Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 16, 1905.djvu/234

 1 96 Collectanea.

p. 75. The left hand is spread flat on the ground and a chuck placed within each of the spaces, between the spread digits. One chuck is thrown up, and with the points of the right-hand fingers as many as possible of the four first placed are shoved out, and the falling chuck caught. A second throw must result now in all four being put out, and the falling chuck caught. The chuck is again thrown up, the four moved from between the left-hand fingers, lifted, and the falling chuck caught.

Where the meaning of the names is doubtful, the Gaelic must be accepted as written phonetically. The sequence given has been retained, though it does not seem natural to do the more difficult movements before the easier ones, as in the cases styled Mor and Beag. With the one exception mentioned (No. 20) a failure only means commencing in turn where the player left off.

In Perthshire the number of movements has been given to us as twenty-two.

1. The game begins as described in No. i, p. 70, but if the player does not catch all five on the back of her hand, she throws up what she has received and catches them all in their descent on her palm. She then throws up one of them, claps the others on the ground and catches the one thrown up ; throwing it up again she lifts one of those which did not remain on the back of her hand at the first cast, throws up again, claps down the one lifted and catches the falling one till all that did not settle on the back of her hand have been so treated. This counts five. This has to be done three consecutive times, each completion of the movements scoring five, so that when finished the player has added twenty to her score.

2. Oney equals "Scatter One," p. 70.

3. Tzvoey „ "Scatter Two," p. 71.

4. Threey „ "Scatter Three," p. 71.

5. Foury „ "Scatter Four," p. 71,

6. Castle. All the chucks are taken in the palm of the hand, one is thrown up, the other four put on the ground, the falling one caught, again thrown up, the four deposited lifted and the other caught.

7. Cracks. The same as described, p. 71.