The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1888-12-28
Fancies Concerning the Fingers
Transparent Shields.
tyh-re S.ii-fartnEs Az. believed ta Keep
on Esii spiFits-IeEslsds af IN. Dew
n's ship-Jesi-h, Norwegian
and Preach nelirfs.

chi.a Wa grow slowly IL another that n
win not learn 10 talk soon. IA another. that
u viii be- a thief In another, that cutting
then before the child is seven years old will
destroy It's wit, while the limit In stiil an.
other part Of the samo country II but one
year In Germany and IN parts Of England
Il Is said that the child will bocomc a thief
II Us nails arc cut while at the breast, ANA
II Is prescribed both IN these countries and
Ia France that they should be- bittcn Oh,
preferably by the mother
The Jewish Talmud forbids the Jews TO
leave nail.parngs on the ground They
should be burned or hidden away Another
old work says. lie who burns the parings
OF the nails Is pious man, be who burics
them Is equally SO, but he who casts them
upon the earth Is an impious man" Many
Jews still carefully burn or bury these cut
tings. These are taken, iuclosCd between
two bite Of wood, and consumed. The rca-
son alleged Is that tho body should be
burned oF buried, and that uail-parugs be-
ing left above ground, tho soul OF the pos
SCISSOR win wander abroad after his death
In Norway they are burned, or else one win
have TO gather the pieces on the last day.
The ancient Edda OF the Scaudinayians
tells Of a great ship Nagliar. which will ap.
pear at the last day. II is made 0f dead
mems nails, and pariugs should not BE-
thrown away, nor should any one die with
impaired nails, "for he who dies 80 supplies
material toward the building Of that vessel,
which gods aud men will wish wcrc finished
Ms late Us possible II is still point Of be-
lief IN Iceland that the nails must be cut In
three pieces, or the devil will mike r. ship
OF them. A legend reports that his Satanic
majesty In order to injurc man, obtained
permission TO use the cuttings from the
pals, whom they were left whole.
There are many curious beliefs In regard
10 the manner in which the ngiis should be
cut. He who has the bad habit Of pairing
them frequently will hate no good luck, say
| Andalusian wiseacres, aud he who cuts nsm
over fire, allowing tho pariugs TO drop iato
I It, will become fool. In Iceland 1t Is be
lieved that any one turning toward the north
while trimming his nails will die soon. Nor
wcgian peasants say you must Use the knife
with which you trim your nails to cut some.
thing else before putting it away II you
cut with 1t three times into wood, you are
| free from any danger of sorccry. Arabs
properly regard ii Us bad taste to bite the
nails.
In Moray 1t was formerly practice 10
cut the nails of hands aud feet OF a sufferer
| from consumption, and to put them m a
piece cut from his garments. This was then
turned thrice about the head saying: IDEAS
sol" and buried in secret spot, II is cur
renty believed in Oldenburg that, II you
mix nail-parlngs with eggs, and feed them
TO chickens or wild fowl, they will carry
away any disease possessed by the person
/ from whom the nails were cut. In France
/ II was once believed that pairing the nails
shortened the sight.
/ In Norway, 1t is said that sorccrers or
elves make Of the cuttings of nails that are
carclessly thrown aside, balls with which
they shoot the cattle. The peasants say
| they frequently find such balls made Of HAIR
and nail-parings inthe stomachs Of the cows,
and the wound made by the shot, still scnsi-
| tive, is frequently found. The animal may
be cured by passing an awl over this wound
from west TO east three times. Others say
that bats carry cuttings from nails to Satan
who thus obtalns power over man.
A curious Jewish tradition, reports that
Adam was entirely clothed in hard horny
skin, and only lost it, and became subject to
evil spirits on losing paradise. The nails
are the remnants of this dress, but they
are not sacred and whoever cuts them of,
and throws the cuttings away, docs himself
an injury. An old Persian chronicle says
that Eve also possessed this dress, and the
nails were left to remind them OF the loss Of
paradise.
\ Scotch remedy Of the seventeenth con-
tury for cOavulsions, was to take the nail
parings. hair from the eyebrows, and from
the top OF the head of the person affected,
put them in piece Of linen with cent aud
put where some one would get them The
finder would take the disease. For epilepsy
bury the cuttings from feet and hands,
miscd with hair cuttings aud cindcrs from
the four corners Of the hearth, on the spot
where the patient was attacked.
a tale Is told Of Morocco sorccrcr who
attempted to cure European lady Of some
illness. He asserted that an evil spirit
caused the disease, and gave her a talsmnn
TO carry for seven days, during which she
was TO live upon millct mixed in honey, and
plain soup made of Il young black cock. The
seventh day she must eat her nails, and by
so doing would cut of the evil spirit.
Charms and amuets are sometimes made
Of nail-cuttngs. In the Punjaub. they are
mixed with hair from the musiachc OF u
leopard or tiger, with human bones, and IL
certain kind of root. The whole il reduced
TO n powder. put in a copper or silver box,
and suspended about the ncclss Of newborn
children to preserve them from evil spirits.
In Sicily, to avoid trouble, a piece OF money
must be put into child's hands the fret
time its nails are trimmed. Andalusian
mothers carefully cut them behind the door
II they wish the child 10 become a good
singer, while Northumberland pcGsants
bury the first cuttings under an ash tree TOR