9/12 There is a belief in Thuringia that the possession of fern seed causes the bearer to be pursued by serpents till thrown away; and, according to a curious Eussian proverb, "from all old trees proceeds either an owl or a devil," in reference, no doubt, to their often bare and sterile appearance. See Tylor's "Primitive Culture," ii. Thorpe's "Northern Mythology," iii. |