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I learned this saying in Hillsdale, Michigan where I spent
most of my summers as a young boy, "If the corn is knee-high by
the 4th of July it will be a good crop". This was believed to be
true by all the local farmers.
James Callow comment:
See Puckett, Ohio, no. 32659: "If the corn is knee-high
by the Fourth of July, it will be a good crop...."
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HILLSDALE
| Subject headings: | Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- July 4 Independence Day BELIEF -- Plant BELIEF -- Measure of space: distance, height, depth |
Date learned: 07-00-1980
Never sweep a visitors' foot with a broom. If this happens
have the person whose feet has been swept spit on the bottom of
the broom. If the person does not spit on the broom it will be
bad luck for that person.
Submitter comment:
It so happens that I was sweeping and accidently hit her
foot, she asked that I turn the broom upside down so that she
could spit on the bottom of it.
Where learned: WINSTON SALEM ; NORTH CAROLINA
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Bad luck BELIEF -- Conversions SPEECH -- Gesture |
Date learned: 00-00-1979
At the beginning of the teething process place an egg with
the child's name written on it in a sock or stocking. Place the
egg above the door of the child's room and this will cause the
child not to be fretful during teething.
James Callow comment:
Puckett, Ohio, no. 1400: "To prevent pain and diarrhea with
teething, take a fresh laid egg, write the child's name on it.
Then hide the egg till the teething is over (Mrs. S, F, 60,
h.wife, Negro, Cleveland, 1961); ... put the egg up over a door
(H.D., F, 26, R.N., Negro, Cleveland, 1958)."
For various uses of eggs in teething rituals, see Puckett,
Ohio, nos. 1398-1402.
Cf. Cannon, Utah, no. 716: "The teething egg: When children
are teething, put an egg in a jar. Seal it up and put it in a
closet somewhere. There are gases in the egg that leak out into
the air of the house. They
Where learned: DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Person / Nickname Favorites BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness |
Date learned: 00-00-1989
Cure for High Blood Pressure
Squeeze a lemon, place the pulp and seeds in a glass of
water. Let all the lemon settle to the bottom of the glass and
then begin the sip. Garlic may be substituted for the lemon.
Submitter comment:
During the time of her late husband's funeral she was given a
glass of water with lemon in it and it helped reduce her blood
pressure.
James Callow comment:
For the use of garlic to prevent or cure hypertension see
Puckett, Ohio, nos. 10158-10161.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Plant |
Date learned: 08-00-1990
For helping a baby with colic, take a teaspoon of baby
formula or milk and blow cigarette smoke on the teaspoon of milk
and give it to the baby.
James Callow comment:
Cf. Puckett, Ohio, no. 2476: "To cure a breast-fed baby with
the colic, put some breast milk on a spoon, blow smoke from a
pipe on it, and feed it to the baby (M.M., F, 36, pract. nurse,
Negro, Cleveland, 1960); ... blow tobacco smoke on a teaspoonful
of mother's milk, etc. (Mrs. M.R., F, 74, farmw., Negro, New
Vienna, 1956)."
For other applications of tobacco smoke in the cure of
colic, see Puckett, Ohio, nos. 2477-2480, and Wayland Hand, North
Carolina, nos. 293-294, 1175. A powder of home-cured tobacco,
when made into a pill, has also been recommended for colic; see
Hand, idem,
Where learned: DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Plant |
Date learned: 00-00-1951
To cure ringworm on children take some chewing tobacco and
mix with petroleum jelly and place this on the rash. It should
be approximately one week before any results are noticeable.
Submitter comment:
Informant states that she tried this on her daughter who
contacted ringworm from playing in the sand.
James Callow comment:
Puckett, Ohio recommends curing ringworm with "strong tobacco
leaves" (no. 11126), "saliva from a man smoking a cigar" (11127),
and "nicotine juice from a pipe" (11128), but with no admixture
of vaseline or any other ingredient.
Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; Laurel
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Mineral |
Date learned: 00-00-1951
Cure for worms in children
Take a sugar cube and place 9 drops of turpentine on the cube
and give it to the child.
James Callow comment:
Puckett, Ohio, no. 12743: "For worms, take a drop or two of
turpentine on some sugar (M.F., F, 70, store mgr., Welsh-Ir.-
Ger., Summit, 1956."
Vance Randolph, "Ozark Superstitions" (1947), p. 120:
"Physicians in the Ozark towns have remarked upon the practice of
giving turpentine as a worm medicine. Turpentine is still
administered by many yarb doctors and granny-women, large doses
being given to small children. The stuff may eliminate the
worms, but it seems to be bad for the children's kidneys. A lot
of little children in the Ozarks die of nephritis, and the M.D.'s
say that neph
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | 686 Ninths / Nine Favorites BELIEF -- Plant BELIEF -- Mineral |
Date learned: 00-00-1951
Superstition
Never let a man place his hat on a woman's bed. It's bad
luck to the woman.
James Callow comment:
"Putting your hat on the bed is an almost universal Negro
sign of bad luck" (N. N. Puckett, "Folk Beliefs of the Southern
Negro," p. 410). Puckett cites informants from Alabama and
Mississippi.
Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; Laurel
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Date learned: 00-00-1944
Remedy (Cold Sores)
Place wax from the ears on the cold sore. It is a fact that
the herpes virus cannot live in the ear.
Submitter comment:
The informant was in the military when he learned about this
simple cure for herpes simplex.
Where learned: Vietnam
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Body part Senses Ears, noise in ear BELIEF -- Animal |
Date learned: 00-00-1966
Superstition
When wanting a man to fall in love, place sugar in a glass of
water and stir toward you (the stirrer) saying the person's name
three times.
Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; Laurel
| Subject headings: | Charm / Enchantment / Conjuration 686 Thirds / Thrice / Three / Triple Favorites Food Drink -- Flavoring BELIEF -- Marriage |
Placing baking soda in a watermelon will cause stomach cramps
and diarrhea.
Submitter comment:
This informant's neighbor had a watermelon patch. Other
people were stealing watermelons from him. He cut a small hole
on the underside of the watermelon while it was still on the vine
laying on the ground, poured in baking soda, so those stealing
the watermelon would "pay" for stealing from his patch.
James Callow comment:
Cf. Puckett, Ohio, no. 27498: "Watermelon and soda bicarb
taken together will kill you."
Where learned: Camben ; Arkansas
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Outlaw Criminal Bandit Pirate BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness |
Date learned: 00-00-1944
Do not eat fish and watermelon together, do not drink corn
liquor and eat bananas, do not eat fish and milk together.
James Callow comment:
"If you eat bananas after drinking beer or whiskey, it will
kill you (... student, Negro, Cleveland, 1959)"; "if you eat
bananas after drinking whiskey, you will die in agony" (...
barber, Negro, Cleveland, 1956)" -- Puckett, Ohio, nos. 27489,
27490.
Where learned: Camben ; Arkansas
James Callow Keyword(s): Incompatible foods
| Subject headings: | Favorites Food Drink -- Kind of Food and Its Preparation BELIEF -- Fish BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness |
Date learned: 00-00-1945
Calendar Rhyme
Thirty days are in September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
But February, it is done
At twenty-eight, though leap one more
Whenever the year divides by four.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): MONTHS
| Subject headings: | Favorites Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Verse without Music CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Measure of time CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Measure of time Month |
Unknown
On New Year's Eve take a empty jar and put all your coins
(money) in it. Take the jar and turn it upside down on the back
porch and leave it there over night. On New Year's Day take the
jar and hide it somewhere in the house. If you do this you will
always have money during the year.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- January 1 New Year's CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- December 31 New Year's Eve BELIEF -- Measure of time Year |
Miss Lucy
Miss Lucy had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell,
Miss Lucy went to heaven, the steamboat went to hel-
Lo operator, give me number nine
If you disconnect me,
I'll kick up your behin-
The refrigerator there's a piece of glass,
Susie fell upon it and broke her little as-
Me no more questions, tell me no more lies.
Boys are in the bathroom, zipping down flies
Are in the country, bees are in the park,
Boys and girls are kissing in the dark, dark, dark!
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Favorites Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Lyrical Verse Lyrical Verse Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Game Verse Game Verse |
Date learned: 00-00-1970
Entertainment
In Silver City (Mississippi) near Highway 49W some boys would
stand near the side of the road and call off the make of cars
before the car passed.
| Subject headings: | Favorites Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Knowledge CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank |
Date learned: 02-13-1992
Medicine
This homemade medicine was used for external use only. When
people had a fever someone would boil vinegar and add corn-shucks
and brown paper bags. Then wrap the bags and corn-shucks around
the person's entire body.
Where learned: HOME ; MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Plant BELIEF -- Method of Curing |
Date learned: 02-07-1992
If you have asthma, measure your height to a tree and mark
it. As the tree grows you will grow out of the asthma.
James Callow comment:
Puckett, Ohio, no. 2325: "If a child has asthma, take him
into the woods and find a young tree. Measure the child up to
the tree and mark his height by putting a nail into the tree. As
the tree grows the child will outgrow his asthma."
Where learned: HOME ; MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
James Callow Keyword(s): MEASURING
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Plant BELIEF -- Measure of space: distance, height, depth BELIEF -- Plant |
Date learned: 02-07-1992
If you paint the bedroom walls blue, you will sleep your
best.
Where learned: HOME ; MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Measure of time Sleeping BELIEF -- Color |
Date learned: 02-07-1992
There were three men on a boat, two white and one black.
While fishing in the ocean a storm came up and almost tipped the
boat over. One of the white men spoke to the other, "We need to
pray." The other white man said, "I don't know how to pray, but
we can get John, the black man, to pray for us." John began to
pray to the Lord, "Oh Lord, you know when I was in Mississippi
waiting for my sister to come in on the bus I wanted some water
and the sign said, Only whites. I went to the train station and
wanted some water and the sign said, Only whites. So if this boat
tips over and someone has to die, let it be Only whites."
Where learned: HOME ; MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
James Callow Keyword(s): Racial segregation
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote |
Date learned: 02-07-1992