A strange relic of a time when the fear of witchcraft was a part of life

This kind of relic of the period when we believed in witchcraft is something of a rarity, but the Lincoln specimen has provided greater interest among experts because it dates from the nineteenth century.

Most witch bottles were in use some 200 years earlier and it is generally thought such charms had ceased to be used by that later period.

A witch bottle was a simple bottle, but its contents were peculiar for they consisted of items such as samples of human hair, nail parings and urine, along with small metal objects like pins or nails. In some cases, blood was included.

The purpose of this charm was to ward off witches who might enter the house and bewitch the occupants or, of course, place evil spells on the house itself.

Witch bottles were buried beneath the threshold of any house which required protection, although in some instances they were placed beneath the hearth.

There were rare occasions when a witch bottle was thrown on the fire as a form of protection against the house being burnt down, but in most cases they were buried.

In many instances, these bottles survived intact and many have come to light during modern alterations to older properties. I am sure many interesting examples have been thrown away in the belief they were nothing more than old discarded bottles.

While we might think this custom was based on an English belief, this was not so. Witch bottles were widely used on the continent and examples have been found as far apart as Germany and Sicily. In those cases, the contents were very similar to the English bottles.

We might wonder why such a bizarre collection of things was placed in the bottles, but each had a specific purpose.

Nail parings and hair, for example, represented indestructible portions of the human body and it was believed that placing them in a bottle presented any incoming witches with an almost impossible challenge - how could she possibly harm hair or nails?

Urine was believed to stop a witch from passing water, which would eventually lead to her own death, while metal objects like pins or nails were thought to ward off evil of any kind.

Most witch bottles were made of glass, so the contents were readily visible, although some containers were of stoneware and, on occasions, leather examples have been found.

As an increasing number of older buildings are subjected to modernisation, it is still possible that these objects could be discovered, especially under thresholds or hearths.

In some cases, bottles were not used, the charm against witches consisting of nothing more than a knife or piece of iron placed under the doorstep.

Should you come across such a bottle or a knife, your local museum would be delighted to accept it - unless, of course, you want to keep it to protect your home against witchcraft.

One of the most welcome and cheering sights around this time is the appearance of snowdrops, either in the wild or growing in our gardens and parks.

In some areas, they are known as snowpiercers because, despite their apparent frailty, they will push their way through fallen snow to provide a marvellous display.

Reports suggest that these pure white flowers have already made an appearance in some parts of the country, a fact which might be attributed to global warming, but, by tradition, they are supposed to bloom around Candlemas Day. That falls on February 2 - this Monday.

Candlemas is known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and, in pre-Reformation times, a candlelit mass was celebrated to honour Our Lady as a symbol of purity.

In some parts of the country, wives would hold their own feast in honour of Mary, so it became known as Wives' Feast Day. Similarly, village maidens would gather snowdrops and wear them as emblems of their personal purity.

The flowers were widely known as Fair Maids of February and, in some cases, were called Purification Flowers.

On a more rustic note, Candlemas is always considered the halfway stage of winter when wise country people had retained at least half of their stock of fuel or animal foodstuffs.

This was done in the belief that some bad weather might yet arrive, even if the nights are shortening. Certainly, the nights are noticeably lighter at this time of year and this used to be the time to put away one's candles after they had served the household during the darkness of winter. They were carefully stored until next year, being regarded as valuable assets.

Even at this early stage, some gardeners began planting their new crops. By tradition, peas, lettuce, sweet peas, onions, beans and cabbages were all planted at Candlemas even if the remaining half of the winter weather was likely to inflict itself upon us.

Added to this, of course, is the famous old verse which says: "If Candlemas be fair and bright, winter will have another flight; if Candlemas be dull with rain, winter will not come again."

I am sure all country people will be watching Monday's weather with considerable interest. And, with a bit of luck, there will be snowdrops to make us more cheerful.

I have received a considerable amount of correspondence during the week, for which I thank those who have written. The subjects are most varied.

A Bainbridge reader has responded to my notes about small groups of wrens seeking warm and cosy places in the worst of the winter. I mentioned that some will make good use of disused wrens' nests for this purpose, but she tells me that four wrens have made good use of her porch.

Swallows had nested there in 2002, but their nest collapsed, so her husband provided the foundations for another one, as a result of which the swallows then constructed a second, rather ramshackle nest.

This produced a brood which survived, but she tells me that four wrens have now moved into this ready-made accommodation. It seems they are not nesting there, but are merely lodging during the worst of our weather. Clearly, these are very sensible little birds.

Another reader has written from West Burton concerning my recent enquiry about stoats being reared for their ermine near Lady Hill in Wensleydale.

While she has no information about stoats, she did provide me with information about rabbits being bred in warrens at Lady Hill, and this provided the background for last week's notes.

She has written again to say that her cousin, who is 100 years old, was brought up in Redmire and remembers the Lady Hill rabbit warren, the rabbits' colour being silver. Folk memory is a wonderful thing.

The National Federation of Badger Groups has written about badgers being accused of interfering with archaeological sites. It seems that their burrowing can disturb important layers of earth, which in turn frustrates the scientific work of archaeologists, and there was even talk of making a cull of those badgers which provided the greatest threat.

This action has been denied by archaeologists and Dr Elaine King, chief executive of the National Federation of Badger Groups, says: "Badgers in worked ground are as natural as earthworms, moles and tree roots. They are part of our natural heritage and the NFBG will continue to work in partnership with archaeologists to achieve a fair balance in the protection of Britain's heritage."

I have also received an e-mail about the dreadful litter in the hedgerows at Low Street, just off the A1 near Kirkby Fleetham. My correspondent has photographed this rubbish which, in addition to the usual plastic bottles, bags, take-away cartons and cigarette packets, also includes an entire mattress.

How can we persuade such litter louts to respect the countryside? Maybe, in addition to speed cameras, we should become even more Big Brother-like and have litter cameras!