Part 17

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, and appear through the skin, while the feathers on the part affected fall off, and the poor bird, after a few days, pines and dies. If the disease is not too far gone, putting them in separate cages, and confining them to the cooling diet of water and lettuce-seed, may save the lives of many: they are also subject to epilepsy, asthma, ulcers in the throat, and to extinction of the voice. The cure for the first is doubtful; it is said that if a drop of blood fall from the bill, the bird will recover life and sense; but if touched prior to falling of itself, it will occasion death. If they recover from the first attack, they frequently live for many years without any alteration in their note. Another cure is to inflict a slight wound in the foot. Asthma is cured by plantain, and hard biscuit soaked in white wine; while ulcers, like repletion, must be cured by cooling food. For extinction of voice, the cure ought to be hard yolk of eggs, chopped up with crumbs of bread, and for drink a little liquorice-root, or a blade of saffron in water. In addition to these evils, the canary is infested by a small insect, if they are kept dirty. To avoid this, they should have plenty of water to bathe in, in a new cage, covered with new cloth, and their seeds well sifted and washed. These attentions, if troublesome, are nevertheless necessary to possess a thriving bird. When wild, it has already been remarked, that all birds require water, and to a canary this is so necessary, that if a saucer or cup of snow be put into the cage they will flutter against it with the utmost delight, even during the most severe winters. They are bred in immense numbers, both for amusement and commerce, in France, Tyrol, Germany, and in this country: those from Germany are in the least esteem, from their living only one or two years in this country, although the cock of this variety is an approved songster.—_Montagu._

CANCER, _s._ A crabfish; a virulent swelling; a sore.

The virulent, dreadful ulcer, that is so fatal in the human subject, and is called cancer, is unknown in dogs; yet there is very commonly a large scirrhous swelling of the teats in bitches, and of the testicles (though less frequent) in dogs, that as it sometimes becomes ulcerated, so it may be characterised by this name. In the early state of this disease, discutients prove useful; as vinegar with salt, and camphor and Spanish flies with mercurial ointment, have sometimes succeeded, taking care to avoid irritating the part so much as to cause blister. But when the swelling is detached from the belly, and hangs pendulous in the skin, it had better be removed; and, as a future preventative, suffer the bitch to breed. Scirrhous testicles are likewise sometimes met with; for these no treatment yet discovered succeeds, but the removal of the part, and that before the spermatic chord becomes much affected, or it will be useless.—_White._

CANCEROUS, _a._ Having the virulence of a cancer.

CANDLE, _s._ A light made of wax or tallow, surrounding a wick of flax or cotton.

Candles, as well as lamps, often afford good prognostics of weather. When the flames of candles flare and snap, or burn with an unsteady or dim light, rain, and frequently wind also, are found to follow. The excrescences from the wicks called funguses also denote rain and wind.—_Foster._

CANE, _s._ A kind of strong reed; the plant which yields the sugar; a lance. Canes are sometimes used for fishing-rods.

CANELLA-ALBA, _s._ An aromatic stimulant.

CANINE, _a._ Having the properties of a dog.

CANKER, _s._ A worm that preys upon, and destroys fruits; a fly that preys upon fruits; any thing that corrupts or consumes; an eating or corroding humour; corrosion, virulence; a disease in trees.

_Canker in the ear._—A common and troublesome disease, to which dogs are liable. To cure it, boil two ounces of best shag tobacco in a quart of water, until one pint is consumed; dip the dog’s ears, as it is boiling hot, into the tobacco water, until two inches above the cankered part; repeat it three successive days. To bring the hair again, burn some old shoe, and mix with a quarter of a pound of hog’s-lard, and frequently anoint the ears; but the readiest and best way to rid dogs of cankers, is to apply the rounding-iron.

* * * * *

In the early stages, a wash composed of half a drachm of superacetate (sugar) of lead, dissolved in four ounces of rose or rain water, is often all that is necessary. A small teaspoonful may be introduced (previously warmed to a blood heat, to prevent surprise) night and morning, rubbing the root of the ear at the same time, to promote the entrance of the wash into the cavities. In more obstinate cases, it is prudent to add fifteen or twenty grains of vitriolated zinc (white vitriol) to the wash; and if, instead of water, a decoction of oak bark is made use of to form the wash, it will greatly promote the end desired. In some cases, acetate of copper (verdigris), mixed with oil, has proved beneficial when introduced in the same manner. In others, submuriate of quicksilver (calomel) and oil have produced amendment in the same way. A _very_ weak injection of the oxymuriate of quicksilver (corrosive sublimate) has succeeded when every other application has failed. A very mild injection of nitrate of silver, as one grain to two ounces of water, has done much good also.

* * * * *

Canker on the outside of the ear consists of an ill-disposed ulcer, which is usually situated on the lower edge of the flap or pendulous part of one or both ears, dividing it into a kind of slit. It seems to itch intolerably, and is therefore kept in a continual state of aggravation by the shaking of the dog’s head. An unguent, made with equal parts of ointment of nitrated quicksilver and calamine cerate, may be applied once a day, carefully securing the ear from the injury occasioned by the shaking of the head, by a sort of head dress, during its use. Or the following may be tried:—

Oxymuriate of quicksilver (corrosive sublimate) very finely powdered 3 grains Cerate of calamine (Turner’s cerate) 1 drachm Sublimated sulphur (milk of) 1 scruple.

In some cases, the oxymuriate of silver has become more efficacious in a wash, six grains being dissolved in four ounces of water. Strong astringent lotions are sometimes useful; as alum dissolved in a decoction of oak bark. When the disease proves very obstinate, excision must be resorted to, taking care that the whole, not only of the immediate cracked part, but also of its tumefied edges, are included in the operation.

* * * * *

In tumefied flap of the ear, the tumour ought either to be opened its full length, and a pledget of lint introduced, to prevent too hasty a union of the outer edges of the sac; or a seton should be introduced, embracing the whole of the tumour, which should be suffered to remain for a week or ten days. By this means, instead of a discharge of serum, healthy matter will form in a little time; the sides will granulate and unite, and on the removal of the seton, the external lips of the wound will close firmly and healthily.—_Blaine._

CANKER, _v._ To corrupt, to corrode; to infect, to pollute.

CANOA, or CANOE, _s._ A boat made by cutting the trunk of a tree into a hollow vessel; a very light boat.

The Poole canoe is built sharp at both ends, on the plan of the Greenland whale-boat, except being so flat at the bottom as to draw only two or three inches of water, and so light as to weigh only from sixty to two hundred pounds. In making all canoes for gunning, the builder should be careful to have the bottoms of them a little rounded (say about half an inch of convex “a-midships,” for a bottom three feet broad); and, what is of still more consequence, a little “kammelled,” or sprung; that is, gradually rising “fore and aft,” in order to “give them life.” They will, otherwise, row miserably heavy, and, when they get aground, suck the mud or sand so much, that, in order to get them off again, you might be forced to stand up, and this would frighten away the fowl. If, however, the bottom of a canoe is too much kammelled, she will never keep steady in going to birds. Some people, for this reason, leave hollow grooves between the bottom planks. I should say, that to every five feet of plank I would give about one inch of “kammel;” so that the bottom of the canoe being ten feet, would, by holding a string along the centre of the bottom, outside, prove convex about two inches. If a little more, she would be none the worse; perhaps the better, provided that she drew water enough to give a bearing to every part; otherwise the ends that were sprung, would, by being out of the water, “cluck” so much as to make birds swim away in the night. In short, let your draught of water be the chief guide to regulate the kammelling, or springing, of your punts and canoes. If not required for rough work, or a fixed swivel-gun, I should recommend all the planks to be not more than three quarters of the thickness specified in the plate; as nothing, provided it be perfectly safe, can be too light for getting to wild birds. It is the large size of a boat, not the substance of the wood, that makes her safe in a sea. If the builder puts some oakum and tar round the heads of the principal nails, before he drives them in, so much the better.—_Hawker._

CANTER, _s._ A short gallop.

The chief paces for a hack to carry a gentleman are the walk and the canter. A very quick trot is a most ungentlemanlike pace, and only fit for a butcher; besides which, it wears out a horse much sooner than a canter, from the weight being all thrown upon one fore leg at the same time; whereas, in the canter, it is equally divided between both. Added to this a canter is much more easy, as well as safer to the rider, the horse having his haunches more under him than when he trots, thereby more likely to recover himself in case of making a mistake, which the best is sometimes subject to. Fast trotting also distresses a horse more than cantering, because in the one he is going up to the top of his speed, and in the other much below it.—_Nimrod._

CANTHARIDES, _s._ Spanish flies, used to raise blisters.

These insects are found adhering to trees of different kinds in France, Germany, and Spain: those from the latter country are considered the best.

Cantharides are so very acrimonious, that they inflame and excoriate the skin; and hence raise a more perfect blister than any other substance: this property renders them extremely useful in veterinary practice, in which a good _blister_ is the most important of all external remedies. Cantharides should be finely powdered; but previously to this operation they should be sifted, that they may be free from a great deal of dust and useless matter, which we generally observe with them. When powdered, they may be either formed into an ointment, a liniment, or a spirituous tincture; but the former is the best form, and most commonly used. (See BLISTERS.)

Cantharides are imported from Sicily and Astracan, in sacks and small chests. The best are of a lively fresh colour, a small size, and not mouldy, nor mixed with the _Melolontha vitis_; an insect resembling them in some degree, but possessing no vesicating property. It may be distinguished by its form, which is more square than that of the Spanish fly, and by its black feet. If Spanish flies have been properly dried and kept in a well-stopped glass bottle, they retain their acrimony, and remain unchanged a great length of time; but sometimes they are attacked by a small worm, which, however, feeds on the inactive part only of the fly, reducing it to a powder that still possesses the active quality of the entire insect. They soon putrify when kept in a damp place, and therefore should be occasionally spread out to the air.—_Thomson’s London Dispensatory._

CANTLE, _s._ A piece with corners. The hinder part of the saddle.

CAP, _s._ A strong covering for the head, formerly worn by huntsmen—hats are now preferred by gentlemen riders. _Vide_ COPPER.

CAPARISON, _s._ A sort of cover for a horse; generally horse furniture.

CAPELOT, _s._ A swelling on the hock; it is harmless, but incurable.

CAPERCALZIE, (_Urogallus vulgaris_, FLEM.), _s._

The male of this species is polygamous, and lives separate from the females, except in the breeding season. Their manner and habits are very like those of the black grous, except that this seems to be confined wholly to forests of pine, on the tender shoots of which it feeds. It was formerly to be met with in Scotland and Ireland, but is now extinct.

The female is said to lay from eight to sixteen eggs, of a white colour, spotted with yellow, larger than those of our domestic fowl. Dr. Latham says, he is well informed the nest of one found in Scotland was placed on a Scotch pine; if so, it differs from all the genus, who are known to lay their eggs on the bare ground.

It is not uncommon in the pine forests of Norway, whence we have received it. It is also found plentiful in Russia and Siberia, in Italy, and several parts of the Alps. It formerly frequented the fir woods of Ireland and Scotland, and was last seen in 1760, in the woods of Strathglass. It continued in Strathspey till 1745. Recent attempts have been made to re-introduce the species from Norway without success.—_Montagu._

CAPISTRUM, _s._ In ornithology, is a word used by Linnæus to express the short feathers on the forehead just above the bill. In some birds these feathers fall forward over the nostrils: they quite cover those of the _crow_.

CAPIVI, _s._ A balsam. It has been lately introduced into veterinary practice.

CAPON, _s._ A castrated cock.

The Chinese are said to be particularly skilful in this operation, the outline of which, according to their mode, I give as a matter of curiosity. The wings of the fowl are folded back till they meet, and the left foot of the operator is placed upon them, the great toe of his right foot pressing upon the legs to keep them fast. After pulling the feathers, an incision is made, one inch long, and one inch from the spine, obliquely downward and forward.

After the operation, instead of being melancholy, abashed, and humiliated, the capon assumes a bold, lofty, and triumphant air; and such is the influence of audacity over all animals, that his borrowed courage completely imposes on the cocks and hens, and prevents them from disturbing him in the fulfilment of his charge. At first, he is a little awkward in the exercise of his office. His ambition, in imitating in his gait, the majesty and dignity of the cocks, makes him carry his head too stiff, and prevents him from seeing the chickens, which he sometimes thus inadvertently tramples under foot. But experience soon teaches him to avoid such mishaps, and accidents of the same kind do not occur again.—_Moubray._

CAPRIOLE, _s._ _Caprioles_, in the old menage, are leaps such as horses make in one and the same place, without advancing forwards.

CAPSICUM, _s._ The pod from which cayenne pepper is produced; a powerful stimulant.

CAR, _s._ A small carriage of burden.

CARABINE, or CARBINE, _s._ A small sort of musket. It is shorter in the barrel and smaller in the bore.

CARAWAY, _s._ A plant.

The seeds are cordial and carminative, and from them an _essential oil_ is obtained for veterinary purposes. The dose is from half a drachm to a drachm, and may be mixed either with ale, milk, or water, into a drench; or formed into a ball with powdered liquorice, powdered ginger, and honey.

Caraway is a useful cordial and carminative. The dose of _the seed_ is about an ounce; to which may be added a drachm or two of powdered ginger.

From twenty to thirty drops of oil of caraway are a useful addition to aloes, making a purgative ball; or, as it is commonly termed, a dose of physic.

Though the essential oil is the most convenient form for giving caraways, it is not perhaps so grateful to the stomach, or likely to produce so gradual or durable a stimulus as the recently powdered seeds. Caraways lose their power by long keeping, especially in damp places. When the essential oil is employed, the best manner of mixing it is to rub it in a mortar with sugar and treacle, and to add the ale or water gradually. Or it may be mixed in the proportion of one part of the oil to two of spirit of wine, and kept as an essence of caraway: this, when mixed with ale or water, will be more uniformly diffused through the liquor than the oil alone, which will immediately float on the surface.—_White._

CARDAMOM-SEEDS, _s._

There are two sorts of cardamoms, the greater and lesser: the latter are commonly sold in their shells or pods, from which they are easily freed. These are preferred in medical practice, probably on account of their more grateful smell and taste, but the larger sort, which are generally termed grains of paradise (see GRAINS OF PARADISE), are better for veterinary purposes, being a stronger stimulant, and much cheaper.—_White._

CARDS, _s._

The general opinion respecting the origin of playing-cards is, that they were first made for the amusement of Charles VI. of France, at the time he was afflicted with a mental derangement, which commenced in 1392, and continued for several years. In proof of this supposition, an article in the treasury registers belonging to that monarch is quoted, which states that a payment of fifty-six sols was made to Jacquemin Gringonneur, painter, for three packs of cards gilded and painted with divers colours and different devices, to be carried to the king for his diversion.

In Spain, as early as A.D. 1387, John I., king of Castile, in an edict, forbade playing of cards and dice in his dominions. The provost of Paris, January 22, A.D. 1397, published an ordinance, prohibiting the manufacturing part of the people from playing at tennis, dice, cards, &c. which has inclined several modern writers upon this subject to refer the invention of cards from France to Spain; and the names of some of the cards, as well as of many of the most ancient games, being evidently derived from the Spanish language, are justly considered as strong corroborating arguments in favour of such an opinion.

A very intelligent writer upon the origin of engraving, Baron Heineken, asserts, that playing-cards were invented in Germany, where they were used towards the latter end of the fourteenth century; but his reasons are by no means conclusive. He says they were known there as early as the year 1376.

At the time that cards were first introduced, they were drawn and painted by the hand without the assistance of a stamp or plate; it follows of course that much time was required to complete a set or pack of cards; and the price they bore, no doubt, was adequate to the labour bestowed upon them, which necessarily must have enhanced their value beyond the purchase of the under classes of the people. For this reason it is, I presume, that card-playing, though it might have been known in England, was not much practised until such time as inferior sets of cards, proportionably cheap, were produced for the use of the commonalty, which seems to have been the case when Edward IV. ascended the throne, for in 1463, early in his reign, an act was established, on a petition from the card-makers of the city of London, prohibiting the importation of playing-cards; and soon after that period card-playing became a very general pastime.

The increasing demand for these objects of amusement, it is said, suggested the idea of cutting the outlines appropriated to the different suits upon separate blocks of wood, and stamping them upon the cards; the intermediate spaces between the outlines were filled up with various colours laid on by the hand. This expeditious method of producing cards reduced the price of them, so that they might readily be purchased by almost every class of persons. The common usage of cards was soon productive of serious evils, which all the exertions of the legislative power have not been able to eradicate.

CARMINATIVE, _s._ Carminatives are such things as dispel wind, and promote insensible perspiration.

The disorders for which carminatives are employed are flatulent or spasmodic colic, gripes, fret, and botts.

CARMINATIVE MIXTURES.

1. Best Cognac brandy 4 to 6 oz. Hot water 10 or 12 oz.

Mix for one dose.

2. Anodyne carminative tincture 2 to 4 oz.

(The receipt for this tincture will be found under the article ANODYNE.)

Hot water 8 or 10 oz.

Mix.

3. Tincture of opium ½ to 1 oz. Essence of peppermint (see PEPPERMINT) 1 dr. Water 10 or 12 oz.

4. Oil of turpentine 4 oz. Gruel 10 or 12 oz.

Mr. Bracey Clark recommends, above all other remedies, a tincture of allspice, made by digesting one pound of bruised allspice in three quarts of proof spirit. Of this he gives four ounces in a little water every hour until the horse is relieved.

CARMINATIVE, _a._ Belonging to carminatives.

CARNIVOROUS, _a._ Flesh-eating; a term applied to birds and animals.

Carnivorous birds are distinguished by those endowments and powers with which they are furnished by nature for the purpose of procuring their food. They are provided with wings of great length, the muscles which move them being proportionally large and strong; whereby they are enabled to keep long upon the wing, in search of their prey. They are armed with strong hooked bills, and sharp and formidable claws. They have also large heads, short necks, strong and brawny thighs, and a sight so accurate and piercing, as to enable them to view their prey from the greatest heights in the air, upon which they dart with inconceivable swiftness and undeviating aim. Their stomachs are smaller than those of the granivorous kind, and their intestines are much shorter.—_Bewick._

CAROTID, _s._ Two arteries which arise out of the ascending trunk of the aorta.

CARP, _s._ A pond and river fish, very abundant in Great Britain.

The carp is the queen of rivers; a stately, a good and a very subtle fish; that was not at first bred, nor hath been long in England, but is now naturalised. It is said, they were brought hither by one Mr. Mascal, a gentleman that then lived at Plumsted in Sussex, a county that abounds more with fish than any in this nation.

Carps and loaches are observed to breed several months in one year, which pikes and most other fish do not. And this is partly proved by tame and wild rabbits: and also by some ducks which will lay eggs nine of the twelve months; and yet there be other ducks that lay not longer than about one month. And it is the rather to be believed, because you shall scarce or never take a male carp without a melt, or a female without a roe or spawn, and for the most part very much, and especially all the summer season. And it is observed, that they breed more naturally in ponds than in running waters, if they breed there at all; and that those that live in rivers are taken by men of the best palates to be much the better meat.