The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-15
CHARMS THAT FISH
 ARE SAID ID HAVE
Stones Said to Cure Disease or
 Give Luck
STRANGE SUPERSTITlONS
Some of Them Have Been Prevailino Since Early Times-Snakes, Toads and Cats Also Reputed
 To Yield Charms. :t
From the New Ynrl snn

From the New York Sun.
 From very early times a belfef.in tbe
 efficacy for good or evil of stones
 found, or thought to be found in the
 head or stomach of certain animals
 mas been prevalent. As early as the
 second century after Christ Ptolemy Hephaestion. the astrologer. described
 gem (asterites) found in the belly
 of large fish, named pan, from the
 resemblance to that god.
 This gen. if exposed to the sun. shot forth flames, and was a powerful phfltre. Helen used it for her own signet, engraved with d figure of the pan fish, and owed to it all her con | quests
 In the Middle Ages, the supersti- tlous believed that the pike, after it mad attained considerable age, had l Tn It's brain stone like crystal. and some of the old doctors recommended the use of this stone in various ways l for the cure of diseases.
 The head of the perch contains a flat white stone. according to many, known as the lucky stone. This stone is charm to bring good luck if carried on the person. It Is lucky to find one, but doubly lucky to find one you have lost yourself.
 III htIUldny the OIu doctors used to prescribe the two round bones which they said were in the perch's head as
 remedy for stone. They also recom- mended that the flesh be freely eaten by wounded men, women in childbed and for dangerous levers.
 An Emblem of Good Fortune. In Japan this fish, which Is there
 called "tai,' is not only prized as the most delicate of Japanese fish, but also
 held to be an emblem of good fortune It Is a ceremonial gift at weddings on
 this account, and is served up as the
 principal dish on every farewell meal The ear bones, or otolfths, of the
 lake drum are large. and have a tex
 ture like ivory. There are two in each fish. These are often carried as amulets by the negroes of the south
 and are also highly prized by the boys
 of the middle west, who call them
 lucky stones, perh aps in allusion to the fact that they are marked by figure which resembles the letter l.. The otoliths in the sea drum are larger than those found in the fresh water species, and were formerly deemed very efficacious against colic
 provided they had been received as
 gifts, as purchased ones were believed to lose their virtue. They were mount ed in gold and worn suspended around the neck.
 The collie stones. of a species of fish called the maigre, are regarded by | many to possess medical virtues if worn around the neck.
 The fact that crayfish and Holsters | have two calcareous white stones on
 either side of the stomach was noted I by early observers. These were com 1 monly known as crabs eyes.
 Stones From Crayfish. It was one time the custom of the | inhabitants of Aslatic Turkey and 1 ukrania to collect crayfish at the time l of the year in which they were in the
 best condition and place them in large 1 pits in the ground. Here they were | brok en up and allowed to remain all | winter. In the spring the owners l would return. wash out the remnants of the crayfish in water and sift out 1 the stones with sieve which they used l for this purpose.
 | The stones sold for about 15 cents 1 a pound and all the apothecary shops l throughout the Russian empire were ] furnished with them, while great quan- l titles were exported They were sup | posed to have power of dissolving l quality against the stone in the human 1 kidneys and bladder In various parts
 of this country these stones are known 1 as eye stones and are used for the re-
 moval of foreign body that has 1 lodged in the eye.
 l Our forefathers thought that when l the crab grew old two stones of a white color mixed with red were found | in it's head, and these were said to | be of such virtue that given in drink 1 they yshealed punctures of the heart. | They also believed that if a water snake "be tied by the tail with a cord