But sometimes the corn-spirit， in the form of a goat， is believed to be slain on the harvest-field by the sickle or scythe. Thus， in the neighbourhood of Bernkastel， on the Moselle， the reapers determine by lot the order in which they shall follow each other. The first is called the fore-reaper， the last the tail-bearer. If a reaper overtakes the man in front he reaps past him， bending round so as to leave the slower reaper in a patch by himself. This patch is called the Goat； and the man for whom the Goat is cut in this way， is laughed and jeered at by his fellows for the rest of the day. When the tail-bearer cuts the last ears of corn， it is said， He is cutting the Goat's neck off. In the neighbourhood of Grenoble， before the end of the reaping， a live goat is adorned with flowers and ribbons and allowed to run about the field. The reapers chase it and try to catch it. When it is caught， the farmer's wife holds it fast while the farmer cuts off its head. The goat's flesh serves to furnish the harvest-supper. A piece of the flesh is pickled and kept till the next harvest， when another goat is killed. Then all the harvesters eat of the flesh. On the same day the skin of the goat is made into a cloak， which the farmer， who works with his men， must always wear at harvest-time if rain or bad weather sets in. But if a reaper gets pains in his back， the farmer gives him the goat-skin to wear. The reason for this seems to be that the pains in the back， being inflicted by the corn-spirit， can also be healed by it. Similarly， we saw that elsewhere， when a reaper is wounded at reaping， a cat， as the representative of the corn-spirit， is made to lick the wound. Esthonian reapers of the island of Mon think that the man who cuts the first ears of corn at harvest will get pains in his back， probably because the corn-spirit is believed to resent especially the first wound； and， in order to escape pains in the back， Saxon reapers in Transylvania gird their loins with the first handful of ears which they cut. Here， again， the corn-spirit is applied to for healing or protection， but in his original vegetable form， not in the form of a goat or a cat.
Further， the corn-spirit under the form of a goat is sometimes conceived as lurking among the cut corn in the barn， till he is driven from it by the threshing-flail. Thus in Baden the last sheaf to be threshed is called the Corn-goat， the Spelt-goat， or the Oats-goat according to the kind of grain.
Again， near Marktl， in Upper Bavaria， the sheaves are called Straw-goats or simply Goats. They are laid in a great heap on the open field and threshed by two rows of men standing opposite each other， who， as they ply their flails， sing a song in which they say that they see the Straw-goat amongst the corn-stalks. The last Goat， that is， the last sheaf， is adorned with a wreath of violets and other flowers and with cakes strung together. It is placed right in the middle of the heap. Some of the threshers rush at it and tear the best of it out； others lay on with their flails so recklessly that heads are sometimes broken. At Oberinntal， in the Tyrol， the last thresher is called Goat. So at Haselberg， in West Bohemia， the man who gives the last stroke at threshing oats is called the Oats-goat. At Tettnang， in Würtemburg， the thresher who gives the last stroke to the last bundle of corn before it is turned goes by the name of the He-goat， and it is said， He has driven the He-goat away. The person who， after the bundle has been turned， gives the last stroke of all， is called the She-goat. In this custom it is implied that the corn is inhabited by a pair of corn-spirits， male and female.
Further， the corn-spirit， captured in the form of a goat at threshing， is passed on to a neighbour whose threshing is not yet finished. In Franche Comté， as soon as the threshing is over， the young people set up a straw figure of a goat on the farmyard of a neighbour who is still threshing. He must give them wine or money in return. At Ellwangen， in Würtemburg， the effigy of a goat is made out of the last bundle of corn at threshing； four sticks form its legs， and two its horns. The man who gives the last stroke with the flail must carry the Goat to the barn of a neighbour who is still threshing and throw it down on the floor； if he is caught in the act， they tie the Goat on his back. A similar custom is observed at Indersdorf， in Upper Bavaria； the man who throws the straw Goat into the neighbour's barn imitates the bleating of a goat； if they catch him， they blacken his face and tie the Goat on his back. At Saverne， in Alsace， when a farmer is a week or more behind his neighbours with his threshing， they set a real stuffed goat or fox before his door.
Sometimes the spirit of the corn in goat form is believed to be killed at threshing. In the district of Traunstein， Upper Bavaria， they think that the Oats-goat is in the last sheaf of oats. He is represented by an old rake set up on end， with an old pot for a head. The children are then told to kill the Oats-goat.
7. The Corn-spirit as a Bull， Cow， or Ox.
ANOTHER form which the corn-spirit often assumes is that of a bull， cow， or ox. When the wind sweeps over the corn they say at Conitz， in West Prussia， The Steer is running in the corn； when the corn is thick and strong in one spot， they say in some parts of East Prussia， The Bull is lying in the corn.
