The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-01-25
OLD DUTCH" NOTIONS.

esting reading as survivals of a more
primitive era, but probably most Phil
adelphians who read them were amus-
ed for the time and had never heard
of the great body of superstitions
which they represented. Yet, as was
partially pointed out in a paragraph
last summer, the Pennsylvania Dutch
man of yesterday was a thorough be-
lever in a well-formulated code or
these signs and omens. He did moth
ing by halves, an once established,
by however actually trivial coinci-
dence, his faith was slow to yield.
Thus on Sunday was cited from Ian
caster the case of "Baer's Almanak. !"
This publication undertakes to pre-
dict for the entire coming year the
sort of weather which will prevail for
every day. Early in the last century,
before it had gained its present popu-
larity, the mistake of a typographer,
assisted by the carelessness of proof
reader, permitted the almanac to be
distributed with the prophecy of snow
for a certain day in mid summer.
When the day came along there hap
pened to be severe hailstorm which
swept Lancaster county. Some of the
hail was in such small fragments and
so little coagulated as to bear a GER
tain resemblance to snow, and from
that time forward the majority of the
farmers in that district could not be
persuaded against the infallibility of
"Baer's Almanak."
In the early days, however, the
Pennsylvania German depended al
most entirely upon agricultural signs
for determining the sort of weather
that was to affect his crops. Promi-
nent among these was the ancient
ground hog superstition, which was
then nearly everywhere-and is still
in some portions of the State-regard-
ed as very serious matter. 1t is
now almost too widely known to re-
quire repetition. If the ground hog
energies on the I'd of February and
the day is clear, so that he may see
his shadow, he will go back to his
winter quarters, for a sunny I'd of
February is certain indication of six
more weeks of cold weather. Nearly
as important was the indication given
by the corn last summer. If the ears
burst, the winter would be mild, but
if they were plump, the season would
be severe one. Again, if guinea
hens cried when snow was on the
ground, or if turkeys went to the
fields under similar conditions, there
would be thaw.
These and many more superstitions
of this class have been noted by Oscar
Kuhns in his book on "The German
and Swiss Settlements of Colonial
Pennsylvania" According to this
authority the signs of the heavens
were always noted and recorded at
the birth of a child, an old German
custom, and we are told somewhere
that the hermits of our own Wissa-
hickon gained part of their living
by casting horoscopes. "In the old
German almanacs, says Mr.. Kuhns,
certain days were marked as lucky
or unlucky; any one born on an un-
lucky day was doomed to poverty !;
engagements or marriages contracted
then were sure to be failures, and the
wise man would begin then no legal
or other kind of business. The Gus
tom of blood-letting, so prevalent
throughout Europe in medieval
times, was strong in its hold over
these people century ago. None
was permitted on Ascension Day, but
we read in the journal of Christopher
Marshall, under date of 18th May,
1880, at Lancaster "This was re-
markable day for the German men
and women, bleeding at DR.. Christly
Nef's. So many came that 1 pre-
sumo he must work hard to bleed the
whole. Strange infatuation." Ce-
reals planted during the waxing of
the moon grew faster than those plant
ed during the waning, and if given
to the ground while the moon was in
the sign of the Twins would be most
fruitful. Onions must be planted
when the moons horns were down,
potatoes when they were up. To pre-
vent rot apples must be plucked in
the dark of the moon; hogs, lest they
sicken, slaughtered in its waxing. In
fact, the various phases of the satel-
lite, according to superstition, as old
as the "Fatherland," governed even
the thatching of house and the
building of fence.
Omens were also frequent among
the Pennsylvania Dutch. There is
one of these families, the sons of
which are now in this city, in which
old letters and ancient tradition at
tach to the appearance of a white
bird as deadly a significance as did
the adventurer in "Amyas Leigh" F."
Common among the dutch" were
the beliefs that bird entering the
room, a dream of black apparel, the
breaking of looking glass or even
the vision of extracted teeth all fore
told death. Ore and water were
sought for in all the familiar occult
ways. Witches were, it it true, be-
lieved to be passing away from the
earth even while the learned New
Englanders were burning them at the
stake, yet human beings, cattle and
farm products were subject to evil in
fuences, to prohibit the entrance of
which it was necessary to nail horse
shoe or broomstick over the door.
An amulet would make the wearer
"rugelfest, or bullet proof, and all
sorts of incantations and occult herb
remedies supplied the place of the
often too-distant regular physician.
The Bible opened at random was a
certain guide and still governs the
councils of one Pennsylvania religious
sect in the choosing of its bishops.
In a word, the modern romantic"
C.. = II