PLANT MYTHOLOGY 
sure that the Herb-Bennett, when kept in a 
house, takes its owners out from under the 
devil’s influence. Thistle is often used for 
the same purpose. The Greeks used to place 
a Laurel bough over their doors to ward 
off evil. There is an English Fungus 
called Lycoperdon, or Puff-Ball, which pro- 
duces a mass of dusty spores not unlike snuff. 
The annoyance experienced by people in the 
vicinity of the bursting pods has led to the 
plant being called “Devil’s Snuff-Box.” Chil- 
dren use it for various amusing pranks. 
Closely allied to the devil-plants are the 
witch-plants, vegetable favourites of his human 
emissaries. The Elder is supposed to be a fre- 
quent meeting-place of these sinister hags; 
under its branches they bury their satanic off- 
spring. 
The witches employ the deadly Night-Shade 
in their vile concoctions. It is reputed to spring 
from the foam of the vicious, many-headed dog 
which guards the infernal regions. The Vervain 
and the Rue are also ingredients. The fact that 
the former was at one time sacred to Thor, and 
was also used in the rituals of the Druids, is a 
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