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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
41
Its
supposed
immunity
from
all
damage
by
lightning
has
long
caused
special
reverence
to
be
attached
to
it,
and
given
rise
to
sundry
superstitious
usages.
Thus,
in
Germany,
a
twig
is
cut
by
the
farm-labourer,
in
spring,
and
on
the
first
thunderstorm
a
cross
is
made
with
it
over
every
heap
of
grain,
whereby,
it
is
supposed,
the
corn
will
remain
good
for
many
years.
Occasionally,
too,
one
may
see
hazel
twigs
placed
in
the
window
frames
during
a
heavy
shower,
and
the
Tyroleans
regard
it
as
an
excellent
lightning
conductor.
As
a
promoter
of
fruitfulness
it
has
long
been
held
in
high
repute--a
character
which
it
probably
derived
from
its
mythic
associations--and
hence
the
important
part
it
plays
in
love
divinations.
According
to
a
Bohemian
belief,
the
presence
of
a
large
number
of
hazel-nuts
betokens
the
birth
of
many
illegitimate
children;
and
in
the
Black
Forest
it
is
customary
for
the
leader
of
a
marriage
procession
to
carry
a
hazel
wand.
For
the
same
reason,
in
many
parts
of
Germany,
a
few
nuts
are
mingled
with
the
seed
corn
to
insure
its
being
prolific.
But
leaving
the
hazel
with
its
host
of
superstitions,
we
may
notice
the
white-thorn,
which
according
to
Aryan
tradition
was
also
originally
sprung
from
the
lightning.
Hence
it
has
acquired
a
wide
reverence,
and
been
invested
with
supernatural
properties.
Like,
too,
the
hazel,
it
was
associated
with
marriage
rites.
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