88 ETHNOBOTANY OF THE ZUXI INDIANS [eth. ax.n. 30 



At planting time tbe corn is sprinkled with twigs of artemisia 

 dipped in water, " that it may grow in abundance and be well 

 developed." 



Asclepias galioides H. B. K. Milkweed. Asclepiadace.e. Milk- 

 weed family. 

 Ha'watseki, 'leaf boy' (ha<ha'li, leaf; wat'selci, boy). The 

 plant receives its name from the fondness the boys have 

 for the first buds, which they consider a great treat. 

 At the present time the ram priests make cords of the coma, using 

 only their fingers in this work. The cords are employed for fastening 

 plumes to the praj^er sticks that are offered to the et'tone} These 

 ofl'erings are planted in the fields and m sacred sprmgs. An excava- 

 tion is made in the bed of the spring, in which the offerings are depos- 

 ited, with a stone attached, and covered with soU from the bottom. 



Atriplex canescens (Pursh) James. Salt-bush. Chenopodia- 



CE.E. Goosefoot family. 

 Ke'mawe, 'salt weed' Qce, weed; ma'we, salt). 

 Prayer plumes are attached to twigs of this plant and sacrificed to 

 the cottontail rabbit at the winter solstice, with prayers that the 

 rabbits may appear in large numbers when sought by the hunter. 



■ Berherisfremontii Torr. Barberry. Berberidace^. Barberry 



family. 

 Ta'lup'tsine, 'yellow wood' (ta, wood; lup'tsine, yellow). 

 The crushed berries are used for coloring purple the skin as well 

 as objects employed in ceremonies. These berries are thus used 

 only by the people of the M'wifsiwe,^ and for this purpose the tree 

 belongs solely to them. 



Cucurhita pepo L. Squash. Cxtcurbitaceje. Gourd family. 



Mo'teydla, 'round, inside seeds sit down' {mo<mo'li, round or 



egg-shaped; te'yala, inside sit down). The word for seeds 



is not expressed but fully understood in reference to squash 



or melons. "Melons never stand but sit upon the ground or 



floor. " 



Gourds of the long variety are worn in phallic dances, symbolizmg 



fructification. They are employed also as receptacles for storing 



precious articles. Gourds of both the roimd and the oval variety are 



made into rattles which are used in ceremonies in both anthropic 



and zooic worship. The former are also employed by theurgists in 



legerdemain. 



Datura meteloides DC. Jamestown Weed, Thorn-apple. Sol- 

 anace^. Nightshade family. 



1 See iScLAnn. Rep. But. Amtr. Ethn., p. 163. 

 , » Ibid., p. 62. 



