Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-09-16

of salt and then throws the bundle into
the red hot fire. while the good folk
of l.eicpstershire always provide the
child who is leaving the parental roof
for the first time with salt. In Scot
land. where there Is new house or a
new tenant about 10 enter a dwelling
for the first time he alwavs SprinklCs
the premises literally with salt for
good luck There Is also an old New
Years custom to be the first to enter a
friends house carrying bread and salt.
in lieu of present which the first per-
son is supposed to offer.
In the north and east of Scotland
there is a belief that should the house.
wife chance to be cooking milk and
permit it to boil over on the stove and
into the fire. unless she Immediately
throws pinch of salt into the fire af-
ter the milk, the quantity and quality
of the milk given by the COW whose
milk is burned will Immediately di-
minish. Quite common was the GUS
tom Of placing saucer of salt upon
the breast of the corpse after it was
lad out this was due to the belief that
the salt was the emblem of uncorrup-
ton and Immortality and that Satan
and his evil forces who generally hated
salt would not be- able to enter the room
wherein the corpse lay.
The well known superstition that 1t
is bad luck TO spill salt was probably
due to the belief of the Romans, who
considered il bad omen II salt fell
on the head OF any person. Many
folks today believe that TO throw few
grains Of salt over the loft shoulder
will ward off the i'll luck brought on by
spil.ing the salt.
The German housewife teaches the
child who upsetS the salt it will cry
as many tears as there were grains OF
salt spilled. Salt that has been spilled
indicates a Shipwrcck to the Dutch. The
expression of sitting above or below the
salt is familiar one in the families OF
Continental Europe; there was a time
honorcd custom of placing massive
plntp holding Salt-it was called the
salt vat or fort-in the middle of the
table. This denoted the rank of those
who sat around the board. Those who
sat above the salt were of the aristoc- =
racy while the folk below it were OF
humble origin.
From earliest history we learn that
both man and beast eagerly sought salt
and in those days gone by, when reve-
nue. was urgent. nations placed tax
l0On lllP Sill, NluN' 'N'l N'A l VI ''t'' -
flee would be- made to obtain the usual
quota. Among the western nations
salt has from time immemOrial been re-
gardcd as n vital necessity to be used
with various foods.
The desire for salt seems TO be an
instinct Unborn in both man and animal
and the craving for it is natural wher
il does not exist in sufficient quantities
Of food.
Wild animals will travel long dis
tanccS to the saline earths or salt lick'
and brave many dangers to enjoy thi'
natural salty deposit. In countries
where salt aS a commodity is scarce
nlon will barter gold for it. 1t has beer
known that husbands will sell wives
and children for this saline Condiment
while on the great gold fields of Afr ica
af,or gold. salt is the most precious
thing to own. \ handful will purchase
slave or two, depending upon th'
supply in the community.
The personal liking of some folk fol
moro salt than is usually considered
sufficient will indicate that salt is ar
1 important constituent of the bIooC
stream and that it exists in every bit o
fluid and solid tissue iu the body. TIL,
blood will take up only the amount re-
mlirpd that j. necessary for its needs
! regardless Of the amount eaten in th'
| food