The Club Moss
THE CLUB-MOSS.
(LYCOPODIUM INUNDATUM.)
IF this moss is properly gathered, it is "good against all diseases of the eyes."
The gathering is regarded as a mystery not to be lightly told; and if any man ventures to write the secret, the virtues of the moss avail him no more. I hope, therefore, my readers will fully value the sacrifice I make in giving them the formula by which they may be guided.
On the third day of the moon --m when the thin crescent is seen for the first time--show it the knife with which the moss is to be cut, and repeat,--
"As Christ heal'd the issue of blood,
Do thou cut, what thou cuttest, for good !"
At sun-down, having carefully washed the hands, the club-moss is to be cut kneeling. It is to be carefully wrapped in a white cloth, and subsequently boiled in some water taken from the spring nearest to its place of growth. This may be used as a fomentation. Or the club-moss may be made into an ointment, with butter made from the milk of a new cow.