Dowsing.— A divining-rod should be of witch-hazel, but the wood of any tree whose fruit has a pip will do. It should be held, very firmly, by an only son, and for choice by the only son of an only son. It is of the usual Y-shape, and when it begins to turn, the distance from that spot to the point at which the lower stroke of the Y turns straight down should be measured, as this indicates the depth at which the water lies. Water so found will never dry up. This is a living belief.
Folk-medicine.—The following beliefs were met with among his patients by a practising physician in Napanee, Ont.:
Night sweats.—To prevent, put a pail of water under the bed.
Pleurisy.—Use a poultice of cow-dung.
Earache.—Put a drop of the patient's urine in the ear.
Christmas Eve.—At midnight all the beasts in the stable rise to their feet and look to the east for the Star of Bethlehem.
At the same hour the horses have human speech for a few minutes. The usual story is, or was, told about one "Pat," who hid in the stable to hear what the beasts thought of him, and heard them foretell his own death. The explanation is given, however, that it was a practical joke played by two men who had hidden in the manger.
These two beliefs my informant had many years ago from his mother.
It is lucky for the boys of a family to resemble their mother and the girls their father.
If a nursing woman conceives, her suckling will die. (Cf. Pliny, N.H. xxviii. 125, concipere nutrices exitiosum est. This appears to me not so much a piece of genuine folk-lore as an inheritance from the older medical ideas. It has some foundation in fact, as the food-value of the breast-milk would be lowered in such a case.)
Toronto and the neighbourhood.—About fifty years ago a horse-chestnut in each trouser-pocket was considered a good cure for rheumatism and lumbago; this was explained by its "electrical" properties.
Weather.—If the moon at the beginning of a quarter is high and to the north, the quarter will be cold; if low and to the south, it will not. (Cf. vol. xxiv. p. 220.)
