70 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
used as an ointment to prevent the bites of fleas. In the Middle
Ages the heart of the Bee-Eater was used for heart and stomach
troubles and its gall mixed with honey and rue served as a
cure for eye trouble. In the ancient pharmacopoeia the Cuckoo
was much used. It caused sleep if applied to the flesh in a
hareskin, while the ashes relieved pain and moisture of the
stomach, the epileptic and those that had agues, being given
in the fit. It is supposed in Northern Ireland that the fat of
a Heron killed when the moon is full is an excellent remedy for
rheumatism. I close this series of references with one on the
Mallard. It is attributed to Pliny and runs thus: "The blood
of Ducks and Mallards bred in the realm of Pontus is passing
good for any such indirect means wrought by poison or witch-
craft; and therefore their blood is ordinarily kept dry in a thick
mass, and as need requireth is dissolved and given in wine;
but some think that the blood of the female Duck is better
than that of the Mallard or Drake."
The folk lore, which falls under the head of talisman, is no
less grotesque or irreconcilable with reason than the other
aspects of the subject. The motif of most of the stories is a
stone possessing magic powers. In some parts of Germany it is
believed that the Raven has the power of procuring such a stone.
To obtain a Raven stone the seeker was advised that when he had
found the nest he must climb the tree and take the chance of
the parents being at least a hundred years old, otherwise he would
have climbed in vain. Then he must kill one of the nestlings,
which must be a male and not more than six weeks old. Then
he may descend the tree, being careful to note well the spot
where it stands, for the tree will become invisible immediately
the Raven returns and lays a Raven stone in the throat of the
dead nestling. This having happened the seeker may again
ascend and secure the stone. Another way of securing the
talismanic stone was to take an egg from a Raven's nest, boil
it hard and put it back. Then the old bird would bring from
the sea to her nest the coveted stone. A similar fable is referred
to the Carrion Crow. In this case the instructions are to boil
on the first of April eggs from a Crow's nest until they are hard,
and when cold return them to the nest as they had been. When
the owner of the nest knows what has happened she flies a long