Part 47

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The person who carried the hawk was provided with gloves for that purpose, to prevent their talons from hurting his hand. In the inventories of apparel belonging to King Henry VIII. such articles frequently occur; at Hampton Court, in the jewel house, were seven hawkes’ gloves embroidered.—_Montagu_—_Sebright_—_Strutt._

HAY, _s._ Grass dried to fodder cattle in winter.

Much in a horse’s condition depends on the quality of his hay; good hay is easily chosen, and the smell and colour afford a test of its quality not to be mistaken.

HAZARD, _s._ Chance, accident; chance of danger; a game at dice.

Any number of persons may play hazard. The person who takes the box and dice, throws a main, that is to say, a chance for the company, which must be above four, and not exceed nine, otherwise it is no main, consequently he must keep throwing till he brings five, six, seven, eight, or nine; this done, he must throw his own chance, which may be any above three, and not exceeding ten: if he throw two aces or trois-ace (commonly called crabs), he loses his stakes, let the company’s chance, called the main, be what it will. If the main should be seven, and seven or eleven be thrown immediately after, it is what is called a nick, and the caster (the present player) wins out his stakes: also, if eight be the main, and eight or twelve thrown immediately after, it is also called a nick, and the caster wins his stakes. The caster throwing any other number for the main, such as is admitted, and bringing the same number directly afterwards, that is likewise termed a nick, and he then also wins whatever stakes he has made.

Every three successive mains the caster wins, he is to pay half a guinea to the box or furnisher of the dice.

The meaning of a stake or bet at this game differs somewhat from the other. If a person choose to lay a sum of money with the thrower or caster, he must put his cash upon the table, within a circle which is described for that purpose; when he has done this, if the caster agree to it, he knocks the box upon the table at the person’s money with whom he intends to bet, or particularly mentions at whose money he throws, which is sufficient, and he is obliged to answer whatever sum is down, unless the staker calls to cover; in that case the caster is obliged to stake also, otherwise the bets would be void. It is optional in the person who bets with the thrower, to bar any throw which the caster may be going to cast, provided neither of the dice be seen; if one die should be discovered, the caster must throw the other to it, unless the throw is barred in proper time.

The common odds, which are absolutely necessary to be understood, before any person attempts to play or bet at this game, are as follow: if seven be thrown for the main, and four the chance, it is 2 to 1 against the person who throws; if six to four be thrown, 5 to 3; if five to four, 4 to 3; seven to nine, 3 to 2; seven to six, 3 to 2, barring the two trois; with the two trois, only six to five; seven to five, 3 to 2; six to five, an even bet, barring the doublets or the two trois; with the trois, 5 to 4; eight to five, an even bet, barring the two fours; five to four with the two fours; nine to five, even; nine to four, is 4 to 3; the nick of seven is 7 to 2, but often laid but 10 to 3; and five to one you do not nick six or eight.

To illustrate these calculations still more clearly, the following table will be serviceable:—

TABLE OF THE ODDS.

7 to 4 is 2 to 1. ⎫ 6 .. 4 .. 5 .. 3. ⎪ 5 .. 4 .. 4 .. 3. ⎪ 7 .. 9 .. 3 .. 2. ⎪ 7 .. 6 ⎧ 3 .. 2, barring the two trois. ⎪ ⎩ 6 .. 5, with the two trois. ⎪ against 7 .. 5 .. 3 .. 2. ⎬ the 6 .. 5 ⎧ even, barring the two trois. ⎪ caster. ⎩ 5 .. 4 with the two trois. ⎪ 8 .. 5 ⎧ even, barring the two fours ⎪ ⎩ 5 .. 4 with the two fours. ⎪ 9 .. 5 .. even. ⎪ 9 .. 4 .. 4 .. 3. ⎭

The nick of seven is 7 to 2, often laid 10 to 3.

The nick of six and eight is 5 to 1.

It is necessary to be perfectly master of these odds, in order to play the prudent game, and to make use of them by way of insuring bets in what is called hedging, in case the chance happens to be unlikely; for, by taking the odds a ready calculator secures himself, and often stands part of his bet to a certainty. For example, if seven be the main, and four the chance, and he should have 5_l._ depending on the main, by taking 6_l._ to 3_l._ he must either win 2_l._ or 1_l._; and on the contrary, if he should not like his chance, by laying the odds against himself, he must save in proportion to the bet he has made.—_Hoyle._

HAZARD, _v_. To expose to chance.

HAZE, _s._ Fog, mist.

HAZEL, _s._ A nut-tree.

HAZEL, _a._ Light brown, of the colour of hazel.

HEAD, _s._ The part of the animal that contains the brain or the organ of sensation and thought; chief, principal person, one to whom the rest are subordinate; state of a deer’s horns, by which his age is known; the top of anything bigger than the rest; the forepart of anything, as of a ship; that which rises on the top of liquors; upper part of a bed; source of a stream.

_The head of the horse_ is a very important part, considered with a view to the beauty of the animal; and in no part is an improvement in the breed so soon detected as in this. Can any thing be conceived more dissimilar than the small inexpressive features attached to the enormous head of a cart-horse, compared with the bold striking lines which grace that of the blood-horse? The head, in the improved breeds, is small and angular, the eyes prominent, the ears spirited, small, and pointed; the forehead wide, straight, and sometimes slightly curved inwards at the lower part: in them the facial angle is about 25°, whereas, in the heavy breed, it is more generally 23°: its junction with the neck, also, is less easy and elegant than in the improved kind.—_Blaine._

HEAD, _v._ To lead; to direct; to behead; to kill by taking away the head; to lop trees at the top; to get before a deer or fox, to make him take another course.

HEADLAND, _s._ Promontory, cape; ground under hedges.

HEADSTALL, _s._ Part of the bridle that covers the head.

HEADSTRONG, _a._ Unrestrained; violent, ungovernable.

HEAL, _v._ To cure; to restore from sickness or wounds.

HEALING, _a._ Mild, mollifying; assuasive.

HEALTH, _s._ Freedom from bodily pain or sickness; strength.

HEALTHY, _a._ In health, free from sickness; in good condition.

HEARING, _s._ The sense by which sounds are perceived; reach of the ear.

HEART, _s._ The muscle which by its contraction and dilatation propels the blood through the course of circulation, and is therefore considered as the source of vital motion. It is situated in the thorax, and divided externally into the base, the superior and inferior surface, and the anterior and posterior margin. Internally it comprises two ventricles called the right and left.

HEARTLESS, _a._ Without courage, spiritless, out of condition.

HEARTY, _a._ Sincere, warm; in full health; vigorous, strong.

HEAT, _s._ The sensation caused by the approach or touch of fire; hot weather; state of any body under the action of fire; a term in racing. _In gun-making_ three degrees of heat are employed; blood-red heat, the lowest flame; white heat, the second; and sparkling or welding heat, the most intense.

HEATH, _s._ A plant; a place overgrown with heath.

HEATHCOCK, _s._ A large fowl that frequents heaths. _Vide_ GROUSE.

HEATHPEAS, _s._ A species of bitter vetch.

HEDGE, _s._ A fence made round grounds with prickly bushes.

HEDGE, _v._ To enclose with a hedge; to encircle; to shut up within an enclosure. In betting, hedging means to bet upon and against the same event.

HEDGEHOG, _s._ An animal set with prickles like thorns in a hedge.

Hedgehogs abound in my gardens and fields. The manner in which they eat the roots of the plantain in my grass walk is very curious: with their upper mandible, which is much longer than their lower, they bore under the plant, and so eat the root off upwards, leaving the tuft of leaves untouched. In this respect they are serviceable, as they destroy a very troublesome weed; but they deface the walks in some measure by digging little round holes. It appears, by the dung that they drop upon the turf, that beetles are no inconsiderable part of their food. In June last I procured a litter of four or five young hedgehogs, which appeared to be about five or six days old; they, I find, like puppies, are born blind, and could not see when they came to my hands. No doubt their spines are soft and flexible at the time of their birth, or else the poor dam would have but a bad time of it in the critical moment of parturition: but it is plain that they soon harden; for these little pigs had such stiff prickles on their backs and sides as would easily have fetched blood, had they not been handled with caution. Their spines are quite white at this age; and they have little hanging ears, which I do not remember to be discernible in the old ones. They can, in part, at this age draw their skin down over their faces; but are not able to contract themselves into a ball, as they do, for the sake of defence, when full grown. The reason, I suppose, is, because the curious muscle that enables the creature to roll itself up into a ball has not then arrived at its full tone and firmness. Hedgehogs make a deep and warm hybernaculum with leaves and moss, in which they conceal themselves for the winter: but I never could find that they stored in any winter provision, as some quadrupeds certainly do.

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Jesse says, “I had also a tame hedge-hog, which nestled before the fire, on the stomach of an old lazy terrier dog, who was much attached to it, and the best understanding existed between them.”

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_Sagacity of the Hedgehog._—During the summer of 1818, as Mr. Lane, gamekeeper to the Earl of Galloway, was passing by the wood of Glascaden, near Garlieston, in Scotland, he fell in with a hedgehog, crossing the road at a small distance before him, carrying on its back six pheasant’s eggs, which upon examination he found it had pilfered from a pheasant’s nest hard by. The ingenuity of the creature was very conspicuous, as several of the remaining eggs were holed, which must have been done by it, when in the act of rolling itself over the nest, in order to make as many adhere to its prickles as possible. After watching the motions of the urchin for a short time longer, Mr. Lane saw it deliberately crawl into a furze bush, where its nest was, and where the shells of several eggs were strewed around, which had at some former period been conveyed thither in the same manner.—_White’s Selborne_—_Jesse._

HEDGEROW, _s._ The series of trees or bushes planted for enclosures.

HEDGESPARROW, or CHANTER, (_Accentor Modularis_, CUVIER), _s._ A sparrow that lives in bushes.

This well known species, commonly called hedge sparrow, needs little description. The length is five inches and three quarters; weight near six drams. Bill dusky; irides light hazel; head and neck brown, mixed with ash-colour; back and wing coverts darker brown, edged with rufous brown; throat and breast dull ash-colour; belly dirty white; sides and vent tawny brown. The female has less ash-colour about the head and breast.

The hedge sparrow is found in all parts of England; has a pleasing song, which it begins with the new year, if the weather is mild; breeds early, making a nest in March, composed of green moss and wool, and lined with hair, which is placed in some low evergreen shrub, thick brush, or cut hedge; frequently builds in faggot piles. The eggs are four or five in number, blue; their weight about twenty-eight grains.

This bird is one of the few of the warbler tribe that remains with us the whole year. The food is insects and worms; but like the redbreast, it will, in defect of these, pick up crumbs of bread; and seems to prefer situations near the habitation of man.—_Montagu._

HEEL, _s._ The part of the foot that protuberates behind.

HEELER, _s._ A cock that strikes well with his heels.

HEIFER, _s._ A young cow.

HEMORRHAGE, _s._ A violent flux of blood.

HEN, _s._ The female of a house cock; the female of any bird.

HENROOST, _s._ The place where the poultry rest.

HERB, _s._ Herbs are those plants whose stalks are soft, and have nothing woody in them, as grass and hemlock.

HERBACEOUS, _a._ Belonging to herbs; feeding on vegetables.

HERBAGE, _s._ Herbs collectively; grass, pasture.

HERD, _s._ A number of beasts together; it anciently signified a keeper of cattle, as goat-herd.

HERD, _v._ To run in herds or companies; to associate.

HERDSMAN, _s._ One employed in tending herds.

HERMAPHRODITE, _s._ An animal uniting two sexes.

HERNIA, _s._ Any kind of rupture.

HERON, COMMON HERON, HERONSEWGH, or HERONSHAW, (_Ardea Major_, LINN.; _Le Heron huppé_, BUFF.) _s._ A bird that feeds on fish.

Although the heron is of a long, lank, awkward shape, yet its plumage gives it, on the whole, an agreeable appearance; but when stripped of its feathers, it looks as if it had been starved to death. It seldom weighs more than between three and four pounds, notwithstanding it measures about three feet in length, and in the breadth of its wings, from tip to tip, above five. The bill is six inches long, straight, pointed, and strong, and its edges are thin and slightly serrated; the upper mandible is of a yellowish horn colour, darkest on the ridge, the under one yellow; a bare skin, of a greenish colour, is extended from the beak beyond the eyes; the irides of which are yellow, and give them a fierce and piercing aspect.—The brow and crown of the head are white, bordered above the eyes by black lines, which reach the nape of the neck, where they join a long flowing pendent crest of the same colour. The upper part of the neck, in some, is white, in others pale ash, the forepart lower down is spotted with a double row of black feathers, and those which fall over the breast are long, loose, and unwebbed; the shoulders and scapular feathers are also of the same kind of texture, of a grey colour generally streaked with white, and spread over its down-clothed back. The ridge of the wing is white; coverts and secondaries lead colour; bastard wings and quills of a bluish black, as are also the long, soft feathers, which take their rise on the sides under the wings; and, falling down, meet at their tips, and hide all the under parts: the latter, next the skin, are covered with a thick, matted, dirty-white down, except about the belly and vent, which are almost bare. The tail is short, and consists of twelve feathers of a cinereous or brownish lead-colour; the legs are dirty-green, long, bare above the knees, and the middle claw is jagged on the inner edge.

The female has not the long flowing crest, or the long feathers which hang over the breast of the male, and her whole plumage is more uniformally dull and obscure. In the breeding-season they congregate in large societies; and, like the rooks, build their nests on trees, with sticks, lined with dried grass, wool, and other warm materials. The female lays from four to six eggs, of a pale, greenish-blue colour.

The heron is described by Buffon as exhibiting the picture of wretchedness, anxiety, and indigence, condemned to struggle perpetually with misery and want, and sickened by the restless cravings of a famished appetite, &c. However faithful this ingenious naturalist may have been in pourtraying the appearance of the heron, yet others are not inclined to adopt his sentiments in describing its habits and manners, or to agree with him in opinion that it is one of the most wretched of animated beings. It is probable that it suffers no more than other birds, many species of which employ equal attention in looking for their prey, and it is not unlikely that the heron derives pleasure from it instead of pain. This bird, however, is of a melancholy deportment, a silent and patient creature; and will, in most severe weather, stand motionless a long time in the water, fixed to a spot, in appearance like the stump or root of a tree, waiting for its prey, which consists of frogs, waternewts, eels, and other kinds of fish; and it is also said that it will devour field-mice.

The heron traverses the country to a great distance in quest of some convenient or favourite fishing spot, and in its aerial journeys soars to a great height, to which the eye is directed by its harsh cry, uttered from time to time while on the wing. In flying it draws the head between the shoulders, and the legs stretched out, seem, like the longer tails of some birds, to serve the office of a rudder. The motion of their wings is heavy and flagging, and yet they get forward at a greater rate than would be imagined.

In England herons were formerly ranked among the royal game, and protected as such by the laws; and whoever destroyed their eggs was liable to a penalty of twenty shillings for each offence. Heron hawking was at that time a favourite diversion among the nobility and gentry of the kingdom, at whose tables this bird was a favourite dish, and was as much esteemed as pheasants and peacocks.

_Great White Heron._ (_Ardea alba_, LINN.; _Le Heron blanc_, BUFF.)—The great white heron is of nearly the same hulk as the common heron, but its legs are longer. It has no crest, and its plumage is wholly white; its bill yellow, and its legs black.

Its character and manner of living are the same as those of the common heron, and it is found in the same countries, though this species is not nearly so numerous. It has rarely been seen in Great Britain. Pennant, in his Arctic Zoology, says it is found in the Russian dominions, about the Caspian and Black Seas, the lakes of Great Tartary, and the river Irtisch, and sometimes as far north as latitude 53°. Latham says it is met with in New York, in America, from June to October; at different seasons of the year it is found in Jamaica, and in the Brazils: and our circumnavigators have met with it at New Zealand.

_The Night Heron, Lesser Ash-coloured Heron or Night Raven._ (_Ardea Nycticorax_, LINN.; _Le Bihoreau_, BUFF.)—The length of this bird is about twenty inches; the bill is three inches and three quarters long, slightly arched, strong, and black, inclining to yellow at the base; the skin from the beak round the eye is bare, and of a greenish colour; irides yellow. A white line is extended from the beak, over each eye a black patch, glossed with green, covers the crown of the head and nape of the neck, from which three long narrow white feathers tipped with brown, hang loose and waving: the hinder part of the neck, coverts of the wing, sides and tail, are ash-coloured; throat white, forepart of the neck, breast, and belly, yellowish white or buff; the back black, the legs a greenish yellow. The female is nearly of the same size as the male, but she differs considerably in her plumage, which is less bright and distinct, being more blended with clay or dirty white, brown, grey, and rusty ash-colour, and she has not the delicate plumes which flow from the head of the male.

The night heron frequents the sea shores, rivers, and inland marshes, and lives upon crickets, slugs, frogs, reptiles, and fish. It remains concealed during the day, and does not roam abroad until the approach of night, when it is heard and known by its rough, harsh, and disagreeable cry, which is by some compared to the noise made by a person straining to vomit. Some ornithologists affirm that the female builds her nest on trees, others that she builds it on rocky cliffs: probably both accounts are right. She lays three or four white eggs.

This species is not numerous, although widely dispersed over Europe, Asia, and America.

The bird is indeed very uncommon in this country. Latham mentions one in the Leverian Museum, which was shot, not many miles from London, in May 1782.

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_Voracity of the Heron._—In the month of April 1818, as a person was walking a short distance from the river Mole, in the neighbourhood of Cobham Park, Surrey, where H. C. Combe, Esq. has a heronry, he was surprised by a pike in weight full 2lbs. dropping from the air immediately before him: on looking up, he perceived a large heron hovering over him, which had no doubt dropped the fish from its beak. And also, during the same month, another individual near the above spot, saw a heron take a fish from the water, and after carrying it to a bank insert its bill into the vent of the fish, beginning to suck its entrails; he drove away the bird, and on taking up the fish, found it to be a pike weighing a pound and upwards.

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Some hawks will not attack a heron, when it is first shown to them; but they may generally be brought to it by flying them at a cock, of a light colour, and by tying meat upon a heron’s back, and allowing them to feed there. Small pieces of elder are put upon the heron’s beak, to prevent him from wounding the hawk in training. The herons are caught by a slip-knot at the end of a long string, so arranged round their nests as to be drawn about their legs when they come upon their eggs. This is best done about sun-set; and the man who is to draw the string, must place himself to leeward of the nest. Herons will not feed when they are first taken; it is therefore necessary to cram them with food, and to tie a piece of mat round their necks, to prevent them from throwing it up again.

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A well-stocked heronry in an open country is necessary for this sport. The herons go out in the morning to rivers and ponds at a very considerable distance, in search of food, and return to the heronry towards the evening.

It is at this time that the falconers place themselves in the open country, down wind of the heronry; so that when the herons are intercepted on their return home, they are obliged to fly against the wind to gain their place of retreat. When a heron passes, _a cast_ (a couple) of hawks is let go. The heron disgorges his food when he finds that he is pursued, and endeavours to keep above the hawks by rising in the air; the hawks fly in a spiral direction to get above the heron, and thus the three birds frequently appear to be flying in different directions. The first hawk makes his stoop as soon as he gets above the heron, who evades it by a shift, and thus gives the second hawk time to get up and to stoop in his turn. In what is deemed a good flight, this is frequently repeated, and the three birds often mount to a great height in the air. When one of the hawks seizes his prey, the other soon _binds to him_, as it is termed, and buoyant from the motion of their wings, the three descend together to the ground with but little velocity. The falconer must lose no time in getting hold of the heron’s neck when he is on the ground, to prevent him from injuring the hawks. It is then, and not when he is in the air, that he will use his beak in his defence. Hawks have, indeed, sometimes, but very rarely, been hurt by striking against the heron’s beak when stooping, but this has been purely by accident, and not (as has been said) by the heron’s presenting his beak to his pursuer as a means of defence.