In Russia, on St. John’s Eve, they seek the flower of the _Paporot_ (_Aspidium Filix mas_), which flowers only at the precise moment of midnight, and will enable the lucky gatherer, who has watched it flower, to realise all his desires, to discover hidden treasures, and to recover cattle stolen or strayed. In the Ukraine it is thought that the gatherer of the Fern-flower will be endowed with supreme wisdom. The Russian peasants also gather, on the night of the Vigil of St. John, the _Tirlic_, or _Gentiana Amarella_, a plant much sought after by witches, and only to be gathered by those who have been fortunate enough first to have found the _Plakun_ (_Lythrum Salicaria_), which must be gathered on the morning of St. John, without using a knife or other instrument in uprooting it. This herb the Russians hold to be very potent against witches, bad spirits, and the evil eye. A cross cut from the root of the _Plakun_, and worn on the person, causes the wearer to be feared as much as fire. Another herb which should be gathered on St. John’s Eve is the _Hieracium Pilosella_, called in Germany _Johannisblut_ (blood of St. John): it brings good-luck, but must be uprooted with a gold coin. In many countries, before the break of day on St. John’s morning, the dew which has fallen on vegetation is gathered with great care. This dew is justly renowned, for it purifies all the noxious plants and imparts to certain others a fabulous power. By some it is treasured because it is believed to preserve the eyes from all harm during the succeeding year. In Venetia the dew is reputed to renew the roots of the hair on the baldest of heads. It is collected in a small phial, and a herb called _Basilica_ is placed in it. In Normandy and the Pyrenees it is used as a wash to purify the skin; in Brittany it is thought that, thus used, it will drive away fever; and in Italy, Roumania, Sweden, and Iceland it is believed to soften and beautify the complexion. In Egypt the _nucta_ or miraculous drop falls before sunrise on St. John’s Day, and is supposed to have the effect of stopping the plague. In Sicily they gather the _Hypericum perforatum_, or Herb of St. John, and put it in oil, which is by this means transformed into a balm infallible for the cure of wounds. In Spain garlands of flowers are plucked in the early morn of St. John’s Day, before the dew has been dried by the sun, and a favourite wether is decked with them, the village lasses singing-- “Come forth, come forth, my maidens, we’ll gather Myrtle boughs, And we shall learn from the dews of the Fern if our lads will keep their vows: If the wether be still, as we dance on the hill, and the dew hangs sweet on the flowers, Then we’ll kiss off the dew, for our lovers are true, and the Baptist’s blessing is ours.”