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offered, when he tasted it he said the cows were bewitched, and 

 for her kindness he would tell her what would break the spell, 

 which was to put some ' cowsherne ' into the mouths of the 

 calves before they were allowed to suck. As the carle approached 

 his house, when returning from his journey, he noticed a bi'ight 

 light in the hut of the old hag which had cursed him. Curiosity 

 induced him to look in, when he saw a pot on the fire, into which 

 she was stirring something and muttering incantations all the 

 while till it boiled, when, instead of milk as she doubtless 

 expected, nothing came up but 'cowsherne.' He told his wife 

 what he had seen, and she told him what the pilgrim had 

 told her to do, and which she had done, which left no doubt that 

 it was the ungrateful old witch who had bewitched their cows. 

 Next day, when she came expecting her usual dole, the carle's 

 wife caught hold of her before she had time to cast any cantrip, 

 and scored her above the breath until she drew blood with a 

 crooked nail from a worn horse shoe, which left her powerless to 

 cast any farther spells. The cows now gave as rich a yield of 

 juilk as formerly, and the custom then began was continued long 

 after witchcraft had ceased to be a power in the land." Whether 

 there are any who still continue the practice I am unable to tell, 

 not having thought of making any inquiry. 



3. Notes of 30 Years' Residence in Tynron. 



By Mr James Shaw. 



The parish of Tynron is hardly so pleasant to the eye of an 

 artist as it was more than thirty years ago. At that period we 

 had several fords crossing the highway. Sir Walter Scott, 

 mounted on his pony, has been known to take a round-about to 

 cross a ford, rather than a bridge ; it seemed to him so mucli 

 more romantic. We had some of the finest larch trees in the 

 county. The wind, more than the woodman's axe, levelled them 

 to the ground. The terrible storms of 1883-4 have left us only 

 their unsightly roots, and the late storm — 22nd December, 1894 — 

 uprooted or broke several thousand trees, some of them the finest 

 in the parish. With the loss of the trees there has been a 

 diminution of owls, so that the long nights are quieter with less 

 of their screeching. On a few farms when I came the cattle 

 were black Galloways. These have disappeared, and Ayrshires 



