PERSONALITY OF PLANTS 
tain English counties, children of today will not 
pick Blackberries after a certain date, believing 
that the Evil One has trampled them and made 
them poisonous to humans. German peasants, 
without batting an eye, will tell you that the 
devil, in one form or another, has the regular 
habit of stealing portions of their crops. 
Of plants that are dedicated to Satan, or 
more properly, which he has appropriated, 
there are many hundreds. Toadstools, because 
of their miraculously fast growth and fantastic 
shape, have always been associated with the 
kingdom of evil. It is not quite so apparent why 
other more beautiful plants are also handed 
over to Satan, though a reason can usually be 
found. The most alluring and gorgeous flowers 
are quite apt to be poisonous. 
In old Bohemia, the Belladonna was a fa- 
vourite of the devil. He could be enticed from 
it on Walpurgis Night by letting loose a black 
hen, after which he ran. In Russia, people shun 
the Sow-Thistle as a devil-plant. Some Ger- 
mans believe that evil spirits lurk in Lettuce 
beds. To the same people, the Herban is the 
‘“Devil’s Eye.” Many nationalities are quite 
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