Mullen — On a Clogg Almanack. 83 



cross ; January 20, St. Sebastian, a cross ; January 25, Conversion 

 of St. Paul, a cross ; February 2, Purification of the Virgin, a 

 cross ; February 3, St. Blaise, a very rude cross ; February 21/., St. 

 Matthias, a cross ; March 12, Annunciation of Mary, an erect 

 cross, with a " St. Andrew's cross " superimposed, forming thus 

 eight arms. This is the last sign or symbol on the almanack. I 

 have gone through them all ; but counting the days to the end of 

 this quarter I find three too many, that is five altogether. These 

 are evidently some of the original markings ; but the outside edge 

 at one end bears, besides these, forty- three additional notches. These 

 seem to be much more recent than the others, and to have been 

 made by a different hand, and are neither as deep nor so carefully 

 cut as they. I imagine that some individual found the stick (per- 

 haps a century or two ago), and, supposing it to be an ornament 

 for wall- decoration, thought he would complete the carving left 

 unfinished by the former whittler, and so continued the notches 

 along the edge. The date " 31st July, 1778," and some letters, of 

 which part of an " H " and " en " are plainly seen, were scratched, 

 as with a needle, on one end. But this, I should say, is of com- 

 paratively recent execution. 



Now with regard to the manner of using this almanack. Every 

 ordinary year ends on the same day of the week which commenced 

 it, and so the next year must begin with the following day (or, 

 after Leap Year, with the second day following) ; and it would 

 seem that it was a matter of memory with the owners to move back 

 one or more days of the week — the long notches being sufficient to 

 remind them that every seventh day must be set apart for worship. 

 For instance, this clogg begins with a Sunday notch — a long one. 

 Next year this must mark Monday ; so the user would merely have 

 to remember during that year that each notch really signifies the 

 next day of the week ; or, in other words, the series of names of 

 the seven days, fifty-two times repeated, is moved back one notch. 

 And so, for Leap Year, two notches. Thus the notches represent 

 the days of the year, one in every seven being devoted to divine 

 worship, to intimate which it is marked with a longer notch. So 

 it is not strictly correct, however convenient, to speak of the long- 

 marks as " Sunday notches." 



Speaking of the symbols on the very complete " Staffordshire 

 clogg," Dr. Plot says they " all carry with them a rational impor- 



