472 pfant Tsoce, Tsege^y, oncl "b^jric/, 



the Oak comes out before the Ash, it is a sign that there will be 

 fine weather in harvest. The Kentish people have a saying : — 



" Oak, smoke ; 

 Ash squash."' 



and that if the Oak comes out before the Ash, the summer will be 

 hot ; but if after the Ash, that it will be wet. Authorities in dream 

 lore state that it is a very favourable omen to dream of an Oak- 

 tree : if covered with verdure, it signifies a long and happy life ; 

 if devoid of foliage or withered, it betokens poverty in old age ; to 

 see many young Oaks thriving foretells male children, who will 

 reap distinction by bravery ; Oaks bearing Acorns betoken great 

 wealth ; and a blasted Oak forebodes sudden death. 



Astrologers state that the Oak-tree is under the dominion of 

 Jupiter. 



OATS. — Oats did not enjoy a good reputation among the an- 

 cient Romans, and Pliny writes of them : — Primum omnium fnimenti 

 vitium A vena est. In old English books, the Oat is called Haver 

 or Hafer corn, and to this day in Wales it Is still called Hever. 

 In Scandinavian mythology, the " Hafer " of the evil genius 

 Loki is synonymous with Oats of the Devil, a term originally 



applied to all herbs hurtful to cattle. The Danes call the 



plant Polytrichim commune Loki's Oats ; and in the tradition that 

 the diabolic God of the North is wont mischievously to sow 

 weeds among the good seed is probably to be found the origin 



of the English saying, " He is sowing his wild Oats." In the 



Ukraine, there is a tradition that on one occasion the Devil be- 

 sought the Almighty to make him a present. God responded : 

 " What is there that I can give you ? I cannot part with the 

 Rye, or the Barley, or the Millet : I must give you the Oats." 

 The Devil, well pleased, withdrew, crying, " Hurrah ! the Oats, the 

 Oats, are mine ! " Then God inquired of St. Peter and St. Paul: 

 " What can I do, seeing that I have handed them over to him ?" 

 " Verily," said Paul, " I will at once go and get them from him." 

 " How will you manage that ? " " Leave that to me," replied Paul. 

 " Very well — go ! " St. Paul passed the Devil, and hid himself 

 beneath a bridge. Presently the Devil came along shouting " Oats ! 

 Oats ! " St. Paul commenced to shriek. The Devil stopped short. 

 "Why have you thus frightened me? " he asked. "God has given 

 me a plant, and now you have made me quite forget its name." 

 " Was it Rye ? " "No," "Wheat?" "No." " Could it have 

 been the Sow-thistle ? " " Ah ! that was it, that was it ! " exclaimed 



the Devil, and he ran off shouting, " Sow-thistle, Sow-thistle." 



The contortions of the Animal Oat {Avena stevilis) are very notice- 

 able : the strong beards, after the seeds have fallen off, are so 

 sensible of alteration in the atmosphere, that they maintain an 

 apparently spontaneous -motion, resembling that of some grotesque 

 inseifl. In olden times, conjurors and wizards predicfled events 



