The Field Book: or, Sports and pastimes of the United Kingdom compiled from the best authorities, ancient and modern

_The Charmer._—That individuals have exercised a powerful and unaccountable influence on the most unmanageable animals, by means which still remain a mystery, is certain. The mo...

Next comes the important process of paring out, with regard to which it is almost impossible to lay down any specific rules. This, however, we can say with confidence, that more...

A huntsman must take care, where foxes are in plenty, that he does not run the heel; for it frequently happens that hounds can run the wrong way of the scent better than they ca...

It is found in various parts of Europe and America. It is said to lay only two eggs during the whole year, and frequently produces only one young bird; it is, however, widely di...

BEETLE, _s._ An insect distinguished by having hard cases, or sheaths, under which he folds his wings; a heavy mallet. Beetles flying about late in an evening often foretel a fi...

_Summering Hunters._—Lest it should be supposed that I am averse to turning hunters out at all in the summer months, it will be better, perhaps, not to proceed farther without e...

No part of a racing establishment requires stricter attention than the brood mares. They should be kept, during the winter, in a paddock well supplied with water; also with a ro...

_Neurotomy._—A question has arisen how far a horse that has undergone the operation of the division of the nerve of the leg, and has recovered from the lameness with which he wa...

The perch affords the angler great diversion, and not only the baits are various, but the modes of using them. Of worms, the best kinds are small lob-worms which have no knot, b...

Whilst Dr. Townson was at Gottingen, he had a young hare brought to him, which he took so much pains with, as to render it more familiar than these animals commonly are. In the...

The Scotch terrier is generally low in stature, seldom more than twelve or fourteen inches in height, with a strong muscular body and short and stout legs; his ears small and ha...

For breaking a pointer or setter, get a check collar, with a line nearly twenty yards long. Peg the dog down, and give him the word (“Take heed!”) or any other, make him drop, a...

This species is nearly an ounce in weight: length near eight inches: breadth about eighteen; the bill is black; irides dusky; the whole plumage is black, except the chin, which...

The ponies of Wales seem to be original and unmixed. They are much esteemed for the neatness and beauty of their forms, for the nimbleness of their motions, and, above all, for...

It has been already remarked, that the shipping of the club amounts to 7250 tons. Now, a vessel of one hundred tons seldom, we believe, stands the owner in less than from five t...

The government rifle ramrods, might, for economy’s sake, be made of iron; but they should be much heavier than they are. It is absolutely necessary to good and quick rifle shoot...

Of all the English athletic games, none perhaps presents so fine a scope for bringing into full and constant play the qualities both of the mind and body as that of cricket. A m...

The weight of this bird varies from ten and a half to fifteen ounces; the length from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail is about fourteen inches, the breadth twenty-two...

About seventeen years since, when visiting the late Marquis of Clanricarde at Portumna Castle, two gentlemen brought to the marquis an immense pike, which they had just caught i...

_Canada Goose_, (_Anas Canadensis_ LINN.; _L’Oie à cravate_, BUFF.)—This is less than the swan goose, but taller and longer than the common goose, and may be considered as the c...

This bird is about the size of the carrion crow, and, except its more glossy plumage, very much resembles it. The base of the bill and nostrils, as far as the eyes, is covered w...

The woodcock measures fourteen inches in length, and twenty-six in breadth, and generally weighs about twelve ounces. The shape of the head is remarkable, being rather triangula...

_Sleep of Birds._—Like horses and some other quadrupeds, a great number of birds sleep standing; the perchers, (_Insessores_, VIGORS,) for example, usually sleep standing on one...

Birdlime is prepared in different ways. The best birdlime is made of the middle bark of the holly boiled seven or eight hours in water, till it is soft and tender, then laid in...

BACK, _s._ The hinder part of the body; the outer part of the hand when it is shut; the rear; the place behind; the part of any thing out of sight; the thick part of any tool, o...

I told you that Sir Francis Bacon thinks that the carp lives but ten years: but Janus Dubravius has writ a book _Of Fish and Fish Ponds_, in which he says, that carps begin to s...

73. No person in the room has a right to bet more than the odds on a hazard or a game; but if he err through ignorance, he should appeal to the marker, or the table of the odds....

Pike and perch were almost unknown in the rivers of Belcarra and Minola, and the chain of lakes with which they communicate, and these waters were then second to none for trout-...

This linnet is very common throughout Britain, extending as far as the Orkneys, where it is abundant. During the summer it resorts to waste land and commons, in the upper parts...

This is the most beautiful, and the most destructive to pheasants, of the British beasts of prey. The marten is about eighteen inches long, the tail ten, or, if measured to the...

About eight pounds a-day of hay, or one truss a-week, is considered sufficient for a hunter that will eat five feeds of corn per day. A larger quantity is found to increase the...

The _presence of worms_, when they exist in considerable numbers, is easily detected; for such a dog has usually a slight cough, his coat stares, he eats voraciously, yet seldom...

And now the hour arrived to set all fancies and opinions at nought, and disclose what so many had so long and anxiously looked forward to ascertain. On clearing the ground, the...

_Red-legged, Sandpiper._ (_Tringa erythropus._)—This bird measures from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail ten inches; the bill is an inch and three-eighths long, black...

Thus kites and buzzards sail round in circles with wings expanded and motionless: and it is from their gliding manner that the former are still called in the north of England gl...

From my own experience I should suppose that in all the habitable parts of the globe, certain water-flies exist wherever there is running water. Even in the most ardent temperat...

Grayling are never found in streams that run from glaciers—at least near their source; and they are killed by cold or heat. I once put some grayling from the Teme, in September,...

Gunpowder is composed of very light charcoal, sulphur, and well refined saltpetre. The powder used by sportsmen in shooting game is generally composed of six parts of saltpetre,...

In the river Beaulie, below the falls, is a valuable salmon fishery, and in the months of July and August many of these come to the foot of the falls. When a flood occurs, they...

The person who carried the hawk was provided with gloves for that purpose, to prevent their talons from hurting his hand. In the inventories of apparel belonging to King Henry V...

_The Arabian._—Of all the countries in the world where the horse runs wild, Arabia produces the most beautiful breed—the most generous, swift, and persevering. They are found, t...

At every season of the year, the former of these is good; but the latter end of summer, and all the winter, are the preferable times for both. In baiting with the cheese, put a...

The greenshank is of a slender and elegant shape, and its weight small in proportion to its length and dimensions, being only about six ounces; although it measures from the tip...

A boat for this work should have plenty of bearings, and have as little keel as she can well go to windward with, in order to get, at times, within shot of the mud and sands, an...

A third plan for taking eels is by what is termed bobbing, which is best managed in a boat. This is done by taking a quantity of well-scoured lobworms; have a long needle, with...

_In Riding._—Jockeys may be divided into several classes: namely, the southern jockeys, the northern jockeys, and the dirty jockeys. The first class are those which are seen at...

The most effectual process for training is that practised by Captain Barclay, and the particular mode which he has adopted has not only been sanctioned by professional men, but...

This genus is distinguished by a large full eye; the bill is straight, short, and rather swollen towards the tip; the head is large; the legs are naked above the knee; and most...

During the time of long frosts, if going on the water or into the marshes, after the wild fowl, does not suit the shooter’s convenience or choice, by attending the brooks and sm...

It is necessary here to make some remarks on the absurd and mischievous practice of trimming horses’ legs; that is, cutting off parts which were designed by the Almighty for a u...

These birds, like others of the same genus, differ considerably from each other in their appearance in different seasons of the year, as well as from age and sex. The specimen f...

One of the principal uses in which the blood-hound was employed by our ancestors, was in recovering game that had escaped wounded from the hunter. And he was taught also to purs...

A sege of herons and of bitterns; an herd of swans, of cranes, and of curlews; a dopping of sheldrakes; a spring of teals; a covert of coots; a gaggle of geese; a badelynge of d...

But if close and judicious hunting be necessary, the places to be beaten are comparatively few, and the sportsman’s eye readily detects the spot where the pack is sure to be dis...

The hoop net is a very destructive engine. For large and deep waters the mesh should be an inch and three quarters, the length full nine feet, and the hoops (of which that in th...

Bill short, straight, conical, and depressed; the ridge rounded; mandibles of equal length, sharp, and not notched; nostrils at the sides of the base, naked and partly closed by...

In the strongest mercurial ointment there are equal parts of quicksilver and lard; these are the best proportions in which it can be made, as it is easily weakened by the additi...

It is called quinze from fifteen being the game, made in the following manner:—first, the cards must be shuffled by the player, and when they have cut for deal, which belongs to...

_Colour of Pointers._—Respecting the colour of pointers (as before observed), a great deal depends entirely on fancy, but that most esteemed is the liver and white, although the...

A horse affected with glanders may inoculate himself, and thereby produce the farcy. I have known this happen to a horse while at grass. The horse had an itching in his hind leg...

_The brandling worm_ is streaked from head to tail in alternate red and yellow circles; is dark at the head; becomes gradually paler towards the tail. Brandlings are found in ol...

In the reign of Edward III. the running-horses purchased for the king’s service, were generally estimated at twenty marks, or thirteen pounds six shillings, and eightpence each;...

When the heron flies down wind, he is seldom taken, the hawks are in great danger of being lost, and as the flight is in a straight line, it affords but little sport.—_Bewick_—_...

_James’s Powder_ is composed chiefly of antimony, and similar to that which is sold in the shops by the name of Antimonial Powder. As a horse medicine, the latter is as useful a...

These birds are common in all the northern counties; they migrate into Britain in the spring, and depart in autumn: they frequent the sea-shores during summer, and run nimbly al...

The most common cause of disease in birds proceeds from a superabundance of food, which brings on repletion. In this case the intestines descend to the extremities of the body,...

There is a fine breed of buck-hounds in Richmond Park, and their sagacity is very extraordinary. In taking the deer, according to annual custom, either for the royal hunt or for...

From the peculiar construction of the hinder claws, which are very long and straight, larks generally rest upon the ground; those which frequent trees perch only on the larger b...

_Age of a Horse._—The age of a horse may be discovered by certain marks in the front teeth of the under jaw until he is eight years old, about which period they are generally wo...

As soon as the young quit the shell, they plunge into the water, dive, and swim about with the greatest ease; but they still gather together about the mother, and take shelter u...

Hanging from the upper edge of the pupil of the horse, are found two or three round black bodies, as large as millet seeds. When the horse is suddenly brought into an intense li...

Speed is sportingly applicable to horse, hound, or greyhound. There are two modes of trial for speed, according to the present reformed mode of English racing; the one is to run...

A friend of mine had a poodle-dog possessed of more than ordinary sagacity; but he was, however, under little command. In order to keep him in better order, my friend purchased...

_The White Owl_, _Barn Owl_, _Church Owl_, _Gillihowt_, _Screech Owl_, (_Strix Flammea_, LINN.; _L’Effraie, ou, La Fresaie_, BUFF.)—Length fourteen inches. Bill pale horn colour...

Compound tincture of benzoin, commonly named Friar’s, or traumatic balsam, is made by digesting gum benzoin, aloes, &c. in rectified spirit. Tincture of opium is made by digesti...

He is one of those animals that, in this country, are made objects of diversion in the chase. When he finds himself pursued, he generally makes towards his hole, and penetrating...

I had once a favourite gun, which from constant wear and tear exhibited unequivocal weakness in the locks, and which I had been earnestly recommended by a veteran sportsman to c...

The umbla or ombre chevalier, is very like a char in form, but is without spots, and has a white and silvery belly. On the table, its flesh cuts white or cream-colour, and it is...

The _English stub barrels_ are deservedly celebrated for their superior elegance and strength, as well as for the accuracy with which they throw their ball or shot. The iron emp...

It sometimes happens, and not unfrequently, that there is an accumulation of excrement in the cœcum, by which the valvular orifice is so completely obstructed, that it cannot be...

The kestrel is widely diffused throughout Europe, and is found in the most temperate parts of North America: it is a handsome bird; its sight is acute, and its flight easy and g...

With respect to the breed of game fowls, the criterion of blood in these animals, before trial, is “fineness of feathers,” richness of plumage, “cleanness of feet,” and keenness...

From the swan downward to the teal, they are all of a clean-plumaged, beautiful race of birds, and some of them exquisitely so. Those which have been reclaimed from a state of n...

PUNCH, _s._ A pointed instrument, which, driven by a blow, perforates bodies; a liquor made by mixing spirit with water, sugar, and the juice of lemons or oranges; an implement...

Feet so exceedingly different in the nature of their construction, must certainly require as different a mode of treatment, according to such circumstances as happen to exist. T...

_Chronic Cough._—It may appear strange to a person unacquainted with the animal economy, that what is taken into the stomach should affect the mucous membrane of the lungs, and...

This bird is very uncommon in this country: and we have seen only two of them, both females. The figure was drawn from one sent by W. Trevelyan, Esq. which was taken on the edge...

Although there appears considerable force in these arguments of Montagu, I am disposed to be of opinion, that birds sing most frequently from joy and buoyancy of spirits, and no...

Bill of middle size, strong, straight, much pointed, compressed. Nostrils at the sides of the base, concave, oblong, half shut by a membrane, pierced from part to part. Legs of...

The bill is long, equally incurvated, and terminated in a blunt point; nostrils linear, and longitudinal near the base; tongue short and sharp-pointed; and the toes are connecte...

Stern fishing, is by fixing a boat (for without, roach of any size are hardly to be caught,) to the stern of a vessel returned from a voyage, whose bottom is foul, and furnished...

But what are these compared to the actual velocity and continuance of the flight of a falcon, that is recorded to have belonged to Henry IV., King of France, which escaped from...

At the small island of Borea, Martin says, “The heavens were darkened by those flying above our heads; their excrements were in such quantity, that they gave a tincture to the s...

Mr. Towns, the noted feeder at Spalding, assured us his family had been a hundred years in the trade, and boasted they had served George the Second, and many noble families in t...

As moisture is at all times destructive to wood, it is essential for the angler to guard all in his power against its influence on his rod; for, admitting that a shower of rain...

The bleak is seldom more than six inches long; the head is small, and the skull transparent; the eyes are large, with a blood coloured spot on the lower side; the irides of a pa...

For a _brown_, take some powdered alum, boil it well until dissolved; then add a pound of walnut-tree bark, from the branches when the sap is up, or the buds or green nuts; boil...

_Extraordinary Affection in the Badger._—Two persons were on a short journey, and passing through a hollow way, a dog which was with them, started a badger, which he attacked, a...

In this way the hawk will soon be taught to fly round the falconer, bending his flight inwards when the lure is shown to him, or when he hears the call of the falconer, who shou...

The stag or red deer is common in Europe, Barbary, the north of Asia, and North America; it abounds in the southern parts of Siberia, where it grows to an immense size, but is n...

Each testicle should be taken out of the scrotum separately, by an opening sufficiently large, when a ligature should be applied, moderately tight only, around the spermatic cho...

Bill brown, orange from the nostrils to the point, the knob of which is black; it is an inch and a half long, rather narrow towards the apex; the nostrils are placed very forwar...

In 1808, a raven was kept at the Red Lion, Hungerford: a gentleman’s chaise, in turning into the yard, ran over the leg of his Newfoundland-dog, and while examining the injury d...

An arrow, weighing from twenty to twenty-four pennyweights, made of yew, was considered by archers to be the best that could be made. The feathers of a goose should be used; and...

This is a medicine of great utility in veterinary practice. It possesses a cooling and diuretic property, which renders it extremely useful in fevers, and complaints of an infla...

“In my way hither,” says Major C., “I measured the flight of the eider ducks by the following method; viz., on arriving off Duck Island, six miles distant from Henly Tickle, I c...

An enthusiastic admirer of rural sports from boyhood, the Compiler sought with avidity after any book connected with his favourite recreations, from which either amusement or in...

The characters of the gallinaceous genus are generally well known: most of the species are distinguished above all others for the whiteness of their flesh; their bodies are larg...

The hucho is the most predatory fish of the salmo genus, and is made like an ill-fed trout, but longer and thicker. He has larger teeth, more spines in the pectoral fin, a thick...