A^nfAL AND PLANT LORE. 661 



In the Southern States the bite of a harmless little green lizard 

 {SceJoporus ?) is considered fatal. The negroes and poor whites 

 call the little fellows " skyarpins " (scorpions ?). Despite the re- 

 puted poisonous nature of these lizards, children are fond of teas- 

 ing them, holding them at bay with a long stick, and provoking 

 them to " show their money-bags," for, when angered, they have 

 the power to distend and somewhat change the color of their 

 throats. A queer superstition concerning another lizard (the 

 Zootoca vivipara) is found in the north of England. It is there said 

 that if one pick up one of these creatures and touch its back with 

 the tongue, that organ will thenceforth be endowed with a magi- 

 cal power to cure burns. The belief that a turtle can come out of 

 its shell whenever it likes is not uncommon in the Southern States. 

 In Bucks County, Pa., it is believed that if some one's initials 

 be carved on the under shell of a turtle, it will never leave the 

 locality — an excellent example of the post lioc ergo propter hoc 

 style of reasoning. 



The saying that if a turtle bites you it will not let go till it 

 thunders, is sent me from both Tennessee and Maine. Being 

 found in localities so far apart, I dare say it may be more wide- 

 sjDread. In New Brunswick the story goes that the turtle will 

 not let go until sundown. It is a fashion among children, and to 

 "some extent among grown-up people as well, along the New Eng- 

 land coast, to carry in the pocket a small bone which is called a 

 " lucky-bone." Sometimes this is a small bone cut from a turtle 

 while the animal is yet alive. Again the small, serrated, enam- 

 eled, and very white bone found in the head of a codfish serves the 

 purpose of bringing good luck. Farther west, in the habitat of 

 the gar, a small bone from the head of this fish is supposed to 

 possess the charm ; while in Petit Codiac, N. B., the globular head 

 of the femur of a pig is often kei)t as a lucky-bone in a box or 

 bureau-drawer. Somewhat akin to those just mentioned is a su- 

 perstition found among the Russian peasantry, which runs as fol- 

 lows : If a bat which has become entangled in one's hair at mid- 

 night be killed, and a small bone in or about the shoulder (I can 

 not ascertain just what one it is) be taken out and carried in the 

 pocket, it will have the power to render the bearer invisible 

 at will. 



In one village at least in eastern Massachusetts the passer-by 

 may often hear children call out to their playfellows, if a toad 

 appear on the playground, " Don't step on that toad, or your grand- 

 mother'll die ! " Less general than the belief that handling a toad 

 will produce warts is the fancy that it will cause freckles. An 

 English superstition is that to carry the head of a frog wrapped 

 in silk will protect one from the gallows. In the neighborhood of 

 Halifax, N. S., the yellow-spotted salamander {Amhlystoma punc- 



