COLLECTANEA.
Superstitions and Survivals amongst Shepherds.
(With Plates I. and II.)
(Read at Meeting, November 19th, 1908.)
During a visit of a few days to the South Downs in the latter part of this year (1908), I searched for any folk beliefs and primitive appliances still lingering amongst the shepherds. Most of the shepherds are natives of the district, and nearly all descend from a long line of shepherds, and so may be expected still to hold to ancient customs and ideas. The notes I gathered are undoubtedly very incomplete, partly by reason of the short time available for enquiries during my visit, but chiefly from the difficulty of getting those who still believe in charms and magic to "own up," and to talk about the practices in which they still indulge. I found that here, as elsewhere, a great change is taking place, and that it is probable that, not many years hence, there will no longer be men to be found who use the tallies and sundials described below.
Many of the beliefs and customs observed,—such as the unlucky character of Friday and of the number 13, and the carrying of a potato as a cure for rheumatism,—are too widely spread and familiar to be worth recording, but the following items appear to be of a less usual character.
To cure toothache, a "thistle nut" is carried in the pocket. This is not the bud of the thistle, but apparently a gall which is sometimes found at the side of the stem.
