Gadfly,s.A fly that stings cattle.
Gadwall, orGray, (Anas strepera,Linn.;Le Chipeau,Buff.),s.a bird.
GADWALL.
GADWALL.
GADWALL.
The gadwall is less than the mallard, measuring about nineteen inches in length, and twenty-three in breadth.
Birds of this species breed in the desert marshes of the north, and remain there throughout the spring and summer. On the approach of winter they leave the European and Siberian parts of Russia, Sweden, &c., and, aided by the first strong north-east wind, commonly make their appearance about the month of November, on the French, British, and other more southern shores, where they remain till the end of February, and then return to their northern haunts. They are very shy and wary birds, feeding only in the night, and lurking concealed among the rushes in the watery waste during the day, in which they are seldom seen on the wing.
These birds show themselves expert in diving as well as in swimming, and often disappoint the sportsman in his aim; for the instant they see the flash of the pan, they disappear, and dive to a distant secure retreat.—Bewick.
Gaff,s.A harpoon, or large hook.
Gaggle,v.To make a noise like a goose;s.a flock of geese.
Galbanum,s.A kind of gum.
Gall,s.The bile, an animal juice remarkable for its supposed bitterness; the part which contains the bile; any thing extremely bitter; a slight hurt by fretting off the skin; an astringent medicine.
Galls are lacerations occasioned by the too tight pressure and friction of an uneasy and ill-fitted saddle, or heavy harness. They are seldom seen with either the judicious or enlightened; experience having taught both how to appreciate prevention. The prudent sportsman will never take his horse to the field, nor the humane driver his carriage-horse to the road, till personal examination has convinced him the necessary apparatus is not only firm, but proportionably easy; and this should become the more predominant in memory because it is natural to conclude, no man existing would, by neglect or inattention, give pain to the very animal from whose exertions he is to derive his own pleasure.
Injuries of this description, if unexpectedly sustained, should be immediately attended to; a repetition, and that so soon, upon the part so injured, is frequently productive of trouble, expense, loss of time, and disappointment. When the side of a horse is galled, as it sometimes is, by the girth buckle having been most improperly placed upon the edge of the pad, it is not unlikely, for want of early or proper attention, to terminate in a sitfast, and then can only be completely cured by extirpation with the knife. The withers being affected in the same way, and the saddle, or harness, continued in use, by which the injury is originally occasioned, the foundation of fistula may be laid, and will be likely to ensue. In all slight and superficial galls, two or three moistenings of the part with cold vinegar, will allay the inflammation, and harden the surface; but where the long-continued heat and friction has occasioned a destruction of parts, it must be dressed and managed as a wound, which can only be completely cured by incarnation.—White.
Gall,v.To hurt by fretting the skin.
Gallinaceous Birds,s.
A large portion of these seem to have left their native woods to crowd around the dwellings of man, where, subservient to his purpose, they subsist upon the pickings of the farm-yard, the stable, or the dung-hill; a cheerful, active race, which enliven and adorn the rural scene, and require no other care than the fostering hand of the house-wife to shelter and protect them. Some kinds, such as the partridge, the pheasant, and the like, are found only in cultivated places, at no great distance from the habitations of men; and, although they have not submitted to his dominion, they are nevertheless subject to his controlling power, and are the objects of his keenest pursuit: whilst others, taking a wider range, find food and shelter in the deepest recesses of the woods and forests, sometimes subsisting upon wild and heathy mountains, or among rocks and precipices the most difficult of access.
The characters of the gallinaceous genus are generally well known: most of the species are distinguished above all others for the whiteness of their flesh; their bodies are large and bulky, and their heads comparatively small; the bill in all of them is short, strong and somewhat curved; their wings are short and concave, and scarcely able to support their bodies, on which account they seldom make long excursions: their legs are strong, and are furnished with a spur or a knob behind.
Birds of this kind are extremely prolific and lay a great number of eggs: the young follow the mother as soon as hatched, and immediately learn to pick up the food, which she is most assiduous in showing them; on this account she generally makes her nest on the ground, or in places easy of access to her young brood.
The habitudes of the domestic breed of poultry cannot possibly escape observation; and every one must have noticed the fierce jealousy of the cock. It should seem that this jealousy is not confined to his rivals, but may sometimes extend to his beloved female; and that he is capable of being actuated by revenge, founded on some degree of reasoning concerning her conjugal infidelity. An incident which happened at the seat of Mr. B——, near Berwick, justifies this remark. “My mowers,” says he, “cut a partridge on her nest, and immediately brought the eggs (fourteen) to the house. I ordered them to be put under a very large beautiful hen, and her own to be taken away. They were hatched in two days, and the hen brought them up perfectly well till they were five or six weeks old. During that time they were constantly kept confined in an outhouse, without having been seen by any of the other poultry. The door happened to be left open, and the cock got in. My housekeeper, hearing her in distress, ran to her assistance, but did not arrive in time to save her life; the cock, finding her with the brood of partridges, fell upon her with the utmost fury, and put her to death. The housekeeper found him tearing her both with his beak and spurs, although she was then fluttering in the last agony, and incapable of any resistance. The hen had been, formerly, the cock’s greatest favourite.”—Bewick.
Gallinula(Latham),s.A genus thus characterised:—
Bill shorter than the head, compressed, conical, higher than broad at the base; ridge advancing upon the forehead and dilating in some species into a naked plate; point of both mandibles compressed, and of equal length; the upper slightly curved, the nasal groove very large, the under forming an angle. Nostrils at the sides, in the middle of the bill, slit lengthways, half shut by a membrane which covers the nasal groove, and pierced from part to part. Legs long, naked above the knee; three toes before and one behind, the fore toes long, divided, and furnished with a very narrow border. Wings of middle size, the first quill shorter than the second and third, which are the longest in the wing. The latter does not hold in some foreign species.—Montagu.
Gallop,v.To move forward by leaps, so that all the feet are off the ground at once; to move fast.
Gallop is one pace of the horse, well known by that general name; though it will admit of gradational distinctions. A canter is the slowest gallop, in which a horse bears most upon his haunches, but lightly on the bit: it is a pace which spirited good-tempered horses seem to enjoy, and is peculiarly calculated for the accommodation of a lady. A rating gallop is the increase of action to such pace as the peculiar horse may or can go with ease at his rate in common strokes, without being exerted to speed; and this is the hunting gallop of thorough-bred horses, who will always lay by the side of hounds at it, without being in the least distressed. A brushing gallop upon the turf, implies an increased degree of velocity, but not equal to utmost speed.—Taplin.
Gallop,s.The motion of a horse when he runs at full speed.
Galloper,s.A horse that gallops.
Galloway,s.A horse not more than fourteen hands high.
Galloway is the name given to that useful kind of small horse from thirteen to fourteen hands high; they are rarely to be seen of exact symmetry, uniform strength, and adequate action; but, if well bred, their qualifications and endurance of fatigue exceed description.
Gambet, (Fringa Gambetta,Linn.;La Gambette,Buff.)s.A bird.
This is the Chevalier Rouge of Brisson, and the Red-legged Horseman of Albin. For want of a specimen of this bird, the following description is borrowed from Latham:—
“Size of the Greenshank: length twelve inches, bill of a reddish colour, with a black tip; the irides yellowish green; head, back, and breast cinereous brown, spotted with dull yellow; wing coverts and scapulars cinereous, edged with dull yellow; prime quills dusky; shaft of the first white; tail dusky, bordered with yellow; legs yellow. This inhabits England, but is not common; has been shot on the coast of Lincolnshire. Known in France; but is there a rare bird. Has a note not unlike the whistle of a woodcock; and the flesh is esteemed. Inhabits Scandinavia and Iceland; called in the last Stelkr. It has also been taken in the Frozen Sea between Asia and America.”—Bewick.
Gambrel,s.The hind leg of a horse.
Game,s.Sport of any kind; jest, opposed to earnest; merriment; a single match at play; field sports, as the chase; animals pursued in the field.
In choosing game, young birds may be distinguished by the softness of their quills, which in older ones will be hard and white. The females are, in general, preferable to the males; they are more juicy, and seldom so tough. For example, a hen pheasant or a duck is to be preferred to a cock pheasant or mallard. The old pheasants may be distinguished by the length and sharpness of their spurs, which, in the younger ones, are short and blunt. Old partridges are always to be known, during the early part of the season, by their legs being a pale blue, instead of a yellowish brown; so that, when a Londoner receives his brace of blue-legged birds in September, he should immediately snap their legs, and draw out the sinews, by means of pulling off the feet, instead of leaving them to torment him, like so many strings, when he would be wishing to enjoy his repast. This remedy of making the leg tender removes the objection to old birds, provided the weather will admit of their being sufficiently kept; and indeed they are then often preferable, from having a higher flavour.
If birds are overkept their legs will be dry, their eyes much sunk, and the vent will become soft and somewhat discoloured. The first place to ascertain if they are beginning to be high is the inside of their bills, where it is not amiss to put some heather straw or spice, if you want them to keep for any length of time. Birds that have fallen in the water, or have not had time to get cold, should never be packed like others, but sent openly, and dressed as soon as possible.
A peculiar culinary mode of perfuming their birds was observed at the table of the King of Tunis, who landed at Naples to have an interview with Charles the Emperor. They were stuffed with odoriferous drugs and spices to such an expense, that the cooking of one peacock and two pheasants, dressed after this fashion, amounted to a hundred ducats, and when they were carved, not only the dining-room, but all the apartments of his palace, and even the adjoining streets, were filled with the aromatic vapour, which was not presently dispersed.—Hawker—Daniel.
Gamecock,s.A cock bred to fight.
Game-egg,s.An egg from which fighting cocks are bred.
Gamefowl,s.Game cocks and hens.
Game fowls are too well known to require a particular description. Their plumage, particularly the red, is most beautiful and rich; their size somewhat below the common, and their symmetry and delicacy of limbs to be compared with those of the race-horse and the deer, or in more strict analogy, with the wild species of their own genus. The ancients kept gamecocks for the same purpose as the moderns, and there is a game breed at present existing in India; but I have not hitherto obtained any information as to the origin of our game breed, which has been established during many centuries in this country. Their flesh is of the most beautiful white, and superior to that of all other breeds of domestic fowls, for richness and delicacy of flavour; but the extreme difficulty of rearing the chickens, from their natural pugnacity of disposition, which shows itself at the earliest possible period, deters most breeders, excepting those who breed for the cock-pit. I have many times had whole broods, scarcely feathered, stone-blind from fighting, to the very smallest individuals; these rival couples moping in corners, and renewing their battles on obtaining the first ray of light. On this account few can be reared, and as this disposition, to a certain degree, prevails in the half-bred, it prevents crossing with the game cock, otherwise a great improvement. The game eggs are smaller than common, finely shaped, and extremely delicate.
Philanthropists are in the habit of declaiming much against the practice of cock-pit battles, but, on reflection, the cruelty of that sport will be found among the least, wherein the feelings of animals are concerned; since fighting, in the gamecock, is a natural and irresistible passion, and can never take place against his will; and since those engaged in regular combat upon the arena would do so voluntarily, and with equal ardour, did they meet in the desert. Another and similar mistake is the supposed additional cruelty of arming the heels of the cock with steel, which, on the contrary, conduces to shorten the period of their sufferings.—Moubray.
Gamekeeper,s.A person who looks after game, and sees it is not destroyed.
Gamekeepers are subject to the full penalties of unqualified and unlicensed persons, as well as to actions of trespass, if they outstep the bounds of the manor for which they are appointed.
Only one can be appointed to each manor.
Deputation of a Gamekeeper.—The deputation granted to a gamekeeper must be registered with the clerk of the peace, within twenty days after it was granted, and a certificate taken of the same, under penalty of 20l.The deputation for one gamekeeper holds good till another is appointed. If a new gamekeeper is appointed within the year, the game certificate of the former keeper, may be transferred to him for the remainder of the year, and this must be done free of all expense, by the clerk to the commissioners of the district.
Form of a Deputation.—(To be written on a 1l.15s.stamp).
Know all men, by these presents, that I of , in the county of , Esquire, lord of the manor of , in the same county, have nominated, deputed, and appointed, and by these presents do nominate, depute, and appoint of , yeoman, to be gamekeeper of and within my said manor of with full power, license, and authority to pursue, take, and kill any hare, pheasant, partridge, or other game whatsoever, in and upon my said manor of , for my sole and immediate use and benefit, and also to take and seize all such guns, bows, greyhounds, setting dogs, lurchers, ferrets, trammels, lowbells, trays, or other nets, hare-pipes, snares, or other engines, for the pursuing, taking, or killing of hares, rabbits, pheasants, partridges, or other game, as shall be used within the precincts of my said manor, by any person or persons, who by law are prohibited to keep or use the same. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this day of , 18 (Signature and seal.) Sealed and delivered in presence of
(The signature of one witness, specifying his place of abode, is sufficient).
Game-laws,s.
Hares may be killed at any time of the year. Pheasants from the 1st of October to the 1st of February. Partridges from the 1st of September to the 1st of February; penalty for killing them at other times 5l.Grouse from the 12th of August to the 10th of December. Black game (in Devonshire, Somersetshire, and the New Forest) from the 1st of September to the 10th of December. Black game (everywhere else) from the 20th of August to the 10th of December. Bustards from the 1st of September to the 1st of March; penalty for killing at other times 20l., or not less than 10l., for the first offence, and for every subsequent offence 30l., or not less than 20l.
Any person taking or killing game on Sundays or Christmas-days to forfeit, for the first offence, not more than 20l.nor less than 10l.; for the second offence from 30l.to 20l., and for the third and every subsequent offence 50l.
An unqualified person, killing, can only be convicted of one penalty in a day. That is, an unqualified person, or even a poacher, would have no more to pay for killing fifty head of game in the same day, than he would for killing one. Though the poacher, or unqualified person, would be liable to the other penalties, viz. 5l.each for every head of game which he sold, offered for sale, or which had even been found in his possession; and if a dog or gun (or any other engine) was used in the destruction of game, he would also be liable to 20l.penalty, provided he had not taken out a sporting certificate.
If a person go in pursuit of game with a dog and gun, he can only be charged with one offence, and convicted in one penalty for both. (7 Term Reports, 152.)
Killing from seven o’clock at night to six in the morning, between the 12th of October and 12th of February, and from nine at night to four in the morning, from the 12th of February to the 12th of October, (besides the other penalties before named) first offence, not more than 20l.nor less than 10l.; second offence from 30l.to 20l.; third and subsequent, 50l.
Servant of a lord of a manor may kill, and yet the lord of the manor may not, unless he is qualified.
Informations for penalties, relative to the game laws, should be brought so far as the conviction to take place within three months.
A penalty may be either recovered by information before a justice of peace, or sued for in any of the courts of record at Westminster. In the latter case, the action must be brought within six months after the offence committed.
Rabbits, woodcocks, snipes, quails, and landrails, are made game only so far as relates to shooting them, for which, therefore, a certificate is required; but one without a certificate may catch, sell, or have them in his possession.
Wild fowl any one may shoot on the coast, from a public path, &c., &c.
A person, with neither qualification nor license, has a right to carry a gun, provided he does not use it for the destruction of game.
Game, Price of.
Gammon,s.The buttock of a hog salted and dried; a term at backgammon for winning the game.
Gander,s.The male of the goose.
Gangrene,s.A mortification, a stoppage of circulation followed by putrefaction.
Gangrene,v.To corrupt to mortification.
Gangrenous,a.Mortified, or betokening mortification.
Gannet,Gan,Soland, orSolan Goose, (Pelicanus bassanus,Linn.;Le Fou de Bassan,Buff.)s.
The gannet is generally about seven pounds in weight, three feet in length, and six in breadth. The bill is of a pale or lead-coloured blue, six inches long, a little jagged on the edges, strong and straight to the tip, which is inclined a little downwards; the upper bill is furnished with a distinct rib or ridge, running along from the tip nearly to its base, on each side of which it is furrowed, without any visible appearance of nostrils; the tongue is small, and placed far within the mouth, all the inside of which is black; a darkish line passes from the brow over the eyes, which are surrounded with a naked blue skin, and, like those of the owl, are set in the head so as to look nearly straight forward, and the extreme paleness of the irides gives them a keen wild stare. The gape of the mouth is very wide, and seems more lengthened by a slip of naked black skin, which is extended on each side from the corners beyond the cheeks; these features of its countenance, altogether give it the appearance of wearing spectacles. A loose black, bare, dilatable skin, capable of great distension, hung from the blades of the under bill, and extended over the throat, serves it as a pouch to carry provisions to its mate or its young. The body is flat and well clothed with feathers; the neck long; the crown of the head, nape, and, in some specimens, the hinder part of the neck, are of a buff colour; greater quills and bastard wings black, and the rest of the plumage white. The tail is wedge-shaped, and consists of twelve tapering sharp-pointed feathers, the middle ones the longest. The legs and feet are nearly of the same colour and conformation as those of the cormorant, but they are curiously marked by a pea-green stripe, which runs down each shin, and branches off along every one of the toes. The male and female are nearly alike, but the young birds, during the first year, appear as if they were of a distinct species, for their plumage is then of a dusky colour, speckled all over with triangular white spots.
The female makes her nest in the caverns and fissures, or on the ledges of the lowering precipice, as well as on the plain surface of the ground; it is formed of a great quantity of withered grasses and sea-weeds of various kinds, gathered with much labour from the barren soil, or picked up floating about upon the water. She lays three eggs, of a white colour, and somewhat less than those of a goose, although ornithologists assert that she will lay only one egg, if left to herself undisturbed, and that when this egg is taken away she then lays a second, and in like manner a third, which she is generally permitted to hatch, and rear the young one.
The male and female hatch and fish by turns; the fisher returns to the nest with five or six herrings in its gorget, all entire and undigested, which the hatcher pulls out from the throat of its provider, and swallows them, making at the same time a loud noise.
These birds are common on the coasts of Norway and Iceland, and are said to be met with in great numbers about New Holland, and New Zealand; they breed also on the coasts of Newfoundland, and migrate southward along the American shores as far as South Carolina; they are noticed, indeed, by navigators, as being met with, dispersed over both hemispheres, which are probably one great family spread over the whole globe; but their greatest known rendezvous is the Hebrides and other solitary rocky isles of North Britain, where their nests, in the months of May and June, are described as so closely placed together, that it is difficult to walk without treading upon some of them; and it is said that the swarms of the old birds are so prodigious, that when they rise into the air, they stun the ear with their noise, and overshadow the ground like the clouds.
At the small island of Borea, Martin says, “The heavens were darkened by those flying above our heads; their excrements were in such quantity, that they gave a tincture to the sea, and at the same time sullied our boat and clothes.” Besides this small island of Borea, and St. Kila, noticed by Martin, Pennant and other writers mention the isle of Ailsa, in the Frith of Clyde; the Stack of Souliskerry, near the Orkneys; the Skellig Isles, off the coast of Kerry, Ireland; and the Bass Isle, in the Frith of Forth. This last-mentioned isle is farmed out at a considerable rent, for the eggs of the various kinds of water-fowl with which it swarms; and the produce of the solan geese forms a large portion of this rent; for great numbers of their young ones are taken every season, and sold in Edinburgh for about twenty-pence each, where they are esteemed a favourite dish, being generally roasted, and eaten before dinner. On the other bleak and bare isles, the inhabitants, during a great part of the year, depend for their support on these birds and their eggs, which are taken in amazing quantities, and are the principal articles of their food. From the nests placed upon the ground the eggs are easily picked up one after another, in great numbers, as fast as they are laid; but in robbing the nests built in the precipices, chiefly for the sake of the birds, the business wears a very different aspect: there, before the dearly earned booty can be secured, the adventurous fowler, trained to it from his youth, and familiarised to the danger, must first approach the brow of the fearful precipice, to view and to trace his progress on the broken pendent rocks beneath him: over these rocks, which (perhaps a hundred fathoms lower) are dashed by the foaming surge, he is from a prodigious height about to be suspended. After addressing himself in prayer to the Supreme Disposer of events, with a mind prepared for the arduous task, he is let down by a rope, either held fast by his comrades, or fixed into the ground on the summit, with his single cord, his pole-net, his pole-hook, &c.; and thus equipped, he is enabled, in his progress, either to stop, to ascend or descend, as he sees occasion. Sometimes by swinging himself from one ledge to another, with the help of his hook, he mounts upwards, and clambers from place to place; and, at other opportunities, by springing backwards, he can dart himself into the hollow caverns of the projecting rock, which he commonly finds well stored with the objects of his pursuit, whence the plunder, chiefly consisting of the full-grown young birds, is drawn up to the top, or tossed down to the boat at the bottom, according to the situation, or concurring circumstances of time and place. In these hollows he takes his rest, and sometimes remains during the night, especially when they happen to be at such vast and stupendous heights. To others of less magnitude the fowlers commonly climb from the bottom, with the help of their hooked poles only, by which they assist, and push or pull up each other from hold to hold, and in this manner traverse the whole front of the frightful scar. To a feeling mind the very sight of this hazardous employment, in whatever way it is pursued, is painful; for, indeed, it often happens that these adventurous poor men, in this life-taking mode of obtaining their living, slip their hold, are precipitated from one projection to another, with increasing velocity, and fall mangled upon the rocks, or are for ever buried in the abyss beneath.
The sailors sometimes catch these birds by fastening a fresh herring on a floating plank, against which the gannet’s neck is broken, when furiously pouncing on his prey.—Bewick—Martin.
Garganey, (Anas querquedula,Linn.;Le Sarcelle,Buff.)s.
This species, which is only a little bigger than the teal, is clothed with an elegant plumage, and has altogether a most agreeable and sprightly look. It measures about seventeen inches in length, and twenty-eight in breadth. The bill is of a dark lead colour, nearly black; the irides light hazel. From the crown of the head, over the nape of the neck downwards, it is of a glossy brown, chin black; brow, cheeks, and the upper fore part of the neck, reddish chestnut, with vinous reflections, and sprinkled all over with numerous small pointed white lines. A white stripe passes over each eye, and slanting backwards, falls down on each side of the neck, the lower part of which, with the breast, is light brown, pretty closely crossed with semicircular bars of black; the shoulders and back are marked nearly the same, but on a darker ground: the scapulars are long and narrow, and are striped with ash-colour, black, and white. The belly in some, is white; in others, pale reddish yellow; the lower part of it, and the vent, mottled with dusky spots; the sides are freckled and waved with narrow lines of ash-coloured brown, more and more distinctly marked towards the thighs; behind which, this series of feathers terminates in a riband, striped with ash, black, white, and lead-coloured blue.
The coverts of the wings are of an agreeable bluish ash, margined with white; next to this, the exterior webs of the middle quills are glossy green, tipped with white, and form the beauty-spot or spangle of the wings, to which the white tips make a border; the primary quills are ash-brown, edged with white; tail dusky; legs lead colour. The foregoing description was taken from a male bird in full and perfect plumage. This sex is furnished with a labyrinth.
The female has an obscure white mark over each eye; the rest of the plumage is of a brownish ash colour, not unlike the female teal; but the wing wants the green spot, which sufficiently distinguishes these birds.
It has not yet been noticed whether any of this species ever remain to breed in England, where, indeed, they are rather a scarce bird.—Bewick.
Gargle,v.To wash the throat with some liquor not suffered immediately to descend.
Gargle,s.A liquor with which the throat is washed.
Garlick,s.A plant, sometimes used in chronic cough.
Garran,s.A small horse, a hobby; a wretched horse. (An Iricism.)
Gash,v.To cut deep, so as to make a gaping wound.
Gash,s.A deep and wide wound; the mark of a wound.
Gasp,v.To open the mouth wide to catch breath; to emit breath by opening the mouth convulsively.
Gasp,s.The act of opening the mouth to catch breath; the short catch of the breath in the last agonies.
Gate,s.A frame of timber upon hinges to give a passage into enclosed grounds; a moveable part of a fence made of iron or timber.
Gaudy,a.Showy, splendid, tinselled.
Gauge,s.A measure, a standard.
Gaunt(Podiceps cristatus,Latham),s.A species of bird.
A full-grown male gaunt weighs between two and three pounds; length about two feet. The bill is two inches and three quarters long, dusky brown along the ridge of the upper mandible and at the point; the rest reddish flesh-colour; irides and lore crimson. The head is much enlarged by a crest of a dusky colour, standing up on each side; the cheeks and throat are surrounded by long feathers of a ferruginous colour; from the bill to the eye is a black line, above which is a white one; the chin is white; the hind part of the neck, and upper part of the body and wings, dusky brown; the under part of the neck, breast, and all beneath, beautiful glossy white; the primary quill-feathers dusky; some of the inner ones tipped with white, the rest are nearly all white, which, when the wing is closed, makes an oblique bar of that colour across it; legs dusky on the outside; some wholly dusky green.
This bird is indigenous to England; it breeds in the meres of Shropshire and Cheshire, and in the fens of Lincolnshire. The nest is large, composed of a variety of aquatic plants; it is not attached to any thing, but floats amongst the reeds and flags, penetrated by the water. The female lays four white eggs, about the size of that of a pigeon.—Montagu.
Gazehound,s.A hound that pursues not by the scent, but by the eye; an ancient name of the greyhound.
Gear,s.Furniture, accoutrements, dress; the traces by which horses or oxen draw; stuff.
Geld,v.To castrate, to deprive of the power of generation; to deprive of any essential part.VideCastration.
Castration has a strange effect: it emasculates both man, beast, and bird, and brings them to a near resemblance of the other sex. Thus eunuchs have smooth unmuscular arms, thighs, and legs; and broad hips, and beardless chins, and squeaking voices. Gelt-stags and bucks have hornless heads, like hinds and does. Thus wethers have small horns, like ewes; and oxen large bent horns, and hoarse voices when they low, like cows; for bulls have short straight horns; and though they mutter and grumble in a deep tremendous tone, yet they low in a shrill high key. Capons have small combs and gills, and look pallid about the head like pullets; they also walk without any parade, and hover chickens like hens. Barrow-hogs have also small tusks like sows.
Thus far it is plain that it puts a stop to the growth of those appendages that are looked upon as its insignia. But the ingenious Mr. Lisle, in his book on husbandry, carries it much farther; for he says, that the loss of those insignia alone has sometimes a strange effect: he had a boar so fierce and amorous, that to prevent mischief, orders were given for his tusks to be broken off. No sooner had the beast suffered this injury than his powers forsook him, and he neglected those females to whom before he was passionately attached, and from whom no fences could restrain him.—White of Selborne.
Gelding,s.Any animal castrated, particularly a horse.
Gelid,a.Extremely cold.
Gelly,s.Any viscous body; viscidity, glue, gluey substance.
Gender,s.A kind, a sort, a sex.
Gender,v.To beget; to produce, to cause; to copulate, to breed.
Genet,s.A small well-proportioned Spanish horse.
Gentle,s.A maggot used in angling.
Those who live in or near London may buy them in proper condition for the day on which they wish to use them, but for the accommodation of those who reside in the country, remote from such convenience, the best modes of breeding them will be here mentioned, in order to prevent disappointment.
Coarse fish, such as chub and roach, may be laid in an earthen pot in the shade, and will soon be fly-blown. When the gentles are of a proper size (but not before), put some oatmeal and bran to them, and in two days they will be well scoured and fit to fish with, in about four more they become hard, assume a pale red colour, and soon after change to flies. The red ones should not be thrown away, as frequently roach and dace take these with a white one in preference to all other baits. Some have recommended a piece of liver suspended by a stick over a barrel of clay, into which the gentles fall and cleanse themselves; but clay will not scour them, and besides they fall from the liver before they have attained their full size. The aforementioned is a less disgusting plan; for a short time after oatmeal and bran are put to the gentles the fish in which they are bred will be found perfect skeletons, and may be thrown away. However, if they are to be bred from liver, it should be scarified deeply in many parts, and then hung up and nearly covered over, as in that way the flies will blow it better than when wholly exposed; in two or three days the gentles will be seen alive. The liver is then to be put into an earthen pan and there remain until the first brood are of full growth, a sufficient quantity of fine sand and bran (letting the liver remain) is then to be put into the pan, and in a few days they will come from the flesh, and scour themselves in it. The liver should then be hung across the pan and the latter brood will soon drop out and be fit for use; and by thus breeding them in October, and keeping them a little warmer than those bred in summer, until they arrive at their full growth, and afterwards putting them in the same pan into a dampish vault, they may be preserved for winter fishing.—Daniel.
Gentle,a.Soft, mild, tame, peaceable; soothing; pacific.
Genus,s.In science, a class of beings comprehending under it many species; as quadruped is a genus comprehending under it almost all terrestrial beasts.
Germ,s.A sprout or shoot.
Gestation,s.The act of bearing the young in the womb.
Get,v.To beget upon a female.
Getter,s.One who procures or obtains; one who begets on a female.
Gibbous,a.Convex, protuberant, swelling into inequalities; crooked-backed.
Gier-eagle,s. obs.An eagle of a particular kind.
Gig,s.Anything that is whirled round in play; a two-wheeled vehicle; a light boat.
Gigot,s.The hip joint.
Gill,s.A measure of liquids containing the fourth part of a pint.
Gills,s.The aperture at each side of the fish’s head; the flaps that hang below the beak of a fowl; the flesh under the chin.
Gimp,s.A kind of silk twist used in angling.
Gin,s.The spirit drawn by distillation from juniper berries and wheat. The Hollands Geneva is principally distilled in the neighbourhood of Rotterdam; English is produced from the oil of turpentine and malt spirits.
Ginger,s.An Indian root; the flower consists of five petals, shaped like those of the iris.
There are two sorts kept in the shops; the black and the white ginger: the latter is stronger, and preferred for culinary purposes, on account of its more pleasant flavour, but the former is considered cheaper, easily powdered, and more frequently used as a horse medicine.
I consider ginger as the most useful stimulant in the veterinary materia medica: when joined with aromatics, such as allspice, caraway seed, aniseed, cummin seed, &c., or their essential oils, it forms an efficacious cordial, and with emetic tartar and opium an excellent diaphoretic, for giving gloss to the coat, and relaxing the skin. Joined with bitters, it makes a good stomachic; with squills an expectorant, often relieving obstinate coughs.
Ginger is extremely beneficial in weakness and flatulency of the stomach; and assisted by other remedies, such as warm beer, it seldom fails of curing the flatulent colic, or gripes.SeeCarminatives.
The dose is from one drachm and a half to three drachms.
It should be recently powdered when used; but in a well-stopped bottle the powder may be kept a considerable time without losing its strength.—White.
Gizzard,s.The name given to the strong, muscular, and cartilaginous portion of the stomach in birds which feed on grain, which is so different from the membranous stomach of birds of prey (raptores). The gizzard receives the food which has previously been taken into the crop.
Glade,s.A lawn or opening into a wood.
Glair,s.The white of an egg.
Glance,v.To shoot obliquely.
Glanders,s.A disease incident to horses.
This is a contagious disorder, and one that is generally thought incurable. The great number of horses that have been destroyed by glanders, especially in the army, and in establishments where great numbers of horses are kept, has excited particular attention to the subject, especially in France and Italy, where many attempts were made, in the beginning of the last century, to discover a remedy for it. Lafosse, an eminent French veterinarian, considered it as a local disease, and thought he had discovered a successful mode of treating it, which consisted in perforating the bones which cover the frontal and nasal sinuses, and injecting through the openings astringent and other liquids. After this opinion had been published, some English farriers made trial of it, and by others detergent lotions were poured into the nostrils; the nose being drawn up for the purpose by means of a pulley. Attempts were also made to cure it by arsenical fumigations, and by burning out the swollen glands under the jaws, or sloughing them out by caustics. The various preparations of mercury, copper, iron, and arsenic, have likewise been tried, and after all the general opinion is that the glanders is incurable.
That the glanders is contagious has been clearly and indisputably proved by numerous experiments; and the manner in which it is propagated has likewise been satisfactorily demonstrated. At the same time it is generally believed that the glanders takes place also independent of contagion; but from what causes or circumstances it is then produced, no author has attempted to state precisely.
It has been said, in a general way, that close unwholesome stables, hard work, and bad provender, sudden changes from cold and wet weather to hot close stables, hard work, and insufficient keep, and, in short, any thing that will weaken the animal considerably, is likely to produce glanders or farcy. Hence post and stage horses are particularly obnoxious to this disease.
Mr. Russel, of Exeter, had, for many years, some glandered teams of horses constantly working from Plymouth to Exeter. But they were worked with moderation, well fed, and taken great care of. I attended these teams for several years, the horses generally looked well, and in excellent condition. Many of them lasted four or five years; and some fell off after a few months.
The symptoms of glanders are—1st, A discharge of glairy matter from one or both nostrils; generally from one only, and more frequently from the left than from the right nostril. 2d, A swelling of the glands or kernels under the jaw, or between the branches of the lower jaw, and generally on the side of the jaw corresponding with the affected nostril. In all other respects the animal is generally in health, and often sleek and in good condition.
Sometimes, however, the glanders is accompanied by a disorder of the skin, named farcy, and then the horse’s general health is often affected. Farcy has been considered, by many authors, as a distinct disorder. I have therefore noticed it in a separate article (see Farcy), though of opinion that it is always a symptom of glanders, whether it appear in a local, or in a constitutional form.
Glanders has been divided into two stages, the acute and the chronic, or the first and second stage. The acute glanders is generally attended with acute farcy, such as chancrous ulceration about the lips, face, or neck, with considerable and painful swellings on different parts, some of the swellings appearing as a corded vein: ulceration and swelling of the hind leg or sheath, or testicles, and sometimes of the fore leg, with corded veins, and farcy buds on the inside of the limb. The acute glanders often spreads rapidly, and either destroys the animal, or renders him such a pitiable and hopeless object, that the proprietor is generally induced to have him knocked on the head.
Chronic glanders is generally very mild in the first stage of the disorder, and does not affect the appetite, or the general health and appearance of the animal. Such horses, when properly fed and taken care of, and worked with moderation, will often continue in regular work for several years.
I have been in the habit of attending several teams of glandered horses since I left the army, and have known them last four or five years. Sometimes, however, they would go off in a few months; and whenever a glandered horse fell off much, and became unequal to his work, he was destroyed. Many glandered horses have been known to get rid of the disorder while working in these teams; and sound horses that have been put in occasionally, to fill up the teams, especially old horses, have escaped the disorder. It is this circumstance, as I have before stated, that has led many to believe that the glanders is not contagious.
The second stage of glanders is marked by ulceration within the nostrils, or an appearance in the matter which indicates ulceration, though sometimes too high up to be seen. The matter is in larger quantity, more glutinous, sticking about the margin of the nostril and upper lips, and sometimes obstructing the passage of air, so that the horse makes a snuffling noise in breathing. The matter is sometimes streaked with blood, and the horse sometimes bleeds from the nostrils in working. When this happens in the first stage of the disorder, however early it may be, it indicates the approach of the second stage. The matter begins to have an offensive smell, which it scarcely ever has in the first stage, though an offensive smell is by many supposed to be a decisive mark of glanders. In the second stage the matter generally runs from both nostrils; the glands under the jaw become larger, harder, and fixed more closely to the jaw-bone. They are also generally more tender than in the first stage; the inner comers of the eyes are mattery. The horse loses flesh and strength, stales more than usual, coughs, and at length dies in a miserable condition, generally farcied as well as glandered. It is with this disease as it was formerly with small pox inoculation, and is now with vaccination. If a person happens to meet with one or two cases, or suppose it were half a dozen, of a horse escaping the glanders after standing in a stable with one that is glandered, he thinks himself fully warranted in concluding that the disease is not contagious. Satisfied with this decision, he gives himself no further trouble about it, and pays no attention to any thing that may be said or written in opposition to his own opinion.
It is a remarkable circumstance, that glanders cannot be communicated by applying the matter which is discharged from the nose of a glandered horse to the nostrils of a sound horse, even though a piece of lint soaked in the matter be put up the nostrils, and kept in contact with the pituitary membrane for a short time; or even if the matter be thrown up the nostrils with a syringe. But, if the smallest quantity of matter be applied in the way of inoculation, either to the membrane of the nostrils, or to any part of the body, a glanderous ulcer will be produced, from which farcy buds and corded lymphatics will proceed. After a few weeks the poison will get into the circulation, and the horse will be completely glandered. The circumstance of glanders not being communicated by applying matter to the nostril, enables us to account for a horse escaping the disorder, as he sometimes does, after being put into a glandered stable, or standing by the side of a glandered horse. I believe, however, that glanders is frequently communicated by (accidental) inoculation; and that there is only one other way in which it can be communicated, that is, by swallowing the matter which flows from the nose of a glandered horse.—VideBlaine.
A horse affected with glanders may inoculate himself, and thereby produce the farcy. I have known this happen to a horse while at grass. The horse had an itching in his hind leg, which led him to rub and bite the part, and, at the same time, rub on it the glanderous matter which flowed from his nostril. The possibility of this circumstance taking place may be easily proved by inoculating a glandered horse, in any part of his body, with some of his own matter. There are many ways in which a sound horse may be accidentally inoculated with the matter of glanders, for the slightest scratch in any part of the body is sufficient. Horses that are cleaned with a curry comb are very liable to be scratched in those parts where the bones are prominent, such as the inside of the hock or knee, the shank bones and the head. To such scratches glanderous matter may be applied by the hands of the groom after he has been examining the nose of a glandered horse, or wiping off the matter from his nostrils; or by the horse himself transferring glanderous matter from the nose of a diseased horse, or from the manger, or other part where any matter has been deposited, for horses are very fond of rubbing their noses against the manger or stall, and a glandered horse will generally try to rub off the matter from his nose against the manger, the rack, the stall, or against another horse; and if a sound horse happen to stand by one that is glandered, they will often be seen nabbing or gently biting each other, or rubbing noses. In short, having proved that glanders is thus communicated, we can conceive a variety of ways in which a horse may be accidentally inoculated.
The reader may form some idea of the extent of such losses when informed that large inn-keepers have been nearly ruined by them. I had occasion to condemn eight horses at one time, in one establishment, which, added to those already lost, amounted in value to five hundred pounds. In one regiment fifty glandered horses were shot in one day. The twenty-third French dragoons, when quartered in Italy, in March, 1809, had seventy-six horses at one time affected with glanders and farcy, or suspected of being so affected.
As I have demonstrated the manner in which glanders is communicated, it is needless to say any thing of the mode of prevention, except briefly observing, that it can only be accomplished by preventing any glanderous matter from coming near a horse, or mixing with his food or water; and that the only method of purifying an infected stable, is to remove every thing on which glanderous matter may have fallen, and to wash and scrape the fixtures, such as the rack and manger, thoroughly. I have in a former edition advised a fumigation with the gas which arises from a mixture of common salt, manganese, and oil of vitriol; because I have found that glanderous matter which has been exposed to this gas is rendered quite innocent, though an ass be inoculated with it; and I have directed the stable to be first thoroughly cleansed, because if any dry hard glanderous matter should remain, the water employed in cleansing the stable will have moistened it, and thereby enable the fumigation to mix with it, and destroy its poisonous quality.—White.
Glare,v.To shine so as to dazzle the eyes.
Glare,s.Overpowering lustre, splendour, such as dazzles the eye; a fierce piercing look.
Glass,s.An artificial substance made by fusing salts and flint or sand together, with a vehement fire; a glass vessel of any kind; a looking-glass; a glass to help the sight; an hour-glass, a glass used in measuring time by the flux of sand; a cup of glass used to drink in; the quantity of wine usually contained in a glass; a perspective glass.
Glassy,a.Vitreous; resembling glass, as in smoothness, lustre, or brittleness.
Glead,s.A kind of hawk.
Glen,s.A valley, a dale.
Glires,s.The fourth order of the class Mammalia in the Linnæan system. It includes animals with two foreteeth, a cutting one in each jaw, no tusks, and claws formed for running, as the hare, rabbit, &c.
Glow-worm,s.A small creeping insect with a luminous tail.
Glue,s.A viscous cement. The best is made from the parings of hides and other offals, by boiling them well in water, then straining off all impurities, and, lastly, boiling them again.
Glue,v.To join with a viscous cement; to unite.
Glute,s.The slimy substance in a hawk’s pannel.
Glyn,s.A hollow between two mountains.
Gnarl,v.To growl, to murmur, to snarl.
Gnash,v.To grind or collide the teeth.
Gnat,s.A small winged stinging insect.
Gnaw,v.To exercise the teeth.
Goar,s.Any edging sewed upon cloth.
Goat,s.An animal that seems a middle species between deer and sheep.
Godwit,s.A bird of particular delicacy.