Part 96

Compound tincture of benzoin, commonly named Friar’s, or traumatic balsam, is made by digesting gum benzoin, aloes, &c. in rectified spirit. Tincture of opium is made by digesting opium in proof spirit. There are also tinctures made with vinegar, such as squill and meadow saffron. Compound spirit of ammonia likewise is sometimes employed, as in the volatile tincture of guaiacum, and fœtid spirit of ammonia.—WHITE.

TINDER, _s._ Anything eminently inflammable placed to catch fire.

TINGE, _v._ To impregnate or imbue with a colour or taste.

TINSEL, _s._ A kind of shining cloth; anything shining with false lustre, anything showy and of little value.

TIP, _s._ Top, point, end, extremity.

TIT, _s._ A small horse, generally in contempt; a woman, in contempt; a titmouse or tomtit, a bird.

TITLARK, _s._ A small bird; a name for the meadow pipit.

TITMOUSE, _s._ A small species of bird.

This diminutive tribe is distinguished by a peculiar degree of sprightliness and vivacity, to which may be added a degree of strength and courage which by no means agrees with its appearance. Birds of this class are perpetually in motion; they run with great celerity along the branches of trees, searching for their food in every little cranny, where the eggs of insects are deposited, which are their favourite food. During spring they are frequently observed to be very busy among the opening buds, searching for caterpillars, and are thus actively employed in preventing the mischiefs that would arise from a too great increase of those destructive insects, whilst at the same time they are intent on the means of their own preservation; they likewise eat small pieces of raw meat, particularly fat, of which they are very fond. None of this kind have been observed to migrate; they sometimes make short flittings from place to place in quest of food, but never entirely leave us. They are very bold and daring, and will attack birds much larger than themselves with great intrepidity.

These birds are very widely spread over every part of the old continent, from the northern parts of Europe to the Cape of Good Hope, as well as to the farthest parts of India, China, and Japan; they are likewise found throughout the vast continent of America, and in several of the West India islands. They are every where prolific, even to a proverb, laying a great number of eggs, which they attend with great solicitude, and provide for their numerous progeny with indefatigable activity.

All the titmice are distinguished by short bills, which are conical, a little flattened at the sides, and very sharp-pointed; the nostrils are small and round, and are generally covered by short bristly feathers, reflected from the forehead; the tongue seems as if cut off at the end, and terminated by short filaments; the toes are divided to their origin; the back toe is very large and strong.—BEWICK.

TIVY, _a._ A word expressing speed, from tantivy, the note of a hunting-horn.

TOAD, _s._ An animal resembling a frog; but the frog leaps, the toad crawls; the toad is accounted venomous.

I remember some years ago getting up into a mulberry-tree, and finding in the fork of the two main branches a large toad almost embedded in the bark of the tree, which had grown over it so much, that he was quite unable to extricate himself, and would probably in time be completely covered over with the bark. Indeed, as the tree increased in size, there seems to be no reason why the toad should not in process of time become embedded in the tree itself, as was the case with the end of an oak rail that had been inserted into an elm-tree, which stood close to a public footpath. This, being broken off and grown over, was, on the tree being felled and sawn in two, found nearly in the centre of it. The two circumstances together may explain the curious fact of toads having been found alive in the middle of trees, by showing that the bark having once covered them, the process of growth in the tree would annually convey the toad more nearly to the centre of it, as happened with the piece of oak-rail; and by showing that toads, and probably other amphibia, can exist on the absorption of fluids by the skin alone. This is confirmed by the following fact. A gentleman informed me that he put a toad into a small flower pot, and secured it so that no insect could penetrate into it, and then buried it in the ground at a sufficient depth to protect it from the influence of frost. At the end of twenty years he took it up, and found the toad increased in size, and apparently healthy. Dr. Townson, in his tracts on the respiration of the amphibia, proves, I think satisfactorily, from actual experiment, that, while those animals with whose economy we are best acquainted receive their principal supply of liquids by the mouth, the frog and salamander tribes take in theirs through the skin alone; all the aqueous fluid which they take in being absorbed by the skin, and all they reject being transpired through it. He found that a frog absorbed nearly its own weight of water in the short space of an hour and a half, and that by being merely placed on blotting-paper well soaked with water; and it is believed that they never discharge it, except when they are disturbed or pursued, and then they only eject it to lighten their bodies, and facilitate their escape. That the moisture thus imbibed is sufficient to enable some of the amphibia to exist without any other food, there cannot I think be a reasonable doubt; and if this is admitted, the circumstance of toads being found alive in the centre of trees is accounted for by this and the preceding facts related.

In additional proof however of what has been advanced, I may mention that the respectable proprietor of some extensive coal-mines in Staffordshire, informed me that his men, in working into a stratum of thick coal at a very considerable depth, found three live eels in a small deposit of water in the centre of a block of coal, which died as soon as they were taken out of it. Another case was mentioned to me by an eminent physician. A wet spot had always been observed on a freestone mantel-piece, which afterwards cracked at that place, and upon its being taken down, a toad was found in it, dead; but its death was probably owing to the want of that moisture which it had been enabled to imbibe when the stone was in the quarry, and which gradually lessened by the action of the fire, as from the moisture which appeared on that part of the mantel-piece, some time after it was put up, there seems but little reason to doubt that the toad was alive at that time.

* * * * *

It is a curious fact that toads are so numerous in the island of Jersey, that they have become a term of reproach for its inhabitants, the word ‘Crepaud’ being frequently applied to them; while in the neighbouring island of Guernsey not a toad is to be found, though they have frequently been imported. Indeed, certain other islands have always been privileged in this respect. Ireland is free from venomous animals, of course by the aid of St. Patrick. The same was affirmed of Crete in olden times, being the birth place of Jupiter. The Isle of Man is said also to be free from venomous creatures. The Mauritius, and I believe one of the Balearic islands, enjoys the same immunity.—_Jesse._

TOAST, _v._ To dry or heat at the fire; to name when a health is drunk.

TOD, _s._ A bush, a thick shrub; a certain weight of wool, twenty-eight pounds.

TOE, _s._ The divided extremities of the feet, the fingers of the feet.

TON, _s._ A measure of weight of twenty cwts.

TONIC, _a._ Being extended, being elastic; relating to tones or sounds; a medicine to strengthen the system.

Tonics, according to Murray, are those substances whose primary operation is to give strength to the system. Their operation is not mechanical, as was once conceived; they act not on the simple solids, increasing their tension or tone, but on the living fibre, and are merely powerful stimulants permanent in their operation. By producing a gradual excitement, they give vigour to the actions of the system, and as that excitement is gradually produced, it is in like manner gradually diminished, and the habitual stimuli continuing to operate, diminished action does not succeed. Where tonics however are given in excess, are used unnecessarily, or for too long a time, they weaken the powers of life.

Tonics may be divided into minerals and vegetables; the former are generally considered the most powerful, and I believe are at this time generally preferred, not only on account of their supposed superior efficacy, but likewise, probably, from their being less expensive, and the dose less bulky and inconvenient.

The following is the list of tonics given by Murray, as employed in veterinary medicine:

_Tonics from the mineral kingdom._—Preparations of quicksilver or mercury; of iron; of zinc; of copper; of arsenic; of oxymuriate of potash.

_From the vegetable kingdom._—Peruvian bark, pale, yellow, and red; Angostura bark; snake-root; contrayerva; canella alba; cascarilla; calumba; quassia; simarouba; gentian; camomile; wormwood; centaury; Seville orange peel; horehound. Minerals may be employed either separately, or in combination.

The following are examples:—

No. 1. Powdered arsenic from 5 to 10 gr. Powdered aniseed ½ oz. Opium ½ dr. Treacle enough to form the ball.

No. 2. Arsenic from 5 to 10 gr. Sulphate of copper ½ dr. Opium ½ dr. Powdered caraways ½ oz. Treacle enough to form the ball.

No. 3. Arsenic from 5 to 10 gr. Opium ½ dr. Sulphate of zinc 2 dr. Caraway seeds ½ oz. Treacle enough for the ball.

For the numerous formulæ of vegetable tonics _vide_ WHITE, vol. ii.—_White._

TOOTH, _s._ One of the bones of the mouth with which the act of mastication is performed; a tine, prong, a blade; the prominent part of wheels.

_Decayed and tartared Teeth._—Sportsmen and persons living in the country, who are habituated only to healthy dogs, will smile at such a head line; but were they in London, or other large cities and towns, where dogs are petted and immured in hot apartments night and day; where also they are gorged with the richest food, and are not exercised but in a carriage; and withal are probably descended from a long lineage of parents equally unnaturally treated; they would see sufficient of these effects of an imperfect digestion, to make them aware that this article is perfectly in place; and the remarks which follow are in unison with the general intention of these pages, to let nothing pass unnoticed, which a long and critical attention to the habits and diseases of these animals renders necessary to be guarded against and remedied. In the dogs I have described, nothing is more common to find than carious teeth, insufferably fœtid; others displaced, preventing mastication; or an immense accumulation of tartar, which covers them, erodes the gums, and makes the animal insufferably offensive. The veterinarian will often be called on to remedy these evils: the decayed teeth he must remove, and the displaced ones also; the tartaric deposit he must likewise completely scale off with proper dental instruments; for the accumulation is not only most unpleasant to the owners, but injurious to the dogs, by its septic tendency, and its invariably ending in the destruction of the teeth. The ulcerations are best removed by touching them with a mixture of a proper strength made from the solution of the chloride of soda with water: by the use of this, these ulcers will quickly heal; and the continuance of it will do much to remove the remaining fœtor, and stop the further deposit of tartar, particularly if coupled with a corresponding improvement in the general treatment of the animal.—_Blaine._

TOOTHACH, _s._ Pain in the teeth.

I have been lately told by a friend, who rarely errs in his prescriptions, that the best cure for a toothach is,

One tablespoonful of rum, Another of vinegar, A teaspoonful of salt.

Mixed together and then held in the mouth.—_Hawker._

Nothing is more annoying in the mountains than an attack of this afflicting disease. Grouse shooters are particularly obnoxious to it, from unavoidable exposure to wet and sudden alterations of atmospheric temperature. I have known a sporting expedition embittered by this visitation, and as professional assistance was not procurable, the sufferer had no remedy but the old and slow one—patience. I recommend the worthy colonel’s nostrum for two reasons; the first, that I believe it to be efficacious; and the second, that it is easily compounded.—_Ed._

TOP, _s._ The highest part of anything; the surface, the superficies; the extreme joint of a fishing-rod.

TOPHEAVY, _a._ Having the upper part too weighty for the lower—a great defect in a fishing-rod.

TORCH, _s._ A wax-light bigger than a candle; any large or portable light.

TOUCHHOLE, _s._ The hole through which the fire is conveyed to the powder in a gun.

TOUCHWOOD, _s._ Rotten wood used to catch the fire struck from the flint.

TOW, _s._ Flax or hemp beaten and combed into a filamentous substance.

TRAIN, _v._ To draw along; to entice; to draw by artifice or stratagem; to educate, to bring up.

TRAIN, _s._ Artifice, stratagem of enticement, the tail of a bird; a line of powder reaching to the mine.

TRAINING, _p._ The act of putting into condition for racing, pugilism, or other violent exercises.

_Training Racehorses._—A month is the least time that can be allowed to draw the horse’s body clear, and to refine his wind to that degree of perfection that is attainable by art.

It is first necessary to take an exact view of his body, whether he be high or low in flesh, and it is also necessary to consider whether he be dull or heavy, or brisk and lively when abroad. If he appear dull and heavy and there is reason to suppose it is owing to too hard riding, or, as the jockeys express it, to some grease that has been dissolved in exercise, and has not been removed by scouring, then the proper remedy is half an ounce of diapente, given in a pint of good sack; this will at once remove the cause, and revive the creature’s spirits. After this, for the first week of the month, he is to be fed with oats, bread, and split beans, sometimes the one and sometimes the other, as he likes best, and always leaving some in the locker, that he may feed at leisure whilst left alone. At feeding time, whatever is left of this must be removed and fresh given, by these means the creature will soon become high-spirited, wanton, and full of play. Every day he must be rode out on airing, and every other day it will be proper to increase his exercise, but not so as to make him perspire too much. The beans and oats should be put in a bag, and beaten till the hulls are all off, and then winnowed clean, and the bread, instead of being chipped in the common way, should have the crust cut clean off. If the horse be in good health and in spirits, when taken up for its month’s preparation the diapente must be omitted, and the chief business will be to give him good food, and so much exercise as will keep him in wind, without over-sweating or tiring him; when he takes larger exercise afterwards, towards the end of the month, it will be proper to have some horses to run against him. This will put him on his mettle, and the beating them will give him spirits: this, however, is to be cautiously observed, that he has not a blood heat (at full speed) given him for ten days or a fortnight before the race, and that the last heat that is given him the day before the race must be in his clothes, this will make him run with much more vigour, when stripped for the race, and feeling the cold wind on every part.

In the second week, the horse should have the same food, and more exercise. In the last fortnight, he must have dried oats, that have been hulled by beating. After this, they are to be wetted in a quantity of whites of eggs beaten up, and then laid out in the sun to dry, and when as dry as before the horse is to have them. This sort of food is very light of digestion, and very good for the creature’s wind. The beans in this case should be given more sparingly, and the bread should be made of three parts wheat, and one part beans; if he should become costive, under this course, he must then have some ale and whites of eggs beaten together, this will cool him and keep his body moist. In the last week, the mash is to be omitted, and barley-water given him in its place every day until the day before the race; he should have his fill of hay at first, and then given more sparingly, that he may have time to digest it, and on the morning of the race-day he must have a toast or two soaked in sack, and the same just before he is let out to the field. This is an excellent method, because the two extremes of fullness and fasting are at this time to be equally avoided, the one hurting his wind, and the other occasioning faintness that may make him lose. After he has had his food, the litter is to be shook up, and the stable kept quiet that he may be disturbed by nothing till he is taken out to run.

* * * * *

_The training of Jockeys._—John Arnall, when rider to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, was desired to reduce himself as much as he possibly could, to enable him to ride some favourite horse, without his carrying more weight than was agreed upon; in consequence of which, he abstained from animal and even farinaceous food for eight succeeding days, and the only substitute was now and then a piece of apple; he was not injured by it at the time, and is now in good health: added to which, Dennis Fitzpatrick, a person at this time continually employed as a rider, declares that he is less fatigued by riding, and has more strength to contend with a determined horse, in a severe race, when moderately reduced, than when allowed to live as he pleased, although he never weighs more than nine stone, and frequently has reduced himself to seven stone seven pounds.

* * * * *

REPLY TO SIR JOHN SINCLAIR’S QUERIES BY MR. SANDEVIR OF NEWMARKET.

How long does the training of jockeys continue?

With those in high repute as riders, in a greater or lesser degree, from about three weeks before Easter to the end of October, but a week or ten days are quite sufficient for a rider to reduce himself from the weight he is naturally of, to sometimes a stone and a half below it.

What food do they live on, both solid and liquid, and what quantities are allowed them of each?

For breakfast, a small piece of bread and butter, with tea, in moderation. Dinner is taken in a very sparing way, a very small piece of pudding, and less meat, and when fish is to be obtained, neither one nor the other are to be allowed; wine and water is their usual beverage, in the proportion of one part wine to two of water. Tea in the afternoon, with little or no bread and butter, and no supper.

What exercise do they get, and what hours of rest?

After breakfast, having sufficiently loaded themselves with clothes, that is, five or six waistcoats, two coats, and as many pair of breeches, a severe walk is taken, from ten to fifteen or sixteen miles; after their return home, dry clothes are substituted for those that are made very wet and uncomfortable by sweat, and, if much fatigued, some of them will lie down for an hour before dinner; after which, no severe exercise is taken, but the remaining part of the day is spent in that way that may be most agreeable to themselves; they generally go to bed by nine o’clock, and continue there till six or seven the next morning.

Are they purged, and what purges and other medicines are given them?

Some of them that do not like excessive walking, have recourse to purgative medicines, two ounces of Glauber’s salts is the usual dose, and it is very seldom that any other medicine is had recourse to.

Mr. Sandevir would recommend a similar process to reduce corpulency in either sex, as, from experience, he perceives, that the constitution does not appear to be injured by it, but he is apprehensive that hardly any person could be prevailed upon to submit to such severe discipline, that had not been inured to it from his infancy.

* * * * *

The art of training for athletic exercises consists in purifying the body and strengthening its powers by certain processes, which thus qualify a person for the accomplishment of laborious exertions. It was known to the ancients, who paid much attention to the means of augmenting corporeal vigour and activity; and accordingly among the Greeks and Romans certain rules of regimen and exercise were prescribed to the candidates for gymnastic celebrity.

The great object of training for running or boxing matches, is to increase the muscular strength and to improve the free action of the lungs or wind of the person subjected to the process, which is done by medicines, regimen, and exercise. That these objects can be accomplished is evident from the nature of the human system. It is well known (for it has been demonstrated by experiments) that every part of the firmest bones is successively absorbed and deposited. The bones and their ligaments, the muscles and their tendons—all the finer and all the more flexible parts of the body, are as continually renewed, and as properly a secretion, as the saliva that flows from the mouth, or the moisture that bedews the surface. The health of all the parts and their soundness of structure, depends upon this perpetual absorption and perpetual renovation; and exercise, by promoting at once absorption and secretion, promotes life without hurrying it, renovates all the parts, and preserves them apt and fit for every office. When the human frame is thus capable of being altered and renovated, it is not surprising that the art of training should be carried to a degree of perfection almost incredible; and that by certain processes the breath, strength, and courage of man should be so greatly improved as to enable him to perform the most laborious undertakings. That such effects have been produced is unquestionable, being fully exemplified in the astonishing exploits of our most celebrated pedestrians, which are the infallible results of preparatory discipline.

The skilful trainer attends to the state of the bowels, the lungs, and the skin; and he uses such means as will reduce the fat, and at the same time invigorate the muscular fibres. The patient is purged by drastic medicines; he is sweated by walking under a weight of clothes, and by lying between feather beds; his limbs are roughly rubbed; his diet is beef or mutton; his drink strong ale; and he is gradually inured to exercise by repeated trials in walking and running. By attenuating the fat, emptying the cellular substance, hardening the muscular fibre, and improving the breath, a man of the ordinary frame may be made to fight for one hour with the utmost exertion of strength and courage, or to go over one hundred miles in twenty-four hours.