abstracted all the poison of the toad.
Two days after, the other doctor was given the onions to eat. He ate
them, and died. It was generally believed that a poultice of peeled
onions laid on the stomach, or underneath the armpits, would cure any
one who had taken poison. My mother would never use onions which had
lain for any length of time with their skins off.

So lately as 1849, Mr. J.B. Wolff, in the _Scientific American_, states
that he had charge of one hundred men on shipboard, cholera raging among
them; they had onions on board, which a number of the men freely ate,
and these were soon attacked by the cholera and nearly all died. As soon
as this discovery was made, the eating of the onions was forbidden. Mr.
Wolff came to the conclusion that onions should never be eaten during an
epidemic; he remarks, "After many years experience, I have found that
onions placed in a room where there is small-pox, will blister and
decompose with great rapidity,--not only so, but will prevent the spread
of disease;" and he thinks that, as a disinfectant, they have no equal,
only keep them out of the stomach.

It was believed that, when peeling onions, if an onion were stuck on the
point of the knife which was being used, it would prevent the eyes being
affected.

The common _Fern_, it was believed, was in flower at midnight on St.
John's Eve, and whoever got possession of the flower would be protected
from all evil influences, and would obtain a revelation of hidden
treasure.

_St.-John's-Wort_. In heathen mythology the summer solstice was a day
dedicated to the sun, and was believed to be a day on which witches held
their festivities. St.-John's-Wort was their symbolical plant, and
people were wont to judge from it whether their future would be lucky or
unlucky; as it grew they read in its progressive character their future
lot. The Christians dedicated this festive period to St. John the
Baptist, and the sacred plant was named St.-John's-Wort or root, and
became a talisman against evil. In one of the old romantic ballads a
young lady falls in love with a demon, who tells her

"Gin you wish to be Leman mine,
Lay aside the St.-John's-wort and the vervain."

When hung up on St. John's day together with a cross over the doors of
houses it kept out the devil and other evil spirits. To gather the root
on St. John's day morning at sunrise, and retain it in the house, gave
luck to the family in their undertakings, especia