Part 3

In wide and extensive tracts of down or mountain that are appropriated to the feeding of sheep, it would be impossible for the shepherds to have any command over their flocks, without the assistance of this faithful and docile ally. At a word from his master he drives the sheep to and from their pasture, and will suffer no stranger from another flock to intrude upon his. If he observe any of the sheep attempting to stray, he springs forward in an instant to stop their course, however great the distance. These dogs drive the sheep entirely by their voice; never lacerating them, nor indeed ever employing force but for the preservation of peace and good order. When awake they are, at all times, alive to their master's directions; and, in repose, they lie down by his wallet, and defend it from plunder.

29. _The WATER DOG is principally distinguished by having its hair long and curled, like the fleece of a sheep, its muzzle somewhat short, and the feet more webbed than those of most other dogs._

_There are two kinds of water-dogs, which differ only in size, the one being nearly as large again as the other._

It is to sportsmen principally that these dogs are of use. Being fond of swimming, they are chiefly employed for fetching out of the water game that has been shot and fallen into it.

Their _fleece_ has so near a resemblance to wool, that it is capable of being manufactured into a coarse kind of cloth, or of being made into hats.

30. _The SPANIEL_ (Fig. 21) _is a dog with pendulous and woolly ears, the hair long on all parts of the body, but particularly on the breast, beneath the body, and at the back of the legs._

Like the water dog, the spaniel is chiefly useful to sportsmen, in the shooting of water fowl. And when hawking was a fashionable recreation in England, this was the kind of dog which was always taken out to spring the game.

In all ages the spaniel has been noted for fidelity and attachment to mankind; and the instances that have been recorded of these are innumerable. The chief order of Denmark (now improperly denominated the order of the elephant) was instituted in memory of a spaniel, which had shown a peculiar attachment to the monarch, his master, when deserted by his subjects.

31. _The SETTER is a dog nearly allied to the spaniel, and is to this day frequently distinguished by the name of the English spaniel._

In some parts of England these dogs are used in the field to discover and point out game to the sportsman. They are very tractable, and easily trained to their duty. And such are their muscular powers, that an instance has been related of a setter having hunted all the fields adjoining to the road along which his master was riding, through a distance of near sixty miles.

32. _The POINTER is a dog with smooth hair, stout limbs, blunt muzzle, and tail appearing as if in part cut off._

These dogs are in common use with sportsmen, for discovering game, which they are taught to do with wonderful steadiness and attention. Aided by the acuteness of their smell, they gently approach the spot where the game lies, and at length stop; having their eyes steadily fixed upon it, one foot generally somewhat raised from the ground, and the tail extended in a straight line. If the birds run, the dog steals cautiously after them, keeping still the same attitude; and when they stop he is again steady. It is by the assistance of pointers that game is chiefly killed in this country.

33. _HOUNDS are distinguished into three kinds, called the_ harrier, fox-hound, _and_ stag-hound; _all of which are characterized by having their ears smooth and pendulous, and having on each hind foot a spurious claw, called a dew claw._

Of these animals the first, which is the smallest, has its name from being employed in hunting the hare; the second is larger and more stout, and is used for hunting the fox; and the third, which is the largest, stoutest, and fleetest of the whole, is used for hunting the stag.

They are always taken to the field in packs, consisting of about twenty-five couple; and, when in scent of their game, they unite in a loud yelling noise which they continue so long as they are in pursuit.

34. _The BLOOD-HOUND is larger than the common hound, and is generally of a deep tan or reddish colour, with a black spot over each eye._

In the early periods of our history, blood-hounds were in much greater request than at present.--They are indebted, for their name, to the faculty with which they are endowed, of being able to trace wounded animals by their blood. Their principal employment was to recover such game as, after having been wounded, had escaped from the hunters. In most of the royal forests blood-hounds are at this day kept, for tracing wounded deer; which they are able to do, however distant the flight, or however thick the parts of the forest through which they may have passed. Deer-stealers are also frequently discovered by means of these animals.

Blood-hounds were formerly used in certain districts on the confines of England and Scotland, to overawe or pursue the depredators of flocks and herds. Of late years they have been employed in the island of Jamaica, to discover the ambuscades of the Maroons, in their projected descent upon the whites; and, in the Spanish West Indian islands, to traverse the country, in pursuit of persons guilty of murder and other crimes. The dogs are taught to act more by exciting terror than by attack; and criminals are in general taken by them, and brought to justice, without the slightest personal injury.

35. _The GREY-HOUND_ (Fig. 22) _is distinguished by his slender and curved body, his narrow muzzle, and his tail being curved upward at the extremity._

Our ancestors so highly esteemed the grey-hound, that, by the laws of Canute, it was enacted that no person under the degree of a gentleman should presume to keep a grey-hound. The pursuit of animals by these dogs is particularly denominated _coursing_. Those that were anciently coursed by them were the deer, the fox, and the hare; but they are now only used for coursing the hare. They hunt by sight, and not by scent; and their fleetness of foot is such that, in a hilly or uneven country, there are few horses which can keep pace with them.

36. _The MASTIFF_ (Fig. 23) _is a dog of large size and robust body; and has the lips hanging down at the sides._

By the ancient Britons it was customary to train these dogs to be of use in war. With us they are chiefly employed as watch dogs; and they discharge this duty in many instances with great fidelity. Some of them will suffer a stranger to come into the enclosure they are appointed to guard, and will accompany him peaceably through every part, so long as he continues to touch nothing; but the moment he attempts to lay hold of any of the goods, or endeavours to leave the place, the animal informs him, first by growling, or if that be ineffectual, by harsher means, that he must neither do mischief nor go away. He seldom uses violence unless resisted; and in this case, will sometimes seize the person, throw him down, and, without biting him, will hold him there for hours, or until relieved.

When roused to fury the mastiff is one of the most tremendous animals with which we are acquainted, and consequently one of the most difficult to be overcome in combat. He is, however, capable of a steady attachment towards his master, and will protect him from injury at the risk of his own life.

37. _The BULL-DOG is smaller than the mastiff, but in general form is nearly allied to it: the body is robust, the snout somewhat flatter than that of the mastiff; and the lips are pendulous at the sides._

For courage and ferocity the bull-dog is exceeded by no British animal of its size. Since the horrid practice of bull-baiting has been discontinued in this kingdom, the race of these dogs has much declined; and the few that are now seen are employed by butchers and other persons as watch-dogs.

38. _The TERRIER is a small and hardy kind of dog, the name of which is derived from its usually subterraneous employments._

_Some terriers are rough, and others smooth haired. They are generally of reddish brown, or black colour, short-legged, and strongly bristled about the muzzle._

These dogs, the determined enemies of almost every species of vermin, are of great use to farmers and others, in the extermination of rats, polecats, and similar depredators. They are also employed in driving foxes from their dens, and on this account are generally attendants upon every pack of fox-hounds. Formerly they were used in rabbit warrens, to expel these animals from their burrows. In character they are fierce, keen, and hardy; and, being remarkable for vigilance, they are admirable house-dogs.

39. _The LURCHER is a dog apparently partaking of the nature both of the terrier and the grey-hound; there are two varieties, one covered with short and thickset hair, and the other with long and harsh hair._

As this dog hunts both by sight and smell, and takes his prey without noise, he is frequently employed by poachers in their nocturnal excursions in pursuit of game. When in the midst of game the lurcher does not, like most other dogs, either bark or suddenly run upon it; but, by a seeming neglect, he deceives the object till it comes within reach, and then suddenly springs upon and secures it.

40. _The TURNSPIT is a small dog, with short and generally crooked legs, and the tail curled upward._

These dogs were formerly much employed to assist in the roasting of meat. For this purpose they were placed in a broad kind of wheel connected with the spit, which they turned round by running in it as a squirrel does in his cage. They are still used in this capacity in most of the countries of the Continent; but being now in little request in England, the breed is nearly extinct with us.

41. _The WOLF_ (Canis lupus) _is a ferocious animal of the dog tribe, of brownish colour, with pointed nose, erect and sharp ears, and bushy tail bent inward._

_This animal is found wild in most of the countries of the Continent, and was formerly common in England._

The wolf affords to us nothing valuable but his _skin_, which makes a warm and durable fur.

In North Carolina there is a kind of wolf the _skin_ of which, when properly dressed, makes good parchment; and, when tanned, is convertible into excellent summer shoes. The Indians frequently use these skins for beds, under an impression that they drive away bugs and fleas; and they imagine that nearly all parts of this animal are useful as remedies for different bodily disorders.

In the ancient periods of our history wolves were so numerous and so destructive in England, that we are informed of places having been built in different parts of the island to defend passengers from their attacks. In the reign of Edward the First, a royal mandate was issued to a person whose name was Corbet, to superintend and assist in the destruction of wolves, in the several counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and Stafford; and numerous individuals held lands of the crown, by the duty of hunting and destroying wolves. The latest account that has occurred respecting the existence of wolves in England is under the date of 1281. The last wolf known to have been killed in Scotland was in the year 1680; and the date of the complete extinction of these animals in Ireland is 1710.

42. _The COMMON FOX_ (Canis vulpes, Fig. 24) _is an animal of the dog tribe, of brown colour, with sharp muzzle, erect and pointed ears, and straight and bushy tail tipped with white._

_This animal is found in almost every country of the world._

Although foxes occasionally commit great depredation in poultry-yards, and among game, they are serviceable to mankind by destroying many kinds of noxious animals. Their _skin_ also constitutes a soft and warm fur, which, in many parts of Europe, is used for muffs and tippets, for the linings of winter garments, and for robes of state. So great is the demand for these skins, that, at Lausanne, there are furriers, who in a single winter, have received betwixt two and three thousand of them from different parts of the adjacent country. The _flesh_ of the fox is eaten by the inhabitants of some countries of the Continent.

43. _The ARCTIC FOX_ (Canis lagopus) _is an animal of the dog tribe, smaller than the common fox, of white or bluish grey colour; the hair very thick, long, and soft, the tail straight and bushy, and the feet very hairy._

_The extreme parts of North America, and the country around the Frozen Sea, are those which the Arctic fox principally inhabits._

These animals are principally killed on account of their _skins_, their fur being light and warm, though not durable. In winter this changes to a _white_ colour, and becomes much thicker. The inhabitants of Greenland split the _tendons_, and use them as thread; they also sometimes eat the _flesh_ of these animals.

The modes in which they are caught are various: by stone traps; in holes in the snow, the openings to which are surrounded by snares; in pitfalls, the surfaces of which are so covered that the animals are unable to discover them; and with arrows and guns.

44. _The LION is an animal of the cat tribe, distinguished, from all others, by his body being of uniform tawny colour, the tail being long and bushy at the end, and the neck and chest of the male being clad with a shaggy mane._

_The deserts of the interior of Africa, Persia, India, and Japan, are inhabited by these animals._

The _skin_ of the lion was formerly used as the tunic of heroes. At this day it serves both as a mantle and a bed for many of the African tribes. His _flesh_, though of strong and disagreeable flavour, is occasionally eaten by the savages, who do not dislike it the more on that account. The _fat_ of the lion is considered to possess many medicinal properties.

It is a characteristic of the lion that he does not often attack any animal openly, unless provoked, or impelled by hunger. The immense strength of his body, his dauntless courage, and the great quantity of food that is requisite to his support, all, however, tend to render him an object of dread. His voice, when irritated, is an horrible roar, which is particularly loud and tremendous when in the act of springing upon and seizing his prey. The only mode of alarming these animals, and preventing a threatened attack, is by fire; the notion of their being alarmed at the crowing of a cock is entirely fabulous.

45. _The TIGER_ (Felis tigris) _is an animal of the cat kind, about the size of a lion, with smooth hair, of brownish or tawny yellow colour, and marked by long transverse stripes._

_He is a native of various parts, both of Asia and Africa, but is principally found in India and the Indian Islands._

The _skin_ of the tiger is almost the only advantage, trifling as that is, which mankind appears to derive from this destructive beast. Tigers' skins are occasionally imported into Europe, but not in great numbers, as articles of trade. They are rather brought as objects of curiosity than of use; and are chiefly employed as hammer-cloths for carriages. They are, however, much esteemed by the Chinese; the mandarins cover their seats of justice and sedans with them, and also use them for cushions and pillows in the winter. The best skins are of large size, with bright yellow ground, beautifully marked with numerous broad black stripes; the more intense the yellow, and the better defined the stripes, the more valuable are the skins. The Indians eat the _flesh_ of the tiger, which they find neither disagreeable nor unwholesome. They also attribute medicinal properties to various parts of the tiger's body.

The great military officers of China have the figure of a tiger embroidered on their robes, than which there could not be selected a more appropriate symbol of the evils and horrors of war.

We know of no quadruped so powerful and ferocious as this. He is the terror of the inhabitants of all the hotter parts of Asia, who not only fear for ravages which he commits amongst their cattle and flocks, but even for their own personal safety. The mode of seizing his prey is by concealing himself, and springing suddenly upon it with an hideous roar. This tremendous beast usually resides in woods and thickets, near streams or morasses.

46. _The PANTHER_ (Felis pardus), _OUNCE_ (Felis uncia), _and HUNTING LEOPARD_ (Felis jubata), _are all animals of the cat tribe; of which the_ panther _is about seven feet in length, and has the upper part of the body marked with circular spots, many of them with a spot in the centre, and the lower parts with stripes; the ounce is about three feet and half in length, has the body whitish, with irregular black spots; and the_ hunting leopard _is about the height of a grey-hound, has its body tawny, with black spots, and the neck somewhat maned._

_Each of these animals is found in the hotter parts of Africa and Asia._

In Persia and India, the ounce and hunting leopard are each trained for the _chase_ of antelopes and other game. Of these the former is carried, on horse-back, behind the rider, upon a small leather pad made for the purpose. As soon as the horseman perceives an antelope or other animal at a moderate distance, he makes the ounce descend; which, creeping unperceived near the spot, springs, at five or six amazing leaps, suddenly upon it, and seizes it securely by the neck. The hunting leopard is generally carried in a small waggon, chained and hooded, lest his precipitation should defeat his master's purpose. His mode of approaching and seizing his prey is similar to that of the ounce.

The _skins_ of all these animals are valuable, and are converted into excellent furs. That of the panther is particularly esteemed in Russia.

47. _The LEOPARD_ (Felis leopardus) _is an animal of the cat tribe, about four feet in length, of yellowish colour, and marked with numerous annular spots._

_It is an inhabitant of Senegal, Guinea, and most parts of Africa; and has considerable resemblance, both in habit and appearance, to the panther._

Leopards' _skins_ are much esteemed in Europe. They seldom exceed four feet in length; and should be chosen large, of lively yellow colour, marked on the back and sides with annular spots, the belly covered with longish white hairs, and with large and oblong spots on the tail. Their use is for hammer-cloths, muffs, the trimmings of ladies' dresses, and other purposes. Some of the most valuable of these skins sell for ten guineas each and upwards. The _flesh_ of the leopard is said, by Kolben, to be white and of good flavour.

48. _The COMMON CAT_ (Felis catus), _in its wild state, is distinguished from all the animals of the same tribe by having its tail marked with rings of different coloured hair._

_The body of the wild cat is marked with dusky stripes, of which three on the top of the back are lengthwise, whilst those on the sides are transverse and somewhat curved. Domestic cats are marked very variously; some are grey and striped, others variegated with black, white, and orange, and others are entirely black or white._

_Cats are found wild in woods of Europe, Asia, and America._

The savage disposition and great size of the wild cats render them the most formidable wild animals which are now left in Great Britain. In the southern and midland parts of England they have all been long destroyed; but, in the woods which border the lakes of Westmoreland and Cumberland, and in several of the mountainous parts of Scotland, they are yet occasionally found. They have their lodgments in hollow trees, in the fissures of the rocks, and in deep and narrow holes on the face of dreadful precipices; from which, during the night chiefly, they issue forth in search of prey. This consists of hares, rabbits, and other quadrupeds, and also of various kinds of birds. Wild cats are caught in traps, more for the purpose of destroying them on account of the ravages they commit, than for any uses to which they can be converted. Their _skins_ were formerly in request as fur for the lining of robes and other garments; though they do not appear to have been held in much esteem.

The _domestic cat_ (Fig. 3) is a subdued variety of the wild species; and although it still partakes, in some degree, of the native ferocity of its original, it is a clean and useful inmate in our houses. By the ancient Egyptians cats were considered objects of sacred veneration; it was accounted a capital crime wilfully to kill one of them, and whoever even accidentally killed one was liable to severe punishment. We are informed by Herodotus, the Greek historian, that, whenever a cat died a natural death, the inhabitants of the house were accustomed to shave their eye-brows in token of sorrow, and the animal so dying was embalmed and nobly interred. The Turks entertain a sacred respect for cats; and the ancient Britons so greatly esteemed them that, in the tenth century, their price was inserted even in the laws of the land: a kitten, before it could see, having been rated at a penny (equal to at least five shillings of present money); as soon as proof could be had of its having caught a mouse, the price was raised to two-pence; and a tolerably good mouser was considered worth four-pence.

These animals possess a very acute sense both of sight and smell; and by the peculiar structure of their eyes, which sparkle in the dark, they are able to discover their prey, such as rats and mice, as well in the night as during the day; and a cat, that is a good mouser, will soon clear a house of these troublesome little quadrupeds. Cats should not, however, either be much handled or too well fed, if kept for this purpose; as, in this case, they become indolent and disinclined to exert themselves.

Useful as cats are to us, they are, in some respects, unpleasant. If injured or offended, they suddenly express their resentment by scratching and biting, and sometimes with great fury. Constantly bent on theft and rapine, they are never to be trusted in the same room with provisions that are within their reach; and although many persons do not hesitate to let them sleep on their beds, it is a practice much better avoided, as the exhalation from their bodies is considered to be injurious.

The _skins_ of cats form, in some countries, a very considerable branch of commerce; and, as furs, they are much esteemed for particular purposes. Those of Spanish cats are the most valuable; but the greatest numbers sent from the northern parts of Europe and Asia. The Russians not only export them to other countries of Europe, but even send them into China. In Jamaica, and some of the other West Indian islands, the negroes frequently eat the _flesh_ of cats. From the skins of their intestines was formerly manufactured the article called _cat-gut_, which was used as strings for violins, and other similar musical instruments; but this is now chiefly made from the intestines of sheep. If the fur of the cat be rubbed with the hand, particularly in frosty weather, it yields electric sparks; and if a cat, clean and perfectly dry, be placed during frosty weather on a stool with glass feet, and rubbed, for a little while, in contact with a coated phial, the phial will become effectually charged. This fur is consequently sometimes used in electrical experiments.

The Caffre women, in the South of Africa, occasionally use cat-skins as pocket handkerchiefs.

49. _The LYNX_ (Felis lynx) _is an animal of the cat tribe, about four feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which is obscurely ringed, and black at the tip; the head and body are whitish tawny, spotted with black; and the ears have a long pencil of black hair at the tip._