The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-05-03
MANY FLOWER sUpERsTITIoNS.
Yarrow on Young Mans Grave Guides
Girl to Her True Love.

Oui " ncI Aiuc LVNc.
Superstitions with respect to flowers
are world wide. The bride carries a
bouquet of white roses, all unconscious
of the fact that somewhere on the
earth are people possessed of the no.
ton that to smell white roses is bad
for the brain" Nor recks she, as she
secs the same bouquet torn apart by
her girl friends in the grand scramble
for it, that to pull flower to pieces
--as is inevitable under the oireum-
stances sure sign that you will
die of consumption.
Had she worn no veil it would have
been bad luck. TO show any flowers at
all in her hair. Tuberoses the bride
must not wear, as they portend mourn
ing; in Scotland bluebells are barred,
as bringing on insanity. Again, happy
is the bride who sees white flowers first
on her wedding morn; if they be red,
look ont for sorrow and care.
A lucky marriage may, however, be
guaranteed by putting some flowers on
the beehives and telling the bees"
Certain of the most curious super
stitions as to flowers have to do with
the seemingly innocent matter of
bringing them into the house. If one
keeps scarlet geranum in the house
all the year round some one will surely
die in that hou -ehold, they say. Eyi-
IDENTIFY this fear is not current in some
of the seacoast towns, because there it
is common custom to maintain scar
let geranums indoors all summer, as
the winds are not conducive TO bedding
out OF doors. Nor would the Mohe1n
medan theory that the scarlet gerani-
UNI is really swallow converted into
flower by touching Mahomet's robe
be accepted. In Scotland bringing
Towering hawthorn into the house fore
tells death in the family. In north
ern Germany it is the corn flower,
which used to be the kaiser's own
bloom, that is barred from the house
lest the bread mold.
In England Devonshire folk hold that
II means death 10 bring into the house
a single daffodil, when this flower first
appears in the spring. There must be
a bunch of them, and the cowslip is
similarly hedged in by superstition, A
hydrangea in the house ''brings trou-
ble," and snowdrops are 'unlucky,"
while wild flowers generally prevent
the first brood of chickens from hatch
ing.
Beware of being "overfond" OF flow
ers; You viii never marry. Beware also
of picking the red field lilly; il will give
YOU freckles. Thistles, although highly
decorative, must not be gathered, since
the act fore,ells folly, approaching dis
pute." In general, however. it is good
luck to gather flowers To pick roses
is happy omen. and as for violets,
complete success in all undertakings
fellows. Yarrow is flower that viii
enable a girl to ser her true love, but
she must pluck it from the grave of a
Young man. II she finds saffron in
stead on the grave, that is good omen
for some one; If there are three yellow
lilies. the man has been unjstly exc
euted In England there is a super
stition that ii bride and groom est
periwinkle leaves together they will
love each other. Should he, after mar
rage, prove recalcitrant, here is way
TO win him back Take a piece Of the
root of wallfower and a cartridges
heart, roll them into ball and make
he man eat il. II You want to learn
your lover loves you. crush
some bleeding heart. Ii the juice be
red, he does; if it be white, he does
not.
Witches. Of course, must be excluded
from the house. The Chinese bring
this about OR think they do which
amounts TO the same thing sus
pending punches Of herbs and magic
plants over the door. In England haw
horn used to be hung over the en-
trance to house in Nav to ward off
witches On May day the witches as
well rs the fairies are in the gorze. so
choose some other time for burning il.
II You don't believe there are any
VI ches. there are Dutch folk who will
tell YOU to carry a four-leaf clover on
Christmas eve and let your own eyes
you.
1t il good luck to eat the first May
flower YOU see in the spring. If it Is
a erocus. let it alone; in Austria they
saw il draws away ones strength Nor
must you dig up a cuckoo flower and
tempt luck by moving a wild daisy into
the garden. In Egypt the anemone is
one Of the lucky flowers Of spring:
wrap the first one in red cloth, and, if
not disturbed. II will cure disease. On
the French coast Il i useless to try 70
catch fish unless the waters are first
strewn with flowers by the ishermen's
wives and daughters. In Devonshire
thew regard il a unlucky TO plant
bed of lilies in the course Of 10 months.
The Turk sees misfortune in 81 slight
a thing as the fall of a rose petal. and
will sometimes guard agains. such
dropping by carefully picking the flow
ers before they fall apart. In Samoa
the head OF corpse Is Wresthed IN
flowers TO aid the soul TO gain admis