1147548 Harvesting Mandrake, De Rerum Naturis - Rabanus Maurus, c.1425 (gouache on Vellum) by German School, (15th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Thought to be a potentially lethal herb to harvest from the earth. For this reason, great caution was used in gathering these magical roots. Many people believed that the mandrake shrieked when harvested and that anyone hearing the piercing cry would die. To avoid this, dogs were used to gather the root. The dog was starved for several days and then tied to the root, around which a trench had been cut. The owner stood out of earshot and threw a piece of meat, and as the dog leapt for the meat, the mandrake root was pulled from the ground; ); Prismatic Pictures ; German, out of copyright.