To this may be ascribed the inferiority of the flies usually purchased in extensive fishing shops. Though, possibly, an elegant similitude of the intended insect in size and shape, they are, in tint and colouring, untrue to nature; and, as such, are easily discovered by the keen eye of the invited victim, and as certainly rejected. Without the precise colour of the fly is obtained, the handsomest production will be unsuccessful; and the neophyte will marvel that the basket of the rustic fisherman is filled, while his own showy imitations fail to rise a fish.
In choosing colours the brightness of the tint is to be less regarded than the permanency of the dye. To produce, at the same time, a brilliant and lasting colour, requires time, trouble, and experience. But for all the disciple of Walton will be well repaid; for nothing can be more mortifying to an angler, than to see the tints of his fly fade after a few immersions in the water, and a short exposure to the sunshine.
The receipts for dying wools and feathers, recommended in theField Book, were given the compiler by Major Patrickson, an angler, who, in scientific and practical knowledge is, probably, second to none in Britain. They may, perhaps, be undervalued by modern philosophers; but from these simple and antiquated recipes, my accomplished friend produced the most beautiful and permanent colours; and I have, at this moment, in my possession, flies bodied with his wools, which have stood the test of water and weather, and are still as brilliant in their hue, as when they were first attached to the hook.VideFly Fishing.
Colour,v.To mark with some hue or dye; to palliate.
Colt,s.A young horse.
Colt’s-tooth,s.An imperfect tooth in young horses.
Columba, (Linn.)s.A dove or pigeon.VideWood-pigeon.
Bill (save at the point, which is bent down) compressed and straight, the base of the upper mandible being covered with a soft gristly substance, in which the nostrils are placed towards the middle of the bill, forming a cleft lengthwise. The feet having three toes before entirely separated, with one hind toe articulated on the heel. Wings of middle size, the first quill rather shorter than the second, which is the longest in the wing.
Columbary,s. obs.A dove-cote.
Colymbus(Latham.)s.A diver; a genus thus characterised:—
Bill of middle size, strong, straight, much pointed, compressed. Nostrils at the sides of the base, concave, oblong, half shut by a membrane, pierced from part to part. Legs of middle length, drawn towards the belly beyond the equilibrium of the body; shanks compressed; three toes before, very long, entirely webbed; the hind toe short, articulated upon the shank, carrying a small loose membrane. Claws flat. Wings short; the first quill the longest. Tail very short and rounded.—Montagu.
Comb,s.An instrument to separate and adjust the hair; the top or crest of a cock; the cavities in which the bees lodge their honey.
Comforter(Canis consolator),s.A species of dog.
This beautiful little dog seems to be a cross betwixt the Maltese and the smaller spaniel described in the last section. His colour is generally white, with black or brown patches; his ears are long, and his head broad on the upper part, with an acute muzzle; the hair is long over the whole body, with the fore-legs feathered. His tail is curled, and feathered with very long hairs. This is the smallest of any of the distinct races of dogs, frequently not above a foot from the tip of the nose to the point of the tail.
This elegant little animal is used as a lap-dog, or as an attendant on the toilet or in the drawing-room. He is most affectionate to all the members of the family in which he resides; but is very snappish to strangers, whose familiarity he will seldom permit.—Brown.
Commerce,s.A game at cards.
Of this game there are two distinct methods of playing, the new and the old mode. The new way is played by any number of persons, from three to twelve, with a complete pack of 52 cards, bearing the same import as at whist, only the ace is reckoned as eleven. Every player has a certain quantity of counters, on which a fixed value is put, and each, at every fresh deal, puts down one for the stake. Sometimes the game is continued, or not finished, till one of the players has lost all the counters given at the commencement; but in order to prevent it from being spun out to an unpleasant length, or concluded too soon, it is often customary to fix the duration to a determinate number of tours, or times, so that the whole party shall deal once each completely round.
After determining the deal, the dealer, styled also the banker, shuffles the pack, which is to be cut by the left-hand player; then three cards, either altogether or one by one, at the dealer’s pleasure, are given to each person, beginning on the right hand, but none are to be turned up. If the pack prove false, or the deal wrong, or should there be a faced card, there must be a fresh deal. There are three degrees or ranks in this game. The first, which takes place of all others, is what is called the tricon, or three cards of the same denomination, similar to pair royal at cribbage; the next in rank is the sequence, or three following cards of the same suit, like tierce at piquet; and the last, the point, being the greatest number of pips on two or three cards of a suit in any one hand. As to all these parts, the higher disannuls the lower. For the old method &c.videHoyle.
Common,s.An open ground equally used by many persons.
Commonage,s.The right of feeding on a common.
Concave,a.Hollow, opposed to convex.
Condition,s.Quality, that by which any thing is denominated good or bad; natural quality of the mind, temper, temperament.
Condition, as regards horses, is a term conventionally well understood; but beyond the precincts of the stable, it is neither precise nor technical. The term, in common parlance, might be supposed to imply nothing more than the symptoms and appearances which usually betoken health. Thus, when a horse is in perfect health, he ought, under this view of it, to be considered as in perfectcondition; and, on the contrary, when a horse is in any respect out of health, he should be considered as out ofcondition; that is, in aconditionthat neither fits him for perfect service to his owner, nor for perfect comfort to himself.
The accidental causes of this latter (morbidcondition) are various; a very common one is found in injudicious feeding, both as to quality and quantity. Any sudden alteration in the articles of a horse’s diet will frequently, according to the term of horse amateurs, “throw him out of condition,” such as removing him from the grass field or the straw yard to a full allowance of dry hay and corn, with a scanty supply of water “to draw up his belly;” all which are perhaps done at once, without the smallest preparation. In these cases the alimentary canal, being hardly yet in a state of digesting capacity, suffers from the increased powers necessary to draw nutriment from substances which, although in themselves more nutritious, yet are, in this instance, less digestible than those before in use. Thence follow costiveness, heat, and thirst; as well as an unhealthy state of the coat, which stares, and feels harsh and dry, being a necessary consequence of the ordinary sympathy between the stomach and the skin. A sudden remove from a generous to a poor diet is unfavourable toconditionlikewise; for in such case the chyle or nutritious pabulum, from whence all the vital organs are recruited, and all the vital energies derive their vigour, cannot be separated in sufficient quantities: the blood thereby becomes deteriorated; universal absorption takes place of the softer parts, which produces lessened bulk; while a laxity of fibre in the remaining portions is productive of langour and debility. The quality of the food is also of considerable consequence to thecondition. Mow-burnt hay, by exciting a partial diabetes, is very apt to “throw a horse out of condition.” Musty hay, also, and oats highly kiln-dried, have an unfavourable effect on it also. The liquid aliments should likewise be attended to in a consideration of thecondition. Mineral waters are unfavourable to it in most cases; although there is reason to believe that in some morbid affections they are salutary. Sea-water may be considered in the same light, but a continued use of the brackish water found near sea-bathing places, is unfavourable to theconditionof such horses as have not been accustomed to it: to which, in union with the bad care taken of them in most of the livery stables of the sea-coast bathing, I attribute the universal complaint of the ill-condition in which they so frequently return from thence. Badly ventilated stables, excess of clothing, and deprivation of water, are also frequent causes ofmorbid condition, as I have often witnessed: for, in some of these cases, after a course of purgatives, followed by alteratives and tonics, has failed, the more simple means of succulent food, a proper quantity of water, a well regulated but perfectly cool stable, with a free access of air, and very moderate clothing, have created an immediate change. An inordinate quantity of exertion, particularly if continued unremittingly for several days, will often producemorbid condition; and this in cases where the feeding has been, as supposed, equal to the tasks required. It is particularly likely to happen to young horses, and to such as have not been sufficiently prepared: in which cases, it is clear that the stomach, participating with the general debility, has a double task to perform in digesting a larger quantity of nutriment than usual, to make up the increased wants of the constitution; and thus the evil is increased by adding the further deterioration of this organ to the others. I know of no state of morbid condition which often proves so obstinate as this; and which is often found at last only to give way to a good salt-marsh run. Drastic purgatives, or violent remedies, as the mineral acids, when injudiciously continued, reduce theconditionvery quickly, and sometimes irrecoverably. Another principal cause of want of condition is the alternation of heat with cold. A sudden check to the natural or acquired heat of the body, particularly if aggravated by the evaporation of a perspiring state, and great previous exertion, as a sudden check after a severe burst with the hounds.
After a general enumeration of the causes of morbid condition, Mr. Blaine continues:—But to proceed with this important subject with some regularity, I would direct that in young plethoric horses, with much flesh on them, and which are, of all others, the most subject to take on this state ofmorbid condition, that one or two moderate bleedings may be premised, particularly in such as have been full fed for some time previous. If the inner surface of the eyelids, or of the nasal membranes, show any tinges of red, it is still more necessary to bleed; and in such cases I would repeat the same with moderation once or twice more, or until this inflammatory appearance should be removed. I have found this, united with mashing, in many instances sufficient to relax the hide and reduce the rugous tumefaction of the lampas. In most cases, however, some more active internal remedies will be found necessary with a young and plethoric patient: thus one or two very mild doses of physic, preceded by a nightly mash, into which ten grains of submuriate of mercury (calomel) has been mixed, are proper. If there be joined to the affected hide, and the swollen or clammy mouth of lampas, any eruptions on the skin, or any cracks of the heels, stable soiling, or even daily turning out to grass, are advisable; but as these cases usually happen when the animal is either at present wanted, or is intended soon to be used, so I have not mentionedturning outaltogether; yet, if these appearances prove obstinate, such a course will be advisable, provided the season and other circumstances are favourable to the proceeding. But when neither the partial nor total turning out to grass is convenient, and when soiling is likewise not practicable, still the use of carrots as manger food can be resorted to. To this treatment may be added, after the administration of the physic, a nightly alterative.
Both of these will gently stimulate both the stomach and kidneys, and produce, by consent of parts, a favourable effect on the skin, and hair also. Violent diuretics are never advisable; nor have I seen their mildest form, unaccompanied by other remedies, produce much good, unless there have been, in addition to the other symptoms, swelled legs, either with or without discharge.
Whenmorbid conditionarises in such horses as, from age, previous deprivations, severe work, long confinement in bad stables, or feeding on unwholesome provender, are not to be supposed plethoric; even then, if no actual debility is present, I have often derived great benefit by commencing the treatment with a very mild dose of physic, the horse being previously fully mashed, to make a small quantity of aloes sufficient; for I have generally found that the stomach tonics to be afterwards administered have had double effect from this previous preparation of the alimentary canal. But where the debility has been extreme, or where there has been already sufficient laxity of bowels, or perhaps even superpurgation from drastic physic, begin at once with either of the following tonics, or of any of those detailed under that head in the Materia Medica:—
Make into a ball with liquorice powder. Or,
Either of these formulæ may be given some time in each day, at the convenience of the practitioner or owner. It would, however, where practicable, be more prudent to let it be given in the morning, fasting, allowing the horse but a handful or two of hay for an hour after its exhibition. If a liquid form only can be got down, either of the above mixtures may be dissolved and horned down as a drink, with ale; but active mineral agents seem to produce their effect best in mass. In all cases ofmorbid condition, marked with emaciation and debility, a full allowance of carrots is advisable; and in default of them, or alternating with them, malt mashes or speared corn may be usefully brought in aid of the other tonics.
When a horse returns from grass, or straw-yard, both his external appearance, and the internal state of his body, in general, require considerablealterationbefore he can be said to be fit for the uses to which he is applied by man.
To promote ‘condition’ in a horse from grass, his dieting and watering, the temperature to which he is removed, his clothing, grooming, and exercise, are the circumstances particularly to be attended to. Physicking is also a usual and necessary appendage to the other parts of the treatment.
It would be most imprudent to take a horse from so moist a food as grass, and at once to place before him hay and corn without caution or limitation. Coming from a straw-yard, this restraint is not so imperative; yet even in this case, little corn should be given at first: but following the removal from grass, both corn and hay should be allowed but sparingly, particularly the former. The hay given for the first two or three days should likewise be moistened, by sprinkling it with water; the corn allowed should also be mixed with bran, by which the dangers of constipation and repletion may be avoided. The constipating effects of the removal from a moist to a dry course of feeding, may be further obviated by a nightly bran mash. The bran mashing may likewise be extended to twice a day, or until the bowels be somewhat relaxed, if the horse be very full in flesh, or have his skin at all tight, or eruptive; or if the legs be inclined to swell. In all which cases it likewise tends to shorten the process, and prevent that almost irrecoverable hide-binding, which often follows these appearances, if succulent food, particularly carrots, be mixed with, or even wholly substituted for, hay. The privation of grass renders it prudent that water should at first be given in sufficient quantity: it is often withheld, with a view to harden the flesh and get up the belly: but this treatment at first is erroneous, and by exciting heat, thirst, and indigestion, frustrates its own intention. Thetemperatureinto which the newly-stabled horse is removed, should not at first be much increased beyond that to which he has been so long accustomed, or the sudden change may operate unfavourably on his lungs; and if it does not produce inflammation, it may at least occasion roaring, or broken wind. The most prudent plan is, first to place the horse in an airy box, which will not only prevent too great heat, but also obviate the danger of swelled legs, and heated feet. By degrees so much increase of temperature may be kept up, as will promote the fall of long hair, or the retention or renewal of the short: and in the degree to which the artificial coating is wished to be carried, to that degree should a temperate or an ardent climate be imitated. Theclothingand grooming should, like the other parts of the conditioning treatment, be at first very moderate: the one produces extra heat, the other extra irritation; but by degrees both may be increased according to the views of the owner, or the purposes of the horse.Physickingis found to assist theconditionof horses; for by emptying the bowels thoroughly, absorption of the extraneous fluids is promoted. One, two, or three doses, according to the extent to which the condition is intended to be carried, are usually given to every horse, where this process is conducted on the usual principles; and are certainly necessary, wherever continued and accelerated exertions are required.Exercisinga conditioning horse, like the other aids, must be done with a due regard to circumstances. At first, walking alone best answers the purpose, and twice a-day is better than once: the duration of each walk must be regulated by the age, the fulness of habit, &c. &c. As the condition improves, trotting and galloping may be employed, to benefit the wind, draw up the carcass, and accustom the horse to full work. It may be here remarked, that I have seen all attempts to promote condition fail in a horse removed from an old companion, or when stabled alone. Horses are gregarious, and often bear segregation badly: such a case can only be treated by association.—Blaine—Outlines of the Vet. Art—Nimrod on Condition—White, &c.
Coney,s.A rabbit, an animal that burrows in the ground.
Conger,s.The sea-eel.
Conirostres, (Cuvier,) s. Birds having concave bills.
Contagion,s.The emission from body to body by which diseases are communicated; infection; pestilence.
Contagious,a.Infectious, caught by approach.
Convulse,v.To give an involuntary motion to the parts of any body.
Convulsion,s.A convulsion is an involuntary contraction of the fibres and muscles; an irregular and violent motion, commotion.
Coo,v.To cry as a dove or pigeon.
Cookery,s.The art of dressing victuals.
Cookery on the Moors.—No one merits or relishes a good dinner better than a grouse-shooter. It delights me to see my companion eat like a traveller; and, to please me, he should possess sufficientacumento enable him to appreciate the fare. I despise the man who is cursed with a Spartan palate, and who hardly knows the difference between beef and mutton; and yet, in equal ratio, thegourmandis my abomination. There is a limit in culinary lore beyond which, as I opine, the sportsman should never travel. Like a soldier, he will sometimes find it serviceable to be able to direct the broiling of a steak, and the combination of a stew. To fabricate a curry, or even regulate a hash, may be tolerated; and in wild countries, like Ballycroy or the Scottish highlands, this knowledge will frequently be “worth a Jew’s eye;” but every thing beyond this in kitchen accomplishments, is detestable. With one who composed omelets, and talked scholarly of thematerielof a plum-pudding—and I once had the misfortune to fall into a shooting party afflicted with such a personage—I would consort no more upon the heath, than I would shoot with a cook, or draw a cover with a confectioner. And yet, with these antipathies, I recommend the neophyte to make himself in every thing as independent as he can. A few practical lessons are worth a world of precept: one week’s cooking in the moors will render him for life an adept; and if gun and angle fail him not, he will be able to command a dinner, without owing to the devil the compliment of a bad cook.—Wild Sports.
Coolness,s.Gentle cold, a soft degree of cold; freedom from passion.
Coomb,s.A measure of corn containing four bushels.
Coop,s.A cage, a pen for animals, as poultry or sheep.
Coot(Fulica,Linn.),s.A small black water-fowl.
Its characteristics are, bill strong, thick, sloping to a point; the base of the upper mandible rising far up into the forehead; both mandibles of equal length; nostrils inclining to oval, narrow, short; body compressed; wings and tail short; toes long, furnished with broad scalloped membranes between each joint, on each side; the inner toe has two, the middle three, and the outer four scallops; and the hinder toe, one plain membrane adhering to its whole length.
Bald Coot.—(Fulica atra,Linn.—Le Foulque au Morelle,Buff.)—This bird generally weighs, when in full condition, about twenty-eight ounces, and measures fifteen inches in length. The bill is of a greenish white colour, more than an inch and a quarter long: a callous white membrane, like that of the water hen, but larger, is spread over the forehead, which also, as in that bird, changes its colour to a pale red in the breeding season: irides red; the upper part of the plumage is black, except the outer edges of the wings, and a spot under each eye, which are white; the under parts are of a hoary dark ash or lead colour. The skin is clothed with a thick down, and covered with close fine feathers; the thighs are placed far behind, are fleshy and strong, bare, and yellow above the knees; the legs and toes are commonly of a yellowish green, but sometimes of lead colour.
The common coot has so many traits in its character, and so many features in its general appearance like the rails and water hens, that to place it after them, seems a natural and easy gradation. Linnæus and other ornithologists, however, describe it as a genus distinct from those birds, and from the waders in general, on account of its being fin footed, and its constant attachment to the waters, which, indeed, it seldom quits. With it naturalists begin the numerous tribe of swimmers, and rank it among those that are the most completely dependent upon the watery element for their support: it swims and dives with as much ease as almost any of them; and also, like those which seldom venture upon land, it is a bad traveller, and may be said not to walk, but to splash and waddle between one pool and another, with a laboured, ill balanced, and awkward gait.
These birds skulk and hide themselves during the day among rushes, sedges, and weeds, which grow abundantly in the loughs and ponds, where they take up their constant abode: they rarely venture abroad, except in the dusk, and in the night, in quest of their food, which consists of the herbage, seeds, insects, and the slippery inhabitants of stagnant waters. It is seldom that the sportsman and his dog can force the coot to spring from its retreat; for it will, in a manner, bury itself in the mud rather than take wing: and when it is very closely pursued, and compelled to rise, it does so with much fluttering and apparent difficulty.
This species is met with in Great Britain at all seasons of the year; and it is generally believed that it does not migrate to other countries, but changes its stations, and removes in the autumn from the lesser pools or loughs, where the young have been reared, to the larger lakes, where flocks assemble in the winter. The female commonly builds her nest in a bush of rushes surrounded by the water; it is composed of a great quantity of coarse dried weeds, well matted together, and lined within with softer and finer grasses: she lays from twelve to fifteen eggs at a time, and commonly hatches twice in a season: her eggs are about the size of those of a pullet, and are of a pale brownish white colour, sprinkled with numerous small dark spots, which, at the thicker end, seem as if they had run into each other, and formed bigger blotches.
As soon as the young quit the shell, they plunge into the water, dive, and swim about with the greatest ease; but they still gather together about the mother, and take shelter under her wings, and do not entirely leave her for some time. They are at first covered with sooty coloured down, and are of a shapeless appearance: while they are in this state, and before they have learned, by experience, to shun their foes, the kite, moor buzzard, and others of the hawk tribe, make dreadful havoc among them; and this, notwithstanding the numerous brood, may account for the scarcity of the species.
Greater Coot.—(Fulica aterrima,Linn.;Le Grand Foulque au Morelle,Buff.)—This is of a larger size than the last, but differs not in the colour of the plumage, except that it is blacker. Brisson distinguishes the two by the colour of the bare forehead, which is in this white; and the garters, which are of deep red. This bird is said to be found in Lancashire and in Scotland. It should seem to be a mere variety of the former, did not authors join in advancing the contrary. They are more plentiful on the continent, being found in Russia and the western part of Siberia very commonly, and are also in plenty at Sologne and the neighbouring parts, where they call it judelle. The people eat them on maigre days, and the flesh is much esteemed.—Latham.
A curious anecdote is related of a bald coot that built her nest in Sir William Middleton’s lake, at Belsay, Northumberland. The rushes which contained it being afterwards loosened by the wind, the nest was driven about, and floated upon the surface of the water, in every direction; notwithstanding which, the female continued to sit as usual, and brought out her young upon her moveable habitation.
Cleaning Coots.—The recipe for this, is, after picking them, to take off all the black down, by means of powdered white rosin and boiling water, and then to let them soak all night in cold spring water; by which they are made to look as delicate as a chicken, and to eat tolerably well; but, without this process, the skin, in roasting, produces a sort of oil, with a fishy taste and smell; and, if taken off, the bird becomes dry, and good for nothing. After all, however, these birds are in no way delicate, except when skinned; and after being soaked twenty-four hours in cold spring water, repeatedly changed, made into a pudding, by which, as with all such birds, when in puddings, pies, or soup, you can get rid of their strong skins without losing the juice of their flesh; and their fishy taste is, in a great measure, drawn off by steam.
Moor-hens may be cleaned in like manner, and, if in good condition, they will then be nearly equal to any wild fowl.—Hawker.
Copper,s.One of the six primitive metals.
Copper-cap,s.A metallic covering fixed upon the nipple of a percussion gun, containing a fulminating composition, which explodes by the action of the cock and ignites the powder in the barrel.VidePercussion.
Copperas,s.A kind of vitriol.
Coppice,s.Low woods cut at stated times for fuel.
Copse,s.Short wood.
Copse,v.To preserve underwood.
Copulate,v.To come together as different sexes.
Copulation,s.The congress or embrace of the two sexes.
Coracle,s.A boat used in Wales by fishers.
Cordial,s.A medicine that increases the force of the heart, or quickens the circulation; any medicine that increases strength; any thing that comforts, gladdens, and exhilarates. Cordials are useful to give a temporary energy to the stomach and bowels, and stimulate the nervous system.
White says, “There is not a better cordial than about half a pint of good strong beer, with a little ginger grated into it. A wineglassful of brandy in half a pint of water is stronger, and may, on some occasions, be more useful; but I wish to impress on the reader, that, whenever a cordial appears necessary, we should give one of no greater strength than is sufficient to produce the desired effect; and it will be found, I think, that a much better effect may be produced by three or four small doses, or weak cordials, than by giving only one large dose.”
The cordials No. 4 and 5 may be given as a drench with a little water; and if the cordials 1, 2, and 3, were sweetened with treacle or sugar, they would be more palatable to the horse, and probably have a better effect. The above cordials are as well suited to cattle as to horses; and, though much stronger drenches are often given, those will be found, I think, of sufficient strength.—White.
Cordial,a.Reviving, invigorating, sincere.
Core,s.The heart; the inner part of any thing; the inner part of a fruit, which contains the kernel; the matter contained in a bile or sore.
Coriander,s.A plant.
Cork,s.A glandiferous tree, in all respects like the ilex, excepting the bark; the bark of the cork-tree used for stopples; the stopple of a bottle.
Cormorant,Cole Goose, orGreat Black Cormorant, (Pelicanus Corbo,Linn.;Le Cormoran,Buff.)s.A bird that preys upon fish.
The weight of this species varies from four to seven pounds, and the size from thirty-two inches to three feet four or five in length, and from four feet to four feet six inches in breadth. The bill, to the corners of the mouth, measures four inches, and on its ridge two and three quarters; it is of a dark horn colour, and the tip or nail of the upper bill is much hooked and sharp; from the base of this it is furrowed on each side nearly to the tip, without any visible appearance of nostrils; the lower bill is compressed, and covered, about the gape of the mouth, with a naked yellowish skin, extended under the chin and throat, where it hangs loose, and forms a kind of pouch, which, together with the springing blade on each side, forming its rim, is capable of distension to a great width, and enables the bird to swallow prey apparently too large to be admitted into its throat; the skin about the eyes is also naked, and of the same colour as the pouch; the eyes, which have a remarkable wild stare, and are placed near the bill, look like two little greenish glass globes. The crown of the head, and the neck, are black; on the hinder part of the former the feathers appear elongated, and form a sort of loose short crest. In some specimens the throat is white, with a kind of stripe passing from it, upwards, behind each eye; in others the cheeks and throat are mixed with brown and white; and again, in others the head and neck are streaked with scratches of the latter colour. The middle of the belly is white, with a patch of the same colour over each thigh; all the under parts, however, together with the back and rump, are commonly of a glossy blue black, with green reflections: the shoulders, scapulars, and wing-coverts, are of a bronze brown, tinged and glossed with green, and each feather is bordered with shining blueish black; the secondary quills are nearly of the same colour; the coverts and the primaries are dusky. The tail consists of fourteen stiff husky feathers, which look as if they were discoloured by being dipped in mud or dirty kennel-water: the legs are thick, strong, black, and coarse, about two inches and a half long, and the outer toe is more than four in length.
The cormorant is found in every climate. In Greenland, where it is said they remain throughout the year, the jugular pouch is made use of by the natives, as a bladder to float their fishing-darts, after they are thrown; their skins, which are tough, are used for garments, and their flesh for food; “but the eggs are too fetid to be eaten even by the Greenlanders.”
These birds usually assemble in flocks on the summits and inaccessible parts of the rocks which overhang or are surrounded by the sea, upon which the female makes her nest of the withered sea-tang, weeds, sticks, and grasses, which are cast on shore by the waves: she lays four or more greenish-white eggs, of the size of those of a goose, but of a longer shape. There are writers who assert that, in some parts of the world, they build their nests on trees, like the rook and the heron; other authors, stricken with the singular conformation of the feet and serrated claws, have ascribed properties to them which they do not possess, and believe that they hold their prey in one foot, while with the other they push forward to the shore, or carry it thither, in the same manner, on the wing; but this seems mere conjecture, for the feet of this tribe are not fitted for any such purpose; they are, like those of all the expert divers, placed far behind; and while, by the position of these, and the powerful strokes from their broad webs, the bird is enabled to pursue and overtake its slippery prey, the hooked, sharp-edged beak is the only fit instrument both to catch and to secure it; and there is no need to use the awkward expedient of removing it afterwards to the foot.
At sea, or on the inland lakes, they make terrible havoc. From the greatest height they drop down upon the object of pursuit, dive after it with the rapidity of a dart, and, with an almost unerring certainty, seize the victim; then emerging with the fish across the bill, with a kind of twirl, throw it up into the air, and, dexterously catching it head foremost, swallow it whole.
While at rest on the shore, commonly on the ledge of a projecting rock, these birds sit, more or less, in an erect posture, and are propped up by the stiff feathers of the tail; and in places where they have not experienced the fatal effects of the gun, they have been known, however wary at other times, to sit and receive repeated shots, without offering to move out of the danger. At other times and places, while they sit in a dosing and stupified state, from the effects of one of their customary surfeits, they may easily be taken, by throwing nets over them, or by putting a noose around their necks, which they avoid no further than by slipping the head from side to side as long as they can.
Notwithstanding the natural wildness of their disposition, it seems, according to some accounts, that certain species of these birds have formerly been tamed and rendered subservient to the purposes of man, both in this and other countries. Among the Chinese it is said they have frequently been trained to fish, and that some fishermen keep many of them for that purpose, by which they gain a livelihood. “A ring placed round the neck hinders the bird from swallowing; its natural appetite joins with the will of its master, and it instantly dives at the word of command; when, unable to gorge down the fish it has taken, it returns to the keeper, who secures it to himself. Sometimes, if the fish be too big for one to manage, two will act in concert, one taking it by the head and the other by the tail.” In England, according to Willoughby, “when they came to the rivers, they take off their hoods, and having tied a leather thong round the lower part of their necks, that they may not swallow down the fish they catch, they throw them into the river. They presently dive under water, and there for a time, with wonderful swiftness, they pursue the fish; and when they have caught them, they arise presently to the top of the water, and pressing the fish lightly with their bills, they swallow them, till each bird hath in this manner swallowed five or six fishes; then their keepers call them to the fist, to which they readily fly, and, little by little, one after another, vomit up all their fish, a little bruised with the nip they gave them with their bills. When they have done fishing, setting the birds on some high place, they loose the string from their necks, leaving the passage to the stomach free and open, and for their reward they throw them part of the prey they have caught, to each, perchance, one or two fishes, which they by the way, as they are falling in the air, will catch most dexterously in their mouths.”
Whitelock tells us “That he had a cast of them manned like hawks, which would come to hand.” He took much pleasure in them, and relates, that the best he had was one presented to him by Mr. Wood, Master of the Cormorants to Charles the First.
Dr. Heysham relates that, about the year 1759, one of these birds “perched upon the castle at Carlisle, and soon afterwards removed to the cathedral, where it was shot at upwards of twenty times without effect; at length a person got upon the cathedral, fired at, and killed it.” “In another instance, a flock of fifteen or twenty perched, at the dusk of evening, in a tree on the banks of the river Esk, near Netherby, the seat of Sir James Graham. A person who saw them settle, fired at random at them in the dark six or seven times, without either killing any or frightening them away: surprised at this, he came again, at day-light, and killed one, whereupon the rest took flight.”—Bewick—Latham—Willoughby, &c.
Corn,s.The seeds which grow in ears, not in pods; grain unreaped; grain in the ear, yet unthrashed; an excrescence on the foot, hard and painful.
Cornsare a very common and a very troublesome disorder, and may truly be said to be often occasioned by the smith, being generally in consequence of bad shoeing. Corns most commonly happen in white feet with weak low heels; but they are too common in feet of all colours. They are occasioned by the pressure of the heel of the shoe, either by its bearing directly on the sole when it is too thin to bear the pressure, or by its forcing the heel of the crust inwards. In this way the sensible sole and laminæ are bruised, their blood-vessels ruptured, and the blood penetrates into the pores of the horn, causing the dark red appearance observable on removing the shoe, and scraping off the surface of the sole. This bruised part is exceedingly tender, and incapable of bearing the pressure of the shoe, and so are the crust and bar on each side of it. In the treatment of this complaint all this must be cut away, that is, all the parts must be so cut down, crust, bar, and sole, that when a bar shoe is applied it may be full half an inch distant from its surface. In this way a horse will be able to do his work, provided the shoe is removed, and the heel pared down as often as is necessary. As in this case the frog will be constantly receiving considerable pressure from the bar shoe, it is necessary to take care that the heels are not too thick and inflexible, in which case it is necessary to rasp them; and whenever there is a morbid degree of heat in the feet, or dryness, they should be kept constantly moist and cool in the stable, either by poultice or by several folds of old woollen wrapped round the coronet, and kept constantly wet. The common practice of pairingoutthe corn and leaving the bar and crust to be in contact with the heel of the shoe, is doing no good, nor would it afford even temporary relief, if the shoe were not bent up or made to bear off that quarter a little, as they term it; yet after riding a few miles the shoe is sure to yield to the horse’s weight, and bear upon the tender heel. It is thus that corns are made so troublesome as we find them, and many horses are rendered nearly unserviceable, or absolutely ruined by this improper treatment. Matter is often formed within the heel from this sort of management, and breaks out at the coronet, frequently doing great mischief, and even rendering the horse useless. When corns have been suffered to go this length the foot must be poulticed, and all the hollow horn cut away. After the inflammation has been thus completely subdued, the sensible parts which have been laid bare may be dressed with Friars’ balsam and the tar ointment. The radical cure of corns is always practicable if taken early, but in old cases the sensible parts will always remain in a tender state, however carefully they may be treated, and will always require the defence of the bar shoe, applied as I have described. A run at grasswithout shoesis a great relief to a horse with corns, provided the tender heel is cut down as I have described, and the heel and quarter rasped very thin. When a radical cure is attempted, this is the most likely means of effecting it.—White.
Corncrake.(VideLandrail.)
Corneous,a.Horny, of a substance resembling horn.
Cornet,s.Cornet of a horse, is the lowest part of his pastern that runs round the coffin.
Corpulent,a.Fleshy, bulky.
Corroborant,a.Having the power to give strength.
Corrode,v.To eat away by degrees.
Corrosion,s.The power of eating or wearing away by degrees.
Costive,a.Bound in the body; close, unpermeable.
Costiveness,s.The state of the body in which excretion is obstructed.
Cot,s.A small house, a hut, a bed.
Cotton,s.The down of the cotton tree; a plant; cloth or stuff made of cotton.
Couch,v.To lie down in a place of repose; to lie down on the knees, as a beast, to rest; to lie down in ambush.
Couchant,a.Lying down, squatting.
Cove,s.A small creek or bay; a shelter, a cover.
Cover,v.To overspread any thing with something else; to hide by artificial appearances; to brood on; to copulate with a female.
Cover,s.Any thing that is laid over another; a concealment, a screen; shelter; a wood, a thicket or place planted with furze or brushwood; a breeding place for foxes. Todrawa cover—to search it for foxes, by sending the hounds through.
Judicious huntsmen will observe where foxes like best to lie; this must, of course, vary in different countries, and a knowledge of the country will best direct them in this respect. Where there are large tracts of cover, such observation will save time in finding; generally speaking, foxes prefer covers that lie high, are dry and thick at the bottom, that are out of the wind, and are on the sunny side of hills. The cover where a fox is found, when it has remained still any time, will probably produce a second. In nutting time, furze-brakes and two or three years’ coppices are the only quiet places for a fox to kennel in; when pheasant-shooting begins, older covers are more likely. The season when foxes are most wild and strong, is near Christmas; a huntsman must, at that season, lose no time in drawing, and be as silent as possible; three or four years’ coppices, with heath or furze at the bottom, are then most likely. The male foxes, about Christmas, travel miles after the females, and, when hunted, generally run directly for the country from whence they came; the compiler has at that season, in the course of three weeks, killed two brace of dog-foxes from one cover, where the least distance was twelve, and in one of the four chases was extended to double the number of miles, from the place of unkennelling, to the spot where the fox was killed.
When a string of small covers have plenty of foxes in them, some caution is necessary to prevent their being all disturbed in one day. Foxes are said to go down wind to their kennel, but, however that may be, the huntsman should begin drawing at the farthest cover down the wind, and proceed from cover to cover up the wind, till he finds; these advantages will attend it; he will draw the covers more speedily, there will be less difficulty in getting hounds away, and as the fox most likely will run to the covers already drawn, there is the less probability of changing, and the covers which are up the wind, beyond where the fox is found, remain perfectly undisturbed.
Never hunt the small, until the large covers have been well rattled; for it would be bad policy to drive from the former to the latter to increase the number. If foxes are meant to be thinned and dispersed, hounds must throw off at the same cover, as long as a fox can be found. Hounds that come away with the first fox that breaks, do not disturb the cover, and may expect to find there again the next day; but where foxes are scarce, the same cover should never be drawn two days following.
Furze covers cannot be drawn too close, and if a fox is there found, he should never be hallooed until quite clear of them; from such places, hounds are sure to go off well with him; and it would be the height of cruelty to head him back into the hounds’ mouths.
Much depends on the first finding a fox, who, if well found, may be said to be half killed. The huntsman should draw quietly, and up the wind; this is material; the fox, by drawing up the wind, does not hear the approach of the hounds, who by this means are also within hearing; besides, should the fox turn down the wind, as most probably he will, it lets the hounds all in. If covers are small, and from which a fox cannot break unseen, noise can then do no hurt, but late in the season foxes are wild, particularly in covers that are often hunted; and should there be any noise, they will slink their kennels and get too much advantage; the whipper-in, where this is suspected to happen, should get the opposite side of the cover, before the hounds are thrown into it.
When foxes are numerous, there is no occasion for an early hour, and when they are weak, by hunting late, they give better chases; when foxes are strong, hounds ought then to have the advantage which hunting early affords them. When hounds go out late, they should immediately proceed where it is likely to find, which, for the most part, is that cover where hounds have been least in; if a fox is not soon found, a long and tiresome day is generally the consequence; when the cover is thick, particularly if it be furzy, it should be drawn slowly; a fox at a late hour will keep his kennel until hounds come close upon him.—Beckford.—Daniel.
Covert,s.A shelter, a defence. Coverts of the Tail, (Uropygium,Linn.), in Ornithology, are feathers which cover the tail on the upper side, at the base.
Covey,s.A hatch, an old bird with her young ones; a number of birds together.
Cough,s.A convulsion of the lungs.
Cough,v.To have the lungs convulsed; to make a noise in endeavouring to evacuate the peccant matter from the lungs.
Chronic Cough.—It may appear strange to a person unacquainted with the animal economy, that what is taken into the stomach should affect the mucous membrane of the lungs, and that of the larynx, which is the seat of chronic cough. It is in the following manner: when the stomach is distended by hay, and especially if that hay is bad, it is gradually weakened, and rendered incapable of performing its office properly; hence the chyle is crude, and unfit for the purpose it was intended for, that is, forming pure blood. By this imprudent method of feeding them, the blood is rendered impure, and of course all the secretions become so likewise. Thus it is that the bland mucous fluid, formed upon the internal membrane of the wind-pipe and its branches, for the purpose of defending and lubricating it, becomes saline and acrimonious, and a source of constant irritation: hence arises the cough. It is commonly observed, that horses with chronic cough have immoderate appetites both for hay and water; and though people have suspected some connexion between this circumstance and the cough, they have not perceived the entire dependence of the cough upon it, which they might easily have done by a very simple experiment. Let a horse affected with chronic cough be fed moderately upon green food only, and it will generally be found that the chronic cough will gradually go off. But let the horse return to his former method of feeding, and the disease will quickly reappear.
There is no occasion to say much on the treatment and prevention of this disorder, when arising from improper feeding. It may be useful, however, to observe, that when the appetite has been depraved, and the digestive power weakened by long continued improper feeding, they cannot be suddenly restored: and it will often require a steady perseverance in a careful system of feeding, and the use of diuretic medicine, in such a way, however, as to keep up only a moderate degree of increased action in the kidneys, without injuring those organs, or affecting the stomach: and this may be accomplished by giving half an ounce of nitre in a little corn twice or three times a day, or the powder described afterwards. If a horse is inclined to eat his litter, he should be muzzled during the night, and in the day time it should be taken from him.
Chronic cough is sometimes a consequence of a violent attack of catarrh or strangles, especially when there has been considerable soreness and inflammation of the throat, extending, in some degree, perhaps, to the larynx. Roaring often originates in the same cause. I have known an obstinate chronic cough cured by drenches composed of oxymel, or a syrup made with treacle and vinegar; also by a decoction of garlic with linseed oil. Barbadoes tar and oil, with balsam of sulphur, have also been employed as remedies for cough. It is not improbable that these drenches, by stimulating the throat, may improve the secretion of the mucous membrane of the larynx, or render it less irritable.
Blistering the throat externally may also be of use. In the human subject, gargles, made of infusion of Cayenne pepper, have been employed in hoarseness, and a syrup made from a decoction of horse-radish; with a view, probably, of improving the mucous secretion of the larynx. Opium will frequently put a stop to chronic cough for a day or two; but its effect, I believe, is never permanent. This seems to prove, however, that the cough depends, in some measure, on a morbid sensibility of the larynx.
Put these in a pan over a slow fire, and, when perfectly melted, stir in of powdered ginger six ounces; allspice, powdered, six ounces; liquorice powder, or linseed powder, enough to form a mass fit for making balls. The dose, from one and a half to two ounces, to be given for two or three successive mornings, or until it acts as a diuretic. When a horse, affected with cough, becomes costive, a clyster may be thrown up; or he may be kept chiefly on green food, or bran mashes, for a few days. I have observed, in some cases, that the cough-ball has been more efficacious when preceded by a mild purgative with a drachm of calomel. The following powder has sometimes been found a good remedy for coughs, especially when the horse’s diet and exercise have been carefully attended to; and in cases where the cough has appeared to be confined to the larynx the following drench has done good.VideBlaine.
Take of nitre, levigated antimony, and powdered resin, of each two or three drachms; mix for one dose, and give it every morning in a mash until it acts as a diuretic. When cough happens to young horses, and the membranes of the eye appear red, the loss of a little blood, and a clyster, are likely to do good.