_Cures for the Hooping Cough (Rubus fruticosus)._--The following is said to
prevail in the counties of Warwick, Worcester, and Stafford, as a remedy
for this harrowing disorder in children: that if a child is put to walk
beneath a common bramble (_Rubus fruticosus_), having rooted in the ground
at both extremities (which may be very commonly met with where they grow
luxuriantly), a certain number of times, a perfect cure would be the
result.
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_Gryphea incurva._--In the course of conversation with an old man in the
county of Warwick, relative to ancient customs, he related to me as a fact
within his own knowledge, that the pretty round stone shell, as he termed
it (picking one up at the same time), a specimen of the _Gryphea incurva_,
or Devil's Thumb, as it is frequently called, which is found in
considerable quantities in the gravel beds of that county, when prepared in
a certain manner--calcined, I believe--is a certain specific for this
complaint in its most obstinate form. Indeed, he related to me some very
extraordinary cures which he had himself witnessed.
_Donkey._--A certain number of hairs taken from the black cross on the
shoulders of a donkey, and put into a small bag made of black silk, and
worn round a child's neck afflicted with the complaint, is a never-failing
remedy.