Dr Abe V Rotor
Classify each item if it is a product of Wisdom or mere Superstition.
51. Bathe the cat
and it will rain.
Then farmers will be a happy lot. And there is no need of
cloud seeding, and procession for the intercession of San Isidro.
52. Cat grooming
at the doorway tells of the coming of visitors.
Cats are fastidiously clean creatures. Like birds at rest preening, cats lick their
paws and fur clean especially after eating. But what has this to do with their
alleged ability to forecast? Well, let’s look at it this way. It is customary in the province to cook
something especially for our guests. And
fond with cats we are, we let them eat while we are cooking.
53. Leaves of madre de cacao or kakawate are used in hastening fruits to ripen.
Old folks use fresh leaves of Gliricida sepium to ripen banana, papaya, mango, chico, guyabano, atis, avocado, and others.
The fruits are placed in an earthen jar lined with a layer or two of kakawate leaves. The jar is closed or
inverted in order to trap the ethylene gas that catalyses the softening of
pectin and the conversion of complex to simple sugar. Ripening takes around
three days. Unlike the commercial method of using carbide (carburo), kakawate ripened fruits, assuming they
were picked at proper maturity, retain their natural taste, color and aroma as
if they were ripened on the tree.
54. Smudging
hastens flowering of fruit trees and protects fruits from pests.
This is a common practice on many common fruit trees,
especially mango. Old folks gather dried leaves, grass, rice hull, corn stalk
and the like, and burn them slowly under the trees. The smoke is directed to the branches and
leaves. This is done every morning until
flowers come out. It is resumed to
protect the fruits from insects and fungi. Smudging is preferred over potassium
nitrate spraying that forces trees like mangoes to flower out of season. Repeated chemical spraying reduces the life
span of trees, unlike smudging.
55. Kingfisher (salaksak) is an emissary of death.
The kingfisher’s throaty call is a call of death, so the
old folks say. Well, when ponds and
rivers dry up because of drought, this fish eater will scour for alternative
food outside its niche, poaching around homes and farms.
56. Sea turtle
about to be butchered shed tears.
A sudden change in environment activates the tear glands
to secrete fluid, which we attribute as tears.
Such a sight draws pathetic feelings that may save the life of the fated
creature. Because sea turtles are
endangered species, their tears mean much more to the fate of man. Analogously,
“the bell tolls, but tolls for thee.”
57. Poultice made
of ground termite is effective in treating wounds and sores.
After digging out an anthill or termite mound, the
soldier termites (large headed) are carefully gathered, ground into a paste
which is then directly applied on the wound or skin sore. In some parts of Africa, a village healer, who is equivalent to our herbolario, was hailed by the United
Nations, for successfully treating thousands of residents in remote desert
communities using the same ethnic remedy. Laboratory tests revealed that the
poultice contains antibiotics more potent than commercial antibiotics.
58. Harelip or
cleft lip is caused by an accident the mother meets while carrying the child.
When a mother accidentally falls, or is bumped, the baby
gets injured. The embryo in the womb, by instinct sucks its thumb, so we are
made to believe, that the injury is in the upper lips.
Harelip, so-called after the structure of the lips of the
hare or rabbit, results from incomplete fusion of the embryo’s facial parts
early in prenatal development. It is a congenital abnormality. Slight cleft lip
can be easily repaired by surgery. Cosmetic surgery to minimize the scar may be
desirable when the child is a few years older.
59. One who is
fond of rice crust (tutong) is lazy.
It may be true.
After all the rice is served what is usually left in the pot is the
crust. One would rather settle for the crust than to cook anew.
60. Drosophila flies (mannuka) hastens vinegar making.
Drosophila
melanogaster is a very tiny fly, relative of the housefly and
mosquito. It occurs in large number on
ripening fruits, and fermenting materials where they feed and lay eggs. The
flies carry beneficial bacteria such as Acetobacter
aceti and Leuconostoc mesenteroides,
both agents in acetication, that is,
the conversion of ethanol to acetic acid (vinegar) through oxidation.
61. There are
persons who are a favorite of mosquitoes.
True. Here are
their qualifications. Please check if
you belong to the group. They don’t take a bath regularly. They wear dark clothes, especially
black. Their body temperature is
relatively higher. Their rate of breathing is faster. Their skin is relatively
thin and tender. They love to stay in
corners and poorly lighted places. And they are not protected by clothing,
screen or off lotion. Of all these, it
is the first that is most crucial.
62. The saliva of
the goat is “hot”, that is why any plant it feeds upon dies.
Let’s study the eating habit of this herbivore. When
feeding, it pulls and tears off at anything its teeth come in contact
with. It prefers seedlings and succulent
tissues. When food is scarce it feeds on older leaves, stems and roots. Goats
in town may even devour wrappers of sweets and kitchen refuse.
Other than direct injury, what is in the saliva of the
goat that leads to the death of its host plants?
When my youngest son was a child I gave him a pet kid.
One time he allowed the animal to lick and suck his fingers. That evening I
discovered tiny lacerations on his fingers inflicted by the developing milk
teeth of his pet. “Was it not painful?” I asked. He said, no. But he admitted it was only
after sometimes that he felt tingling sensation of pain. I concluded, the
saliva of a goat contains anesthesia. Is this the thing old people call
“hot”? Is this the active principle that
kills plants?
x x
x
Big feet – walker, broad forehead – intelligent;
Large eyes can see better in the dark,
An ear for music is large,
Large rounded hips – more children, easy to give birth,
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