The Spanish Pointer.(Canis Avicularis, variety α,Linn.)—This dog, as his name implies, is a native of the Peninsula, and was introduced into this country at a very early period. Great attention was paid by sportsmen for a long series of years to preserve, in purity, this important breed; but lately it has in a great measure been set aside in field sports, a more improved race having been produced by crossing, usually called the English pointer.
The Spanish pointer is much larger and stronger than the English, and is also more steady. He seems to have an inherent aptness for receiving instruction. Indeed it requires but little tuition to render him fit for the field; as, in most instances, young dogs of this breed will point of their own accord, whilst the more improved kinds require considerable drilling to initiate them, and make them do their work steadily.
The Spanish breed is the most staunch of all dogs, and if they had speed and activity in proportion to their steadiness, they would excel all others which are auxiliary to man in the sports of the field. From their weight, however, they are not so well suited for an extensive range, nor are they so hardy as the English dog, on which account they are ill adapted for the laborious amusement of grouse-shooting. They are now chiefly used by those who confine their sport to the pheasant and partridge.
The English Pointer(Canis Avicularis, variety β.)—This dog is sprung from the Spanish pointer, but is of a much lighter form, and much more rapid in his movements. He was obtained originally by a cross of the latter and the fox-hound, and has since been recrossed with the harrier. The English pointer is of a great variety of sizes, being in this particular bred according to the taste of the sportsman.
This dog possesses a beautiful symmetry of frame, and in this respect is, perhaps, the most elegant of all the canine tribe. His docility and pliability of temper, too, are truly astonishing, and he enjoys, at the same time, the sense of smelling in an exquisite degree.
About sixty years ago, the breed of pointers was nearly white, or mostly variegated with liver-coloured spots, except the celebrated dogs of the then Duke of Kingston, whose black pointers were considered superior to all others in the kingdom, and sold for immense sums after his death. Since that time they have been bred of all sizes and colours, and have at length attained that degree of perfection for which they are now so justly prized all over Europe.
Dogs of the middle size are now generally considered the best by experienced sportsmen; the larger kinds, like the Spanish pointer, are too heavy, and soon tire in warm weather, although they are best adapted for hunting in the high turnips, heath, and broomfields.
In proportion as the breed of pointers diverges in blood from their Spanish original, the difficulty of training them, and rendering them staunch for the field, increases, as they seem to lose a quality inherent in the latter dog.
Pointers are never considered complete in training, unless they are perfectly staunch to bird, dog, and gun, which implies, first, standing singly to a bird or covey; secondly, to backing or pointing the moment he perceives another dog to stand at game; and, thirdly, not to stir from his own point at the rising of any bird, or the firing of any gun in the field, provided the game is neither sprung nor started at which he himself originally pointed.
The pointer possesses a degree of mildness and pliability of disposition most admirably adapted for receiving instruction, and his mental faculties are extremely acute. He is most susceptible of impressions; serene in his general habits, and unwearied in his attachments. With all these good points, he is well qualified to secure the esteem and confidence of man, whom he is always solicitous to please, and obedient to all that is inculcated upon him. Whenever he is conscious of his own powers and education, he makes it his whole business to serve and amuse his master. At the same time, he will also perform his work to others to whom he may be lent, and is sensible of the duty required of him the moment he enters the field.
Pointers are seldom used in any other kind of shooting than that of grouse, partridge, and snipe; in the two last of which sports their merits are the more conspicuous.
Mr. Daniel informs us, that he once had a pointer that would always go round close to the hedges of a field before he would quarter his ground; the dog being sensible that he most frequently found his game in the course of this circuit, and therefore very naturally took the middle road to discover it.
The Small Pointer(Canis Avicularis, minor variety, γ.)—I have just seen an extremely small pointer, in the possession of C. G. Stewart Menteath, Esq. of Closeburn. His length, from the tip of the nose to the point of the tail, is only two feet and half an inch; from the one fore-foot to the other, across the shoulders, two feet; length of the head, six inches; round the chest, one foot three inches. He is an exquisite miniature of the English pointer, being in all respects similar to him. His colour is white, with dark liver-coloured patches on each side of the head, extending half down the neck; the ears, with some patches on the back, are also of the same colour; and numerous small dark brown spots appear over his whole body and legs. This beautiful little animal has an exquisite sense of smell; and it is said that some of the same variety, possessed by the Earl of Lauderdale, have been broken in, and make excellent pointers; although, from their minute size, it cannot be expected that they will be able to do much work. When intent on any object, the dog assumes the same attitude as other pointers, holding up one of his feet.
I have not been able to ascertain the native county of this variety, although I have been informed it is common in the south of Germany.
Sir James Colquhoun has a dog of the same breed, which is even smaller than that belonging to Mr. Menteath.
The Russian Pointer(Canis Avicularis, variety δ.)—This variety seems only to be a descendant of the Spanish pointer, which he strongly resembles in shape, with rough wiry hair all over his body, probably arising from the coldness of the climate, as nature seems to provide all the dogs of boreal regions with a covering fitted to resist the inclemency of the sky. Even his legs are invested with hair, which is generally of a uniform black colour, or of a dark umber brown. There is one peculiarity about him, which is, that his nose is so deeply cleft that it appears to be split in two; on which account he is termed, in Russia, the double-nosed pointer. His scent is said to be superior to that of the smooth dogs. His cleft nose is found to be inconvenient when he is beating in cover, as the face is apt to be torn where the brushwood is thick.
Russian sportsmen generally feed their pointers on oatmeal boiled, and they are kept about their houses.
Colour of Pointers.—Respecting the colour of pointers (as before observed), a great deal depends entirely on fancy, but that most esteemed is the liver and white, although there are as good dogs of every other colour, indeed there is hardly a colour but some reason may be assigned for its being either good or bad. A white dog is to be preferred on two accounts; the first is, being all white, he is void of any thing phlegmatic in his constitution, which does not hinder him from retaining the lesson he has been taught, and prevent his being obedient; besides, he has always a good nose: secondly, in grouse shooting, he can be discerned at any distance, whereas a brown one cannot. A white pointer, if good, is a treasure to a keen sportsman. Pointers of lemon, or setters of a red or chestnut colour, are always the most difficult to be brought to obedience, by reason of the bilious humour which prevails in them, and which causes this irregularity. The white pointer is full of stratagems and cunning, and is not so easily tired as dogs of the lemon colour, which are very giddy and impatient, as choler is the most predominant humour in them it in some measure accounts for their being so; they are very uneasy under correction, and are certainly more subject to diseases than any other dogs. Pointers of a brown colour are generally good ones; but one great objection to this colour is, they are difficult to be seen on a mountain, and are sometimes lost, which gives the sportsman a vast deal of trouble before he can discover them; but let any sportsman be asked, if he has not remarked that a brown-coloured dog will bring him closer to game than any other, by reason that they are not so easily perceived by the birds or game, as one of a white or any other colour. The compiler, from many years’ experience, is confident a sportsman will get more shots with a brown dog than one of any other colour, and has found him very useful when birds become shy, and the season is far advanced.—Thornhill.
Poison,s.That which destroys or injures life by a small quantity, and by means not obvious to the senses, venom.
Corrosive sublimate, or oxymuriate of quicksilver, is a most deadly and unmanageable poison to dogs, in doses as small even as five or six grains. Its effects are observed soon after it is taken, by the distress of the animal, by his frequent retchings, insatiable thirst, panting, and anxiety for a cool situation. The mouth becomes swollen; if the dose has been large, it appears ulcerated also, and emits a very fœtid odour, which circumstance forms a very strong characteristic, both with regard to the animal’s having been poisoned, and also to the article employed for the purpose. As the symptoms advance the retchings are tinged with blood; the stools become liquid and bloody also; the heart beats faintly, but with rapidity; the extremities become cold; violent tremblings, paralysis, or convulsions follow, and death relieves the sufferer. On examination of the body afterwards, the whole alimentary canal, beginning at the mouth and proceeding backwards, exhibits marks of the corrosive nature of the matter taken. The stomach, on being opened, will appear covered with highly inflamed patches, and the villous folds of its inner and rugose surface will present gangrenous and ulcerated spots, and a ready separation of the mucous from the muscular coat, with blood often suffused between them; which circumstances only take place when a most acrid poison has been swallowed. The intestines also show appearances of great inflammation, particularly of their inner surface, which will be found sprinkled with gangrenous specks, and, moreover, frequently filled with a thick bloody mucus. Such are the usual morbid appearances; but satisfactorily to detect the presence of a poison, and the immediate nature of it, some of the liquid contents of the stomach and bowels, both before and after death, should be saved, and undergo a rigid chemical analysis. In general cases the addition of potash to some of these liquid contents will occasion a light yellow precipitate when corrosive sublimate has been the poisonous agent; but a practical chemist will employ many other tests.
The medical treatment to be pursued in these cases consists in both endeavouring to envelope and to neutralise the acrid matter: the former may be attempted by means of a glairy fluid, for which purpose the whites of eggs have proved the most effectual remedies, beaten into a liquid, given in large quantities, and repeated as often as they have been ejected; when these are not immediately at hand, milk may be substituted. Mild clysters should also be thrown up. When the stomach is somewhat appeased, give an opiate and castor oil. Large doses of soap, dissolved in water, have been recommended as a counter poison to corrosive minerals, or their preparations, and, in the absence of eggs, should be tried.
Arsenic.—This powerful oxide is often given to dogs, and not unfrequently they find it for themselves in a state of mixture with other matters placed to poison rats. The effects produced by it resemble those occasioned by corrosive sublimate, except that, although they prove equally fatal, they are not apparently so intense. The mouth, likewise, is not usually affected, in an equal degree, by this poison as by the other. Dissection, also, detects similar morbid appearances to those above detailed; but, unless a very large dose has been taken, there is not such complete lesion of the coats of the stomach and intestines, but the gangrenous spots and the excess of inflammation are fully sufficient to detect the disorganising action of a mineral poison. Instead of subjecting the liquid contents of the stomach and bowels to the action of potash, as directed when corrosive sublimate is looked for, it is usual to detect arsenic by applying the blue ammoniacal sulphate of copper, which will produce a lively green if arsenic is present. A red hot iron will also occasion these contents to give out a garlic-like smell under similar circumstances.
The treatment proper, in cases of arsenical poisoning, is to give sugar dissolved in milk, in considerable quantities, until it may be supposed that all the poison is evacuated from the stomach, when a similar treatment is to be pursued to that before recommended.
In speaking of poisons White makes the following curious remark.—I once gave two drachms of stavesacre to a glandered horse; he died in great pain the following night. It is probable that more horses have been killed by aloes, than by any other vegetable preparation. That is to say, by strong physic, or by neglecting the horse during its operation. The best antidote in this case, is gruel made of arrow-root or fine wheat flour. The animal poisons are the stings of venomous reptiles, for which stimulating embrocations seem to be better remedies than fomentations. The matter which flows from the nose of a glandered horse is a strong poison, whether applied to a recent scratch in the skin, or swallowed with food or water. The saliva of a mad dog is a dreadful poison to man, and to all animals.—Blaine—White.
Poison,v.To infect with poison; to injure, or kill by poison given; to taint.
Poisonous,a.Venomous, having the qualities of poison.
Pole,s.A long staff; a tall piece of timber erected; a measure of length containing five yards and a half; an instrument of measuring.
Poleaxe,s.An axe fixed to a long pole.
Polecat,s.The fitchew; it is of the weasel tribe, and emits a most fetid smell.
This animal is known by various names or local appellations. In some parts of the country it is called a fitchet, in others a foumart, in others again a fillemark. The polecat is larger than the ferret, which, however, it very much resembles in appearance and disposition. But, according to the accounts which have been given us by naturalists, there are, it seems, internal differences which distinctly mark these two animals: the polecat has but fourteen ribs; whereas the ferret has fifteen; and it also wants one of the breast bones which is found in the ferret. The ferret is more slender and elongated than the polecat, and has also a more pointed or sharper snout. It is, for the most part, of a deep chocolate colour; it is white about the mouth; the ears are short, rounded, and tipped with white; a little beyond the corners of the mouth a stripe commences, which runs backward, partly white and partly yellow. Its hair is of two sorts, the long and the furry, and the two kinds are of different colours: the longer is black, and the shorter a dull or dirty yellow, which produces the general chocolate colour already mentioned; the feet and tail are blacker than any other parts: the claws are white underneath and brown above; and its tail is about two inches and a half long.
The polecat, like the fox, avoids as much as possible the human countenance; and, like the fox too, possesses the most undaunted courage. However, in comparing these two animals, though they happen to agree in the two particulars just mentioned, yet they are enemies to each other: or, in other words, the fox will not fail to kill the polecat whenever they meet; in fact, the fox may be regarded as the unrelenting enemy of all the smaller vermin. Reynard will kill and eat the wild cat, or any other cat which might happen to come in his way; as well as the polecat, the weasel, the stoat, the rat, &c.
The polecat evinces an insatiate thirst for blood, and is very destructive to all kinds of young game; and if it is not openly so to that which is full grown, it is because it is not so easily caught: it will surprise hares on their seats, will seize partridges or pheasants on the nest; and is incredibly destructive in a rabbit warren: it will, like all the other animals of the weasel tribe, kill much more than it can devour; in fact, so fond are these animals of sucking the blood of their victims, that, in a place like a rabbit warren, or wherever their food is presented in such abundance, the polecat (and the same of the weasel and stoat) would continue destroying, if undisturbed, merely for the sake of the blood.
The polecat is particularly destructive among pigeons, when it happens to get into a dove-house:—it despatches each bird with a single wound near to, or in, the head; and, after killing all it can, and sucking their blood, will convey them to its retreat. This the animal will carefully perform, going and returning, and bringing them one by one to its hole; but if it should happen that the opening by which it got into the dove-house be not large enough for the body of the pigeon to pass through, this mischievous animal contents itself with carrying away the heads, and makes a most delicious feast upon the brains.
The polecat is also fond of honey, frequently robbing the bee hives in winter, a period when its prey is not so easily found in the woods and fields.
Their retreat is generally in banks well sheltered with brambles or underwood, or amongst brakes or woods, or other similar situations. They burrow in the ground, making a tolerably large hole, about two feet deep, which may easily be known by any one who has once noticed the hole of a polecat. In winter, they will frequently approach houses or buildings, and will rob the hen-roost, the pigeon-house, or even the dairy, when pressed by hunger: on these occasions, they contrive to form a retreat in or under some of the walls; and if they are unable to secure an asylum of this sort, they will make their way under the corn stacks, and whenever this happens to be the case, all the rats in the immediate vicinity remove to a greater distance; the polecat is a deadly enemy to the rat, and of this the latter is very well aware; and yet it would appear that the polecat (from its size) is unable to follow it through its burrows or runs; and the rat, as if conscious of this incapacity in the former, removes no further from the presence of its enemy than what may suit its convenience. The writer witnessed an instance, where a great number of rats were found in a stack of wheat, but all of them in the upper part; for several feet from the ground not a rat was to be met with, which excited some surprise; but the circumstance developed itself on reaching the bottom, where it was found an enormous polecat had taken up its abode.
The female brings forth her young in the spring, to the number of from four to six. To “stink like a polecat” is a common observation in some parts; and indeed so impregnated does every part of the animal appear to be with a very offensive fetid matter, that even the fur, which is soft and warm, can scarcely be divested of it. Whenever the polecat happens to be killed, the fetid matter just mentioned issues from the pores of its body in great quantities, forming a very unpleasant effluvium, which is perceptible even at some distance.
There are farmers to be met with who, whenever a polecat approaches their barns, buildings, or houses, afford it every possible protection, on account of its enmity to rats; but as its chief propensities are in direct opposition to the views of the sportsman, so gamekeepers should be careful to destroy it wherever it is to be met with.
If taken young, the polecat is not difficult to tame; nor in a domestic state is it offensive to the human olfactory organs; as although it is impregnated with a fetid matter, yet it would seem that the effluvium which thence arises is only thrown off when the animal is killed or very much alarmed.
The polecat is seldom seen during the day, unless compelled by hunger to quit its retreat; but, as soon as night sets in, it leaves its hole in quest of prey, when it may be pursued and killed by terriers. In the midland counties hunting the polecat by moonlight forms a diversion for schoolboys and the younger branches. After night-fall, when the polecat rambles abroad, its hole (if known) is stopped, the terriers are thrown off, one of which, upon whom the greatest dependence can be placed, has a small bell fastened round his neck, in order that the hunters may know where the dogs are questing. When they hit upon the scent, the terriers give tongue; and as soon as the polecat finds himself pursued, he makes directly for his hole, which, if stopped, he cannot of course enter, and is compelled to seek some other retreat, during which he is perhaps killed; if run to ground, he is very unceremoniously dug out and worried on the spot, it being a general opinion amongst the vulgar (in Leicestershire for instance), that whenever or wherever a polecat is run to ground, they have a right to dig him out.
The above method, however, is not the mode in which I would recommend gamekeepers to destroy the polecat; for the accomplishment of their purpose, they can go a much shorter and surer way to work: this animal seems possessed of little cunning, and is trapped with little difficulty. The steel trap is generally used for this animal; but it may be taken in the following manner:—box traps may be set in the bottom of ditches, or under walls or pales, with the ends of the traps fenced up to, for four or five yards aslant, and two or three yards wide at the entrance, with earth, bushes, or broken pales, so that the animal cannot pass without entering the trap. A trail of red herrings, half broiled, should be drawn from one trap to another, and the traps should be baited with the same material, with which also the ends of the traps may be rubbed. By having both ends of box-traps painted white, and rubbed with herrings or the entrails of any animal, hares will be deterred from entering. This mode is well calculated to catch the wild cat, or indeed any kind of quadrupedal vermin. Therefore, when any of the traps are sprung, a bag sufficiently large to admit an end of the trap is to be provided and slipped over it; and by rattling at the other end of the trap, the creature will spring into the bag; for, without some such precaution, should a wild cat be caught, the moment the light is admitted it will fly in the face of the person opening it This is the method generally adopted by warreners.
The steel-trap, however, is by far the best and surest method of taking the polecat—and indeed the best method of catching all kinds of vermin. It is more portable, more easily prepared, and very rarely fails in its operation.—Gamekeeper’s Directory.
Polish,v.To smooth, to brighten by attrition.
Polish,s.Artificial gloss, brightness given by attrition.
Polisher,s.The person or instrument that gives a gloss.
Poll,s.The head; a fish called generally a chub, a cheven.
Pollard,s.A tree lopped; the chub fish.
Pollen,s.A fine powder, commonly understood by the word farina, as also a sort of fine bran.
Pollevil,s.Pollevil is a large swelling, inflammation, or imposthume in the horse’s poll or nape of the neck.
Pollock,s.A kind of fish. This species is abundant on the British coasts.
Polygon,s.A figure of many angles.
Pommel,s.A round ball or knob; the knob that balances the blade of the sword; the protuberant part of the saddle before.
Pond,s.A small pool or lake of water, a basin, a water not running or emitting any stream.
Very little is known of the habits and economy of fish, from the nature of the element in which they live. When I resided in Bushy Park, I caused the sides and bottom of a place to be bricked, through which a stream of very clear water ran, and stocked it with most of the varieties of our English fresh-water fish, supplying them abundantly with food; but though I constantly watched them, and could see all they did at any time of the day, the result of my observations was far from being satisfactory. The perch were the boldest and most familiar of any of the fish, as I found no difficulty in soon getting them to come with eagerness to take a worm out of my hand. The barbel were the shyest, and seemed most impatient of observation, although in the spring, when they could not perceive any one watching them, they would roll about and rub themselves against the brickwork, and show considerable playfulness. There were some large stones in mypiscatorium, round which they would wind their spawn in considerable quantities. The trout appeared to bear their confinement with less philosophy than any of the others, making high leaps against the grating which admitted the water, and seeming at all times out of sorts and out of condition. The chub were also very restless, being continually on the move, but they never could resist a cockchafer when thrown to them. My flounders only moved at night, and the eels always made their escape, but in what way I never could conjecture, except, indeed, they had the power of crawling up the brick-work, which was about five feet from top to bottom, and generally two feet above the edge of the water. They certainly could not get through the grating, which was sufficiently close to confine bleak and gudgeons; and some of the eels were of a large size. The pike, of which I had eight of about five pounds’ weight each, kept up their character for voracity. Out of 800 gudgeons which were brought to me by a Thames fisherman, and which I saw counted into the reservoir—some few of which, however, died—there were scarcely any to be seen at the end of three weeks; though I should mention, that three large barbel I had, and six good-sized perch, probably partook of them.
Jesse, p. 86, says, I will now give an account published by Mr. Neill, in the Scots’ Magazine, of some sea-fish kept in a small pond into which sea-water could be introduced. This pond was from time to time replenished with fish. The following fishes were in it:—
1.Cod.—They were lively, and caught greedily at shell-fish which were thrown into the pond. They kept chiefly, however, in the deep water, and, after approaching with a circular sweep, and making a snatch at the prey, descended out of sight to devour it.
2.Haddock.—These, contrary to expectation, were found to be the tamest fishes in the pond. At ebb tide they came to the inner margin, and ate limpets from the hand of a little boy, the son of a keeper. They appeared white, and rather sickly.
3.Coalfish.—Some of these were of a large size, exceeding in dimensions the largest cod in the pond. They were bold and familiar, floating about slowly and majestically, till some food was thrown to them; this they seized voraciously, whether it consisted of shell-fish or ship biscuit. They would also occasionally approach the margin, and take their food from the keeper’s hand.
4.Whiting.—These were scarce in the pond, and very shy.
5.Pollack.—This was pretty common, and has been found to answer well as a pond fish.
6.Salmon.—This was the wildest and quickest in its motions of all the inhabitants. When a muscle or limpet, freed from the shell, was thrown on the surface of the water, the salmon very often darted forward and took the prey from all the competitors, disappearing with a sudden jerk and turn of the body.
7.Flat fishorflounders, of two sorts, were also in the pond, but they naturally kept at the bottom, and were not seen.
The food given to the fishes consisted chiefly of sand-eels and of shell-fish, particularly limpets and muscles. In the herring-fishery season, herrings were cut in pieces for this purpose.
It is remarkable that all the kinds of sea-fish above enumerated, seemed to agree very well together. No fighting had ever been observed by the keeper, and seldom any chasing of one species by another. None of the fish ever bred.
Dr. Fleming has remarked, that when a salt-water fish is put into fresh water, its motions speedily become irregular, its respiration appears to be affected, and, unless released, it soon dies; and that the same consequences follow when a fresh-water fish is suddenly immersed in salt water.
This is not, however, the case with all fish. A cod will not only live, but thrive well in fresh water, if properly fed. A respectable fishmonger assured me that he had tried the experiment, and succeeded, and offered to send me some live cod in a well-boat, for mypiscatoriumin Bushy Park.
Immense value of pond fish.—The fish in the ponds of Lucullus, sold, after his decease, for 3,000,000 of sesterces (24,218l.15s.sterling). Caius Hirtus first introduced the keeping of lampreys in stews, and lent Cæsar, during the time of his triumph, 600 of these fish, for which he would receive no equivalent in money, nor any other commodity, but conditioned the repayment to be the same number and weight of lampreys. His ponds and fish about his house, which was itself extremely small, were sold for one million more than the above sum (32,291l.13s.4d.)
In August 1799, the Earl of Essex fished a large pond near Radnor Forest, which had been stocked fifty-eight years. Carp and eels were the only fish found in it; of the former, 100 brace were taken that weighed from fourteen to fifteen pounds each carp; of the latter, the largest exceeded eight pounds.—Jesse—Daniel.
Pony,s.A small horse.
Poodle(Canis aquaticus minor),s.VideWater Dog.
A friend of mine had a poodle-dog possessed of more than ordinary sagacity; but he was, however, under little command. In order to keep him in better order, my friend purchased a small whip, with which he corrected the dog once or twice during a walk. On his return the whip was put on a table in the hall, and the next morning it was missing. It was soon afterwards found concealed in an out-building, and again made use of in correcting the dog. It was, however, again lost, but found hidden in another place. On watching the dog, who was suspected of being the culprit, he was seen to take the whip from the hall-table, and run away with it, in order again to hide it. The late James Cumming, Esq. was the owner of the dog, and related this anecdote to me.—Jesse.
Pooka,s.A mode of fishing sometimes used in the Irish lakes.
By mesh-nets immense numbers of pike are annually taken; and with night-lines, and a very simple contrivance, called the pooka, these fish, with the largest trout and perch, are constantly killed.
This latter implement is formed of a piece of flat board, having a little mast and sail erected on it. Its use is to carry out the extremity of a long line, of considerable stoutness, to which, at regulated distances, an infinity of droppers or links are suspended, each armed with a hook and a bait. Corks are affixed to the principal line or back, to keep it buoyant on the surface; and from a weather-shore, if there be a tolerable breeze, any quantity of hooks and baits can be floated easily across the water. The corks indicate to the fisherman when a fish is on the dropper, and in a small punt, or curragh, he attends to remove the spoil and renew the baits when necessary. Two hundred hooks may be used on the same line, and the pooka at times affords much amusement, and often a well-filled pannier.—Wild Sports.
Pool,s.A lake of standing water.
Pore,s.A spiracle of the skin, the passage of perspiration; any narrow spiracle or passage.
Pork,s.Swine’s flesh.
Porker,s.A hog, a pig.
Porous,a.Having small spiracles or passages.
Porridge,s.Food made by boiling meat and other ingredients in water.
Port,s.A harbour, a safe station for ships; the aperture in a ship at which the gun is run out; carriage, air, mien; the name of the wine of Oporto in Portugal.
Portable,a.Manageable by the hand; such as may be borne along with one; such as is transported or carried from one place to another.
Posthaste,s.Haste like that of a courier.
Posthorse,s.A horse stationed for the use of couriers.
Pot,s.A vessel in which meat is boiled on the fire; vessel to hold liquids; a vessel made of earth; a pewter vessel or mug, holding a quart or pint of beer.
Potato,s.An esculent root. Potatoes are given very much in Ireland to fatten lean horses. When only given in small quantities they are not objectionable for horses who do but little work.
Pouch,s.A small bag; a pocket.
Poult,s.A young chicken, particularly of a turkey or grouse.
Poulterer,s.One whose trade is to sell fowls ready for the table.
Poultice,s.A cataplasm, a soft mollifying application.
Poultices or cataplasms are used for promoting suppuration in inflamed tumours, and in grease, scratches, cracks, &c. The poultices commonly employed on those occasions are of the emollient kind.
Boiling water enough to make a soft poultice.
No. 2. Turnips thoroughly boiled and mashed; any quantity. Linseed meal enough to form the poultice.
Either of the simple poultices may be converted into an anodyne poultice by the addition of opium; into a fomenting poultice, by the addition of yeast, and by substituting oatmeal for linseed meal: into an astringent poultice, by the addition of Goulard’s extract, sugar of lead, or powdered alum; and into a detergent poultice, by the addition of white or blue vitriol.
In obstinate cases of virulent grease, where there is much pain, and a stinking dark-coloured discharge, and especially when emollients are found ineffectual, the detergent poultice has quickly cured the disease, and in such cases even a solution of corrosive sublimate has been used with the best effect.—White.
Poultice,v.To apply a poultice or cataplasm.
Poultry,s.Domestic fowls.
Pounce,s.The claw or talon of a bird of prey; the powder of gum sandarach.
Pound,s.A certain weight, consisting, in Troy weight, of twelve, in Avoirdupoise, of sixteen ounces; the sum of twenty shillings; a penfold, an enclosure, a prison in which beasts are enclosed.
Powder,s.Dust, any body comminuted; gunpowder.
Powder Flask,s.A flask to hold powder.
To obviate the danger of the powder being inflamed and communicated to that in the flask whilst loading, have a brass top made to go over that which screws on the flask, and which the opening of the spring supplies from it; by putting the charge of powder into the detached brass covering, and from that pouring it into the barrel; should there be any tow, after cleaning and flashing off some powder, or, after discharging, any wadding remaining on fire within, (which last may happen when paper, but never can when hat or leather wadding is used,) the whole of the powder that can explode will be the single charge in the brass covering.
Mr. Egg and Mr. Sykes have each got patents for powder flasks, in which, if a charge is blown up, all communication is so effectually prevented, that no farther damage can be done. I have seen the one of Mr. Egg repeatedly tried by himself. To do this, he dropped a red hot nail into the barrel, which, of course, instantly fired the measure put into it. He then unscrewed the top, and showed me the remainder of the powder in the horn, having only guarded his right hand by a shield of pasteboard, to avoid being burnt by the charge from the barrel.
The principle of it is so secure as to render it impossible for the powder in the flask to ignite, while in the act of loading, by the passage being completely cut off, from the lever being placed on the top of a strong plate instead of underneath. It also prevents the flash out of the barrel from injuring the hand, as the charger is fixed in an octant position, with a vent to let out the flame.
The springs of these powder horns must be kept very clean and free, or, like many ingenious patents, they will fall victims to the abuse of slovenly sportsmen. Mr. Egg says, he “begs leave to caution gentlemen of a trumpery Sheffield flask (sold in the shops), with an upright charger, not being calculated to answer the purpose intended, though it is an infringement on his patent.”—Hawker.
Powderhorn,s.A horn case in which powder is kept for guns.
As to your horn, the best thing you can do, when it remains pretty full at the end of a day, is to leave it in a very dry place in a warm room. For my own part, being persuaded that so much depends upon this, I always have my powder packed in half-pounds, a spare one of which I usually carry about me, and never open it until my horn is empty; and I am certain that more depends upon the quality and state of the powder than is usually ascribed to it.—Hints to Sportsmen.
Powdermill,s.The mill in which the ingredients for gunpowder are ground and mingled.
Powder Prover,s.
Powder Prover.—The proper “epreuvette” is very correctly made; the wheel on which the gradations are marked is large, and the spring strong, consequently the resistance to the force of the powder is considerable. The stronger it is the better; for without the resistance is strong, a correct proof cannot be obtained; because if not sufficiently strong to detain the powder in the chamber long enough for all the particles to ignite, many of them (especially in powder of good firm grain) will fly off unburnt, and of course a part only of the charge would be proved.
The part attached to the wheel of the epreuvette, which shuts the mouth of the chamber, should be so nicely adjusted, that on looking closely at the parts when in contact, no light can be seen between them; for if any light, there is of course so much vacancy, and consequently so much windage; and in proportion to the windage the proof will be lower, and therefore incorrect.
Three fires at least should always be made in proving, and the average taken as the mean amount, for variations frequently happen in fires immediately following each other, although made with considerable attention. Care should be taken after every fire to clean the chamber nicely, or otherwise the foulness left by the preceding discharge would lessen the space, by which the succeeding charge would become proportionally less.—Hawker.
Precipitate,s.A corrosive medicine made by precipitating mercury.
Red precipitate, nitric oxide of mercury, or red nitrated quicksilver, is a mild caustic, and an efficacious remedy in foul ulcers. It may be used alone, finely powdered and sprinkled on the affected part; or mixed with various ointments. It is made from quicksilver and nitrous acid, but is considerably weaker than a solution of that metal in nitrous acid. It becomes, however, a strong and very efficacious caustic, when dissolved in nitrous acid. This solution may also be mixed with unctuous substances, forming with them gooddetergent ointments; or it may be diluted with water so as to form a detergent lotion of considerable strength.—White.
Predaceous,a.Living by prey.
Preserve,s.Fruit preserved whole in sugar; a place set apart for breeding and protecting game.
To preserve Birds.—Large birds should be carefully skinned; the head, tail, and feet, left entire. The skin may then be either put into a vessel of spirits, or rubbed well on the inside with the following mixture:—One pound of salt, four ounces of alum, and two ounces of pepper, pounded together. Small birds may be thus treated:—Take out the entrails, open a passage to the brain, which should be scooped out through the mouth; introduce into the cavities of the skull and the whole body some of the above mixture, putting it also through the gullet and entire length of the neck; hang the bird in a cool, airy place, first by the feet, that the body may be impregnated by the salts, and afterwards by a thread through the under mandible of the bill, till it appears to be sweet; then expose it in the sun, or near a fire. After it is well dried, clean out what remains loose of the mixture, and fill the cavity of the body with wool, oakum, or any soft substance.
If you shoot a curious bird, and have not the means of getting it stuffed while fresh, you may preserve the skin of it for many months by putting therein dry tow and powdered ginger. May and June are the only months that you need fear the moth; and just then cedar shavings or camphor would be a good addition. To skin a bird, open him either on one side or down the back.
To send grouse any distance, put some pepper to the parts where they have been shot, as well as into their mouths, and then pack them carefully, separated from each other, and keep as air tight as possible in boxes of hops.—Hawker.
Prick,v.To pierce with a small puncture; to erect with an acuminated point; to set up the ears; to animate by a puncture or mark; to spur, to goad.
Pricket,s.A buck in his second year.
Prickle,s.A small sharp point.
Prickly,a.Full of sharp points.
Prime,v.To put in the first powder, to put powder in the pan of a gun.
Primero,s.A game at cards.
Privateer,s.A ship fitted out by private men to plunder enemies.
Produce,s.Product, that which anything yields or brings.
Produce Stakes.VideRacing.
Projectile,s.A body thrown forward with violent force, as a stone from a sling, or a ball discharged from a cannon.
Proof,s.Evidence, testimony, convincing token; test, trial, experiment; firm temper, impenetrability; armour hardened till it will abide a certain trial.
Proof of Barrels.—There has been lately cast in the foundery at Ruelle, near Angoulême, a cannon, after a model differing a little from that formerly adopted, and which has been submitted to an extraordinary trial, called “proof to the utmost.” This trial, the result of which was to burst the piece, was composed of two series, one of fifty, the other of fifty-seven shots, in which the charge was successively increased, so that the quantity of powder in the charge was raised to twenty-eight pounds instead of six, and the number of balls amounted to twelve. For the last six shots they succeeded in filling the barrel entirely with clay over the balls; and besides, in some of the last shots they secured each by four iron wedges, fastened on in such a manner that the number of these wedges was sixteen for the 106th shot, and as many for the last.
Prophylactic,s.A preventive against canine madness.
The oldest prophylactic with which we are acquainted is suction. We have very ancient records of its employment, and, if we can believe these legends, a particular family enjoyed the privilege, or devoted themselves to this process of drawing, by the application of the mouth to the wound, the poison inserted by a venomous animal. A ligature has also been recommended to stop the progress of the rabid poison, but, according to the present theories, it can have no preventive efficacy whatever.
Cold-bathing, but particularly sea-bathing, as a preventive, is a practice also of great antiquity, and, even yet, the uninformed classes place implicit reliance on it. Its incapability of insuring safety was, however, early noted; and Palmerius, Ambrose Parey, Desault, and others, were at much pains to discredit the practice: nevertheless, both hot and cold bathing long retained some powerful advocates. However respectable the authorities in its favour, the lamentable experience of many who have trusted to its efficacy, even when performed, as Van Swieten has it,ad sufficationem usque, but too well proves. Among the well informed, therefore, no reliance is now placed on it.
Mercury has long been employed as a prophylactic. Sauvages must have been greatly deceived by its ill-deserved reputation. Sir G. Cobb’s famous Tonquin remedy, so highly extolled by Claude Duchoisee, in India, was prepared from the native and factitious cinnabars, with musk. Turpeth mineral, which is a sub-sulphate of this metal, was highly extolled by Tissot, and has been very generally used among the dogs of this country. Many other authorities of note have extolled the preventive efficacy of mercury, from its power in counteracting the effects of the syphilitic poison; but as it has entirely failed in man and beast, under every advantage of administration, so it has ceased to be relied on as solely sufficient to guard the constitution. Neither has arsenic any more claim to the character of a preventive than it has as a curative.
Dr. Mead’spulvis antilyssus, composed of lichen cinereus and black pepper, has wholly lost its reputation, although, during his practice, he expressed a wish that he knew as certain a preventive for any other disease. The Ormskirk remedy is also another striking proof how easily a reputation may be gained, and how undeservedly: for although palpable instances of its failure are numerous, it once enjoyed great reputation, and is even yet occasionally trusted to. The water plantain (alisma plantago) has also proved one of those unfortunate articles offered to notice, which only served to raise hopes it was doomed never to realise. As it came recommended by a Russian counsellor of state, M. Jalowsky, at the express direction of his government, it met with a cordial reception, and a full trial in England and elsewhere, but everywhere it proved fallacious, both as a preventive and cure.
To enumerate all the other articles, particularly of the vegetable world, that at some period or other have been deemed prophylactics, would be endless. Among the most popular we may mention the eglantine, or wild rose (rosa sylvestris, Linn.), pimpernel (anagallis), deadly nightshade (atropa belladonna), rue (ruta), garlic (allium sativum), sage (salvia), daisy (bellis), vervain (subena), fern (polypodium), wormwood (artemisia arborescens), mugwort (artemisia vulgaris), betony (betonica), and the tree-box (buxus).—Blaine.
Prowl,v.To wander for prey, to plunder.
Prowler,s.One that roves about for prey.
Prune,v.To dress, to prink; to smooth a bird’s feathers.
Prussian Blue,s.A dark blue pigment obtained from bullock’s blood, carbonate of potash, vitriol of iron, alum, and muriatic acid.
Prussic Acid,s.A deadly poison.
Puet,s.A kind of water-fowl.
Puffin,Coulterneb,Mullet,Sea Parrot,Pope, orWillcock, (Alca arctica,Linn.;Le Macareux,Buff.)s.A water-fowl; a kind of fish; a kind of fungus filled with dust.