Part 94

SWIFT, _a._ Moving far in a short time, quick, fleet, speedy.

SWIFT, (_Cypselus murarius_, TEMMINCK,) _s._ A bird like a swallow.

This species is nearly an ounce in weight: length near eight inches: breadth about eighteen; the bill is black; irides dusky; the whole plumage is black, except the chin, which is whitish; the wings are extremely long in proportion, and the legs so short that it rises from the ground with difficulty; the tail is forked; legs and toes black. It has four toes, all placed forward. In this particular it deviates from one of the characters of the swallow genus.

In very warm weather these birds soar to a great height, but in cold or moist weather fly low in search of flies and other winged insects, which at that time cannot ascend.—_Montagu._

SWIFTNESS, _s._ Speed, rapidity, velocity.

SWIM, _v._ To float on the water, not to sink; to move progressively in the water by the motion of the limbs; to be conveyed by the stream; to glide along with a smooth or dizzy motion; to be dizzy.

An accidental fall into water may be most dangerous to those ignorant of the art of swimming, by observing the directions here given, a person may save himself from drowning. If he falls into deep water, he will rise to the surface by floating, and will continue there if he does not elevate his hands, and the keeping them down is essential to his safety. If he moves his hands under the water, in any way he pleases, his head will rise so high as to allow him free liberty to breathe. And if, in addition, he moves his legs exactly as in the action of walking up stairs, his shoulders will rise above the water, so that he may use less exertion with his hands, or apply them to other purposes.

_Swimming of Birds._—The superior velocity with which aquatic birds swim under water has not wholly escaped notice; but it is not entirely produced by the action of the wings, which are sometimes used as fins to accelerate the motion, but is occasioned by the pressure of the water above. In swimming on the surface a bird has two motions; one upward, the other forward, at every stroke of the feet; so that when covered with water, that force which was lost by the upward motion is all directed to the progressive, by which it is enabled to pursue its prey, or to escape an enemy with incredible speed. The otter and water rat swim much faster under water than they do upon the surface.—_Montagu._

SWINE, _s._ A hog, a pig, a sow.

SWOOP, _v._ To fall at once as a hawk upon its prey; to prey upon; to catch up.

SWOOP, _s._ Fall of a bird of prey upon his quarry.

SYCAMORE, _s._ A tree.

SYLVAN, _a._ Woody, shady.

SYLVIA (LATHAM), _s._ Warbler, a genus thus characterised:—

Bill slender, rather awl-shaped, and straight; but with the point of the upper mandible slightly bent and notched; lower mandible straight; base more high than broad; nostrils at the sides of the base oval, and partly covered with a membrane: legs having the shank longer than the middle toe; toes three before and one behind, the outer toe being joined at its base to the middle one; wings with the first quill very short, sometimes indeed wanting; the second and third nearly of equal length; wing coverts and scapulars short.—_Montagu._

SYMPATHETIC, _a._ Having mutual sensation, being affected by what happens to the other.

SYMPATHY, _s._ Fellow feeling, mutual sensibility, the quality of being affected by the affection of another.

Animals which are unable to associate with their own species will sometimes form most strange attachments. I had last year a solitary pigeon, who, being unable to procure a mate, attached itself to an old barn-door fowl, whose side it seldom left at night, roosting by him in the hen-house. The cock seemed sensible of the attachment of the pigeon, and never molested it, or drove it from him.

At Aston Hall, in Warwickshire, I remember to have seen a cat and a large fierce bloodhound, who were always together, the cat following the dog about the yard, and never seeming tired of his society. They fed together, and slept in the same kennel.

Some animals of the same species form also strong attachments for each other. This was shown in the case of two Hanoverian horses, who had long served together during the peninsular war, in the German brigade of artillery. They had assisted in drawing the same gun, and had been inseparable companions in many battles. One of them was at last killed; and after the engagement the survivor was picqueted as usual, and his food brought to him. He refused, however, to eat, and was constantly turning round his head to look for his companion, sometimes neighing, as if to call him. All the care that was bestowed upon him was of no avail. He was surrounded by other horses, but he did not notice them; and he shortly afterwards died, not having once tasted food from the time his former associate was killed. A gentleman who witnessed the circumstance assured me that nothing could be more affecting than the whole demeanour of this poor horse.—_Jesse._

SYMPTOMATIC, _a._ Happening concurrently; betokening.

SYRINGE, _s._ A pipe through which any liquor is squirted.

_Syringe_, _v._ To spout by a syringe; to wash with a syringe.

TABBY, _a._ Brinded, brindled; term applied to a cat.

TADPOLE, _s._ A young shapeless frog or toad, consisting only of a body and a tail.

TAGTAIL, _s._ A worm which has the tail of another colour.

TAIL, _s._ That which terminates the animal behind, the continuation of the vertebræ of the back hanging loose behind; the lower part; the hinder part of anything; _to turn tail_, to run away.

When a dog is cropped, it is usual also to cut off a portion of the tail. Dog fanciers, as they are termed, commonly bite it off; but it were to be wished that a larger portion was added to both their knowledge and humanity. The tail does not grow materially after cutting, therefore the length may be previously determined on with sufficient accuracy, and cut off with a pair of sharp scissors. If the ears and tail are cut off at the same time, it is prudent to tie a ligature about the tail, to prevent the effusion of blood, as sometimes the bleeding, from both ears and tail together, will weaken the animal too much, and early distemper may follow; but when the tail alone is cut, no ligature is necessary. When a ligature is used, neither tie it too tight, nor suffer it to remain more than twelve hours. On the twisting off either the ears or tail, I will waste no invective; for if the cruelty does not strike the performer, I am sure no assertion of mine, that it is far inferior in every point of view to excision, and has for ever deafened many it has been practised on, will be attended to.—_Blaine._

TALLOW, _s._ The grease or fat of an animal, suet.

TALON, _s._ The claw of a bird of prey.

TAME, _a._ Not wild, domestic; crushed, subdued, depressed, spiritless, unanimated.

TAME, _v._ To reduce from wildness, to reclaim, to make gentle; to conquer.

TAN, _v._ To impregnate or imbue with bark; to imbrown by the sun.

TAN, _s._ A dark brown colour: the marks of a terrier.

TANSY, _s._ A plant.

This plant grows abundantly about the borders of fields; it has a strong bitter taste, and rather a pleasant odour. It may be employed in the form of a decoction as a vehicle for tonic or stomachic medicines. It has been said to possess an anthelmintic quality, but I believe there is no foundation for this opinion. It is used also in fomentations.—_White._

TAR, _s._ Liquid pitch.

_Tar Ointment._—This is a good remedy for thrushes, and other diseases of the frog. It appears to promote the growth of horn by gently stimulating the secretory vessels of that part.

The rotten parts of the frog having been carefully removed with a knife, and the rest well cleansed, the tar is to be melted and poured into the cleft or cavity; a pledget of tow is then to be laid on the part, and confined by some proper contrivance. In bad cases a small proportion of sulphuric acid should be carefully mixed with the tar; and when a thrush has degenerated into the disease termed canker, a larger proportion of the acid should be employed.

Tar mixed with oil of turpentine and cantharides forms a strong blister. Farriers sometimes employ tar as a remedy for cough; but it more frequently aggravates than relieves the complaint.

Tar, when mixed with verdigris, or finely powdered blue, or white vitriol, forms a good liniment or ointment for canker or thrushes. It may be occasionally employed also with alum. Tar is an excellent stopping for flat thin soles, mixed with tallow: in the latter form it makes a good hoof ointment, and when rubbed about the coronet and hoof, is said to render the hoof tough.—_White._

TARGET, _s._ A kind of buckler or shield borne on the left arm.

TARPAWLING, _s._ Hempen cloth smeared with tar.

TARRIER, _s._ A sort of small dog that hunts the fox or otter out of his hole. In this sense it ought to be written and pronounced Terrier, which see.

TEAL (_Anas Crecca_, _Linn._; _La Petite Sarcelle_, BUFF.), _s._ A wild fowl.

This beautiful little duck seldom exceeds eleven ounces in weight, or measures more, stretched out, than fourteen inches and a half in length, and twenty-three and a half in breadth.

The bill is a dark lead colour, tipped with black; irides pale hazel; a glossy bottle green patch, edged on the upper side with pale brown, and beneath with cream-coloured white, covers each eye, and extends to the nape of the neck: the rest of the head, and the upper part of the neck, are of a deep reddish chestnut, darkest on the forehead, and freckled on the chin and about the eyes with cream-coloured spots: the hinder part of the neck, the shoulders, part of the scapulars, sides under the wings, and lower belly, towards the vent, are elegantly pencilled with black, ash-brown, and white transverse waved lines; the breast, greatly resembling the beautifully spotted appearance of an India shell, is of a pale brown or reddish yellow, and each feather is tipped with a roundish heart-shaped black-spot: the belly is a cream-coloured white: back and rump brown, each feather edged with a pale colour: vent black: the primary quills, lesser and greater coverts, are brown; the last deeply tipped with white, which forms a bar across the wings; the first six of the secondary quills are of a fine velvet black; those next to them, towards the scapulars, are of a most resplendent glossy green, and both are tipped with white, forming the divided black and green bar or beauty spot of the wings.

The tail consists of fourteen feathers, of a hoary brown colour; with pale edges: the legs and feet are of a dirty lead colour. The female, which is less than the male, is prettily freckled about the head and neck with brown and white. She has not the green patch behind the eyes, but a brown streak there, which extends itself to the nape of the neck; the crown of the head is dark brown; the upper mandible yellow on the edges, olive green on the sides, and olive brown on the ridge; nail black, and the under bill yellow; breast, belly, and vent glossy yellowish white, spotted on the latter parts with brown; the upper plumage is dark brown, each feather bordered with rusty brown, and edged with grey: the wings and legs nearly the same as those of the male.

The teal is common in England in the winter months, but it is uncertain whether or not they remain throughout the year to breed, as is the case in France. The female makes a large nest, composed of soft dried grasses, (and, it is said, the pith of rushes) lined with feathers, cunningly concealed in a hole among the roots of reeds and bulrushes near the edge of the water, and some assert that it rests on the surface of the water, so as to rise and fall with it. The eggs are of the size of those of a pigeon, six or seven in number, and of a dull white colour, marked with small brownish spots; but it appears that they sometimes lay ten or twelve eggs, for Buffon remarks that that number of young ones are seen in clusters on the pools, feeding on cresses, wild chervil, &c., and no doubt, as they grow up, they feed, like other ducks, on the various seeds, grasses, and water plants, as well as upon the smaller animated beings with which all stagnant waters are so abundantly stored. The teal is highly esteemed for the excellent flavour of its flesh: it is known to breed, and remain throughout the year in various temperate climates of the world, and is met with as far northward as Iceland in the summer.

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Of all the prizes that a wildfowl shooter could wish to meet with, a flock of teal is the very first. Independently of their being by far the best birds of the whole anas tribe, they are so much easier of access, and require such a slight blow, that no matter whether you are prepared for wild fowl, partridges, or snipes, you may at most times with very little trouble contrive to get near them; and this being once done, you have only to shoot straight to be pretty sure of killing.

I have seen teal “duck the flash,” though never but once, and then I had rather a slow shooting gun.

If you spring a teal, he will not soar up and leave the country like a wild duck, but most probably keep along the brook, like a sharp flying woodcock, and then drop suddenly down; but you must keep your eye on the place, as he is very apt to get up again and fly to another before he will quietly settle. He will frequently, too, swim down the stream the moment after he drops, so that if you do not quickly cast your eye that way, instead of continuing to look for him in one spot, he will probably catch sight of you and fly up, while your attention is directed to the wrong place. If the brook in which you find him is obscured by many trees, you had better direct your follower to make a large circle, and get a head of, and watch him, in case he should slily skim away down the brook, and by this means escape from you altogether. You should avoid firing at random, as this may drive him quite away from your beat.—_Bewick_—_Hawker._

TENCH, _s._ A small pond-fish.

The tench is generally prized as a fine rich fish in England, but it is not so much esteemed on the continent: the Germans, in derision, call it the Shoemaker. They take red worms best in the spring; and gentles, not too much scoured, or sweet paste, in the hot months. Use a fine gut-line, quill-float, and No. 9 or 10 hook; fish close to the bottom, and ground-bait with small pellets of bread, or chewed bread, or bread and bran mixed; or throw in about half-a-dozen gentles, or pieces of worms, frequently, close to your float. When the large tench take a bait, especially in still waters, they take or suck it in slowly, and generally draw the float straight down; strike immediately it disappears.

The tench will breed in rivers, lakes, and ponds, but they thrive best in those ponds where the bottom is composed of loamy clay, or mud, and in foul and weedy waters; they will sometimes bite very free all day in summer, during warm, close, dark weather, particularly while small, misty rain descends; at other times, only late in the evening, or early in the morning.—_Salter._

TENDON, _s._ A sinew, a ligature by which the joints are moved.

TENNIS, _s._ A play at which a ball is driven with a racket.

A tennis court is usually ninety-six or ninety-seven feet long, by thirty-three or four in breadth. A net hangs across the middle, over which the ball must be struck, to make any stroke good. At the entrance of a tennis-court there is a long covered passage before the dedans, the place where spectators usually are, into which, whenever a ball is played, it counts for a certain stroke. This long passage is divided into different apartments, which are called galleries, viz. from the line towards the dedans, is the first gallery; door, second gallery; and the last gallery, is what is called the service-side. From the dedans to the last gallery are the figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, each at a yard distance, marking the chaces, one of the most essential parts of this game. On the other side of the line is the first gallery; door, second gallery; and last gallery, what is called the hazard-side; every ball played into the last gallery on this side tells for a certain stroke, the same as into the dedans. Between the second and this last gallery are the figures 1, 2, marking the chaces on the hazard-side. Over this long gallery is the pent-house, on which the ball is played from the service-side to begin a set of tennis, and if the player should fail striking the ball (so as to rebound from the pent-house) over a certain line on the service-side, it is reckoned a fault; and two such faults following are counted for a stroke. If the ball pass round the pent-house, on the opposite side of the court, and fall beyond a particular described line, it is called passe, goes for nothing, and the player is to serve again.

On the right hand of the court from the dedans, a part of the wall projects more than the rest, in order to make a variety in the stroke, and render it more difficult to be returned by the adversary, and is called the tambour: the grill is the last thing on the right hand, in which if the ball be struck, it is reckoned 15, or a certain stroke.

A set of tennis consists of six games, but if what is called an advantage set be played, two successive games above five games must be won to decide; or in case it should be six games all, two games must still be won on one side to conclude the set.

When the player gives his service in order to begin the set, his adversary is supposed to return the ball, wherever it falls after the first rebound, untouched; for example: if at the figure 1, the chace is called at a yard, that is to say, at a yard from the dedans; this chace remains till a second service is given, and if the player on the service side should let the ball go after his adversary returns it, and the ball fall on or between any one of these figures, they must change sides, for he will be then on the hazard-side to play for the first chace, which if he win by striking the ball so as to fall, after its first rebound, nearer to the dedans than the figure 1, without his adversary being able to return it from its first rebound, he wins a stroke, and then proceeds in like manner to win a second stroke, &c. If a ball fall on a line with the first gallery, door, second gallery, or last gallery, the chace is likewise called at such or such a place, naming the gallery, &c. When it is just put over the line, it is called a chace at the line. If the player on the service-side return a ball with such force as to strike the wall on the hazard-side, so as to rebound, after the first hop, over the line, it is also called a chace at the line.

The chaces on the hazard-side proceed from the ball being returned either too hard, or not hard enough: so that the ball, after its first rebound, falls on this side the line which describes the hazard-side chaces, in which case it is a chace at 1, 2, &c. provided there be no chace depending, and according to the spot where it exactly falls. When they change sides, the player, in order to win this chace, must put the ball over the line, any where, so that his adversary does not return it. When there is no chace on the hazard-side, all balls put over the line from the service-side, without being returned, reckon.

The game, instead of being marked one, two, three, four, is called for the first stroke, fifteen; for the second, thirty; for the third, forty; and for the fourth, game, unless the players get four strokes each; then, instead of calling it forty all, it is called deuce, after which, as soon as any stroke is got, it is called advantage; and in case the strokes become equal again, deuce again; till one or the other gets two strokes following, to win the game.

The odds at this game are very uncertain, on account of the chances: and various methods of giving odds have been used to render a match equal.

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At the time when tennis play was taken up seriously by the nobility, new regulations were made in the game, and covered courts erected, wherein it might be practised without any interruption from the weather. In the sixteenth century tennis-courts were common in England, and the establishment of such places countenanced by the example of the monarchs.

We have undoubted authority to prove that Henry VII. was a tennis player. In a MS. register of his expenditures made in the thirteenth year of his reign, and preserved in the remembrancer’s office, this entry occurs:—“Item, for the king’s loss at tennis, twelve-pence; for the loss of balls, three-pence.” Hence one may infer, that the game was played abroad, for the loss of the balls would hardly have happened in a tennis court. His son Henry, who succeeded him, in the early part of his reign was much attached to this diversion; which propensity, as Hall assures us, “being perceived by certayne craftie persons about him, they brought in Frenchmen and Lombards to make wagers with hym, and so he lost muche money; but when he perceyved theyr crafte, he eschued the company and let them go.” He did not however give up the amusement, for we find him, according to the same historian, in the thirteenth year of his reign, playing at tennis with the Emperor Maximilian for his partner, against the prince of Orange and the marquis of Brandenborow: “the earl of Devonshire stopped on the prince’s side, and the lord Edmond on the other side; and they departed even handes on both sides, after eleven games fully played.”

James I., if not himself a tennis player, speaks of the pastime with commendation, and recommends it to his son as a species of exercise becoming a prince. Charles II. frequently diverted himself with playing at tennis, and had particular kind of dresses made for that purpose. So had Henry VIII. In the wardrobe rolls we meet with tenes-cotes for the king, also tennis-drawers and tennis-slippers.

A French writer speaks of a damsel Margot, who resided at Paris in 1424, and played at hand-tennis with the palm, and also with the back of her hand, better than any man; and what is most surprising, adds my author, at that time the game was played with the naked hand, or at best with a double glove.—_Hoyle_—_Strutt._

TENT, _s._ A soldier’s movable lodging place, commonly made of canvass extended upon poles; any temporary habitation, a pavilion; a roll of lint put into a sore; a species of wine deeply red.

TEREBINTHINE, _a._ Consisting of turpentine, mixed with turpentine.

TERRIER, _s._ A dog that follows his game underground.

_The Scotch Terrier._ (_Canis terrarius, variety α._)—It is now impossible to trace the origin of the terrier, but from the many characteristics peculiar to itself, we would almost be induced to consider it a primitive race. Certain it is, that this dog has been for many ages assiduously cultivated and trained to the particular sports to which nature seems to have so well adapted him. To the fox, hare, rabbit, badger, polecat, weasel, rat, mouse, and all other kinds of vermin, he is a most implacable enemy; he has also a strong natural antipathy to the domestic cat.

The name terrier seems to be derived from the avidity with which he takes the earth in pursuit of all those animals which burrow.

There are two kinds of terriers,—the rough haired Scotch and the smooth English.

The Scotch terrier is certainly the purest in point of breed, and the English seems to have been produced by a cross from him.