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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
62
Some
seasons,
too,
have
been
supposed
to
be
closely
associated
with
the
witches,
as
in
Germany,
where
all
flax
must
be
spun
before
Twelfth
Night,
for
one
who
spins
afterwards
is
liable
to
be
bewitched.
Lastly,
to
counteract
the
spell
of
the
evil
eye,
from
which
many
innocent
persons
were
believed
to
suffer
in
the
witchcraft
period,
many
flowers
have
been
in
requisition
among
the
numerous
charms
used.
Thus,
the
Russian
maidens
still
hang
round
the
stem
of
the
birch-tree
red
ribbon,
the
Brahmans
gather
rice,
and
in
Italy
rue
is
in
demand.
The
Scotch
peasantry
pluck
twigs
of
the
ash,
the
Highland
women
the
groundsel,
and
the
German
folk
wear
the
radish.
In
early
times
the
ringwort
was
recommended
by
Apuleius,
and
later
on
the
fern
was
regarded
as
a
preservative
against
this
baneful
influence.
The
Chinese
put
faith
in
the
garlic;
and,
in
short,
every
country
has
its
own
special
plants.
It
would
seem,
too,
that
after
a
witch
was
dead
and
buried,
precautionary
measures
were
taken
to
frustrate
her
baneful
influence.
Thus,
in
Russia,
aspen
is
laid
on
a
witch's
grave,
the
dead
sorceress
being
then
prevented
from
riding
abroad.
Footnotes:
1.
See
Moncure
Conway's
"Demonology
and
Devil
Lore,"
1880,
ii.
324.
2.
See
Friend's
"Flower
Lore,"
ii.
529-30.
3.
"Demonology
and
Devil
Lore,"
ii.
324.
4.
Grimm,
"Teutonic
Mythology,"
1883,
iii.
1051.
5.
Folkard's
"Plant
Lore,
Legends,
and
Lyrics,"
1884,
p.
91.
6.
Thorpe's
"Northern
Mythology,"
iii.
19.
7.
Grimm's
"Teutonic
Mythology,"
iii.
1052.
8.
See
Thorpe's
"Northern
Mythology,"
iii.
267.
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