Part 16

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 of Newmarket heath, and kept alive about three weeks in a kitchen, where it was fed with bread and other things, such as poultry eat. It is very common in France, where it is also a very shy and cunning bird; if disturbed it flies two or three hundred paces, not far from the ground, and then runs away much faster than any one can follow on foot. The female lays her eggs in June, to the number of three or four, of a glossy green colour: as soon as the young are hatched, she leads them about as the hen does her chickens: they begin to fly about the middle of August.

Both this and the great bustard are excellent eating, and, we should imagine, would well repay the trouble of domestication: indeed, it seems surprising that we should suffer these fine birds to run wild, and be in danger of total extinction, which, if properly cultivated, might afford as excellent a repast as our own domestic poultry, or even as the turkey, (_vide_ TURKEY) for which we are indebted to distant countries.—_Bewick._

BUTT, _s._ The place on which the mark to be shot at is placed; a vessel; a barrel containing one hundred and twenty-six gallons of wine; the thick or lower joint of a fishing rod; the handle of a cue.

The marks usually shot at by archers, for pastime, were “butts, prickes, and roavers.” The butt, we are told, was a level mark, and required a strong arrow, with a very broad feather; the pricke was a “mark of compass,” but certain in its distance; and to this mark strong swift arrows, of one flight, with a middling sized feather, were best suited; the roaver was a mark of uncertain lengths. It was, therefore, proper for the archer to have various kinds of arrows, of different weights, to be used according to the different changements made in the distance of the ground.

The Cornish men are spoken of as good archers, who shoot their arrows to a great length; they are also, says Carew, “well skilled in near shooting, and in well aimed shooting: the butts made them perfect in the one, and the roaving in the other, for the prickes, the first corrupters of archery, through too much preciseness, were formerly scarcely known, and little practised.” Other marks are occasionally mentioned; as the standard, the target, hazel wands, rose garlands, and the popinjay, which, we are told, was an artificial parrot.—_Strutt._

BUTT, _v._ To strike with the head.

BUTTER, _s._ An unctuous substance, made by agitating the cream of milk till the oil separates from the whey.

BUTTERFLY, _s._ A beautiful insect.

BUTTOCK, _s._ The rump, the part near the tail.

BUTTON, _s._ Any knob or ball; the bud of a plant.

BUZZARD, _s._ A degenerate or mean species of hawk.

The Common Buzzard, or Puttock.—(_Falco Buteo_, LINN.; _La Buse_, BUFF.) M. Buffon distinguishes the kites and the buzzards from the eagles and hawks, by their habits and dispositions, which he compares to those of the vultures, and places them after those birds. Though possessed of strength, agility, and weapons to defend themselves, they are cowardly, inactive, and slothful, they will fly before a sparrow-hawk, and when overtaken, will suffer themselves to be beaten, and even brought to the ground, without resistance. The buzzard is about twenty inches in length, and in breadth four feet and a half. Its bill is of a lead colour, eyes pale yellow: the upper parts of the body are of a dusky brown colour; the wings and tail are marked with bars of a darker hue; the under parts pale, variegated with a light reddish brown; the legs are yellow; claws black. But birds of this species are subject to greater variations than most other birds, as scarcely two are alike: some are entirely white, of others the head only is white, and others again are mottled with brown and white.

This well-known bird is of a sedentary and indolent disposition; it continues for many hours perched upon a tree or eminence, whence it darts upon the game that comes within its reach: it feeds on birds, small quadrupeds, reptiles and insects. Its nest is constructed with small branches, lined in the inside with wool and other soft materials; it lays two or three eggs, of a whitish colour, spotted with yellow. It feeds and tends its young with great assiduity. Ray affirms, that if the female be killed during the time of incubation, the male buzzard takes charge of them, and patiently rears the young till they are able to provide for themselves.

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The Honey Buzzard (_Falco Apivorus_, LINN.; _La Bondrée_, BUFF.), is as large as the buzzard, measuring twenty-two inches in length; the wings extend above four feet. Its bill is black, and rather longer than that of the buzzard; the eyes are yellow; the head large and flat, and of an ash-colour; the upper parts of the body dark brown; the under parts white, spotted or barred with rusty brown on the breast and belly; tail brown, marked with three broad dusky bars, between each of which are two or three of the same colour, but narrower; the legs are stout and short, of a dull yellow colour; claws black.

This bird builds a nest similar to that of the buzzard, and of the same kind of materials: its eggs are of an ash-colour, with small brown spots. It sometimes takes possession of the nests of other birds, and feeds its young with wasps and other insects. It is fond of field-mice, frogs, lizards and insects. It does not soar like the kite, but flies low, from tree to tree, or from bush to bush. It is found in all the northern parts of Europe, and in the open parts of Russia and Siberia, but is not so common in England as the buzzard.

Buffon observes that it is frequently caught in the winter, when it is fat and delicious eating.

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The Moor Buzzard, Duck Hawk or White-headed Harpy (_Falco Æruginosus_, LINN.; _Le Busard_, BUFF.) is in length above twenty-one inches. The bill is black; cere and eyes yellow; the whole crown of the head is of a yellowish white, lightly tinged with brown; the throat is of a light rust colour: the rest of the plumage is of a reddish brown, with pale edges; the greater wing coverts tipped with white. The legs are yellow; claws black.

Birds of this kind vary much; in some, the crown and back part of the head are yellow; and in one described by Mr. Latham, the whole bird was uniformly of a chocolate brown, with a tinge of rust colour.

The moor buzzard preys on rabbits, young wild ducks, and other water-fowl; and likewise feeds on fish, frogs, reptiles, and even insects. Its haunts are in hedges and bushes near pools, marshes, and rivers that abound with fish. It builds its nest a little above the surface of the ground, or in hillocks covered with thick herbage: the female lays three or four eggs of a whitish colour, irregularly sprinkled with dusky spots. Though smaller, it is more active and bolder than the common buzzard, and, when pursued, it faces its antagonist, and makes a vigorous defence.—_Bewick._—_Latham._

BY-LAW, _s._ By-laws are orders made for the good of those that make them, farther than the public law binds.

BY-WAY, _s._ A private obscure way.

BY-WORD, _s._ A saying, a proverb; a term of reproach.

CAB, _s._ A contraction of cabriolet; a two-wheeled carriage.

CACKLE, _v._ To make a noise, as a goose or hen.

CACKLER, _s._ A fowl that cackles.

CADDIS or CAD-BAIT, _s._ A kind of worm or grub.

The several kinds of cadews in their nympha, or maggot state, thus house themselves; one sort in straw, called from thence straw-worms; others in two or more parallel sticks, creeping at the bottom of brooks; a third, in a small bundle of pieces of rushes, duckweed, &c. glued together, therewith they float on the surface, and can row themselves about the water with the help of their feet; both these are called cad-bait. It is a curious faculty that these creatures possess, of gathering such bodies as are fittest for their purpose, and then so gluing them together, some to be heavier than water, that the animal may remain at bottom where its food is, and others to be so buoyant as to float, and there collect its sustenance; these houses are coarse, and show no outward art, but are within well tunnelled and have a tough hard paste, into which the hinder part of the maggot is so fixed, that its cell can be drawn after it without danger of leaving it behind, and it can also thrust out its body to reach the needful supplies, or withdraw into its covering for protection and safety.

These insects inhabit pits, ponds, low running rivers, or ditches, in cases of different forms, and composed of various materials; some of them inclosed in a very rough shell, found among weeds in standing waters, are generally tinged green; others are bigger than a gentle, and of a yellowish hue, with a black head; they are an excellent bait, and are found in most plenty in gravelly and stony rivulets, and by the sides of streams, in large rivers among stones.

To collect them, turn up the stones, and the best will adhere to them; when the quantity wanted is obtained, put them into a linen bag for five or six days, dip them, together with the bag, into water once a day, and hang them up; they will then turn yellow, become tough, and fitter for angling than when first got from the brook. If meant to be kept long, they must be put into a thick woollen bag, with some of the moist gravel or sand from the same rivulet whence they are taken; they must be wetted twice a day, but oftener in very hot weather; when you carry them abroad, fill the bag with water and holding the mouth of it close, let the water run from them; thus they have been kept three weeks. Another way of preserving them is, by placing them in an earthen pot full of river water, with some of the gravel they were bred in at the bottom; but the preceding method is preferable: some use bait pans of different sizes for insects, the tops punched full of holes, not so large as to admit of their escaping when placed in the river, which not only keeps them cool, but supplies them with aliment in the fresh water; some keep them in moss in a woollen bag on a damp floor, taking care that the bag retains a proper moisture. Another mode of preserving caddis, and also grasshoppers, caterpillars, oak-worms, or natural flies, is to take the green withy bark from a bough six or seven inches round, and about a foot in length, turn both ends into the form of a hoop, and fasten them with a large needle and thread; stop up the bottom with cork, and bore the bark full of holes with a red hot wire, tie over it a colewort leaf, and lay it in the grass every night: in this manner caddis may be preserved until they turn to flies. When grasshoppers are to be preserved in the case, some grass must be put into it.

In angling with caddis, the line, when all out, should be as long as the rod, for three lengths next the hook, of single hairs, with the smallest float, and the least weight of lead, that the swiftness of the stream will allow to sink, and that may be aided by avoiding the violence of the current, and angling in the returns of a stream, or in the eddies betwixt two; which are also the most likely places wherein to kill fish, either at the top or bottom. The caddis may be at times, with very good effect, joined to a worm, and sometimes to an artificial fly, to cover the point of the hook, and also two or three together may be put upon the hook; but it is always to be angled with at the bottom, especially when by itself, with the finest tackle, and at all seasons is a most holding bait for trout and grayling.—_Daniel._

CAG, _s._ A barrel or wooden vessel, made to contain four or five gallons.

CAGE, _s._ An enclosure of twigs or wire, in which birds are kept; a place for wild beasts; a prison for petty malefactors.

In _Falconry_, the cage is an oblong frame, four feet six inches long and two feet wide, made of light wood, the sides and ends are of a proper size for hawks to perch upon, and a little wadded, that it may not injure their feet. It is supported, when placed on the ground, by four legs, about a foot long. Slight rods of hazel are fixed across each end, to prevent the hawks from falling on the inside when they bait. A space of about twenty inches in length is left in the middle of the cage, in which the falconer places himself, carrying it by two straps that pass over his shoulders. The hawks are tied upon the cage as upon a perch, and by this contrivance many may be carried by one man.

Cages and other instruments used in falconry, are well described in the plates of the French Encyclopædia, printed in 1751.—_Sebright._

CAGE, _v._ To enclose in a cage.

CAJEPUT OIL, _s._ Is highly stimulating; it is given internally as an antispasmodic, and applied as an external remedy for strains and rheumatism: it may be diluted with olive oil.

CALAMINE, (_Lapis calaminaris_,) _s._ A kind of fossil bituminous earth, which, being mixed with copper, changes it into brass.

CALCINATION, _s._ Such a management of bodies by fire as renders them reducible to powder: chemical pulverization.

CALCINE, _v._ To burn in the fire to a calx or substance easily reduced to powder.

CALCULUS, _s._ The stone in the bladder.

CALF, _s._ The young of a cow or deer; the thick, plump, bulbous part of the leg.

CALIBRE, _s._ The bore, or diameter of the barrel of a gun.

CALIDRIS, (_Illiger_,) _s._ Sanderling, a genus thus characterised:—

Bill of middle length, slender, straight, soft, flexible throughout; compressed from the base; at the point depressed, flattened, and broader than in the middle, the nasal groove being prolonged towards the point; nostrils at the sides slit lengthwise; legs slender, three toes directed forwards, and almost entirely divided; wings of middle size, the first quill the longest.—_Montagu._

CALIVER, _s. obs._ A hand-gun, or harquebuse; an old musket.

CALL, _v._ To name; to make a noise like quails and partridges.

CALL, _s._ An instrument to call birds.

_The Call of Birds_ is, in most instances, effected by the lungs and larynx; but some species of woodpecker, in the breeding season, have a very extraordinary and peculiar call to each other, by strong reiterated strokes of their bill against the dead sonorous branch of a tree. These calls seem to be a species of song.—_Montagu._

CALLOSITY, _s._ A kind of swelling without pain.

CALLOUS, _a._ Hardened, insensible.

CALLOW, _a._ Unfledged, naked, wanting feathers.

CALOMEL, _s._ Mercury six times sublimed.

Calomel, or _submuriate of mercury_, is the most useful of the mercurial preparations, and composed of oxide of quicksilver and muriatic acid. When prepared it is a fine white powder, rather inclining to yellow, and very ponderous. It is the most efficacious _anthelminthic_ we are acquainted with (see ANTHELMINTHIC), and an excellent _alterative_. When a brisk purgative is wanted, calomel may be added to the common physic, which is composed chiefly of aloes.

Though calomel possesses these useful qualities, it must be given with caution, and its effects carefully watched; as it sometimes acts very violently and unexpectedly on the stomach and bowels, and induces a dangerous degree of weakness. Salivation is sometimes the effect of calomel, when given daily as an alterative, or as a remedy for farcy or mange; the mouth becoming so sore, and the tongue so swollen, as to prevent the horse’s feeding. When these accidents occur, the medicine should be discontinued a short time, and the horse allowed to drink plentifully of water-gruel, linseed infusion, or any other mucilaginous drink. When the bowels are affected by it, opium is the best remedy, should arrow-root gruel or wheat-flour gruel prove ineffectual. In some cases, where it has produced great irritation about the anus or bladder, opium should be given in the form of _clyster_. (See CLYSTERS.) If the mouth becomes very sore, let it be washed with a solution of alum, by means of a syringe.

Whenever calomel is given, the horse must be kept warm, drink warm water, and have regular exercise. When calomel is given as an anthelminthic, or as a purgative, the dose is from one to two drachms; as an alterative, from fifteen grains to half a drachm. Calomel generally acts upon the kidneys, increasing the discharge of urine. (See ALTERATIVES and ANTHELMINTHICS.)—_White._

CALVE, _v._ To bring forth a calf, spoken of a cow. To drop a fawn.

CALUMBA, _s._ A plant. The root is a good tonic and stomachic.

CALX, _s._ Any thing rendered reducible to powder by burning.

CAMBER, _s._ A piece of timber cut archwise. The bending of a gun-stock.

CAMLET, or CAMBLET, _s._ A kind of stuff, originally made by a mixture of silk and camel’s hair; it is now made with wool and silk. It is much used for shooting jackets, as it resists water well, and is light and strong.

CAMPHOR, _s._ A kind of resin produced by a chemical process from the camphor tree. The tree from which camphor is extracted.

The following description of the properties of camphor was given me by an old M. D. Camphor is at once an _emollient_, an _antispasmodic_, an _anodyne_, a _febrifuge_, and a _sedative_.—_Condition of Hunters._

CANARY, _s._ Wine brought from the Canaries; sack.

CANARY BIRD, (_Fringilla canaria_, LINN.) _s._ A much admired singing bird.

In length this beautiful species is about five inches and a half; the bill pale flesh-colour, passing into reddish white; eyes chestnut brown; the whole plumage of a rich, deep primrose colour, inclining to yellow; edge of the quills sometimes yellowish white; legs and feet the same colour as the bill. The female is distinguished from the male by the plumage being of a paler colour; the yellow round the bill, eye, and on the breast and edge of the wing, being also of a paler yellow; she is likewise rather larger and less slender in form towards the tail.

There are said to be upwards of thirty varieties of the breeds of canaries, which can be easily distinguished; and the number is increasing every year. In London, we have societies for promoting the breeds, and a premium is awarded to the competitor who comes nearest to the model of perfection given out by the society the season prior to the competition.

There are two distinct species of canaries, the plain and the variegated, or, as they are technically called, the gay spangles, or mealy; and jonks, or jonquils. These two varieties are more esteemed by amateurs than any of the numerous varieties which have sprung from them; and although birds of different feathers have their admirers, some preferring beauty of plumage, others excellence of song, certainly that bird is most desirable where both are combined. The first property of these birds consists in the cap, which ought to be of fine orange colour, pervading every part of the body except the tail and wings, and possessing the utmost regularity without any black feathers, as, by the smallest speck, it loses the property of a show-bird, and is considered a broken-capped bird. The second property consists in the feathers of the wing and tail being of a deep black up to the quill, as a single white feather in the wing or tail causes it to be termed a foul bird; the requisite number of these feathers in each wing is eighteen, and in the tail twelve. It is, however, frequently observed that the best coloured birds are foul in one or two feathers, which reduces their value, although they may still be matched to breed with.

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A small breeding cage is all that is required for rearing these birds; but where a room can be allotted to the purpose, it ought to have shrubs for them to roost and build, with plenty of water to drink and bathe in, that being indispensable for all birds. The light should be admitted into the room from the east, for the benefit of the morning sun, and the windows should have wire cloth, that they may enjoy the fresh air. The floor of the apartment ought to be strewed with sand or white gravel, and on that should be thrown groundsel, chickweed, or scalded rapeseed; but when breeding, they should have nothing except hard chopped eggs, dry bread, cake without salt, and, once in two or three days, a few poppy-seeds. Some bird-fanciers give their breeding-birds plantains and lettuce-seeds; but this should be done sparingly, and only for two days, lest it should weaken them.

About the 15th of April they ought to be furnished with flax, soft hay, wool, hair, moss, and other dry materials, for building the nest, which usually occupies about three days: the time of incubation is thirteen days; but when the hen has sat eight or nine days, it is necessary to examine the eggs, holding them carefully by the ends, against the sun or a lighted candle, and to throw away the clear ones. Some bird-fanciers substitute an ivory egg until the last is laid, when the real ones are replaced, that they may be hatched at the same time.

When the young are to be reared by the stick, they must be taken from the mother on the eighth day, taking nest and all. Prior to this, the food should consist of a paste composed of boiled rapeseed, the yolk of an egg, and crumbs of cake unsalted, mixed with a little water; this must be given every two hours. This paste ought not to be too wet, and must be renewed daily, until the nestlings can feed themselves. The hen has generally three broods in the year, but will hatch five times in the season, each time laying six eggs.

The process of moulting, which takes place five or six weeks after they are hatched, is frequently fatal to them. The best remedy yet known is to put a small piece of iron into the water they drink, keeping them warm during the six weeks or two months which generally elapse before they regain their strength. This malady, to which they are all subject, is often fatal to the hen after the sixth or seventh year; and even the cock, though from superior strength he may recover, and continue occasionally to sing, and survive his mate four or five years, appears dull and melancholy from this period, till he gradually droops, and falls a victim to this evil.

If it is proposed to rear gay birds, the cock and hen should be of the same deep colour; if mottled birds are required, both parents should be mottled. When a gay bird and a fancy bird are matched, they are termed mule-birds, because they are irregularly mottled in their plumage, and therefore of no value, although they be equally good singers. The spangled or French canary cock, with a mealy hen, often produces beautiful varieties.

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