1887.] 157 [Mooney. 



and animals, and is here given without comment, as described by a man 

 ■who saw the operation performed at his own house for the cure of a lame 

 horse, which recovered before morning. There is a thorny shrub, known 

 in that county as sgeac'-vvadera* or "dog briar," whose white flowers 

 are fixed close to the stem, while its thorns point downward. As our 

 Savior, when a child, was one day walking with His mother, they met 

 this briar and admired its flowers. The Mother tried to pluck one of them, 

 but could not reach it until the briar bent down to her grasp. Since then 

 its thorns always bend downward. To perform the cure a rod about three 

 feet long is cut from the sfjeac'-m'ddera and split down the middle. Two 

 men then stand close together, facing each other, each one holding against 

 his body, at the right and left side, one end of the two pieces thus made, 

 while his companion holds the other two ends in the same manner. In a 

 short time the two rods begin to bend in toward the centre and gradually 

 approach each other until they are firmly united for about six inches of 

 their length in the middle. The man who sets the charm — a third party — 

 then cuts off this portion and lays it upon the sprained joint, repeating 

 certain words at the same time. The rest of the stick is thrown away. 

 This charm never fails, excepting when there is a stain upon the birth of 

 one of those holding the rods. 



Scrofula, or the evil, is sometimes cured by applying a little powder 

 from a deer's horn, which is kept in houses for this purpose. Another 

 common method is to apply the blood of nine or twelve young wrens. 

 The number must be decided by the ornithologist, as they take the whole 

 brood, which, according to some persons, always consists of twelve birds, 

 while others say there are only nine. This blood is called fuil rig'e\ or 

 "king's blood," for the wren is the king of birds in Ireland as in Ger- 

 many. There may be some connection between king's blood and king's 

 evil. The water of St. John's well, already referred to, is also noted for 

 curing this disease. 



The cure for sore eyes due to the presence of some foreign body, is best 

 described by an incident, given as related by the man who was cured by 

 the operation. While gathering seaweed on the strand he got somethin<r 

 in his eye, and sent instructions to a bean feasac living six miles away to 

 take it out. She put some clean water in a glass, took it in her mouth, 

 repeated a charm known as avoid a b'raoiniii,^ the "charm of the little 

 drop," and then squirted the water back into the glass. The obstruction 

 was seen floating on top ot the water, and the woman took it out and 

 threw it away. At the same instant the man working on the seashore ex- 

 perienced relief. This reminds one forcibly of the orthodox Indian medi- 

 cine man. 



A man who found a cataract growing over his eye walked on three suc- 



* Pronounced in Kerry shg'yOkh-ivOdhera. 



I Pronounced /tM7 ree. 



J Pronounced, 6rocj a wreeneen. 



