1889.] »i40 [Hoffman. 



Tie a horse-liair tightly around a wart and it will leave. This uvay 

 occur through ulceration. 



Shave off the top of a wart and touch the exposed surface with the juice 

 of milkweed — Asclepias. 



The juice of the common dandelion, if applied to warts at certain inter- 

 vals, is believed to cause their disappearing in a short time. A number of 

 other plants are also supposed to have this property. 



Steal a piece of bacon rind, rub it upon the wart and bury it under the 

 eaves of the house. As the rind decomposes the wart will disappear. 



Water from a blacksmith's barrel (in which hot iron is cooled), if 

 applied to warts, will remove them. 



Rub the warts with a piece of bone and replace it where found. Who- 

 soever picks up the bone subsequently will have the warts transferred to 

 his own hands. 



To remove warts or scars, the person so affected must look at the moon 

 and repeat the words : 



Was ich raib, nem ab ; , 



Was ich sen, nem tsu. 



The English equivalent is, "What I rub, decrease; What I see, increase." 

 This must be done three nights in succession, beginning before full moon, 

 so that the last trial comes on the night of full moon.* 



Another method of a similar character is as follows: Rub the warts with 

 the fingers of the opposite hand, on the first night that the new moon is 

 visible, and recite the following lines : 



The moon will increase, 

 But my warts will decrease. 



This must be done unperceived by any one ; and it is believed that before 

 the next new moon all the warts will have disappeared. 



A curious procedure consists in frying hens' feet in lard and anointing 

 the warts. 



Wens. 



To remove a wen, a person must strike it a severe blow with a small 

 Bible. It is apparent that a blow of sufficient strength will rupture the 

 synovial membrane, but the cure is attributed to the influence of the book 

 used.f 



* The above appears to be one of the methods adopted in accordance with the follow- 

 ing, extracted from Ilittel xind Kiinste, above referred to, viz. : '-Am dritten Tag, ira 

 zunehmenden Mond, Abends, wenn du den neuen Moud zum ersten Mai siehst, dann 

 nimm du den Krankeu hinaus, legp deiue Finger der rechten Hand auf die Warze uiid 

 blicke nach dem Monde, dann spricht wie folgt : Dasjenige darauf ich sehe ist zuneh- 

 menduud dasjenige was ich jetzt anfasse ist abnehmend; nachdem du dieses dreimal 

 wiederholt hast, gehe in das Hans zuriick." 



t Mr. Szekely says wens are caused, it is believed by the Magyars, by trj-ing to count 

 the stars. Folk-lore Journal, Lond., ii, 1SS4, p. 96. 



PllOC, AMER. PHILOS. SOC. XXVI. 129. 2r. PRINTED MAY 15, 1889. 



