Note 129 — Chapter IV · ANIMAL-WORSHIP.
Reading edition
One of the Italian charms directs, “To bewitch one till he die, take a black hen and pluck from it every feather; and this done, keep them all carefully, so that not one be lost. With these you may do any harm to grown-up people or children.”129 Another possible reason for the respect paid to the fowl is that the corn spirit is often killed in the form of a cock to promote the periodical vegetation of the crops.