Folk-Lore
able hour of the night, the seeing of an owl or a corncrake, a rainbow having both its ends inside a “toon dyke,” were all looked upon as evil omens.
Hearing certain sounds in old wood, called a shaek, foreboded important events. These sounds are doubtless produced by tiny insects in the wood, but our superstitious forefathers heard them as the voice of Fate. A sound like the ticking of a watch was called a “marriage shaek,” a vibrating sound a “fitting shaek,” and a dropping sound a “dead shaek.”
The following names were applied to diseases of animals:—
Turkasöt—The skin adhering firmly to the back.
Lungasöt—Form of bronchitis.
Whirkabis or Bulga—Dropsical swelling in the throat.
Sturdie—Water on the brain.
Yogar or Spaegie—Rheumatic affections of the joints.
Sköl—A mouth disease in horses.
Gaaners—A mouth disease in cows.
Feerie—An epidemic disease among dogs.
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