While you’re camping this summer, there are a few old Ozark, er, “practices” to keep in mind, courtesy of the late Mr. Vance Randolph.
These are all real in the fact that they were once believed by at least some folks, or they wouldn’t have been recorded by Randolph for posterity.
Just keep in mind I’m not actually advising most of these things. They’re just for fun.
Here goes:
• To keep the ticks off you, wear a piece of dog fennel (Eupatorium capillifolium) in your left shoe. Dog fennel has no power over chiggers, however.
• Cedar is poison to seed ticks. Tie some branches about your legs, or just place cedar branches around your camp to keep the little bloodsuckers away.
• If you really want to keep the ticks and chiggers away, try to camp where there is a lot of pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) growing around.
