Occasional Notes. 145 
are many stars in the sky and the seed is sown by a lady 
in an interesting condition. Wood and bamboo cut 
when the moon is at, or is approaching, the full is sure to 
become worm-eaten and useless. " Jack Spaniards," 
marabuntas, wasps, all sting more venomously when the 
moon is full. Sleeping in the moon will twist your face, 
and it is common to see old women going to, or return- 
ing from chapel on a bright moonlight night with their 
umbrellas up. When the horns of the moon are upward 
so as to form a boat, dry weather will follow, when canted, 
or reversed rain may be expected. When calabashes fall 
off a tree before reaching their full size it is well to drive 
an iron spike or a horse shoe into the trunk of the tree. 
There are times when a woman picking oranges 
turns them sour. " My gun does not carry straight, 
" I expect my wife handled it to-day," is a remark 
sometimes heard. 
If one wants to see "jumbies" " duppies" ghosts, all 
that is necessary is to put in your eye the tears from 
the eyes of a pie-bald horse. It is no use explain- 
ing to a negro that what he has taken to be a 
"jumbie" or apparition, is a tree or rock or other 
natural object. He at once explains that a jumbie 
is able to assume these shapes to escape detection. 
Among other old English terms which though not in 
use in England, survive amongst negroes, I have heard 
the term rounce used as an insulting word. It signifies 
an apparition capable of change 
A black person will not eat any food except such 
as he believes was eaten by his father. 
Derivation of the word Boviander. — This word is one 
T 
