This is the smallest of the dogs of the chase which go under the general denomination of hound; meaning that kind which have the innate property of finding their game and pursuing it by what sportsmen call scent, which seems to be an impregnation of the atmosphere with certain effluvia issuing from the pores of the skin, and acting upon the olfactory membrane of the dog’s nose.
Although the beagle is far inferior in point of speed to the harrier, yet his sense of smelling a hare is equally exquisite, and he pursues her with indefatigable vigilance, energy, and perseverance. Every winding and all the mazes are traced by him with a degree of exactness which must be seen to be properly understood and justly estimated, while the soft and melodious tones of his voice afford ecstatic pleasure to the lovers of the chase, and is thus finely described by Somerville:—
“Hark! from yon covert, where those towering oaksAbove the humble copse aspiring rise,What glorious triumphs burst in every galeUpon our ravish’d ears! The hunters shout,The clanging horns swell their sweet winding notes,The pack wide opening load the trembling airWith various melody; from tree to treeThe propagated cry redoubling bounds,And winged zephyrs waft the floating joyThrough all the regions near.The puzzling pack unravel, wile by wile,Maze within maze.”
“Hark! from yon covert, where those towering oaksAbove the humble copse aspiring rise,What glorious triumphs burst in every galeUpon our ravish’d ears! The hunters shout,The clanging horns swell their sweet winding notes,The pack wide opening load the trembling airWith various melody; from tree to treeThe propagated cry redoubling bounds,And winged zephyrs waft the floating joyThrough all the regions near.The puzzling pack unravel, wile by wile,Maze within maze.”
“Hark! from yon covert, where those towering oaksAbove the humble copse aspiring rise,What glorious triumphs burst in every galeUpon our ravish’d ears! The hunters shout,The clanging horns swell their sweet winding notes,The pack wide opening load the trembling airWith various melody; from tree to treeThe propagated cry redoubling bounds,And winged zephyrs waft the floating joyThrough all the regions near.The puzzling pack unravel, wile by wile,Maze within maze.”
“Hark! from yon covert, where those towering oaks
Above the humble copse aspiring rise,
What glorious triumphs burst in every gale
Upon our ravish’d ears! The hunters shout,
The clanging horns swell their sweet winding notes,
The pack wide opening load the trembling air
With various melody; from tree to tree
The propagated cry redoubling bounds,
And winged zephyrs waft the floating joy
Through all the regions near.
The puzzling pack unravel, wile by wile,
Maze within maze.”
Much emulation prevailed in former times among sportsmen in the breeding of beagles, and it was then the greatest merit to rear dogs of the smallest growth. Amongst amateurs of hunting, beagles were so carefully selected in point of size, that they seldom exceeded ten or eleven inches in height; and they were so well matched with respect to speed, that during the chase a good pack might be covered with a sheet. This is with all kinds of hounds a sure mark of excellence.
Although beagles are slow in speed, they are uncommonly eager; for, if the scent lies well, a hare has little chance of escape from them. Their slowness, however, is the principal reason of their being almost totally discontinued in packs, and that they are now seldom to be met with beyond a few couples, used in some of the southern counties of England to ensure finding more certainly in greyhound coursing.
Hunting with the beagle was admirably adapted for ladies and gentlemen up in years; and, besides, afforded much amusement to rustics, and other pedestrian hunters; for there were few male persons of any activity who could not keep up with them.
The late Colonel Hardy once had a pack of beagles amounting to ten or twelve couples, and so diminutive in size, that they were always carried to and from the sporting field in a large pair of panniers slung across a horse. This curious pack was lost to the colonel in a rather singular manner. It was kept in a barn which was one night broken open, when all the hounds and the panniers were stolen; and, notwithstanding the most diligent search, no trace of either could ever be discovered.—Brown.
Beak,s.The bill or horny mouth of a bird.
Bean,s.The common garden bean; the horse bean.
Beans contain but five hundred and seventy parts of nutritive matter, yet they add materially to the vigour of the horse. There are many horses that will not stand hard work without beans being mingled with their food, and these not horses whose tendency to purge it may be necessary to restrain by the astringency of the bean. There is no traveller who is not aware of the difference in the spirit and continuance of his horse if he allows or denies him beans on his journey. They afford not merely a temporary stimulus, but they may be daily used without losing their power, or producing exhaustion. Two pounds of beans may, with advantage, be mixed with the chaff of the agricultural horse, during the winter. In summer, the quantity may be lessened, or the beans altogether discontinued. Beans are generally given whole. This is very absurd; for the young horse, whose teeth are strong, seldom requires them; while the old horse, to whom they are in a manner necessary, is scarcely able to masticate them, swallows many of them whole which he is unable to break, and drops much corn from his mouth in the ineffectual attempt to break them. Beans should not be merely split, but crushed; they will even then give sufficient employment to the grinders of the animal. Some postmasters use chaff with beans instead of oats. With hardly-worked horses they may possibly be allowed; but in general cases, the beans, without oats, would be too binding and stimulating, and would produce costiveness, and probably megrims or staggers.—The Horse.
Bean Goose,s.
This species differs very little in its general appearance from the grey lag goose, the chief distinction between them being in the bill; which in this is small, much compressed near the end, whitish, and sometimes of a pale red in the middle, and black at the base and nail: the latter is shaped somewhat like a horse-bean, from which it has obtained the name of Bean Goose.
These birds arrive in the fen counties in the autumn, and take their departure in May. They are said to alight in the corn-fields, and to feed much upon the green wheat while they remain in England.
They are reported to breed in great numbers in the Isle of Lewis, and no doubt on others of the Hebrides, and also at Hudson’s Bay.—Bewick.
Bear,s.A rough savage animal.
Bearward,s.A keeper of bears.Obs.
Beard,s.The hair that grows on the lips and chin; sharp prickles growing upon the ears of corn; a barb of an arrow.
Beast,s.An animal distinguished from birds, insects, fishes, and man; an irrational animal, opposed to man. Inforestry, there are five beasts which are properly beasts of forest, or venery;viz.the hart, hind, hare, boar, and wolf.
Beat,s.A stroke, or a striking. In sporting phraseology, it means the place or country a man passes over in pursuit of game.
Beat,v.To move in a pulsatory manner; to dash, as a flood or storm. To look for game.
Beater,s.An instrument with which any thing is beaten; a person attending a sportsman, as in pheasant or cock-shooting, to beat the covers and flush the birds.
Bee,s.The insect that makes honey.
Bee-Eater,s.(Merops apiaster,Linn.) A bird that feeds upon bees. Of this genus only one species is British.—Montagu.
Bee-Hive,s.The case or box in which bees are kept.
Bees-Wax,s.Much used in forming ointment.
Beech,s.A tree.Beechen,a.Consisting of the wood of the beech.
Beef,s.The flesh of black cattle prepared for food; an ox, bull, or cow.
Beer,s.Liquor made of malt and hops; a useful vehicle for tonics and cordials. When good it is an excellent restorative for a fatigued horse. Heated with spirits and ginger it relieves colic, gripes, &c.
Beet,s.The name of a plant.
Beetle,s.An insect distinguished by having hard cases, or sheaths, under which he folds his wings; a heavy mallet. Beetles flying about late in an evening often foretel a fine day on the morrow.—Foster.
Belladonna,s.Nightshade; a powerful narcotic.
Mr. Youatt considers this to have some prophylactic powers against rabies, but particularly when in union with the scutellaria, or skull-cap. He begins “with a drachm ball to a moderate-sized dog, containing two scruples of the scutellaria, and about two and a half grains of the belladonna, to be given night and morning: on the second week two balls are given; on the third, three; and this continued for six weeks.” The nightshade is also a general sedative.—The Horse.
Bellmetal,s.The metal of which bells are made.
Bellow,v.To make a noise as a bull; to make any loud and violent outcry.
Bellwether,s.A sheep which leads the flock with a bell hung on his neck.
Belly,s.That part of the body which reaches from the breast to the thighs, containing the bowels.
Belly-bound,a.Costive.
Belt,s.A girdle; a cincture.
Benzoin,s.Called alsoGum Benjamin. It is a yellow resinous substance, and from itFlowers of Benjaminare extracted. It is used as an ingredient in Friar’s Balsam and Paregoric Elixir.
Bernacle,s.A bird like a goose, fabulously supposed to grow on trees.
The Bernacle, (Anas Erythropus,Linn.La Bernacle,Buff.) weighs about five pounds, and measures more than two feet in length, and nearly four and a half in breadth. The bill, from the tip to the corners of the mouth, is scarcely an inch and a half long, black, and crossed with a pale reddish streak on each side; a narrow black line passes from the bill to the eyes, the irides of which are brown; the head is small, and, as far as the crown, together with the cheeks and throat, white; the rest of the head and neck, to the breast and shoulders, is black; the upper part of the plumage is prettily marbled or barred with blue, grey, black, and white; the feathers of the back are black, edged with white, and those of the wing coverts and scapulars, blue grey, bordered with black near the margins, and edged with white; the quills black, edged a little way from the tips with blue grey; the under parts and tail coverts white; the thighs are marked with dusky lines or spots, and are black near the knees; the tail is black, and five inches and a half long; the legs and feet dusky, very thick and short, and have a stumpy appearance.
In severe winters these birds are not uncommon in this kingdom, particularly on the northern and western parts, where, however, they remain only a short time, and depart early in the spring to their northern wilds, to breed and spend the summer.—Bewick.
Better,s.One that lays bets or wagers.
Bevy,s.A flock of quails.
Bile,s.A thick, yellow, bitter liquor, separated in the liver, collected in the gall bladder, and discharged by the common duct; a sore angry swelling.
Bill,s.The beak of a fowl; a kind of hatchet with a hooked point.
Billiards,s.A kind of play upon a flat surface, with cues, maces, and balls.
In order to play billiards well, attention must be given at first to the method of holding the mace; to the position in which the player should stand, and the manner of delivering the hall from the mace; but these are much more easily acquired by observation or by the direction of a good player, than by any possible written rules. A person who plays with his right hand must stand with his left foot foremost; and on the contrary he who is left-handed must stand with his right foot foremost, by which he will stand more steady and firm. Immoderate bursts of passion, and even fretting at trifling disappointments in the game, are usually found very prejudicial to the player; his nerves, being affected, it is impossible for him to make the stroke with that steadiness and nicety the game requires.
The games usually played till lately were the white winning and the red winning carambole games, but the winning and losing carambole game is now very fashionable.
The different games of billiards are—
The white winning game, played with two white balls, is twelve in number, when two persons play, and fifteen when four play; scored (independently of forfeitures) from winning hazards only.
The white losing game, also twelve in number, played with two white balls, is the reverse of the winning; the points being scored from losing and double, or winning and losing hazards.
The white winning and losing gameis a combination of the two preceding; all balls put in by striking the adversary’s ball first, reckon towards the game.
The preceding games should be introductory to the knowledge of those with three or more balls, which are more complicated and difficult.
Choice of balls, in which the player chooses his ball each time, an incalculable advantage, generally played against the losing and winning game.
The bricole game, signifies, being required to strike a cushion, from whence the ball is to rebound so as to hit that of the adversary, reckoned equal to giving eight or nine points. When both parties play bricole, the game is ten, scored from bricole hazards, and forfeitures.
The bar-hole game, so styled because the hole which the ball should be played for is barred, and the player strikes for another hole. When this is played against the common game, the advantage to the last-mentioned is calculated at six points.
One-hole, in which all halls that go into one hole are counted, and the player who best lays his ball at the brink of that particular hole, has the advantage. The lead should be given from that end of the table where the last hazard has been made.
Hazards, so styled as depending entirely upon making hazards, no account being kept of the game. Many persons may play at a table with balls that are numbered, though to avoid confusion seldom more than six play at once. The person whose ball is put in pays a fixed sum for each hazard to the player, and he who misses pays half the same to him whose ball he played at. The only general rule is not to lay any ball a hazard for the next player, which may best be done by always playing upon him whose turn is next, and either bringing his ball close to the cushion, or putting it a distance from the rest.
The doublet gameis ten in number, played with two balls, most commonly against the white winning game, and no hazard is scored unless made by a reverberation from the cushion, calculated as equivalent to giving five points.
The commanding game, where the adversary fixes upon the ball which the striker is to play at, reckoned equal to having fourteen points out of twenty-four: usually given by a skilful player against the common game of an indifferent one.
The limited gameis very seldom played. In it the table is divided by a line, beyond which, if the striker pass his ball, he pays forfeit.
The red or winning and losing carambole gameconsists of twenty-one or twenty-four points, reckoned from caramboles, and from winning and losing hazards, equally; both white and red. Each of the white hazards and the carambole counts two; the red hazard three points.
The winning carambole(or red) game is sixteen or eighteen in number, obtained (independently of the forfeitures which every game has peculiar to itself), by winning hazards and carom only.
The losing caramboleis nearly the reverse of the winning, and consists of sixteen or eighteen points, made by caramboles, losing and double hazards; counted as in the winning and losing game.
N.B. The simple carambole is only a trifling variation from the above.
The carambole games are played with three balls; one red which is neutral, and termed thecarambole: the other two white: one of them allotted to each player. Thecaramboleis placed upon a spot on a line even with the stringing nail at the bottom of the table, and after leading from the upper end the striker is either to make the winning or losing hazard, according to the particular game, or to hit with his own ball the other two successively; for which stroke, called acaramboleorcarom, he obtains two points.
TheRussian carambolevaries from the common carambole in the following particulars:—
The red ball is to be placed upon the usual spot; but the player, at the commencement of the game, or after his ball has been holed, is at liberty to place it where he pleases. The leader, instead of striking at the red ball, should lay his own gently behind the same, and the opponent may play at either of them; if the said opponent play at and hole the red ball, he scores three; then the red ball is to be replaced upon the spot, and the player may take his choice again, always following his stroke till both balls are off the table; he gains two points for every carambole; but if in doing that he hole his own ball, then he loses as many as otherwise he would have obtained; and if he strike at the red ball, and should carambole and hole that ball and his own, he loses five points; and when he holes all three balls he loses seven, which respective numbers he would have won had he not holed his own ball.
The carolineorcarline gameis played either on a round or square table with five balls, two white, one red, another blue, and the caroline ball yellow. The red ball is to be placed on its usual spot, the caroline ball exactly in the middle of the table, and the blue ball between the two at the lower end of the table. The striking spot is at the upper end, in a parallel line with the three balls. The game is 42, scored from caramboles and hazards; the red hazard counts three, the blue two, and the yellow, when holed in the caroline or middle pocket, is reckoned at six points.
The four gameconsists of two partners on each side at any of the common games, who play in succession after every winning hazard lost.
The cushion gameconsists in the striker playing his ball from the top of the baulk cushion, instead of following his stroke upon the table, and is generally played in the winning, or winning and losing game, reckoned equal to giving six points.
Fortification Billiards, for an account of which see Hoyle.
As thered, orwinning and losing game, is that most commonly played, and as its regulations are, with trifling exceptions, applicable to all the others, the following will be found a correct code of the general laws of billiards. For tables of the odds, and a description of particular games, the reader is referred to the later editions of Hoyle.
Rules &c. in the winning and losing carambole game.—1. The game commences by stringing for the lead and choice of balls.
2. In stringing, the striker must place his ball within the striking ring; and, if his adversary desire it, must stand within the limits of the corner of the table.
3. He who, after playing at the bottom cushion, brings his ball nearest to the cushion, at the upper or baulk end of the table, wins the lead, and chooses his ball.
4. After the first person has strung for the lead, if the adversary who follows should make his ball touch the other, he loses the lead.
5. By holing his own ball, either in stringing or leading, the player loses the lead.
6. Should the leader follow his ball, with either mace or cue, beyond the middle hole, it is no lead; and his adversary may make him lead again.
7. The leader must place his ball within the ring, between the striking nails or spots at the upper end of the table: and the same must be observed after every losing hazard has been got.
8. The red ball is to be placed on the lower of the two spots, at the bottom of the table.
9. When either of the white balls has been holed, &c., it must be replaced in, and played from the striking ring, as at the commencement of the game.
10. When the red ball has been holed or forced over the table, it must be replaced on the same spot as at the beginning of the game, and the present striker is bound to see it thus replaced, otherwise he cannot win any points while it is off the spot, and the stroke he may make is deemed foul.
11. If the striker do not hit his adversary’s ball, he loses one point; and if by the same stroke he pocket his own ball, he loses three points and the lead.
12. If the striker force either of the balls over the table, he loses the lead.
13. If the striker force his own, or either of the other balls over the table, after having made a carambole or hazard, he gains nothing, and also loses the lead.
14. If the striker hit both the red and his adversary’s ball with his own ball, this is called acaramboleorcarom.
15. If the striker with his own hole his adversary’s ball, he wins two points.
16. If the striker hole the red ball, he wins three points.
17. If the striker hole his own off his adversary’s ball, he wins two points.
18. If the striker hole his own off the red ball, he wins three points.
19. If the striker hole both his adversary’s and the red ball, he wins five points.
20. If the striker, by playing at the red ball, hole his own and the red ball, he wins six points.
21. If the striker, by hitting the white ball first, hole both his own and the adversary’s ball, he wins four points.
22. If the striker, by striking at the red ball first, hole both his own and his adversary’s ball, he wins five points: three for holing his own ball off the red, and two for holing the white ball.
23. If the striker play at his adversary’s ball first, and hole his own ball and the red, he wins five points: two for holing his own ball off the white, and three for holing the red ball.
24. If the striker play at his adversary’s ball, and hole it, at the same time that he pockets both his own ball and the red, he wins seven points: two for holing his own ball off the white, two for holing his adversary’s, and three for holing the red ball.
25. If the striker play at the red, and hole his own ball off the same, and the red ball, and his adversary’s ball, by the same stroke, he wins eight points: three for holing his own ball off the red, three for holing the red, and two for holing the white ball.
26. If the striker make a carambole, and by the same stroke pocket his adversary’s ball, he wins four points: two for the carambole, and two for the white hazard.
27. If the striker make a carambole, and pocket the red ball, he wins five points: two for the carambole, and three for the red hazard.
28. If the striker should carambole, and hole both the red and his adversary’s ball, he gains seven points: two for the carambole, two for the white, and three for the red ball.
29. If the striker make a carambole by striking the white ball first, and hole his own by the same stroke, he wins four points: two for the carom, and two for the white losing hazard.
30. If the striker make a carambole by striking the red ball first, and by the same stroke pocket his own ball, he wins five points: two for the carambole, and three for the red losing hazard.
31. If the striker play at the white ball first, and should make a carambole, and also hole his own and his adversary’s ball, he wins six points: two for the carambole, and two for each white hazard.
32. If the striker play at the red ball first, and carambole, and should likewise hole his own and his adversary’s ball, he gains seven points: two for the carom, three for the red hazard, and two for the white hazard.
33. If the striker should carambole by playing first at the white ball, and also hole his own and the red ball, he wins seven points: two for the carom, two for the white losing hazard, and three for the red winning hazard.
35. If the striker should carambole by striking the white ball first, and hole his own and his adversary’s, and the red ball, he wins nine points: two for the carambole, two for each of the white hazards, and three for the red hazard.
36. If the striker should carambole by striking the red ball first, and by the same stroke hole his own and the red, and his adversary’s ball, he gains ten points: two for the carambole, three for red losing, three for the red winning, and two for the white winning hazard.
37. After the adversary’s ball is off the table, and the two remaining balls are either upon the line, or within the stringing nails or spots, at the upper end where the white balls are originally placed in leading, it is called abaulk; and the striker, who is to play from the ring, must strike the opposite cushion, to make his ball rebound, so as to hit one of the balls in the baulk—which if he do not, he loses one point.
38. It sometimes happens, after the red ball has been holed or forced over the table, that one of the white balls so occupies its place, that it cannot be put upon its proper spot without touching the same. In such a case, the marker must hold the red ball in his hand, while the striker plays at his adversary’s ball, and immediately afterwards replace the red on its proper spot, so that it may not prevent a carambole, &c.
39. If the striker play with the wrong ball, it is a foul stroke.
40. If the striker be going to play with the wrong ball, no person ought to discover it to him, except his partner, when they are playing a double match.
41. If the striker play with the wrong ball, and his adversary should not discover it, he may reckon all the points gained by the stroke, and the marker is obliged to score them.
42. If the striker, after having made a hazard or carom, move with his hand or stick either of the balls which remain upon the table, the stroke is deemed foul.
43. If a ball be found to have been changed during the game, and it is not known by which player, the game must be played out with the balls as they then are.
44. No one has a right to take up or otherwise move a ball, without permission of the adversary.
45. If a striker touch his ball with the instrument twice, the stroke is foul.
46. If a striker be impeded in his stroke by his adversary or a spectator, he has a right to recommence the stroke.
47. If the striker should accidentally move his own ball, without intending at the time to make a stroke, he loses no point; but the adversary may replace the ball.
48. If the striker touch his ball, and make his mace or cue go over or past it, he loses one point.
49. If either of the players, in the act of striking, happen to move his own, the adversary’s, or the red ball, from the place it occupied on the table, it is a foul stroke.
50. When the striker’s, and either of the other balls are so close as to touch, and in playing the former off, the latter is moved from its place, the stroke is considered foul.
51. If the striker, in attempting a stroke, do not touch his ball, it is no stroke, and he must strike again.
52. If, when the balls are very near each other, the striker should make his ball touch the other, it is to be considered a stroke, though not intended as such.
53. If the striker play upon a ball which is still running, the stroke is foul.
54. Whoever stops a ball when running, loses the lead; if his adversary do not like the ball he has to play at the next stroke.
55. Whoever retains his adversary’s cue or mace, when in the act of striking, makes the stroke foul.
56. If the striker interrupt the course of his own ball, when running towards a hole, after having made a miss, and it is the opinion of the marker that it would have entered the pocket, had it not been interrupted, he loses three points.
57. And if the striker should interrupt, stop, or put his adversary’s ball out of its course, when running towards or into a hole, he is subjected to the same forfeiture.
58. If the striker, after having made a hazard, or carambole, interrupt the course of his own ball, the stroke is foul, and he cannot score any of the points he may have thus made.
59. He who blows upon a ball when running makes the stroke foul; and if his own ball were running towards a hole, or near a hole, and he be seen by his adversary to blow upon it, he loses two points.
60. If the striker play with both feet off the ground, the stroke is deemed foul.
61. Whoever strikes the table when the ball is running, makes the stroke foul.
62. If the striker throws his mace or cue upon the table so as to baulk his adversary, he causes him to make a foul stroke.
63. If a ball be made to go extremely near the brink of a hole, and after sensibly standing still, falls into it, the striker wins nothing, and the ball must be put on the same brink where it stood before the adversary makes his next stroke; and if it should fall into the hole at the instant the striker hath played upon his ball, so as to prevent the success of his stroke, the striker’s and the adversary’s balls must be placed in the same relative position, and the striker play again.
64. He who will not play the game out, loses the same.
65. If a person agree to play with the cue, he is obliged to play with it during the whole of the game or match; but if no agreement have been made, he may at any time change it for the mace, andvice versâ. But when the parties agree to play mace against cue, the mace player has no right to use a cue, nor has the cue player any right to use a mace, without permission.
66. When a person agrees to play with a cue, he must play every ball within his reach with the point thereof; and if he should agree to play with the butt of the cue, he has no right at any time to play with the point without permission. Also, when the parties agree to playpoint and pointof the cue, neither of them has any right to use thebutt: but every person who plays with a cue, may use occasionally a long one, and in such case he may play with the point of a long cue or a mace.
67. If the striker should make his mace or cue touch both balls at the same time, it is deemed a foul stroke, and if discovered by the adversary, he wins nothing for any points he might make by the stroke, and the adversary may break or part the balls.
68. Whenever a foul stroke is made, it is at the option of the adversary either to part the balls, and play from the striking ring, as at the beginning, or, if the balls happen to be in a favourable position for himself, to suffer the preceding striker to score the points; which the marker is obliged to do in every case where the balls are not broken.
69. The adversary only is bound to see that the striker plays fair, which, if he neglect, the striker wins all the points he may have made by that particular stroke, and the marker is obliged to score them.
70. No person has a right to discover whether a stroke be fair or foul until asked, unless during a four match; and in that case none but the player or his partner has a right to ask it.
71. Should a dispute arise between the players concerning the fairness of a stroke, the marker alone is authorised to decide, and from his decision there is no appeal: but if he happen to be incompetent, the majority of the disinterested company then present should decide the dispute.
72. Whoever proposes to part the balls, and his adversary agrees, the person who made the proposal loses the lead.
73. No person in the room has a right to bet more than the odds on a hazard or a game; but if he err through ignorance, he should appeal to the marker, or the table of the odds. Each person who proposes a bet should name the precise sum; and also should be extremely careful not to offer a bet when the striker has taken his aim, or is going to strike; and no bet ought to be proposed on any stroke, that may have any tendency to influence the player. If A propose a bet which is accepted by B, it must be confirmed by A, otherwise it is no bet. If any bets be laid on the hazard, and the striker should lose the game by a miss, at the stroke in question, it cannot be a hazard, the game being out by a miss. In all cases the betters are to abide by the determination of the players, and the betters have a right to demand their money when their game is over.
74. Every person ought to be very attentive, and listen for the stroke, before he opens the door of a billiard-room.
75. The striker has a right to command his adversary not to stand facing or near him, so as to annoy or molest him in his stroke.
76. Each party is to take care of his own game, and his adversary has no right to answer any questions; as, if the ball be close?—if he touch the ball? &c.
77. The marker should make those persons who do not play stand from the table, and give room for the players to pass freely round.
78. Those who play ought to be particularly careful and attentive to their strokes, when any bets are depending thereon: but even should they play carelessly, the bets must, in every case, be decided by the event.
79. No person has any right to discover to the player in what manner he may play his ball. And if it be done, and discovered by the adversary, he may prevent the striker from scoring the points he has made by the stroke. Neither, after a stroke has been played, has any one a right to detect any error the striker may have committed.
The Dutch Baron.—A few years since the gentlemen of the green cloth were put out of cue, by a hero of the hazard table imported from the continent by one of the squad, who, while he pretended to be playing the losing game, was shrewdly suspected of going snacks in all that rolls into the pocket.
The Dutch baron was introduced by his friend, who happened to have known him at Hamburgh. He played in a crowd of billiard amateurs and professors, many of whom were raw, and lost about one hundred and fifty guineas with the utmostsang froid. Upon his retiring, his friend told the company he was a fine pigeon, a Dutch baron, who had emigrated from Holland, with immense property, and who would as readily lose ten thousand pounds as ten guineas. “Who is he?” was eagerly inquired. “A Dutch baron, as rich as a Jew,” was answered in a whisper.
No Batavian ever laid out an hundred and fifty guineas so well as the Dutch baron. The whole corps of riflemen flocked around him like a swarm of fish at a piece of bread. But little P——, well known at Bath, who thought he best knew how to make his market, like a man of business, applied to the baron’s friend to have the first plucking. The friend, as a great favour, engaged to use his influence; little P—— was at the billiard table the first man in the morning, that he might secure the play in his own hands. The baron came: to it they went; little P—— kept back his play: the Dutch baron played but poorly. Fair strokes he often missed; but whenever he was at an important point he won as if by accident. On they went—Hambletonian and Diamond. Little P—— was afraid of frightening the baron, by disclosing the extent of his play; the baron played so as to persuade every one he knew little of the game. The contest was who should play worst at indifferent periods, and who, without seeming to play well, should play best at important points. The baron won all on great occasions, till little P—— had lost about £100. But the baron managed so well that no one thought he could play at all, and although little P—— was sickened, yet the bait of 150 guineas found plenty of customers. Some of them, the greatest adepts in the kingdom, gave the baron, at starting, three points in the game; but the baron’s accidental good play was so superior, whenever a stake was down, he at last gave three points to those who had given him three points, and still beat them—by accident; and before the billiard knowing ones at Bath would stop, the baron had won nearly ten thousand pounds, with which he made a bow, and came to London.
But this Dutch nobleman’s fame travelled almost as fast as himself, and he was found out; not, however, till he had sweated some of the most knowing gentlemen of the cue.
He concealed his play so well, that no one could form an idea of its extent. To the best billiard players he gave points, and always won on important occasions. He seemed to be a very conjurer, commanding the balls to roll as he pleased; and there was nothing to be named, that it is not supposed he could accomplish.
And who was the Dutch baron? In Hamburgh, he was the marker at a billiard table!—Hoyle—Anecdotes of Play.
Bin,s.A place where corn or wine is deposited.
Biparous,a.Bringing forth two at a birth.
Biped,s.An animal with two feet.
Bipennated,a.Having two wings.
Bird,s.A general term for the feathered kind, a fowl.
The term of life varies greatly in birds, and does not seem to bear the same proportion to the time of acquiring their growth, as has been remarked with regard to quadrupeds.
Most birds acquire their full dimensions in the course of a few months, and are capable of propagation the first summer after they are hatched. In proportion to the size of their bodies, birds possess more vitality, and live longer, than either man or quadrupeds: notwithstanding the difficulties which arise in ascertaining the age of birds, there are instances of great longevity in many of them. Geese and swans have been known to attain to the age of seventy and upwards; ravens are very long-lived birds—they are said sometimes to exceed a century; eagles are supposed to arrive at a great age; pigeons are known to live more than twenty years; and even linnets, and other small birds, have been kept in cages from fifteen to twenty years.
Every part of their frame is formed for lightness and buoyancy; their bodies are covered with a soft and delicate plumage, so disposed as to protect them from the intense cold of the atmosphere through which they pass; their wings are made of the lightest materials, and yet the force with which they strike the air is so great, as to impel their bodies forward with astonishing rapidity, whilst the tail serves the purpose of a rudder, to direct them to the different objects of their pursuit. The internal structure of birds is no less wisely adapted to the same purposes: all the bones are light and thin, and all the muscles, except those which are appropriated to the purpose of moving the wings, are extremely delicate and light; the lungs are placed close to the back-bone and ribs, the air, entering into them by a communication from the wind-pipe, passes through, and is conveyed into a number of membranous cells which lie upon the sides of the pericardium, and communicate with those of the sternum. In some birds these cells are continued down the wings, and extended even to the pinions, thigh-bones, and other parts of the body, which can be filled and distended with air at the pleasure of the animal.—VideAir Cells.
It seems evident that this general diffusion of air through the bodies of birds is of infinite use to them, not only in their long and laborious flights, but likewise in preventing their respiration from being stopped or interrupted by the rapidity of their motion through a resisting medium. Were it possible for man to move with the swiftness of a swallow, the actual resistance of the air, as he is not provided with internal reservoirs similar to those of birds, would soon suffocate him.
The migration of birds would appear miraculous, did we not know their extraordinary power of flight. Speaking of this, Bewick says—“If we can suppose a bird to go at the rate of only half a mile in a minute, for the space of twenty-four hours, it will have gone over, in that time, an extent of more than seven hundred miles, which is sufficient to account for almost the longest migration; but, if aided by a favourable current of air, there is reason to suppose that the same journey may be performed in a much shorter space of time. To these observations we may add, that the sight of birds is peculiarly quick and piercing; and from the advantage they possess in being raised to considerable heights in the air, they are enabled, with a sagacity peculiar to instinctive knowledge, to discover the route they are to take, from the appearance of the atmosphere, the clouds, the direction of the winds, and other causes; so that, without having recourse to improbable modes, it is easy to conceive, from the velocity of their speed alone, that most birds may transport themselves to countries lying at great distances, and across vast tracts of ocean.”
In speaking of the flight of birds, Mr. Rennie says—“Their capability of performing flights much longer than there is any necessity for supposing, may be proved by numerous facts. Even a sparrow has been calculated to fly at the rate of not less than thirty miles an hour, and many experiments prove that the eider duck can fly ninety miles in the same time. The common kite (falco milvus) has been observed to pass, without great exertion, over a space of a quarter of a league, in a minute; and it could fly, with ease, from Cape Pruth to the Land’s End, in a single day. M. Audubon, the distinguished ornithologist, has shot the passenger pigeon of America, and on dissection, found its stomach full of fresh rice, which, to have resisted the digestive process, must have been swallowednot many hourspreceding its death, but could not have been obtained within eight hundred miles of the place where it was killed. Though the nightingale, the willow-wren, and other birds of passage, fly with only half the swiftness, they may easily arrive in most parts of the south of Europe, or the north of Africa, in a few days.”—Bewick—Rennie—Montagu.
Bird,v. obs.To catch birds.
Birdbolt,s.A small arrow with three heads, which was anciently discharged at birds from a cross-bow.
Bird-catcher,s.One that makes it his employment to take birds.
Bird-catching,s.The act of taking birds or wild fowl, whether for food, for the pleasure of their song, or for their destruction, as being pernicious to the husbandman, &c. The methods are by birdlime, nets, decoys, &c. SeeBirdlime,Decoys,Nets, &c.
In the suburbs of London there are many persons, who, during the months of October and March, get their livelihood by an ingenious, and we may add, a scientific, method of bird-catching, which is totally unknown to other parts of Great Britain. The reason of this trade being confined to so small a compass, arises from there being no considerable sale for singing birds except in the metropolis; and as the apparatus for their purpose is heavy, and must be carried on a man’s back, it prevents the bird-catchers going to above three or four miles’ distance. This method of bird-catching must have been long practised, as it is brought to a most systematic perfection, and is attended with very considerable expense. The nets are a most ingenious piece of mechanism, are generally twelve yards and a half long, and two and a half wide; and no one, till he becomes eye-witness of the puller’s success, would imagine that a bird, which is so very quick in all its motions, could be caught by the nets flapping over each other. The wild birds fly, as the bird-catchers term it, chiefly during the month of October, and part of September and November, as the flight in March is much less considerable than that of Michaelmas. The several species of birds do not make their appearance precisely at the same time during the months of September, October, and November. The pipet, a small species of lark, but inferior to the others in singing, for example, begins to fly about Michaelmas, and then the woodlark, linnet, goldfinch, chaffinch, greenfinch, and other birds of flight, succeed; all of which are not easily caught, or in any numbers at any other time, and more particularly the pipet and the woodlark. These birds, during the Michaelmas and March flights, are chiefly on the wing from day-break to noon, though there is afterwards a small flight from two till night, but this is so inconsiderable, that the bird-catchers take up their nets at noon. It well deserves the attention of the naturalist whence these periodical flights of certain birds arise. As the ground, however, is ploughed during the months of October and March for sowing the winter and spring corn, it should seem that they are thus supplied with a profusion both of seeds and insects, which they cannot so easily procure at any other season. It has been observed, too, that, during their sitting, they fly always against the wind; hence, there is great contention amongst the bird-catchers, who shall gain that point. If, for example, it is westerly, the bird-catcher who lays his nets most to the east, is sure almost of catching every thing, provided his call birds are good; a gentle wind to the south-west generally produces the best sport. The bird-catcher generally carries with him five or six linnets, of which more are caught than any other singing-bird, two goldfinches, two greenfinches, one woodlark, one redpole, a yellow hammer, titlark and aberdevine, and perhaps a bullfinch; these are placed at small distances from the nets, in little cages. He has besides what are called slur-birds, which are placed within the nets, are raised upon the slur, and gently let down at the time the wild bird approaches them. The slur is a moveable perch to which the bird is tied, and which the bird-catcher can raise at pleasure by means of a long string fastened to it. The slur-birds generally consist of the linnet, goldfinch, and greenfinch, which are secured to the slur by what is called a brace, which secures the bird without injuring the plumage. It is a sort of bandage, formed of a slender silken string, fastened round the body, and under the wings, so as to hinder the bird from being hurt, let it flutter ever so much. As it has been found that there is a superiority in birds that are in song, the bird-catchers contrive that their call-birds should moult before the usual time. They therefore, in June or July, put them into a box, quite close under two or three folds of blankets, and leave their dung in the cage to raise a greater heat, in which state they continue, being perhaps examined but once a week to have fresh water. As for food, the air is so putrid, that they eat little during the whole state of confinement; which lasts about a month. The birds frequently die under the operation, and hence the value of a stopped bird, as the bird-catchers style it, rises greatly. When the bird has thus prematurely moulted, he is in song whilst the wild birds are out of song, and his note is louder and more piercing than that of a wild one; but it is not only in his note he receives an alteration, the plumage is also improved. The black and yellow in the wings of the goldfinch, for example, become deeper and more vivid, and acquire a beautiful gloss, which is not to be seen in the wild bird. The bill, which, in the latter, is black at the end, in the stopped bird becomes white and more taper, as do its legs; in short, there is as much difference between a wild and a stopped bird, as there is between a horse kept in body-clothes, and one at grass. When the bird-catcher has laid his nets, he disposes his call-birds at proper intervals. There is a most malicious joy in these call-birds, to bring the wild ones into the same captivity, which may likewise be observed with regard to decoy ducks. (SeeDecoy.) Their sight and hearing infinitely excel those of the bird-catcher. The moment they see a hawk they communicate the alarm to each other by a plaintive note, nor will they then jerk or call though the wild birds are near. But at any other time, the instant that the wild birds are perceived, notice is given by one to the rest of the call-birds, as by the first hound that hits on the scent, to the rest of the pack, after which follows the same sort of tumultuous joy. The call-birds, while the bird is at a distance, do not sing as a bird does in a chamber; they invite the wild ones by what the bird-catchers call short jerks, which, when the birds are good, may be heard at a great distance. The ascendancy by this call is so great, that the wildest bird is stopped in his flight; and, if not a sharper, as the bird-catchers style a bird acquainted with the nets, lights boldly within twenty yards perhaps of three or four bird-catchers, on a spot which, otherwise, it would not have taken the least notice of. Nay, it frequently happens, that if only half a flock are caught, the remainder will immediately after light in the nets, and share the same fate, and should only one bird escape, that bird will suffer itself to be pulled at till it is caught, such a fascinating power have these call-birds.
Here it is worth mentioning, that the bird-catchers frequently lay considerable wagers whose call-bird can jerk the longest, as that determines the superiority. They place them opposite to each other, by an inch of candle, and the bird who jerks the oftenest before the candle is burnt out, wins the wager. There have been instances of a bird giving 170 jerks in a quarter of an hour; and of a linnet, in such a trial, persevering in its emulation till it swooned from the perch. Birds, when near each other, and in sight, seldom jerk or sing. They either fight, or use short and wheedling calls; the jerking of these call-birds, therefore, face to face, is a most extraordinary instance of contention for superiority in song.
Various methods are used to catch different kinds of birds. The bullfinch, though not properly a singing bird, or a bird of flight, as it does not move farther than from hedge to hedge, yet, as it sells well on account of its learning to whistle tunes, and sometimes flies over where the nets are laid, the bird-catchers have often a call-bird to ensnare it, though most of them can imitate the call with their mouths. It is remarkable that the female bullfinch answers the purpose of a call-bird as well as the male, which is not experienced in any other species of bird taken by the London bird-catchers. The nightingale is not a bird of flight, in the sense in which the bird-catchers use the term. Like the robin, wren, and many other singing birds, it only moves from hedge to hedge, and does not take the periodical flights in October and March. Those who catch these birds make use of small trap-nets, without call-birds, and are considered as inferior in dignity to other bird-catchers, who will not rank with them. The arrival of the nightingale is expected by the trappers in the neighbourhood of London, the first week in April; at the beginning, none but cocks are taken, but in a few days the hens make their appearance, generally by themselves, though sometimes with a few males. The latter are distinguished from the females, not only by their superior size, but by a great swelling of their vent, which commences on the first arrival of the hens. They are caught in a net-trap, the bottom of which is surrounded with an iron ring; the net itself is rather larger than a cabbage-net. When the trappers hear or see them, they strew some fresh mould under the place, and bait the trap with a meal-worm. Ten or a dozen have been thus caught in a day. The common way of taking larks (VideLark) is in the night, with nets called trammels. These are usually made of thirty-six yards in length, and about six yards over, with six ribs of pack-thread, which at the ends are put upon two poles about sixteen feet long, and made lesser at each end. These are to be drawn over the ground by two men, and every five or six steps the net is made to touch the ground, otherwise it would pass over the birds without touching them. When they are felt to fly up against the net, it is clapped down, and then all are safe that are under it. The darkest nights are best for this sport; and the net will not only take larks but all other birds that roost on the ground. In the depth of winter people sometimes take great numbers of larks by nooses of horse-hair. The method is this:—Take 100 or 300 yards of pack-thread; fasten at every six inches a noose made of horse-hair; at every twenty yards the line is to be pegged down to the ground, and so left ready to take them. The time to use this is when the ground is covered with snow, and the larks are to be allured to it by some white oats, scattered all the way among the nooses. They must be taken away as soon as three or four are hung, otherwise the rest will be frightened, but though the others are scared away just where the sportsman comes, they will be feeding at the other end of the line, and the sport may be thus continued for a long time. Those caught in the day are taken in clap-nets of fifteen yards long, and two and a half broad, and are enticed within their reach by bits of looking-glass, fixed in a piece of a wood, and placed in the middle of the nets, which are put in a quick whirling motion by the string the larker commands; he also makes use of a decoy-lark. These nets are used only till the fourteenth of November, for the larks will not dare to frolic in the air except in fine sunny weather, and of course cannot be inveigled into the snare. When the weather grows gloomy, the larker changes his engine, and makes use of a trammel-net, twenty-seven or twenty-eight feet long, and five broad, which is put on two poles eighteen feet long, and carried by men under each arm, who pass over the field and quarter the ground like a setting dog; when they hear or feel a lark hit the net, they drop it down, and so the birds are taken. Linnæus observes, that the male chaffinches fly by themselves, and in the flight precede the females, but this is not peculiar to them. When the tit-larks are caught in the beginning of the season, it frequently happens that forty are taken and not one female among them, and probably the same would be observed as to other birds (as has been done with relation to the wheatear) if they were attended to. Experienced bird-catchers tell us, that such birds as breed twice a year, generally have in their first brood a majority of males, and in their second, of females, which may, in part, account for the above observation.
Birding-piece,s.A gun to shoot birds with; an ancient fowling-piece.
Birdlime,s.A glutinous substance spread upon twigs, by which the birds that light upon them are entangled.
Birdlime is prepared in different ways. The best birdlime is made of the middle bark of the holly boiled seven or eight hours in water, till it is soft and tender, then laid in heaps in pits in the ground, and covered with stones, the water being previously drawn from it, and in this state left for two or three weeks to ferment, till it is reduced to a kind of mucilage. This being taken from the pit, is pounded in a mortar, to a paste, washed in river water, and kneaded, till it is free from extraneous matters. In this state it is left four or five days in earthen vessels, to ferment and purify itself, when it is fit for use. It reddens tincture of litmus. Exposed to a gentle heat, it liquifies slightly, swells in bubbles, becomes grumous, emits a smell resembling that of animal oils, grows brown, but recovers its properties on cooling, if not heated too much. The residuum contains sulphate and muriate of potash, carbonate of lime, and alumina, with a small portion of iron.
The misletoe affords a juice superior to that of the holly; and if a young shoot of the common alder be cut through, a stringy juice will draw out in threads, and follow the knife like birdlime, or the juice of the holly.
When birdlime is to be put in wet places, the common birdlime is apt to have its force soon taken away. It is necessary, therefore, to have recourse to a particular sort, which, from its property of bearing water unhurt, is called water birdlime, and is prepared thus: Take a pound of strong birdlime, wash it in spring water till the hardness is all removed; then beat it well, that the water may be well separated, so as not a drop remains; then dry it well, and put it into an earthen pot, add to it as much grease as will make it run, with two teaspoonfuls of strong vinegar, one spoonful of oil, and a small quantity of Venice turpentine; let the whole boil for some minutes over a moderate fire, stirring it all the while; then take it off, and, when there is occasion to use it, warm it, and cover the sticks well with it. This is the best sort of birdlime for snipes, and other birds that frequent wet places.
The most successful method of using birdlime is this:—Cut down the branch of any bushy tree, whose twigs are thick, straight, and smooth. The willow and the birch tree afford the best of this kind. Let all the superfluous shoots be trimmed off, and the twigs all made neat and clean; they must all be well covered with the birdlime, within four inches of the bottom: no part of the bark where the lime should come must be left bare; but it is a nice matter to lay it on properly, for if it be too thick it will give the birds a distaste, and they will not come near it; and if there be too little of it, it will not hold when they come there. When the bush is thus prepared, it must be set up in some dead hedge, or among bushes near the outskirts of a town, or the like, in the spring, for these places are the resort of small birds at that time. If it be used in summer, the bush must be placed in the midst of a quickset hedge, or in whitethorn trees, near fields of corn; and, in the winter, the proper places are about stacks of corn, hovels, barns, and the like. When the lime-bush is thus planted, the sportsman must stand as near it as he can without being discovered, and with the mouth, or otherwise, make such notes as the birds do when they attack or call to one another. The time of day for this sport is from sunrise to ten o’clock, and from one to sunset. Another very good method of bringing the birds together is by a stale. A bat makes a very good stale, but it must be fastened so as to be in sight at a distance. An owl is a still better stale, for this bird never goes abroad but it is followed by all the small birds. They will gather together in great numbers about it, and having no convenient place to sit on but the lime-bush, many will be taken. If a living owl or bat is not to be had, the skin stuffed will serve the purpose, and will last twenty years. Some have used the image of an owl carved in wood, and painted in the natural colours, and it has been found to succeed very well.
Birds, Method of Preserving.
Various methods have been attempted for preserving birds from putrefaction, so as to retain their natural form and position, as well as the beauty of their colours and plumage. A good antiseptic for animal substances has been much inquired after, as, for want of it, many curious animals, and birds particularly, from foreign parts, entirely miscarry, and others of the finest plumage are devoured by insects. The following improved method by Dr. Lettsom seems to be the least troublesome, and the most complete. After opening the bird by a longitudinal incision from the breast to the vent, dissecting the fleshy parts from the bones, and removing the entrails, eyes, tongue, and brains, (which in large birds may be extracted through the eye-holes with a surgeon’s directar,) the cavities and inside of the skin are to be sprinkled with the powders mentioned below. Glass eyes, which are preferable to wax, are then to be inserted, and the head stuffed with cotton or tow, and a wire is to be passed down the throat through one of the nostrils, and fixed on the breast bone. Wires also to be introduced through the feet, up the legs and thighs, and inserted into the same bone; next fill the body with cotton to its natural size, and sew the skin over it; the attitude is lastly to be attended to, and whatever position the subject is placed in to dry, it will be retained afterwards. The dyeing compound is as follows:—
Mix the whole, and keep it in a glass vessel, stopped close. Small birds may be preserved in brandy, rum, arrack, or first runnings; though the colour of the plumage is liable to be extracted by the spirit. Large sea-fowl have thick strong skins, and such may be skinned; the tail, claws, head, and feet are carefully to be preserved, and the plumage stained as little as possible with blood. The inside of the skin may be stuffed as above. Kuckahu observes, (in the Phil. Trans. vol. ix. p. 319.) that “Baking is not only useful in the fresh preservations, but will also be of very great service to old ones, destroying the eggs of insects; and it should be a constant practice, once in two or three years, to bake them over again, and to have the cases fresh washed with camphorated spirit, or the sublimate solution, which would not only preserve collections from decay, much longer, but also keep them sweet.” But Dr. Lettsom remarks that, “Baking is apt to crimp and injure the plumage, unless great care be used, and, therefore, the proper degree of heat should be ascertained by means of a feather, before such subjects are baked.” And he prescribes as the best preservative, boxes well glazed; and he adds, “When the subject is to be kept for some time in a hot climate, it should be secured in a box filled with tow, oakum, or tobacco, well sprinkled with the sublimate solution.” In Guiana, the number and variety of beautiful birds is so great, that several persons in the colony advantageously employ themselves, with their slaves and attendants, in killing and preserving these animals for the cabinets of naturalists in different parts of Europe. The method of doing this, as related by Mr. Bancroft, (in his Nat. Hist. of Guiana,) is, to put the bird which is to be preserved in a proper vessel, and cover him with high wines, or the first running of the distillation of rum. In this spirit he is suffered to remain for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, or longer, till it has penetrated through every part of his body. When this is done, he is taken out, and his feathers, which are no ways changed by this immersion, are placed smooth and regular. It is then put into a machine, made for the purpose, among a number of others, and its head, feet, wings, tail, &c. are placed exactly agreeable to life. In this position they are placed in an oven, very moderately heated, where they are slowly dried, and will ever after retain their natural position without danger of putrefaction.—Ency. Lond.
Biscuit,s.A kind of hard, dry bread, made to be carried to sea; a composition of fine flour, almonds, and sugar.
Bishop,s.A cant word for a mixture of wine, oranges, and sugar.
Bishop,v.To bishop a horse, is to remove, by filing, the distinguishing marks by which the teeth indicate the age. It was a very common practice some years since, and is still resorted to by low horse dealers. It will, however, by carefully observing other indiciæ of age, be easily detected. SeeAge of Horse.
Bistort,s.A plant called snake-weed. The roots are a very powerful astringent. It has also styptic properties.
Bistoury,s.A surgeon’s instrument, used in making incisions.
Bit,s.The iron part of the bridle which is put into the horse’s mouth.
Bit,v.To put the bridle upon a horse.
Bitch,s.The female of the dog kind.
Bitches should be allowed to breed, nor is it good for their health to prevent it; for nature almost invariably punishes extraordinary deviations from her established laws, of which the reproductive system is one of the most important. Breeding, therefore, is so much a healthy and necessary process, that bitches prevented from it rarely remain unaffected by disease. Bitches in heat are very cunning, and often elude all but the greatest vigilance in their attempts to escape in search of a mate; and thus, for want of due caution, many frustrate the hopes of their owners in the desired breed; and many others meet their death by becoming lined by a dog so extremely disproportionate in size that the mothers are found unable to bring forth. Impregnation takes place sometimes at the first copulation, in others not until the second, third, or fourth; and in some cases it has been known, from decided proofs, that impregnation did not ensue until the seventh warding. Dogs should be suffered, therefore, to remain together some days to insure prolific intercourse. It is not easy to detect whether bitches are in pup until the fourth or fifth week after warding; about which time the teats enlarge, the flanks fill, and the belly assumes a fulness and rotundity unnatural to it at others. Pupping usually comes on the sixty-second, sixty-third, or, at farthest, on the sixty-fourth day. A quarter or half an hour, and sometimes a longer time, intervenes between the expulsion of each fœtus.
Dogs are certainly capable of superfœtation; that is, impregnation may take place at more than one warding, and that by distinct mates.
It would appear that this mental impression, which is perhaps usually raised at some period of œstrum, always recurs at that period, and is so interwoven with the organisation even, as to become a stamp or mould for some, if not all, of her future progeny. I had a pug bitch whose constant companion was a small and almostwhitespaniel dog, of Lord Rivers’ breed, of which she was very fond. When it became necessary to separate her, on account of her heat, from this dog, and to confine her with one of her own kind, she pined excessively; and notwithstanding her situation, it was some time before she would admit of the attentions of the pug dog placed with her. At length, however, she did so; impregnation followed, and at the usual period she brought forth five pug puppies, one of which was elegantlywhite, and moreslenderthan the others. The spaniel was soon afterwards given away, but the impression remained; for at two subsequent litters (which were all she had afterwards) she presented me with awhiteyoung one, which the fanciers know to be a very rare occurrence.
The Rev. R. Lascelles, in hisLetters on Sporting, p. 250, relates a case of a greyhound bitch, intrusted to the care of a servant, which whelped one perfect greyhound and six complete curs: the curs were the likeness of the dog she domesticated with in common; the single one resembled the greyhound she was taken to during her heat. There is little reason, therefore, to doubt that the bitch had been previously lined by the cur, and the single greyhound pup was the effect of superfœtation.
Sportsmen incline to the opinion, that the male pups are more strongly tinctured with the external form of the father than of the mother, andvice versâ; but though instances may occur to favour such a conclusion, it is not a uniform occurrence.—Blaine.
Bite,v.To crush or pierce with the teeth; to cut, or wound.
Bite,s.The seizure of anything by the teeth; the act of a fish that takes the bait; a cheat, a sharper.
Bittern;Bog Bumper;Bittern Bum, orMire Drum; (Ardea Stellaris,Linn.;Le Buton,Buff.)s.A bird with long legs, which feeds upon fish.