Part 22

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 of aspect. But there have been introduced of late years some varieties quite distinctly marked from the game fowls of old times; viz., “top knots” and “muffy heads,” which were quite unknown to our ancestors.

The cock is in his prime at two years old, and retains his vigour to his fifth year: the hen somewhat longer. Cockers breed in-and-in without scruple. The following is Mr. Sketchley’s description of a brood cock, in full health and vigour:—“A ruddy complexion, feathers close and short, not cold or dry: flesh firm and compact, full breasted, yet taper and thin behind; full in the girth, well coupled, lofty and spiring, with a good thigh; the beam of his leg very strong, a quick large eye, strong beak, crooked, and big at setting on.” Such a one, not more than two years old, to be put to early pullets, or a blooming stag with two-year old hens; and when a cock, with pullets of his own getting. Uniformity of colours is generally sought for, and the hens selected of similar plumage to that of the cock; the same of shape, which is a greater object in the hen, than size; only she should be lofty crested, short and close feathered, with clean, sinewy, blood-like legs. Shropshire and Cheshire have long been famous for their breed of game cocks; and the Shropshire reds are in particular high estimation. There was formerly in Staffordshire a famous breed of cocks, of a perfect jet black, gipsey faced, black legs, and rather elegant than muscular; lofty in fighting, close in feather, and well shaped. This breed soon degenerated; and, I presume, is now extinct. The following procreative comparison of Mr. Sketchley speaks volumes:—

YEARS. YEARS. YEARS. YEARS. Stags 1 with hens 2 man 18 woman 22 Cock 2 with pullets 0 man 25 woman 22 Cock 2 with hens 2 man 25 woman 22 Cock 3 with hens 3 man 40 to 50 woman 45 Cock 4 with hens 3 man 50 to 60 woman 45

It is said that a game cock that happened to be on board Rodney’s ship on the memorable 12th of April, during that glorious action, exhibited the most undaunted courage, by crowing and clapping his wings.—_Vide_ _Hoyle_, _article_ GAME COCK.

Cocks, when they crow at unwonted hours, often foretel a change of weather. We have often noticed this before rain. During the calm, still, dry, dark, and warm weather, sometimes occurring in the winter months, and which may be called the halcyon days of our climate, cocks keep a constant crowing all night and day. There appear to be three principal cock-crowings in ordinary weather, namely, about midnight or soon after, about three in the morning, and at daybreak; the latter is never omitted. We have noticed, however, that when cocks crow all day, in summer particularly, a change to rain has frequently followed.

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_Cocks and hammers._—If the sportsman has no objection to its clumsy appearance, I should be inclined to recommend the solid cock which falls on its end, instead of being stopped in the middle by the lock plate. It will therefore admit of main springs as strong as you please: and, by this means, add considerably to quickness in firing. But if you have very strong main springs, with the common cock, the resistance from the hammer spring, to prevent its breaking, must be so great, that you would soon wear out hammers, by being obliged to use an immoderate quantity of flints. With this another part of the lock also is safer, because the solid cock is received on a firm support annexed to the pan; while the one on the other construction suddenly catches the lock-plate, and is therefore liable to jar, and break either the tumbler itself, or the pin of the tumbler. A solid cock has many other advantages, from its durability and strength: it is proof against all awkward hands, and particularly desirable on guns which are liable to meet with rough usage in a boat.—_Sporting Repository_—_Hawker_—_Foster._

COCK, _v._ To set erect, to hold upright; to fix the cock of a gun for a discharge; to raise hay in small heaps.

COCKER, _s._ One who follows the sport of cock-fighting: a small spaniel.

_The Cocker_—(_Canis extrarius, Var. B._ LINN.)—This dog is much smaller than the springing spaniel, and is generally used for woodcock and snipe shooting. His diminutive size peculiarly fits him for ranging in low and thick coverts, for which purpose nature seems peculiarly to have adapted him.

The cocker differs from the springer in having a shorter and more compact form, a rounder head, and a shorter muzzle; the ears are very long, the limbs are short and strong; the tail is generally truncated and more bushy; and the hair of the cocker, over his whole body, is more curled than that of the springer. He varies in colour from liver and white, red, red and white, black and white, all liver-coloured, and not unfrequently black, with tanned legs and muzzle.

This beautiful and lively dog seems to have been produced, originally, by a cross between the small water spaniel and the springer, for he not only resembles the figure of the latter, but also has many of his habits, combined with the lively and active disposition of both. From the beauty and temper of the cocker, the breed has become very generally diffused throughout the kingdom, and he is more frequently a companion in the parlour than used in the sports of the field. He is extremely common in many parts of Sussex, from which, in the south, he has obtained the name of the Sussex Spaniel. There has long been a beautiful breed of this dog in the possession of the Duke of Marlborough and his friends, which is preserved in great purity; these are invariably red and white, with very long ears, short noses, and black and sparkling eyes; they are active and indefatigable in the chase, and are consequently held in great estimation among sportsmen.

General Maxwell, of Edinburgh, has long had an extremely beautiful breed of cockers; most of them have been black, with tanned cheeks and legs, and ears nearly seven inches in length; they are of a small size, but they are lively and handsome little creatures.

In his general qualifications the cocker differs but little from the springer, except that he is decidedly more active: he appears also to have a more acute sense of smelling, and pursues game with an enthusiasm amounting to ecstacy. From his lively temperament, he does not tire so soon as the springer, however long the labour of the day may be.

From an innate principle of this industrious little animal, he gives the loudest proofs of his ecstatic delight upon finding, or even coming upon the scent, foot, or haunt of game; it is also his determined resolution to persevere until he has fairly driven them from covert. Consequently all sportsmen who take the field with cockers, are compelled to be on the alert, and to keep pace with the progress which the dogs make in the wood, otherwise they are sure to lose the greater part of the game. They may even travel many a weary mile without obtaining a successful shot, as it is the unalterable nature of these dogs to spring, flush, or start all the game before them; and they pursue, without distinction, hare, pheasant, partridge, woodcock, snipe, quail, and plover. It thus becomes necessary to hunt them within gun-shot of covert, and bells or gingles should be placed inside the collars, if the wood is extensive, to prevent them from beating too wide, and to keep them within call of the whistle.

The springer and cocker are more particularly appropriated to pheasant and woodcock shooting. The former may be considered the most laborious, and the least entertaining of all field sports, if we except the mode in which it is practised in the extensive preserves of Norfolk and Suffolk, and some few districts in other counties, where the large tracts of lofty wood-lands with thick and low underwood, contribute so materially to the safety and increase of the game.

Spaniels of both descriptions are brought into general use and domestic estimation, from their handsome shape, their beautiful sleek coats, their cleanly habits, insinuating manner, incessant attendance, and faithful obedience to their masters, qualities in which they surpass all the other members of the canine race.

Cockers are said to be more subject to certain diseases than other dogs, as loss of smell, and swelling of the glands in the neck, which sometimes prevents their taking any assistance till they die; a disease of the ears, like the mange, called formicæ; and lastly to the mange itself, which is most destructive of all to their beauty, health, and quiet.—_Thornhill._

COCKEREL, _s._ A young cock.

COCKFIGHT, _s._ A match of cocks.

COCKPIT, _s._ The area where cocks fight.

COD, or CODFISH, _s._ A sea-fish.

The fishermen take the cod from the depth of fifteen to sixty fathoms, according to the inequality of the bank, which is represented as a mountain under water, above five hundred miles long, and near three hundred broad, and that the approach to it is known by the great swell of the sea, and the thick mists that impend over it.

The largest cod ever taken on our coasts was at Scarborough, in 1755, and weighed seventy-eight pounds; the length was five feet eight inches; and the girth, round the shoulders, five feet. It was sold for one shilling. The general weight of these fish in the Yorkshire seas, is from fourteen to forty pounds.

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A cod will not only live, but thrive well, in fresh water, if properly fed. A respectable fishmonger assured me that he had tried the experiment and succeeded, and offered to send me some live cod in a well-boat, for my _piscatorium_ in Bushy Park.—_Daniel_—_Jesse._

CODLING, _s._ An apple; a small codfish.

COFFEE, _s._ The berries of the coffee-tree; a drink made by the infusion of those berries in hot water.

COFFIN, _s._ Coffin of a horse, is the whole hoof of the foot above the coronet, including the coffin-bone.

A sprain of the coffin joint is not an unusual occurrence; and, like the former, consists of violence applied to the tendinous and ligamentous connexion of this joint. When a horse becomes suddenly lame, and attentive examination can discover no injury above, the feet should be closely examined, when it is very probable there will be found in one of them some tenderness, and perhaps swelling, particularly at the back part, towards the upper portions of the heels, and in the neighbourhood of the navicular bone, where the part will be more hot than the others, and the horse will express pain when the foot is bent or extended, and he will generally also, though not always, point the foot when in the stable, or, as it is expressed, will stand favouring. The treatment, if the heat be considerable, would be to put the whole foot into a Goulard poultice for three or four days: in very bad cases I have thinned the whole crust of the hoof, and have drawn blood from the toe with advantage. After the heat has in some degree subsided, blister, as a milder treatment will seldom avail here: frequently it must be repeated also.—_Blaine._

COG, _v._ To flatter; to cog a die, to secure it, so as to direct its fall.

COHESION, _s._ The act of sticking together; the state of union.

COIL, _v._ To gather into a narrow compass; to collect a rope.

COIN, _s._ Money stamped with a legal impression; payment of any kind.

COISTREL, _s. obs._ A coward hawk.

COLIC, _s._ Is strictly a disorder of the colon; but loosely, any disorder of the stomach or bowels that is attended with pain.

The causes are various: the sudden application of cold either to the surface of the skin when hot, or to the intestines under similar circumstances, in the shape of cold water drunk hastily, and when the horse has been warm; in which latter case, the attack often soon follows. Costiveness will bring it on. Tumours in the mesentery, and strictures in the bowels are also the sources of occasional colic; and when a horse is found to be subject to repeated attacks, something of this kind, or otherwise calculous concretions, may be suspected: and I have known many instances where habitual colic was present, dependent on these causes. Horses long confined to dry food will sometime get it by suddenly gorging themselves with green meat; and with others, a constitutional tendency from some occult cause, gives them a predisposition to it.

The symptoms of spasmodic colic are usually sudden in their appearance, and not marked, as in inflammation of the bowels, by previous indisposition; but the horse is observed to be at once attacked with considerable uneasiness, shifting his position from side to side, pawing his litter, and stamping with his feet impatiently. After a few minutes thus passed, the pain remits, and leaves the horse tolerably easy; while in enteritis no perfect remission occurs, but all is one scene of nearly equable pain and distress. As the colic advances, the remissions are less perfect, and less frequent: the horse now lies down frequently, and on rising shakes himself, looking round to his sides, which occasionally, in desperate cases, he snaps at with his teeth; but more frequently he is seen to strike with his hind feet at his belly, as though determined to remove by force the cause of his pain. In enteritis this acuteness of sensation or violence of temper is seldom seen. When on the ground, it is not uncommon for the horse to roll on his back; sometimes he will remain in this situation a few seconds, or he will roll over; neither of which are usually done in simple inflammation. In colic the pulse is seldom much altered from its natural state, unless the colic have existed some time, when it occasionally presents marks of general irritation, and is not only quickened, but also somewhat hardened. If felt also during the intensity of the paroxysms, it will likewise be often found to be disturbed even in the early stage, but this is momentary only, and ceases on the remission of the pain. The extremities, as the legs and ears, in colic are not often much affected, and they never remain intensely cold for a considerable period, as in enteritis; but the coat stares, and the horse breaks out frequently into cold sweats. In colic, also, relief is obtained by friction and motion, but both aggravate the distress in enteritis. Sometimes he is seen to attempt to stale without effect, at others he stales frequently, with momentary relief.

_Treatment._—Having reason to believe that the patient is labouring under simple spasm of the intestines, unmixed with inflammatory tendency, derived from idiopathic enteritis; or symptomatic irritation from inversion, involution, invagination, or intussusception of the intestinal track; proceed at once to administer such one or more of the numberless antispasmodic remedies as custom and experience have warranted the use of. Numerous as these are, there is not one that has not its advocate, and perhaps not one that does not deserve it, so simple are the means sometimes required; and so much is the constitution prone, in some cases, to assist itself or our efforts. While, at the same time, other cases occur, sufficiently obstinate, and sufficiently fatal, to require all our energies, and all our discrimination in the choice of our remedies, I can confidently speak to the antispasmodic qualities of the following, which should one or either of them be given as soon as possible, and repeated in one, two, three, or four hours, according to the violence of the symptoms, if no benefit be apparent from the first dose: for it must be remembered, that what we do we must do quickly, to prevent inflammation, for, of the fatal cases, four-fifths show evident marks of enteritic attack on a post-mortem examination.

1. Ground pepper ½ oz. Spirit of turpentine 2 oz. Tincture of opium 1 oz. Sound ale 4 oz. Mix. 2. Spirit of vitriolic æther 1 oz. Tincture of opium (laudanum) 2 oz. Oil of peppermint 1 drachm. Common gin, and sound ale, of each ¼ of a pint. 3. Spirit of turpentine 2 oz. Oil of peppermint 1 drachm. Castor oil, and watery tincture of aloes (Mat. Med.) each 6 oz.

As a domestic remedy, and one which has relieved at the moment, when other medicines were not at hand, I would recommend the following:—

Ground pepper 1 tea-spoonful. The juice of two or three large onions Common gin, and sound ale, of each ¼ of a pint.

The antispasmodic having been given, the necessity of bleeding should be next taken into consideration: if the case be one of very acute features, I would recommend that it be proceeded with without delay, and, according to the degree of intensity, or duration of the complaint, do it more or less liberally. Extensive bleeding, it should be remembered, is one of the most powerful relaxers of spasmodic constriction with which we are acquainted, and instead of its being an antagonist to the antispasmodic treatment usually adopted, by internal remedies, its relaxant qualities are found to be infinitely increased in efficacy when conjoined with large doses of opium. I have had so many opportunities of witnessing the effect of this combination, that I cannot too strongly recommend it: and although most of the ordinary cases of spasmodic colic will yield to the common stimulant treatment, and many would even go off without any treatment at all, yet bleeding, in mild cases even, is always safe and precautionary against inflammation; and in the more aggravated, it is essentially necessary, both to combat the inflammatory tendency, and to promote the relaxation of the spasmodic irritation on the muscular fibre. It is likewise particularly indicated in these violent or protracted cases, to counteract the irritative qualities of the antispasmodics used, which, though in other instances of simple spasm are innocuous, however large, yet may not prove so when reaction is at hand, or already begun. It should, however, be remembered, that though I advocate bleeding, it is not that useless and non-medical practice of bleeding by the palate or sublingual vessels; and though, with Mr. Peal, I would most strongly condemn violent, and particularly long-continued exercise, yet I have so often experienced the good effects of a brisk trot for ten minutes, that I cannot but recommend its adoption. Friction to the belly is also to be employed, by means of a brush, or if with a heated coarse woollen cloth it will be better; but the practice of rubbing with a stick is, I apprehend, worse than useless, and often hurtful. Fomentations of very hot water are also sometimes singularly efficacious; and in every case we should, by means of the patent syringe, throw up considerable quantities of relaxant clysters; and where costiveness is present, until the bowels are relieved of their fæcal matter, the clysters should be of a mild watery solution of aloes, or, by preference, of a solution of sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salts) in broth, gruel, &c. Afterwards the clysters may be made media of applying antispasmodics to the bowels, as decoction of poppy heads, or even tinct. opii, largely diluted with warm water, &c.—_Vide_ _Outlines of Vet. Art_.

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Dogs are subject to two kinds of colic; one arising from constipation of the bowels; the other is of a kind peculiar to dogs, apparently partaking of the nature of rheumatism, and also of spasm. From a sudden or violent exposure to cold, dogs become sometimes suddenly paralytic, particularly in the hinder parts, having great tenderness and pain, and every appearance of lumbago. In every instance of this kind, there is considerable affection of the bowels, generally costiveness, always great pain. A warm bath, external stimulants, but more particularly active aperients, remove the colic. Colic, arising from costiveness, is not in general violently acute from the pain it produces; sometimes it appears accompanied with more spasm than is immediately dependent on the confinement of the bowels. In the former give active aperients, as calomel with pil. cochiæ, i. e. aloetic pill, and clysters; in the latter, castor-oil, with laudanum and ether.—_Blaine._

COLLAR, _s._ A ring of metal put round the neck; the harness fastened about the horse’s neck. A collar of brawn is the quantity bound up in one parcel.

COLLAR-BONE, _s._ The clavicle; the bones on each side of the neck.

COLOUR, _s._ The appearance of bodies to the eye; hue, dye; the appearance of blood in the face; in the plural, a standard, an ensign of war.

A general name given to the dyed wools and mohairs, which are used in forming the bodies of artificial flies. Mixing the wools, or producing, by a union of different colours, the exact shade of the body of the insect to be imitated, is justly reckoned the greatest difficulty of the art; and I have known many persons tie a fly with neatness and elegance, who never could turn out a killing one. Hence practical acquaintance with the ephemeræ, which are imitated, is absolutely requisite for tying, as without it, the handsomest fly is inefficient.

To this may be ascribed the inferiority of the flies usually purchased in extensive fishing shops. Though, possibly, an elegant similitude of the intended insect in size and shape, they are, in tint and colouring, untrue to nature; and, as such, are easily discovered by the keen eye of the invited victim, and as certainly rejected. Without the precise colour of the fly is obtained, the handsomest production will be unsuccessful; and the neophyte will marvel that the basket of the rustic fisherman is filled, while his own showy imitations fail to rise a fish.

In choosing colours the brightness of the tint is to be less regarded than the permanency of the dye. To produce, at the same time, a brilliant and lasting colour, requires time, trouble, and experience. But for all the disciple of Walton will be well repaid; for nothing can be more mortifying to an angler, than to see the tints of his fly fade after a few immersions in the water, and a short exposure to the sunshine.

The receipts for dying wools and feathers, recommended in the FIELD BOOK, were given the compiler by Major Patrickson, an angler, who, in scientific and practical knowledge is, probably, second to none in Britain. They may, perhaps, be undervalued by modern philosophers; but from these simple and antiquated recipes, my accomplished friend produced the most beautiful and permanent colours; and I have, at this moment, in my possession, flies bodied with his wools, which have stood the test of water and weather, and are still as brilliant in their hue, as when they were first attached to the hook. _Vide_ FLY FISHING.

COLOUR, _v._ To mark with some hue or dye; to palliate.

COLT, _s._ A young horse.

COLT’S-TOOTH, _s._ An imperfect tooth in young horses.

COLUMBA, (LINN.) _s._ A dove or pigeon. _Vide_ WOOD-PIGEON.

Bill (save at the point, which is bent down) compressed and straight, the base of the upper mandible being covered with a soft gristly substance, in which the nostrils are placed towards the middle of the bill, forming a cleft lengthwise. The feet having three toes before entirely separated, with one hind toe articulated on the heel. Wings of middle size, the first quill rather shorter than the second, which is the longest in the wing.