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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



in the afternoon, and during a cessation, 

 shortly before sunset, the light burst through 

 the clouds in the western sky and a most 

 magnificent rainbow appeared in the east, 

 with the top of the circle about fifty-five 

 degrees from the horizon. All that portion 

 of the clouded sky within the circle changed 

 to a brilliant red color, while all without 

 the circle was of a dull bluish-gray shade. 

 The rainbow thus formed a sharp division 

 between the two portions of the sky which 

 were in such striking contrast to each other. 

 For a time the red sky inclosed by the rain- 

 bow was so deeply colored that the red 

 portion of the rainbow, which was in itself 

 remarkably brilliant, could not be distin- 

 guished from it, but it appeared as though 

 the red part of the rainbow had spread out, 

 covering the entire plane inclosed within 

 the circle. A similar phenomenon never 

 having come before my notice, and having 

 never read an account of one, I would re- 

 spectfully ask the editors of " The Popular 

 Science Monthly," or the intelligent read- 

 ers thereof, to furnish me with an explana- 

 tion. Why should the red portion of the 

 clouded sky within the circle and the bluish- 

 gray portion without be so sharply defined 

 and divided by the rainbow ? 



Very respectfully, B. F. Thomas. 



Moening Sun, Iowa, August 14, 1SS6. 



"ANIMAL AND PLANT LORE OF CHIL- 

 DREN. " 

 Messrs. Editors : 



Reading "Animal and Plant Lore of 

 Children," in your publication for July, 

 called to mind a few beliefs that children 

 had in Southern Illinois twenty years ago, 

 and which were not enumerated in the arti- 

 cle referred to. Snakes were numerous, 

 and the subject of many superstitions. To 

 kill a snake and hang its body on a living 

 bush would produce rain within twenty-four 

 hours. Snakes delight in the hot sun-rays 

 which precede a thunder-shower, and are 



often killed at such times. It was a general 

 belief that live coals placed on a snake 

 would cause four legs to grow from its 

 body. To inhale, the breath of a snake was 

 sure death to the child who met with such 

 an accident. Children were firm in the be- 

 lief that snakes could charm them if they 

 gazed steadily at the reptiles' eyes. It was 

 bad luck not to kill the first snake seen in 

 the spring. The negro children believed 

 that the lives of snakes were guarded by 

 the devil. 



The "tobacco -juice" expectorated by 

 grasshoppers was a sure cure for warts. 

 Bean-leaves not only cured warts, but killed 

 cancers. 



Bad luck befell the person who saw a 

 rabbit cross his path, unless out on a hunt- 

 ing expedition. If a child killed a cricket, 

 his clothes would be ruined by other crick- 

 ets. 



Toads or humble-bees entering the house 

 were as sure signs of company as the crow- 

 ing of a rooster at the front doer. 



Frost always made its appearance just 

 six weeks from the time the first katydid 

 w r as heard. 



Cats were credited with nine lives, and 

 turkey-buzzards with the power to vomit on 

 naughty children. 



In fishing, a few drops of blood on the 

 bait were more valuable than spit or hare 

 callosity. The latter was also a cure for 

 toothache. 



The ant-lion was enticed from his den 

 by repeating, " Noodle ! noodle ! come out 

 of your hole ! " He was then punished by 

 death for being so easily fooled. 



Purposely to kill a lady-bug would cause 

 sickness, and accidentally to do so, some 

 kind of bad luck. 



Many of these beliefs were held by 

 grown persons as well as children, while 

 adults had many superstitions which chil- 

 dren could not understand. 



H. M. "Whelpley. 

 St. Louis, Hissoubi, July 10, 1SS6. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



FRAUD AND ITS VICTIMS. 



"TVTTOTHING could better illustrate 

 -1-N the great need that exists, even in 

 this highly favored country, for a more 

 general diffusion of intelligence, than 

 the extent to which people, who can at 

 least read and write, allow themselves 

 to become the dupes of the most trans- 

 parent impostures. The post-office au- 

 thorities are engaged in a perpetual 



struggle to prevent people, who would 

 be deeply offended if they were spoken 

 of as deficient in intelligence, or if any 

 one hinted that they were not fully, if 

 not superabundantly, qualified for the 

 highest duties of citizenship, from part- 

 ing with their money to impudent ad- 

 venturers who advertise their ridiculous 

 and utterly fraudulent schemes in the 

 newspapers. At one end of the coun- 



