When a Norfolk housewife set a clutch of eggs to hatch, usually thirteen and especially under a goose or duck, she swung a lighted candle over them. This was a charm to keep hawks, crows and other birds of prey from carrying off the goslings or ducklings when they hatched. Goddard Johnson of Marsham, near Norwich, sent it to Hone in 1831.
The Candle over the Clutch
18 September · Norfolk
Lore and belief
to swing a lighted candle over them at the time, as a charm
From Hone's Year Book, col. 1109. Read the original
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