Note 6 — Chapter VII

Primitive peoples often partake of the new corn sacramentally, because they suppose it to be instinct with a divine spirit or life. At a later age, with a different conception of natural processes, a portion of the fruits is presented as a thank-offering to the divine beings who are believed to have produced them; sometimes the first fruits are presented to the king, probably in his character as a god. For full descriptions of this custom, its observance, and meaning, see Frazer’s Golden Bough (2d ed., London, 1900), ii, pp. 318–340, 459–471.