Part 10

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. Each person who proposes a bet should name the precise sum; and also should be extremely careful not to offer a bet when the striker has taken his aim, or is going to strike; and no bet ought to be proposed on any stroke, that may have any tendency to influence the player. If A propose a bet which is accepted by B, it must be confirmed by A, otherwise it is no bet. If any bets be laid on the hazard, and the striker should lose the game by a miss, at the stroke in question, it cannot be a hazard, the game being out by a miss. In all cases the betters are to abide by the determination of the players, and the betters have a right to demand their money when their game is over.

74. Every person ought to be very attentive, and listen for the stroke, before he opens the door of a billiard-room.

75. The striker has a right to command his adversary not to stand facing or near him, so as to annoy or molest him in his stroke.

76. Each party is to take care of his own game, and his adversary has no right to answer any questions; as, if the ball be close?—if he touch the ball? &c.

77. The marker should make those persons who do not play stand from the table, and give room for the players to pass freely round.

78. Those who play ought to be particularly careful and attentive to their strokes, when any bets are depending thereon: but even should they play carelessly, the bets must, in every case, be decided by the event.

79. No person has any right to discover to the player in what manner he may play his ball. And if it be done, and discovered by the adversary, he may prevent the striker from scoring the points he has made by the stroke. Neither, after a stroke has been played, has any one a right to detect any error the striker may have committed.

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_The Dutch Baron._—A few years since the gentlemen of the green cloth were put out of cue, by a hero of the hazard table imported from the continent by one of the squad, who, while he pretended to be playing the losing game, was shrewdly suspected of going snacks in all that rolls into the pocket.

The Dutch baron was introduced by his friend, who happened to have known him at Hamburgh. He played in a crowd of billiard amateurs and professors, many of whom were raw, and lost about one hundred and fifty guineas with the utmost _sang froid_. Upon his retiring, his friend told the company he was a fine pigeon, a Dutch baron, who had emigrated from Holland, with immense property, and who would as readily lose ten thousand pounds as ten guineas. “Who is he?” was eagerly inquired. “A Dutch baron, as rich as a Jew,” was answered in a whisper.

No Batavian ever laid out an hundred and fifty guineas so well as the Dutch baron. The whole corps of riflemen flocked around him like a swarm of fish at a piece of bread. But little P——, well known at Bath, who thought he best knew how to make his market, like a man of business, applied to the baron’s friend to have the first plucking. The friend, as a great favour, engaged to use his influence; little P—— was at the billiard table the first man in the morning, that he might secure the play in his own hands. The baron came: to it they went; little P—— kept back his play: the Dutch baron played but poorly. Fair strokes he often missed; but whenever he was at an important point he won as if by accident. On they went—Hambletonian and Diamond. Little P—— was afraid of frightening the baron, by disclosing the extent of his play; the baron played so as to persuade every one he knew little of the game. The contest was who should play worst at indifferent periods, and who, without seeming to play well, should play best at important points. The baron won all on great occasions, till little P—— had lost about £100. But the baron managed so well that no one thought he could play at all, and although little P—— was sickened, yet the bait of 150 guineas found plenty of customers. Some of them, the greatest adepts in the kingdom, gave the baron, at starting, three points in the game; but the baron’s accidental good play was so superior, whenever a stake was down, he at last gave three points to those who had given him three points, and still beat them—by accident; and before the billiard knowing ones at Bath would stop, the baron had won nearly ten thousand pounds, with which he made a bow, and came to London.

But this Dutch nobleman’s fame travelled almost as fast as himself, and he was found out; not, however, till he had sweated some of the most knowing gentlemen of the cue.

He concealed his play so well, that no one could form an idea of its extent. To the best billiard players he gave points, and always won on important occasions. He seemed to be a very conjurer, commanding the balls to roll as he pleased; and there was nothing to be named, that it is not supposed he could accomplish.

And who was the Dutch baron? In Hamburgh, he was the marker at a billiard table!—_Hoyle_—_Anecdotes of Play._

BIN, _s._ A place where corn or wine is deposited.

BIPAROUS, _a._ Bringing forth two at a birth.

BIPED, _s._ An animal with two feet.

BIPENNATED, _a._ Having two wings.

BIRD, _s._ A general term for the feathered kind, a fowl.

The term of life varies greatly in birds, and does not seem to bear the same proportion to the time of acquiring their growth, as has been remarked with regard to quadrupeds.

Most birds acquire their full dimensions in the course of a few months, and are capable of propagation the first summer after they are hatched. In proportion to the size of their bodies, birds possess more vitality, and live longer, than either man or quadrupeds: notwithstanding the difficulties which arise in ascertaining the age of birds, there are instances of great longevity in many of them. Geese and swans have been known to attain to the age of seventy and upwards; ravens are very long-lived birds—they are said sometimes to exceed a century; eagles are supposed to arrive at a great age; pigeons are known to live more than twenty years; and even linnets, and other small birds, have been kept in cages from fifteen to twenty years.

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Every part of their frame is formed for lightness and buoyancy; their bodies are covered with a soft and delicate plumage, so disposed as to protect them from the intense cold of the atmosphere through which they pass; their wings are made of the lightest materials, and yet the force with which they strike the air is so great, as to impel their bodies forward with astonishing rapidity, whilst the tail serves the purpose of a rudder, to direct them to the different objects of their pursuit. The internal structure of birds is no less wisely adapted to the same purposes: all the bones are light and thin, and all the muscles, except those which are appropriated to the purpose of moving the wings, are extremely delicate and light; the lungs are placed close to the back-bone and ribs, the air, entering into them by a communication from the wind-pipe, passes through, and is conveyed into a number of membranous cells which lie upon the sides of the pericardium, and communicate with those of the sternum. In some birds these cells are continued down the wings, and extended even to the pinions, thigh-bones, and other parts of the body, which can be filled and distended with air at the pleasure of the animal.—_Vide_ AIR CELLS.

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It seems evident that this general diffusion of air through the bodies of birds is of infinite use to them, not only in their long and laborious flights, but likewise in preventing their respiration from being stopped or interrupted by the rapidity of their motion through a resisting medium. Were it possible for man to move with the swiftness of a swallow, the actual resistance of the air, as he is not provided with internal reservoirs similar to those of birds, would soon suffocate him.

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The migration of birds would appear miraculous, did we not know their extraordinary power of flight. Speaking of this, Bewick says—“If we can suppose a bird to go at the rate of only half a mile in a minute, for the space of twenty-four hours, it will have gone over, in that time, an extent of more than seven hundred miles, which is sufficient to account for almost the longest migration; but, if aided by a favourable current of air, there is reason to suppose that the same journey may be performed in a much shorter space of time. To these observations we may add, that the sight of birds is peculiarly quick and piercing; and from the advantage they possess in being raised to considerable heights in the air, they are enabled, with a sagacity peculiar to instinctive knowledge, to discover the route they are to take, from the appearance of the atmosphere, the clouds, the direction of the winds, and other causes; so that, without having recourse to improbable modes, it is easy to conceive, from the velocity of their speed alone, that most birds may transport themselves to countries lying at great distances, and across vast tracts of ocean.”

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In speaking of the flight of birds, Mr. Rennie says—“Their capability of performing flights much longer than there is any necessity for supposing, may be proved by numerous facts. Even a sparrow has been calculated to fly at the rate of not less than thirty miles an hour, and many experiments prove that the eider duck can fly ninety miles in the same time. The common kite (_falco milvus_) has been observed to pass, without great exertion, over a space of a quarter of a league, in a minute; and it could fly, with ease, from Cape Pruth to the Land’s End, in a single day. M. Audubon, the distinguished ornithologist, has shot the passenger pigeon of America, and on dissection, found its stomach full of fresh rice, which, to have resisted the digestive process, must have been swallowed _not many hours_ preceding its death, but could not have been obtained within eight hundred miles of the place where it was killed. Though the nightingale, the willow-wren, and other birds of passage, fly with only half the swiftness, they may easily arrive in most parts of the south of Europe, or the north of Africa, in a few days.”—_Bewick_—_Rennie_—_Montagu._

BIRD, _v. obs._ To catch birds.

BIRDBOLT, _s._ A small arrow with three heads, which was anciently discharged at birds from a cross-bow.

BIRD-CATCHER, _s._ One that makes it his employment to take birds.

BIRD-CATCHING, _s._ The act of taking birds or wild fowl, whether for food, for the pleasure of their song, or for their destruction, as being pernicious to the husbandman, &c. The methods are by birdlime, nets, decoys, &c. See BIRDLIME, DECOYS, NETS, &c.

In the suburbs of London there are many persons, who, during the months of October and March, get their livelihood by an ingenious, and we may add, a scientific, method of bird-catching, which is totally unknown to other parts of Great Britain. The reason of this trade being confined to so small a compass, arises from there being no considerable sale for singing birds except in the metropolis; and as the apparatus for their purpose is heavy, and must be carried on a man’s back, it prevents the bird-catchers going to above three or four miles’ distance. This method of bird-catching must have been long practised, as it is brought to a most systematic perfection, and is attended with very considerable expense. The nets are a most ingenious piece of mechanism, are generally twelve yards and a half long, and two and a half wide; and no one, till he becomes eye-witness of the puller’s success, would imagine that a bird, which is so very quick in all its motions, could be caught by the nets flapping over each other. The wild birds fly, as the bird-catchers term it, chiefly during the month of October, and part of September and November, as the flight in March is much less considerable than that of Michaelmas. The several species of birds do not make their appearance precisely at the same time during the months of September, October, and November. The pipet, a small species of lark, but inferior to the others in singing, for example, begins to fly about Michaelmas, and then the woodlark, linnet, goldfinch, chaffinch, greenfinch, and other birds of flight, succeed; all of which are not easily caught, or in any numbers at any other time, and more particularly the pipet and the woodlark. These birds, during the Michaelmas and March flights, are chiefly on the wing from day-break to noon, though there is afterwards a small flight from two till night, but this is so inconsiderable, that the bird-catchers take up their nets at noon. It well deserves the attention of the naturalist whence these periodical flights of certain birds arise. As the ground, however, is ploughed during the months of October and March for sowing the winter and spring corn, it should seem that they are thus supplied with a profusion both of seeds and insects, which they cannot so easily procure at any other season. It has been observed, too, that, during their sitting, they fly always against the wind; hence, there is great contention amongst the bird-catchers, who shall gain that point. If, for example, it is westerly, the bird-catcher who lays his nets most to the east, is sure almost of catching every thing, provided his call birds are good; a gentle wind to the south-west generally produces the best sport. The bird-catcher generally carries with him five or six linnets, of which more are caught than any other singing-bird, two goldfinches, two greenfinches, one woodlark, one redpole, a yellow hammer, titlark and aberdevine, and perhaps a bullfinch; these are placed at small distances from the nets, in little cages. He has besides what are called slur-birds, which are placed within the nets, are raised upon the slur, and gently let down at the time the wild bird approaches them. The slur is a moveable perch to which the bird is tied, and which the bird-catcher can raise at pleasure by means of a long string fastened to it. The slur-birds generally consist of the linnet, goldfinch, and greenfinch, which are secured to the slur by what is called a brace, which secures the bird without injuring the plumage. It is a sort of bandage, formed of a slender silken string, fastened round the body, and under the wings, so as to hinder the bird from being hurt, let it flutter ever so much. As it has been found that there is a superiority in birds that are in song, the bird-catchers contrive that their call-birds should moult before the usual time. They therefore, in June or July, put them into a box, quite close under two or three folds of blankets, and leave their dung in the cage to raise a greater heat, in which state they continue, being perhaps examined but once a week to have fresh water. As for food, the air is so putrid, that they eat little during the whole state of confinement; which lasts about a month. The birds frequently die under the operation, and hence the value of a stopped bird, as the bird-catchers style it, rises greatly. When the bird has thus prematurely moulted, he is in song whilst the wild birds are out of song, and his note is louder and more piercing than that of a wild one; but it is not only in his note he receives an alteration, the plumage is also improved. The black and yellow in the wings of the goldfinch, for example, become deeper and more vivid, and acquire a beautiful gloss, which is not to be seen in the wild bird. The bill, which, in the latter, is black at the end, in the stopped bird becomes white and more taper, as do its legs; in short, there is as much difference between a wild and a stopped bird, as there is between a horse kept in body-clothes, and one at grass. When the bird-catcher has laid his nets, he disposes his call-birds at proper intervals. There is a most malicious joy in these call-birds, to bring the wild ones into the same captivity, which may likewise be observed with regard to decoy ducks. (_See_ DECOY.) Their sight and hearing infinitely excel those of the bird-catcher. The moment they see a hawk they communicate the alarm to each other by a plaintive note, nor will they then jerk or call though the wild birds are near. But at any other time, the instant that the wild birds are perceived, notice is given by one to the rest of the call-birds, as by the first hound that hits on the scent, to the rest of the pack, after which follows the same sort of tumultuous joy. The call-birds, while the bird is at a distance, do not sing as a bird does in a chamber; they invite the wild ones by what the bird-catchers call short jerks, which, when the birds are good, may be heard at a great distance. The ascendancy by this call is so great, that the wildest bird is stopped in his flight; and, if not a sharper, as the bird-catchers style a bird acquainted with the nets, lights boldly within twenty yards perhaps of three or four bird-catchers, on a spot which, otherwise, it would not have taken the least notice of. Nay, it frequently happens, that if only half a flock are caught, the remainder will immediately after light in the nets, and share the same fate, and should only one bird escape, that bird will suffer itself to be pulled at till it is caught, such a fascinating power have these call-birds.

Here it is worth mentioning, that the bird-catchers frequently lay considerable wagers whose call-bird can jerk the longest, as that determines the superiority. They place them opposite to each other, by an inch of candle, and the bird who jerks the oftenest before the candle is burnt out, wins the wager. There have been instances of a bird giving 170 jerks in a quarter of an hour; and of a linnet, in such a trial, persevering in its emulation till it swooned from the perch. Birds, when near each other, and in sight, seldom jerk or sing. They either fight, or use short and wheedling calls; the jerking of these call-birds, therefore, face to face, is a most extraordinary instance of contention for superiority in song.

Various methods are used to catch different kinds of birds. The bullfinch, though not properly a singing bird, or a bird of flight, as it does not move farther than from hedge to hedge, yet, as it sells well on account of its learning to whistle tunes, and sometimes flies over where the nets are laid, the bird-catchers have often a call-bird to ensnare it, though most of them can imitate the call with their mouths. It is remarkable that the female bullfinch answers the purpose of a call-bird as well as the male, which is not experienced in any other species of bird taken by the London bird-catchers. The nightingale is not a bird of flight, in the sense in which the bird-catchers use the term. Like the robin, wren, and many other singing birds, it only moves from hedge to hedge, and does not take the periodical flights in October and March. Those who catch these birds make use of small trap-nets, without call-birds, and are considered as inferior in dignity to other bird-catchers, who will not rank with them. The arrival of the nightingale is expected by the trappers in the neighbourhood of London, the first week in April; at the beginning, none but cocks are taken, but in a few days the hens make their appearance, generally by themselves, though sometimes with a few males. The latter are distinguished from the females, not only by their superior size, but by a great swelling of their vent, which commences on the first arrival of the hens. They are caught in a net-trap, the bottom of which is surrounded with an iron ring; the net itself is rather larger than a cabbage-net. When the trappers hear or see them, they strew some fresh mould under the place, and bait the trap with a meal-worm. Ten or a dozen have been thus caught in a day. The common way of taking larks (_Vide_ LARK) is in the night, with nets called trammels. These are usually made of thirty-six yards in length, and about six yards over, with six ribs of pack-thread, which at the ends are put upon two poles about sixteen feet long, and made lesser at each end. These are to be drawn over the ground by two men, and every five or six steps the net is made to touch the ground, otherwise it would pass over the birds without touching them. When they are felt to fly up against the net, it is clapped down, and then all are safe that are under it. The darkest nights are best for this sport; and the net will not only take larks but all other birds that roost on the ground. In the depth of winter people sometimes take great numbers of larks by nooses of horse-hair. The method is this:—Take 100 or 300 yards of pack-thread; fasten at every six inches a noose made of horse-hair; at every twenty yards the line is to be pegged down to the ground, and so left ready to take them. The time to use this is when the ground is covered with snow, and the larks are to be allured to it by some white oats, scattered all the way among the nooses. They must be taken away as soon as three or four are hung, otherwise the rest will be frightened, but though the others are scared away just where the sportsman comes, they will be feeding at the other end of the line, and the sport may be thus continued for a long time. Those caught in the day are taken in clap-nets of fifteen yards long, and two and a half broad, and are enticed within their reach by bits of looking-glass, fixed in a piece of a wood, and placed in the middle of the nets, which are put in a quick whirling motion by the string the larker commands; he also makes use of a decoy-lark. These nets are used only till the fourteenth of November, for the larks will not dare to frolic in the air except in fine sunny weather, and of course cannot be inveigled into the snare. When the weather grows gloomy, the larker changes his engine, and makes use of a trammel-net, twenty-seven or twenty-eight feet long, and five broad, which is put on two poles eighteen feet long, and carried by men under each arm, who pass over the field and quarter the ground like a setting dog; when they hear or feel a lark hit the net, they drop it down, and so the birds are taken. Linnæus observes, that the male chaffinches fly by themselves, and in the flight precede the females, but this is not peculiar to them. When the tit-larks are caught in the beginning of the season, it frequently happens that forty are taken and not one female among them, and probably the same would be observed as to other birds (as has been done with relation to the wheatear) if they were attended to. Experienced bird-catchers tell us, that such birds as breed twice a year, generally have in their first brood a majority of males, and in their second, of females, which may, in part, account for the above observation.

BIRDING-PIECE, _s._ A gun to shoot birds with; an ancient fowling-piece.

BIRDLIME, _s._ A glutinous substance spread upon twigs, by which the birds that light upon them are entangled.