I tied a