633. If you find horseshoes and pick them up, you will have a horse.
634. The more nails in the horseshoe, the more luck. Western Pennsylvania.
635. To find a horseshoe nail is good luck, especially if the head is towards you. Miramichi, N.B.
636. If horseshoes are put up over a house for luck, the points should not be placed downwards, or the luck will slip through.
PINS.
637. See a pin and pick it up, All the day you'll have good luck; See a pin and pass it by (or "let it lie"), All the day your luck will fly. Eastern Massachusetts.
638. See a pin and pick it up, All the day you'll have good luck; See a pin and let it lie, Come to sorrow by and by. New York.
639. See a pin and pick it up for luck. If the head is towards you, the luck is slow in coming; if the point is towards you, the luck is quick and sharp. Boston, Mass.
640. If you see a pin crosswise, that is, across your path, it means a ride if you pick it up. Boston, Mass.
641. "I have known a young lady form a habit of stooping in consequence of keeping the eyes fixed on the ground, in the streets of New York city, in order not to miss the good fortune that might come of picking up a pin. The pin must be thrust into a tree or post, in order to keep the luck as long as it remains fast." New York, N.Y.
642. Find a pin and let it lie, You'll want a pin before you die. Alabama.
643. See a pin and let it lie, You'll want that pin before you die. Peabody, Mass.
SALT.
644. It is unlucky to pass salt across the table.
645. Spilling salt is unlucky; throw some over your left shoulder, or burn a pinch to avert ill luck. Northern Ohio.
646. It is bad luck to spill salt unless it is burned. Virginia.
647. If you spill salt, throw some over your left shoulder, and then crawl under one side of the table and come out on the other, to prevent bad luck. Bucks Co., Pa.
648. Spilling salt at table is ill luck to the one towards whom it is spilled. Iowa.
649. If you spill salt, you will have a whipping. New England and Canada.
SWEEPING.
650. If the broom is moved with the rest of the household furniture, you will not be successful. The broom should be burned while standing in the corner, being watched meanwhile, to prevent the house from taking fire.
651. Never sweep the floor after sunset; it is bad luck. Alabama.
652. Carrying ashes out of the house after sunset is bad luck. Virginia.
653. It is ill luck to sweep dirt out of doors after sunset. Virginia.
654. Dirt must not be swept out of doors after dark, or it will bring disaster to the master of the house. This belief is common among negroes and superstitious whites. Chestertown, Md.
655. Sailors are unwilling that their friends should sweep after dark, because in that case their wages will be swept away by sickness or otherwise. Westport, Mass.
TURNING BACK.
656. It is unlucky to turn back for anything after you have set out to go anywhere. Prince Edward Island.
657. Returning to the house for something and starting again without sitting down is bad luck. Virginia.
658. It will prove unlucky if you return for a forgotten article after you have left the house; but if you seat yourself before leaving the house again, the misfortune will be averted. New York.
659. To avert ill luck or disappointment that will come if a person comes back to a house for something forgotten, he must sit down a minute. General in New England.
660. To go back into the house for something after starting on a journey is unpropitious. To have it brought out is all right. Iowa.
