KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



99 



ZOOLOGICAL FOLK LORE— No. IV. 



BY J. M'lNTOSH, MEM. ENT. SOC, ETC. 



(Continued from Vol. IV, Page 279.) 



I now return to the curious catalogue of 

 popular superstitions, — at which I think 

 some few of us can afford to laugh heartily ;— 

 albeit very many — if they knew we were 

 laughing — would rate us for it soundly ! 



No. 28. The Toad. — The following is an 

 excellent remedy to stop bleeding at the 

 nose, mouth, &c. Take a toad and dry him 

 up in the sun. Then put him into a linen 

 bag, and hang him with a string about the 

 neck of the party that bleedeth, — letting it 

 hang so low that it may touch the heart on 

 the left side (near to the heart). This will 

 certainly stay all manner of bleeding at the 

 mouth, nose, &c. Powdered toads, put in a 

 bag and laid on the stomach, will relieve any 

 pain in that important part of the body ! 



29. Tooth-ach. — In some parts of the 

 country you .are sagely requested, when 

 suffering from the torments of tooth-ach, to 

 take a nail and tear the gums about the teeth 

 till they bleed. Then drive the nail into a 

 wooden beam up to the head. After this 

 has been carefully done, the pain will cease, 

 and you will never again be tormented with 

 tooth-ach ! ! 



30. Cure for Thrush. — In Devonshire, 

 they take a child to a running stream ; and 

 drawing a straw through its mouth, they re- 

 peat the words, — " Out of the mouths of 

 babes and sucklings, &c." 



31. " Snail, Snail, come out of Your 

 Hole, &c." — In every county we have vi- 

 sited, there have we found children amusing 

 themselves by chanting songs to snails, — 

 trying to induce them thereby to put forth 

 their horns. In Surrey and Scotland the 

 chant is — 



" Snail, snail, come out of your hole, 

 Or else I'll beat you as black as a coal." 



In Devonshire and in Somersetshire it is 

 varied thus : — 



" Snail, snail, shoot out your horns, 

 Father and mother are dead ; 

 Brother and sister are in the back yard 

 Begging for barley bread." 



In some parts of Ireland it runs thus : — 

 " Shell a muddy, shell a muddy, 

 Put out your horns ; 

 For the King's daughter is 



Coming to town, 

 With a red petticoat, and a green gown!" 



32. Beetles. — If you should kill a beetle, 

 look out ; it is sure to rain ! It is as unlucky 

 to kill a cricket. Both these little creatures 

 will eat holes in the stockings of the family 

 that kills them. 



33. Hooping-cough. — In addition to what 

 has been already said on this subject (vide 

 No. 1), may be added the following : — Tie a 



hairy caterpillar in a small bag round the 

 neck of the child. As the caterpillar dies, 

 so does the cough ! In former times, the 

 remedy was that of riding the child on the 

 back of a bear 1 And to this day, you are 

 told to pass the child nine times over the 

 back and under the belly of an ass ! ! 



34. Pigeons. — It is a sure sign of death if 

 an invalid asks for a pigeon ! ! 



35. Pigs. — If fishermen meet a pig on 

 their way to their boats, they will return 

 again. The event is an omen that bodes ill 

 to their fishing ! 



36. To Avert Sickness. — Hang up a 

 sickle, or some iron implement, at the head 

 of the sick person's bed ! 



37. Roasted Mice. — "We have lately 

 heard, that when children had the measles 

 their nurse gave them roasted mice to cure 

 them ! 



38. A White Horse. — In some of the 

 northern counties it is considered bad luck 

 to meet a white horse, unless you spit at him. 

 This act averts the ill consequences ! 



39. Still-born Children. — In Devon- 

 shire it is thought lucky to have a still-born 

 child put into an open grave ; as it is con- 

 sidered a sure passport to Heaven for the 

 next person who is buried there ! ! 



40. Children's Nails. — It is a general 

 belief amongst the common people, and in 

 fact in high circles, that if a child's finger- 

 nails are cut before it is a year old, it will be 

 a thief. They must be bitten off when they 

 require shortening ! It is also believed, that 

 if adults pare their nails on a Sunday, they 

 will be unlucky during the week ! ! 



41. Turning the Bed after an Ac- 

 couchement. — It is considered unlucky to 

 have the bed turned till a full month has ex- 

 pired ! ! It is also considered unlucky to 

 turn the bed on Fridays. We are acquainted 

 with an old dame, who would not have a bed 

 turned on that day in her house for any 

 money ! 



42. Ringworm. — In some parts of Scot- 

 land it is said, that if a little ashes are taken 

 between the forefinger and thumb, three suc- 

 cessive mornings, — and the ashes allowed to 

 drop on the part affected, it will disappear. 

 Not, however, before repeating the following 

 lines : — 



Ringworm, ringworm red ! 

 Never mayst thou spread, spread ; 

 But aye grow less and less, 

 And die away among the ash ! 



43. If a person's left ear burn, or feel hot, 

 somebody is praising the party ; if the right 

 ear burn, this is a sure sign that some one is 

 speaking evil of the person. This I believe 

 to be common in most counties, and amongst 

 nearly every grade of society. 



Taunton, /Somerset. 



(To be Continued.) 



