ts, perhaps on account
of its traditionary association with the apostle. The Neapolitan witches
held their tryst under a walnut tree near Benevento,[7] and at Bologna
the peasantry tell how these evil workers hold a midnight meeting
beneath the walnut trees on St. John's Eve. The elder tree is another
haunt under whose branches witches are fond of lurking, and on this
account caution must be taken not to tamper with it after dark.[8]
Again, in the Netherlands, experienced shepherds are careful not to let
their flocks feed after sunset, for there are wicked elves that prepare
poison in certain plants--nightwort being one of these. Nor does any man
dare to sleep in a meadow or pasture after sunset, for, as the shepherds
say, he would have everything to fear. A Tyrolese legend[9] relates how
a boy who had climbed a tree, "overlooked the ghastly doings of certain
witches beneath its boughs. They tore in pieces the corpse of a woman,
and threw the portions in the air. The boy caught one, and kept it by
him; but the witches, on counting the pieces, found that one was
missing, and so replaced it by a scrap of alderwood, when instantly the
dead came to life again."

Similarly, also, they had their favourite flowers, one having been the
foxglove, nicknamed "witches' bells," from their decorating their
fingers with its blossoms; while in some localities the hare-bell is
designated the "witches' thimble." On the other hand, flowers of a
yellow or greenish hue were distasteful to them.[10]

In the witchcraft movement it would seem that certain plants were in
requisition for particular purposes, these workers of darkness having
utilised the properties of herbs to special ends. A plant was not
indiscriminately selected, but on account of possessing some virtue as
to render it suitable for any design that the witches might have in
view. Considering, too, how multitudinous and varied were their actions,
they had constant need of applying to the vegetable world for materials
with which to carry out their plans. But foremost amongst their
requirements was the power of locomotion wherewith to enable them with
supernatural rapidity to travel from one locality to another.
Accordingly, one of their most favourite vehicles was a besom or broom,
an implement which, it has been suggested, from its being a type of the
winds, is an appropriate utensil "in the hands of the witches, who are
windmakers and workers in that element.[11]" According to