Part 74
It is called quinze from fifteen being the game, made in the following manner:—first, the cards must be shuffled by the player, and when they have cut for deal, which belongs to him who cuts the lowest, they may be shuffled again, the dealer having the privilege to shuffle last: this being done, the adversary cuts, after which the dealer gives one card to his adversary and one to himself; if the adversary do not like his card, he has a right to have as many more given to him, one after the other, the pips of which will make 15, or come nearest to it, which are usually given from the top of the pack; for example, if he should have a deuce, and draw a five, which make seven, he should go on, in hopes of coming nearer to 15; if he then draw an eight, which makes just 15, and be elder-hand, he is sure of winning the game: but should he over-draw, and make above 15, he loses, unless the dealer does the same, in which case it is a drawn game, and they double the stakes; and thus go on till one of them has won the game by standing, and being 15, or the nearest to it, below that number, &c. At the end of each game, the cards are put up and shuffled, and the players cut anew for the deal, the elder hand constantly having the advantage.—_Hoyle._
QUITTER, _s._ A disease of the hoof. _Vide_ APPENDIX.
QUITTERBONE, _s._ A hard round swelling upon the coronet, between the heel and the quarter.
QUIVER, _s._ A case for arrows.
QUIVERED, _a._ Furnished with a quiver.
QUOIT, _s._ Something thrown to a great distance, to a certain point; the discus of the ancients is sometimes called in English quoit, but improperly.
QUOIT, _v._ To throw quoits, to play at quoits.
QUOTIDIAN, _a._ Daily, happening every day.
RABATE, _v._ In falconry, to recover a hawk to the fist again.
RABBET, _s._ A joint made by paring two pieces, so that they wrap over one another.
RABBIT, _s._ A furry animal that lives on plants, and burrows in the ground.
Rabbit-keeping is practised by a few individuals in almost every town, and by a few in almost every part of the country; but thirty or forty years ago, there were one or two very considerable feeders near the metropolis, keeping each, according to report, from fifteen hundred to two thousand breeding does. These large concerns have ceased, it seems, long since, and London receives the supply of tame as well as wild rabbits, chiefly from the country.
The only considerable rabbit-feeders of whom I heard, some years since, were two gentlemen, the one resident in Oxfordshire, the other in Berks. The former fed some hundreds, and then, it was said, intended to double his stock. The huts were placed in a small building set apart for that purpose. The then stock produced one load of dung per week, two loads of which were sufficient to manure an acre of land. Three dozen of rabbits per week were sent to the London market, but keep and attendance reckoned, no other profit accrued, excepting the dung, the price of which used to be eight-pence per bushel, and I believe thirty-six bushels are reckoned a load. The Berks gentleman, according to the survey of that county, fed white rabbits, on account of the superior value of their skins, from their application of late years to the purpose of trimmings. Twenty does and two bucks were my largest stock.
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The rabbit-house should stand upon a dry foundation, and be well ventilated. Exposure to too much humidity, whether externally or internally, is fatal to rabbits, which are liable to the rot like sheep, and from the same causes. The rains of 1799, which continued nearly four months, destroyed my stock of rabbits, which were hutted in a boarded shed, not well defended from the cold and moist air. Ventilation and fresh air are also necessary, where considerable numbers of these animals are kept, which will not else remain healthy, or prosper for any length of time: and even sudden mortality may ensue, from impure and stagnant air. A thorough draught or passage for the air is thence indispensable, and should be contrived in the building, with the convenience of shutting such opposite windows or doors in cold and wet weather.
The huts or hutches are generally placed one above another, to the height required by the number of rabbits, and the extent of the room. Where a large stock is kept, to make the most of room, the hutches may be placed in rows, with a sufficient interval between, for feeding and cleaning, instead of being joined to the wall, in the usual way. It is preferable to rest the hutches upon stands, about a foot above the ground, for the convenience of cleaning under them. Each of the hutches, intended for breeding, should have two rooms, a feeding and a bed-room. Those are single for the use of the weaned rabbits, or for the bucks, which are always kept separate.
When much green meat is given, rabbits make a considerable quantity of urine, and I have sometimes seen occasion to set the hutches sloping backwards a few degrees, a very small aperture being made the whole length of the floor, to carry off the urine. A sliding door in the partition between the two rooms, is convenient for confining the rabbits during the operation of cleaning; which, indeed, is a good argument for having all the hutches double, it being more troublesome to clean out a room with a number of rabbits in it, than with only one. It must not be forgotten, that the teeth of rabbits are very effectual implements of destruction to any thing not hard enough to resist them, and their troughs should be bound with something less penetrable than wood. As they are apt to scratch out their food, and dung in it, I have often thought it might be useful to adopt the feeding troughs with moveable boards, as well for rabbits as hogs.
The floor of the hutches should be planed smooth, that wet may run off, and a common hoe with a short handle, and a short broom, are most convenient implements for cleaning these houses. The object being to obtain the dung pure, for sale, no litter should be allowed; but on a farm where the dung is expended at home, the hutches should be littered with refuse hay or straw, perfectly dry. The rabbit-house to contain a tub for the dung, and a bin for a day’s supply of hay, corn, roots, or other food, which should be given in as fresh a state as possible.
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As to the varieties of form and colour, in the rabbit, the short-legged, with width and substance of loin, generally few in number, and to be obtained only by selection, are the most hardy, and fatten most expeditiously, taking on fat both internally and in the muscular flesh. They have, besides, the soundest livers—the rabbits being generally subject to defects of the liver: they are the smallest variety. There is a very large variety of the hare colour, having much bone, length and depth of carcase, large and long ears, with large eyes, resembling those of the hare. They might well be taken for hybrid or mules, but from the objection of their breeding. Their flesh is high coloured, substantial, and more savoury than that of the common rabbit; and they make a good dish, cooked like the hare, which, at six or eight months old, they nearly equal in size. The large white, and yellow and white species, have whiter and more delicate flesh, and, cooked in the same way, will rival the turkey.
With respect to colour, I have always preferred the wild colour, and black, finding the skins of full as much worth as the white. The Turkish or French rabbit, with long white fur, differs little from the common varieties; nor did I find their skins of more value, either for sale or home use. I have been in the habit of drying the skins, for linings of night-gowns, and other domestic purposes; but have always found reason to prefer the short, close fur. The large above-mentioned—indeed any peculiar varieties—must be sought among the London dealers.
Of late years, in London, the term _smut_, has been applied as a mark of distinction in the rabbit. Thus, there are single and double smuts. The smut consists of a black spot on the side of the rabbit’s nose: when there are two black spots, one on each side of the nose, it constitutes a double smut. Generally, the rabbits are prized for the number of these black spots upon the head and body, and for the fineness and length and size of the ears, which occasions their falling about the head, in a manner different from the common rabbit. Black and tortoise-shell are the favourite colours.
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Rabbits are divided into four kinds—_warreners_, _parkers_, _hedgehogs_, and _sweethearts_. Burrowing under ground is favourable, it appears, to the growth of fur; and the warrener, though a member of a subterraneous city, is less effeminate than his kindred who roam more at large. His fur is most esteemed, and after him comes the parker, whose favourite haunt is a gentleman’s pleasure-ground, where he usually breeds in great numbers, and not unfrequently drives the hares away. The hedgehog is a sort of vagabond rabbit, that travels, tinker-like, throughout the country, and would be better clad if he remained more at home. Sweethearts are tame rabbits, and their fur, though sleek, is too silky and soft to be of much use in the important branch of hat-making.
_Breeding._—The doe will breed at the age of six months, and her period of gestation is thirty or thirty-one days. It should be premised, that the buck and doe are by no means to be left together; but their union having been successful, the buck must be immediately withdrawn, and the doe tried again in three days: in fact, with rabbits, this business is conducted on the same principle as in the stud. Like chickens, the best breeding rabbits are those kindled in March. Some days before parturition, or kindling, hay is to be given to the doe, to assist in making her bed, with the flue, which nature has instructed her to tear from her body for that purpose. She will be at this period seen sitting upon her haunches, and tearing off the flue, and the hay being presented to her, she will, with her teeth, reduce and shorten it to her purpose.—Biting down of the litter or bed, is the first sign of approaching pregnancy. The number produced, generally between five and ten; and it is most advantageous always to destroy the weak or sickly ones, as soon as their defects can be perceived, because five healthy and well-grown rabbits are worth more than double the number of an opposite description, and the doe will be far less exhausted. She will admit the buck again with profit at the end of six weeks, when the young may be separated from her and weaned. Or the young may be suckled two months, the doe taking the buck at the end of five weeks, so that the former litter will leave her about a week before her next parturition.
A notion was formerly prevalent, of the necessity for giving the buck immediately after the doe had brought forth, lest she should pine, and that no time might be lost; and if it were intended that no time might be lost in destroying the doe, such, indeed, would be the most successful method. Great care should be taken that the doe, during her gestation, be not approached by the buck, or indeed by any other rabbit; as, from being harassed about, she will almost certainly cast her young. One doe in a thousand may devour her young; a sign that she ought to be otherwise disposed of. Some does admit the buck with difficulty, although often apparently in season; such should be immediately fattened off, since it can never be worth while to keep an objectionable individual for breeding, of a stock to be produced in such multitudes. Should the doe be weak on her bringing forth, from cold caught or other cause, she will drink beer-caudle, as well as any other lady; or warm fresh grains will comfort her; a malt mash; scalded fine pollard, or barley-meal, in which may be mixed a small quantity of cordial horse-ball.
_Feeding._—Upon a regular plan, and with sufficient attendance, it is better to feed three times than twice a day. The art of feeding rabbits with safety and advantage is, always to give the upper-hand to dry and substantial food. Their nature is congenial with that of the sheep, and the same kind of food, with little variation, agrees with both. All weeds, and the refuse of vegetation, should be banished from rabbit feeding. Such articles are too washy and diuretic, and can never be worth attention, whilst the more solid and nutritious productions of the field may be obtained in such plenty, and will return so much greater profit. Rabbits may, indeed, be kept, and even fattened upon roots, good green meat, and hay; but they will pay for corn; and this may be taken as a general rule. Rabbits which have as much corn as they will eat, can never take any harm from being indulged with almost an equal portion of good substantial vegetables. However, the test of health is, that their dung be not too moist. Many, or most, of the town feeders never allow any greens at all; the reason, I suppose, because they feed almost entirely on grains. The corn proper for rabbits:—oats, peas, wheat; pollard, and some give buck-wheat, The greens and roots, the same as our cattle crops, namely carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, and if potatoes, baked or steamed. Lucerne, cabbage-leaves, clover, tares, furze. I have had them hoven, from eating rape; and not improbably, mangold might have a similar effect. Clover and meadow-hay, pea and bean straw.
Rabbits are generally sold from the teat, but there is also a demand for those of larger size, which may be fattened upon corn and hay, with an allowance of the best vegetables. The better the food, the greater weight, better quality, and more profit, which I apprehend to be generally the case in the breeding of all animals. Some fatten with fresh grains and pollard. I have tried all wheat, and all potato oats, comparatively; but could find no difference in the goodness of the flesh. The rabbit’s flesh being dry, the allowance of succulent greens may tend to render it more juicy; and I suppose the old complaint of the dryness of the flesh in Devon beef, entirely fed by hay, might be remedied in the same way. Rabbits are in perfection for feeding at the fourth or sixth month; beyond which period their flesh becomes more dry, and somewhat hard. It requires three months, or nearly so, to make a rabbit thoroughly fat and ripe; half the time may make them eatable, but by no means equal in the quality of the flesh. They may yet be over fattened, as appears by specimens exhibited a few years since, at Lord Somerville’s show, which were loaded with fat, without and within, like the best feeding sheep; and at the late London cattle show, two were exhibited, one of them exceeding the weight of fifteen pounds.
Castrated rabbits might be fattened, no doubt, to the weight of upwards of ten, or even fifteen pounds, at six or seven months old. The operation should be performed at the age of six or seven weeks. I have not succeeded in castrating the rabbit, but am informed it is successfully practised in the land of capons, namely, Sussex, near Chichester, where on the average, not one in three hundred is lost by the operation, which is performed at five or six weeks old.
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In slaughtering full-grown rabbits, after the usual stroke upon the neck, the throat should be perforated upwards, towards the jaws, with a small-pointed knife, in order that the blood may be evacuated, which would otherwise settle in the head and neck. It is an abomination to kill poultry by the slow and torturing method of bleeding to death, hung up by the heels, the veins of the mouth being cut; but still more so the rabbit, which in that situation utters horrible screams. The entrails of the rabbit, whilst fresh, are said to be good food for fish, being thrown into ponds.
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By 7 & 8 Geo. IV. if any person unlawfully and wilfully, in the night time, take any hare or coney, in any warren or ground lawfully used for the keeping thereof, whether enclosed or not, every such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanour; and persons guilty of the same offence in the day time, or using any snare or engine, are subject to a penalty of five pounds. But this does not extend to the taking, in the day time, any conies on any sea bank or river bank in Lincolnshire, so far as the tide shall extend, or within a furlong of such bank.
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_Ampthill Rabbit Bazaar._—I have stated at the commencement of this article, that the large concerns had generally ceased. Of late, one has arisen at Ampthill, Beds; upon a more extensive scale than ever before attempted, established by J. H. Fisher, Esq., an agent of his Grace the Duke of Bedford. Upon so extensive a plan, indeed, is this new undertaking, that it may well be styled our grand National Rabbit Bazaar. The building, situated upon an eminence, is square, somewhat resembling barracks, with a court withinside the walls, and with thirty acres of fine light land adjoining, under culture of those crops known to be best adapted to the nourishment and support of rabbit-stock. It was proposed to keep between four and five thousand breeding does, which number is probably now complete. The young rabbits, from seven to nine weeks old, are sent to Newgate and Leadenhall markets, fifty to sixty dozens, weekly. The quantity of dung produced, which is reserved with the utmost care, and free from any extraneous substances, must be very considerable. A number of men and boys are employed in the concern, under the direction of an experienced foreman, and the utmost regularity of attention observed with respect to management, feeding, and cleanliness.
This bazaar has been honoured by the visits of persons of the highest rank; of his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, his Grace the Duke of Bedford, Lord Holland, Lord Vernon, and a number of ladies and gentlemen.
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The wold warreners catch their rabbits with fold-nets, with spring-nets, and with “tipes,” a species of trap.
The fold-nets are set about midnight, between the burrows and the feeding grounds; the rabbits being driven in with dogs, and kept inclosed in the fold until morning.
The spring-net is generally laid round a haystack, or other object of inducement for rabbits to collect in numbers.
The tipe or trap is a more modern invention; it consists of a large pit or cistern, covered with a floor, with a small trap door nicely balanced, near its meuse. It used to be set by a haystack, but since turnips are now grown for the winter food, in an inclosure within the warren, the trap is placed within the wall of this inclosure. For a night or two the rabbits are suffered to go through the meuse, and over the trap, that they may be familiarised to where the turnips are grown, after that the trap-door is unbarred, and the number wanted are taken. In emptying the cistern, the rabbits are culled, the fat ones are slaughtered, and the others turned upon the turnips to improve.
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In shooting a rabbit, always consider the foremost half of him as your target, or he will probably be shot in a slovenly manner; and if there is an earth near, most likely scramble to it, and make his escape.—_Moubray_—_Daniel._
RABID, _a._ Fierce, furious, mad.
RACE, _s._ A generation, a collective family; a particular breed; contest in running; course on the feet; progress, course.
RACING, _v._ A contest of speed, in which horses are commonly employed.
It is believed that horse-racing was known and practised by the Anglo-Saxons, but most probably confined to persons of rank and opulence, and followed only for amusement sake.
The first indication, however, of a sport of this kind occurs in the description of London, written by Fitzstephen, who lived in the reign of Henry II. He tells us, that horses were usually exposed for sale in West Smithfield; and, in order to prove the excellency of the most valuable hackneys and charging steeds, they were matched against each other; his words are to this effect—“When a race is to be run by this sort of horses, and perhaps by others, which also in their kind are strong and fleet, a shout is immediately raised, and the common horses are ordered to withdraw out of the way. Three jockeys, or sometimes only two, as the match is made, prepare themselves for the contest; such as being used to ride know how to manage their horses with judgment: the grand point is, to prevent a competitor from getting before them. The horses, on their part, are not without emulation, they tremble and are impatient, and are continually in motion: at last the signal once given, they strike, devour the course, hurrying along with unremitting velocity. The jockeys, inspired with the thoughts of applause and the hopes of victory, clap spurs to their willing horses, brandish their whips, and cheer them with their cries.”
In the middle ages there were certain seasons of the year when the nobility indulged themselves in running their horses, and especially in the Easter and Whitsuntide holidays.
It is certain, that horse-races were held upon various holidays, at different parts of the kingdom, and in preference to other pastimes. “It had been customary,” says a Chester antiquary, “time out of mind, upon Shrove Tuesday, for the company of sadlers belonging to the city of Chester, to present to the drapers a wooden ball, embellished with flowers, and placed upon the point of a lance; this ceremony was performed in the presence of the mayor, at the cross in the ‘Rodhee,’ or Roody, an open place near the city; but this year,” continues he, “the ball was changed into a bell of silver, valued at three shillings and sixpence, or more, to be given to him who shall run the best, and the farthest on horseback, before them upon the same day.”
Here we see the commencement of a regular horse-race, but whether the courses were in immediate succession, or at different intervals, is not perfectly clear; we find not, however, the least indication of distance posts, weighing the riders, loading them with weights, and many other niceties that are observed in the present day.
Races something similar to those above mentioned, are described by Butcher, as practised in the vicinity of the town of Stamford, in Lincolnshire. “A concourse,” says he, “of noblemen and gentlemen meet together, in mirth, peace, and amity, for the exercise of their swift running-horses, every Thursday in March. The prize they run for is a silver and gilt cup, with a cover, to the value of seven or eight pounds, provided by the care of the alderman for the time being; but the money is raised out of the interest of a stock formerly made up by the nobility and gentry, which are neighbours and well-wishers to the town.”
Running horses are frequently mentioned in the registers of the royal expenditures. It is notorious, that king John was so fond of swift horses and dogs for the chase, that he received many of his fines in the one or the other; but at the same time it does not appear that he used the horses for any purposes of pleasure, beyond the pursuits of hunting, hawking, and such like sports of the field.