pParit "Isore, l^ege^^/, an3. Isijrie/'. 



was left alone. She therefore adopted the precaution of binding 

 an Ashen-twig about its body. The adder no longer came near 

 the child; but, from that day forward, the poor little one pined 

 away, and eventually died, as all around said, through grief at 

 having lost the companion by whom it had been fascinated. 



On the subjetH: of the serpent's antipathy to the Ash, we find 

 Gerarde writing as follows : — " The leaves of this tree are of so 

 great vertue against serpents, that they dare not so much as touch 

 the morning and evening shadowes of the tree, but shun them afar 

 off, as Pliny reports {lib. i6, c. 13). He also afiirmeth that the 

 serpent being penned in with boughes laid round about, will 

 sooner nm into the fire, if any be there, than come neare the 

 boughes of the Ash ; and that the Ash floureth before the serpents 

 appeare, and doth not cast its leaves before they be gon againe. 

 \Ve write (saith he) upon experience, that if the serpent be set 

 within a circle of fire and the branches, the serpent will sooner 

 run into the fire than into the boughes. It is a wonderfull 

 courtesie in nature, that the Ash should floure before the serpents 

 appeare, and not cast his leaves before they be gon againe." 

 Other old writers affirm that the leaves, either taken inwardly, or 

 applied outwardly, are singularly good against the biting of snakes 

 or venomous beasts ; and that the water distilled from them, and 

 taken every morning fasting, is thought to abate corpulence. The 

 ashes of the Ash and Juniper are stated to cure leprosy. 



The pendent winged seeds, called spinners or keys, were 

 believed to have the same effedl: as the leaves : in country places 

 there is to this day an opinion current, that when these keys are 

 abundant, a severe Winter will follow. A bunch of Ash-keys is 

 still thought efficacious as a protection against witchcraft. 



In marshy situations, the roots of the Ash will run a long way 

 at a considerable depth, thus acfting as sub-drains : hence the 

 proverb, in some parts of the country, " May your foot-fall be by 

 the root of the Ash." In the Spring, when the Ash and Oak are 

 coming into leaf, Kentish folk exclaim : — " Oak, smoke ; Ash, 

 squash." If the Oak comes out first, they believe the Summer 

 will prove hot ; if the Ash, it will be wet. 



"If the Oak's before the Ash, 

 You will only get a splash ; 

 If the Ash precedes the Oak, 

 You will surely have a soak." 



Gilbert White tells us of a superstitious custom, still extant, 

 which he thinks was derived from the Saxons, who practised it 

 before their conversion to Christianit5\ Ash-trees, when young 

 and flexible, were severed, and held open by wedges, while ruptured 

 children, stripped naked, were pushed through the apertures, 

 under a persuasion that they would be cured of their infirmity. 

 The operation over, the tree was plastered up with loam, and 

 carefully swathed. If the severed parts coalesced in due course, 



