Part 81

Mr. Towns, the noted feeder at Spalding, assured us his family had been a hundred years in the trade, and boasted they had served George the Second, and many noble families in the kingdom. He undertook, at the desire of the late Marquess of Townsend, when that nobleman was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to take some ruffs to that country, and actually set off with twenty-seven dozen from Lincolnshire; left seven dozen at the Duke of Devonshire’s, at Chatsworth; continued his route across the kingdom, to Holyhead; and delivered seventeen dozen alive in Ireland; having lost only three dozen in so long a journey, confined and greatly crowded as they were in baskets, which were carried upon two horses.

The manner of taking these birds is somewhat different in the two seasons; in the spring, the ruffs hill, as it is termed; that is, they assemble upon a rising spot of ground, contiguous to where the reeves propose to deposit their eggs; there they take their stand, at a small distance from each other, and contend for the females; the nature of polygamous birds. This hill, or place of resort for love and battle, is sought for by the fowler, who, from habit, discovers it by the birds having trodden the turf somewhat bare, though not in a circle as usually described.

When a hill has been discovered, the fowler repairs to the spot before the break of day, spreads his net, places his decoy birds, and takes his stand at the distance of about one hundred and forty yards, or more, according to the shyness of the birds.

The net is what is termed a single clap-net, about seventeen feet in length, and six wide, with a pole at each end; this, by means of uprights fixed in the ground, and each furnished with a pulley, is easily pulled over the birds within reach, and rarely fails taking all within its grasp; but in order to give the pull the greatest velocity, the net is, (if circumstances will permit) placed so as to fold over with the wind: however there are some fowlers, who prefer pulling it against the wind for plovers. As the ruffs feed chiefly by night, they repair to their frequented hill at the dawn of day, nearly all at the same time, and the fowler makes his first pull according to circumstances, takes out his birds, and prepares for the stragglers who traverse the fens, and who have no adopted hill; these are caught singly, being enticed by the stuffed birds.

Burton, who was before mentioned, never used anything but stuffed skins, executed in a very rude manner; but some fowlers keep the first ruffs they catch for decoy birds; these have a string of about two feet long tied above the knee, and fastened down to the ground. The stuffed skins are sometimes so managed as to be moveable by means of a long string, so that a jerk represents a jump, (a motion very common amongst ruffs, who at the sight of a wanderer flying by, will leap or flirt a yard off the ground,) by that means inducing those on the wing to come and alight by him.

The stuffed birds are prepared by filling the skin with a wisp of straw tied together, the legs having been first cut off, and the skin afterwards sewed along the breast and belly, but with no great attention to cover the straw beneath: into this straw a stick is thrust, to fix it into the ground, and a peg is also thrust through the top of the head, and down the neck into the stuffing or straw body, and the wings are closed by the same process. Rough as this preparation is, and as unlike a living bird as skin and feathers can be made, it answers all the purpose.

When the reeves begin to lay, both those and the ruffs are least shy, and so easily caught, that a fowler assured us he could with certainty take every bird on the fen in the season. The females continue this boldness, and their temerity increases as they become broody; on the contrary, we found the males at that time could not be approached within the distance of musket shot, and consequently were far beyond the reach of small shot.

We were astonished to observe the property that these fowlers have acquired, of distinguishing so small an object as a ruff at such an immense distance, which, amongst a number of tufts or tumps, could not by us be distinguished from one of those inequalities; but their eyes had been in long practice of looking for the one object.

The autumnal catching is usually about Michaelmas, at which time few old males are taken, from which an opinion has been formed that they migrate before the females and young. It is, however, more probable, that the few which are left after the spring fowling, like other polygamous birds, keep in parties separate from the female and her brood till the return of spring. That some old ruffs are occasionally taken in the autumnal fowling we have the assertion of experienced fowlers, but we must admit that others declare none are taken at this season. It must, however, be recollected, that in the autumn the characteristic long feathers have been discharged, and consequently young and old males have equally their plain dress; but the person who assured us that old birds were sometimes taken at that season, declared it was easy to distinguish them from the young of that summer.

It does not appear to be the opinion of fowlers, that the males are more than one season arriving at maturity, because the ruffs taken in the spring, destitute of the characteristic long feathers, which constitute their principal distinction, are comparatively few to those possessing the ruff: the opinion, therefore, that those ruffless males are birds of a very late brood of the preceding season, is a reasonable conjecture.

The long feathers on the neck and sides of the head, in the male, that constitute the ruff and auricles, are of short duration, for they are scarcely completed in the month of May, and begin to fall the latter end of June. The change of these singular parts is accompanied by a complete change of plumage; the stronger colours, such as purple, chestnut, and some others, vanish at the same time, so that in their winter dress they become more generally alike from being less varied in plumage; but we observed that those which had the ruff more or less white, retained that colour about the neck after the summer or autumnal moulting was effected.

The females, or reeves, begin laying their eggs the first or second week in May; and we have found their nests with young as early as the third of June. By this time the males cease to hill.

The nest is usually formed upon a tump in the most swampy places, surrounded by coarse grass, of which it is also formed.

The eggs are (as usual with its congeners) four in number; these are so nearly similar in colour to those of the snipe and redshank, both of which breed in the same wet places, and make similar nests, that some experience is required to discriminate them; they are, however, superior in size to the former, and are known from the latter by the ground being of a greenish hue instead of rufous white; but individuals assimilate so nearly to each other as not to be distinguished, especially as the dusky and brown spots and blotches are similar. The weight of the eggs is from five drachms twenty-five grains, to five drachms fifty grains.—_Montagu._

RUFFE, _s._ A fish.

The ruffe somewhat resembles a perch, though the form is more slender, and the length rarely exceeds six inches; the teeth are very small, and disposed in rows; it is marked on the jaws with a double course of half circles; the upper part of the eye is of a dark-brown; the lower part somewhat yellow, and the globe of it black: the first rays of the dorsal fin (which is spotted with black) are like those of the perch, strong, sharp, and spiny; the others soft; the body is covered with rough compact scales; the back and sides are of a dirty green; the last, as well as the belly, inclining to yellow, but both spotted, with the tail marked with transverse bars of black. Their principal spawning-time is the beginning of April, but some are said to spawn again in October; and, in the Elements of Natural History, are said to deposit 75,000 ova. To the young angler the ruffe yields good sport; they associate in great numbers; their haunts are in recluse places, where the water is deep, and runs quietly, with a loamy or muddy bottom, and also in still water; the tackle should be fine, the hook No. 7, and a quill float; the bait (a small, well scoured red-worm) must just run on the ground, and either throw in some clay-balls, with worms, as directed in perch fishing, or if the water be clear, use common mud-balls to colour it; three rods may be easily managed, the baits touching the bottom; when there is a bite, strike directly, for they gorge so hastily, that the disgorger, or a knife, must frequently be used to get out the hook; by thus angling for them, six or eight dozen are often caught at a standing. Either in the spring or summer, with a brisk, warm wind, they will bite all day; and will sometimes in cold weather take the bait very freely. The ruffe, for the delicacy and richness of its flavour, as well as for its being considered very nourishing, is more admired than the perch. They are to be dressed in the same manner.—_Daniel._

RUFFING, _s._ When the hawk strikes without trussing its prey.

RUM, _s._ A kind of spirit distilled from molasses.

RUMINATE, _v._ To chew over again; to muse on, to meditate over and over again.

RUNNER, _s._ One that runs, a racer; a messenger; a shooting sprig; one of the stones of a mill; a bird.

RUNT, _s._ Any small animal below the natural growth of the kind; a pigeon.

RUPTURE, _s._ The act of breaking, state of being broken; preternatural eruption of the gut.

RUSSET, _a._ Reddishly brown; Newton seems to use it for grey; rustic.

RUSSIAN DOG (_Canis Russianus_), _s._

This dog is of a large size, being considerably superior, in point of strength, to the Newfoundland dog. He was originally produced by a cross between the Newfoundland and the Siberian, and has now assumed the characteristics of a distinct race: his head is large, with moderately long ears, and his tail bent over his back, like that of most of the boreal varieties; his hair is very long and curled, being from seven to nine inches in length; and in colour he varies from white with black patches, to pure white, and sometimes is entirely black. He has an expressive and intelligent countenance, and possesses all those qualities for which the Newfoundland dog is famous. In Russia this animal is employed for watching property, which he defends with all the assiduity of a mastiff or Newfoundland dog. He is sometimes also used in hunting the wolf and wild boar, for which he is admirably adapted, from his great strength, and from possessing considerable swiftness. His feet are semi-webbed, and he swims with great ease, and is accordingly often used in shooting aquatic birds, which he fetches out of the water when killed.

The dogs of Russia are not so quarrelsome amongst themselves as the British, probably owing to their never being encouraged to fight: and I am informed by a gentleman who resided twelve years in that country, that he never even heard of a dogfight there.—_Brown._

RUST, _s._ The red incrustation of iron; the tarnished or corroded surface of any metal.

RUST, _v._ To gather rust; to have the surface tarnished or corroded.

Three ounces of black lead, half a pound of hog’s lard, one quarter of an ounce of camphor, boiled upon a slow fire; the gun-barrels to be rubbed with this, and, after three days, wiped off with a linen cloth: twice in a winter will keep off the rust, which the salt-water is otherwise sure to be continually bringing out from the iron.

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To protect guns from rust in the humid climate I have been latterly accustomed to, I found nothing answer well but strong mercurial ointment. On the Western coast, oil, no matter how good in quality, is useless, but for cleaning. Those who are acquainted with the localities of that country know that turf is of trifling value. No limit is consequently placed upon its consumption; it is calculated only by the stack or the boat-full, and hence more fuel was wasted in my lodge, than would supply three moderate houses. Yet so penetrating is the damp from the ocean breeze, that the house-arms rusted above the fire-places, and the pistols I kept upon my table would spot if not frequently examined, and dry-rubbed with a flannel cloth.—_Hawker_—_Wild Sports._

RUT, _s._ Copulation of deer; the track of a cart-wheel.

RYE, _s._ A coarse kind of bread corn.

RYEGRASS, _s._ A kind of strong grass.

SACCADE, _s. obs._ A violent check the rider gives his horse by drawing both the reins suddenly.

SACK, _s._ A bag, a pouch, commonly a large bag; the measure of three bushels; a kind of sweet wine now brought chiefly from the Canaries.

SADDLE, _s._ The seat which is put upon the horse for the accommodation of the rider.

SADDLE, _v._ To cover with a saddle; to fix the saddle on.

SADDLEBACKED, _a._ Horses saddlebacked have their backs low, and a raised head and neck.

SADDLEGALL, _s._ An injury on the horse’s back, arising from a defective or ill-fitted saddle.

Saddle or harness galls may be considered as bruises, and when it can be done should be poulticed, until the swelling has been dispersed or has suppurated. If the matter has not sufficient vent, the opening may be enlarged or the sinus laid open, if there is any. It must then be dressed with digestive ointment, and when it has been reduced to the state of a clear open sore, the cure may be finished by the astringent paste.—_White._

SADDLER, _s._ One whose trade is to make saddles.

SAFFRON, _a._ Yellow, having the colour of saffron.

SAGACIOUS, _a._ Quick of scent; quick of thought; acute.

SAGITTAL, _a._ Belonging to an arrow.

SAKERET, _s._ The male of a sakerhawk.

SALINE, _a._ Consisting of salt.

SALIVA, _s._ Every thing that is spit up; but it more strictly signifies that juice which is separated by the glands called salival.

SALIVATE, _v._ To purge by the salival glands.

Dogs, when fully salivated, lose their teeth very early, and their breath continues offensive through life. The whole of the feline tribe are also easily affected by mercury. I was requested to inspect the very large lion that so long graced Pidcock’s menagerie. It may be remembered by many, that this noble animal’s tongue constantly hung without his mouth; which arose from his having been injudiciously salivated, many years before, by a mercurial preparation applied by the keeper for the cure of mange. The submuriate of mercury (calomel) is, likewise, very irregular in its action on dogs; I have seen eight grains fail to open the bowels of a small one, while, on the contrary, I have been called to a pointer fatally poisoned by ten grains. It forms however, a useful auxiliary to purgatives, in doses of three or four grains; and as it not unfrequently acts on the stomach, so it may be used with advantage as an emetic in some cases, particularly in conjunction with tartarised antimony (tartar emetic). When, therefore, a purgative is brought up again, in which calomel was a component part, it may be suspected to arise from this source, and, if it is necessary to repeat the purge, the mercurial should be omitted.—_Blaine._

SALMON, _s._ The king of freshwater fish.

At the latter end of the year, and some in November, salmon begin to press up the rivers as far as they can reach, in order to spawn; when that period approaches, and they have accommodated themselves with a fit place, nature supplies the male with a bony excrescence, growing out of the end of the lower jaw, to the length of half an inch or more: this, it is said, aids him in the removal of the gravel, but both male and female assist in forming a proper receptacle for the spawn, in the sand or gravel, about eighteen inches deep. In this the ova and milt are deposited, and carefully covered by the parent fish, who afterwards hasten to cleanse and recover themselves (the male loses the gristle at the jaw); for, after spawning, they become very poor and lean, and then are called kipper. At their first entrance into the fresh water, salmon are observed to have abundance of insects adhering to them, especially above the gills: these animals denote the fish to be in high season, and die and drop off soon after the salmon’s leaving the sea.

The spawn lies buried until spring, and, without any other care, is nourished and brought to perfection, if not disturbed by violent floods, or by depredations from other fish, of which the eel, roach, dace, and grayling, are dangerous neighbours. About the latter end of March, the spawn begins to exclude the young, which gradually increase to four or five inches in length, and are then termed smelts, or smouts; about the beginning of May the river seems to be alive, and there is no framing an idea of the numbers without seeing them. A seasonable flood, however, hurries them to the sea, very few being left in the river. About the middle of June the earliest fry commence their return from the sea into the river (at that period from twelve to sixteen inches long), and progressively augment in number and size, until about the end of July, which is, at Berwick, the height of the grilse time (the name there given to the fish of that age). Early in August they lessen in number, but advance in bigness, some being from six to as high as nine pounds’ weight. This increase appears surprisingly quick; yet a gentleman of Warrington has given an instance of still more rapid growth: a kipper salmon, weighing seven pounds three quarters, taken on the 7th of February, was marked with scissors on the back fin and tail, and turned into the river; he was again taken on the 17th of the following March, and then weighed seventeen pounds and a half. In this case the remark of Walton seems to have been more than verified, “that the samlet becomes a salmon in as short a time as a gosling becomes a goose.”

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The salmon in Lough Erne increase in size wonderfully, and young ones, which were caught and marked when going into the lake, have been caught on their return, and found so large, that they must have increased at the rate of one pound per week.

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The migratory habits of the salmon, and the instinct with which it periodically revisits its native river, are curious circumstances in the natural history of this fish. As the swallow returns annually to its nest, as certainly the salmon repairs to the same spot in which to deposit its ova. Many interesting experiments have established this fact. M. De Lande fastened a copper ring round a salmon’s tail, and found that for three successive seasons it returned to the same place. Dr. Bloch states, that gold and silver rings have been attached by eastern princes to salmon, to prove that a communication existed between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian and Northern Seas, and that the experiment succeeded. Shaw, in his Zoology, mentions that a salmon of seven pounds and three quarters was marked with scissors on the back fin and tail, and turned out on the 7th of February, and that it was retaken in March of the succeeding year, and found to have increased to the amazing size of seventeen pounds and a half. This statement, by the by, is at variance with the theory of Dr. Bloch, who estimates the weight of a five or six year old salmon at but ten or twelve pounds.

That the salmon should lose condition rapidly on quitting the sea for the fresh water, may be inferred from a fact agreed upon by naturalists, that during the period of spawning the fish neglects feeding. In this peculiar habit the salmon is not, however, singular; animals of the Phocæ tribe, in breeding-time, exercise a similar abstinence. On opening a salmon, at any season, no food will be discovered, and the contents of the stomach will be confined to a small quantity of yellowish fluid and tape-worms, which are generated there. Sir Humphry Davy believes that occasionally food may be found. I have seen thousands opened preparatory to being salted, and I never observed anything but this fluid and tape-worms. Another circumstance may be stated as a curious proof of health, as well as of the period of time the salmon has been resident in a river. When the fish leaves the sea, and of course is in its best condition, insects (the Lernæ Salmoneæ of Linnæus) will be perceived firmly adhering to the skin. Immediately on entering the fresh water, these insects begin to detach themselves from the salmon, and after a short time they gradually drop off and disappear.

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Ireland (particularly the north) abounds with salmon; the most considerable fishery is at Crarma, on the river Ban, near Coleraine. (Some account of this fishery is mentioned in the list of the rivers, &c. of this country.) The nets used are eighteen score, or three hundred and sixty yards long, and are continually drawing, night and day, the whole season (nearly four months), two sets of sixteen men each alternately relieving one another. The best drawing is when the tide is coming in.

The salmon are cured by being first split, and rubbed with fine salt; and, after laying in pickle, in great tubs or reservoirs, are packed up with layers of coarse brown Spanish salt, in casks, six of which make a ton. These are exported to Leghorn and Venice.

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Immediately near to Katrineberg, at a hamlet called Deje Forsa, there is a valuable fishery for salmon, ten or twelve thousand of these fish being taken there annually. They are, however, of a small size, the largest of them rarely exceeding twenty pounds in weight; one with another, indeed, they probably do not average more than six or seven pounds a-piece.

These salmon are bred in the Wenern lake, but, in consequence of the considerable cataracts at Deje, they never have access to the sea; from this cause, they are said to be inferior, in point of flavour, to those found in most other rivers.

I subjoin a statement of the numbers taken in eight successive years:—

1820 21,817 1821 11,751 1822 10,103 1823 9,823 1824 14,313 1825 8,884 1826 5,800 1827 10,500 —————— 92,991 —————— 11,624 average.

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