y it is curative. In Pomerania it is eaten on
Easter morning against fevers; in Westphalia (mixed with saffron)
against jaundice; while in Silesia an apple is scraped from top to
stalk to cure diarrhea, and upward to cure costiveness.' According to
an old English fancy, if any one who is suffering from a wound in the
head should eat strawberries it will lead to fatal results. In the
South of England the folk say that the devil puts his cloven foot upon
the blackberries on Michaelmas Day, and hence none should be gathered
or eaten after that day. On the other hand, in Scotland the peasants
say that the devil throws his cloak over the blackberries and makes
them unwholesome after that day, while in Ireland he is said to stamp
on the berries. Even that humble plant, the cabbage, has been invested
with some mystery. It was said that the fairies were fond of its
leaves, and rode to their midnight dances on cabbage-stalks. The German
women used to say that 'Babies come out of the cabbage-heads.' The
Irish peasant ties a cabbage-leaf around the neck for sore throat.
According to Gerarde, the Spartans ate watercress with their bread,
firmly believing that it increased their wit and wisdom. The old
proverb is, 'Eat cress to learn more wit.'

"There is another phase to food-superstitions, and that is the theory
that the qualities of the eaten pass into the eater. Mr. Tylor refers
to the habit of the Dyak young men in abstaining from deer-meat lest it
should make them timid, while the warriors of some South American
tribes eat the meat of tigers, stags, and boars for courage and speed.
He mentions the story of an English gentleman at Shanghai who at the
time of the Taeping attack met his Chinese servant carrying home the
heart of a rebel, which he intended to eat to make him brave. There is
a certain amount of truth in the theory that the quality of food does
affect the mind and body. Buckle in his 'History of Civilization' took
this view, and tried to prove that the character of a people depends on
their diet."

Idiosyncrasies to Drugs.--In the absorption and the assimilation of
drugs idiosyncrasies are often noted; in fact, they are so common that
we can almost say that no one drug acts in the same degree or manner on
different individuals. In some instances the untoward action assumes
such a serious aspect as to render extreme caution necessary in the
administration of the most inert substances. A medicine ordinarily so
bland