THE FIELD BOOK.

DONCASTER RACE FOR THE GREAT S^T LEGER STAKES, 1832.

THE

FIELD BOOK:

OR,

SPORTS and PASTIMES

OF THE

United Kingdom;

COMPILED FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES,

ANCIENT AND MODERN.

BY

THE AUTHOR OF “WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST.”

“The sylvan youth,

Whose fervent blood boils into vehemence,

Must have the chace.”—Thomson.

“What is a gentleman without his recreations?”—Old Play.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED BY EFFINGHAM WILSON,

ROYAL EXCHANGE.

1833.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY BRADBURY AND EVANS,

WHITEFRIARS.

INTRODUCTION.

——◀▶——

In presenting the Field Book to the Sporting World, some explanation respecting the motives that led to its publication, are deemed necessary.

An enthusiastic admirer of rural sports from boyhood, the Compiler sought with avidity after any book connected with his favourite recreations, from which either amusement or information might be obtained. The older authors, with the exception of a few pages of quaint and curious anecdote, were generally formed of barbarous theories, whose absurdities had long since caused them to be disregarded. The more modern, whether confined to a particular subject, or professing to be repertories of British Sports, were too frequently overloaded with hackneyed and unimportant matter, and merely reprints of treatises for years before the public, and differing from their predecessors in nothing but the name.

But had there been nothing objectionable in the execution of sporting works, as they appeared during the last century, the total change in everything connected with the British field, would render them now of little value, but to point a contrast between the past and present systems. Without reverting to the times when jockeys rode in tie-wigs, and men would not venture to a trout-stream unless furnished with a velvet cap; when country gentlemen deserted their ladye-loves ere cock-crow, to see the sun rise above a fox-cover; when no pond-fish could resist a bait prepared with a dead-man’s finger; and a sucking-mastiff, stuffed with snails and judiciously roasted, was a sovereign remedy for a shoulder-slip;—without reverting to these times, what changes have not occurred within our own recollections? The mystic arcana of old professors have vanished before practical and scientific improvement, and the Sporting World has undergone a total revolution, and produced a new order of men and things.

While, however, expressing these convictions, the Compiler would not undervalue many of the useful and intelligent writers and collectors who have preceded him. With allowances for their times, and the false theories then received, which modern science has exploded, where will more information be found than in the “Rural Sports,” “Thoughts on Hunting,” “Essay on Sporting,” and other contemporaneous works? It is of the copyists of these writers that the Compiler would complain, who, adopting everything, good and bad, from these originals, without a single addition of their own, have dosed the public ad nauseam, re-vending the same wares again and again, without even the redeeming grace of acknowledging the sources of their spoliations.

To produce a short and lucid compendium of all matters connected with the field, and which might be considered interesting to the sportsman, has been the object of the present compilation. All that appeared valuable in the old school, as far as was compatible with the progress of modern science, has been retained; while in established improvements, the more recent systems have only been attended to. Where, however, ancient and modern principles were opposed, and the point at issue was doubtful or consequential, authorities in support of the conflicting theories are quoted, and the reader can use a discretionary power in his adoption.

To convey simple information and avoid scientific display, has been the Compiler’s wish; and the plainest of the received authorities have accordingly been preferred. Hence, White of Exeter, and Bewick, have been principally followed in the veterinary and ornithological departments; while the more erudite pages of Blaine and Percivall, Cuvier, Montagu, and Rennie, have contributed much that was valuable. In canine descriptions and diseases, Brown and Blaine have been selected. On piscatory subjects Daniel forms the text-book, while Davy and modern artistes of the angle have not been overlooked. In sporting antiquities the Compiler has consulted Strutt; in falconry he has chosen Sebright. Upon the breeding and management of game, Moubray has been his Mentor. From Jesse and White of Selborne much that was curious in natural history and animal economy has been extracted. In the mechanical department he has received assistance from several leading gun-makers; and upon numerous subjects of general interest to the sportsman, in Colonel Hawker he acknowledges a Magnus Apollo. Finally, many anonymous works and writers, either not essentially sporting or of minor name, have been extensively quoted in the pages of the Field Book.

Having stated the principal sources from whence the compilation has been made, it may be observed that as it was an object to embrace British sports generally, considerable difficulty arose in compressing a necessary portion of information upon these varied pursuits, within the small compass of a single octavo. A second volume, or one of larger size, was objectionable; and although the smallest sized type consistent with comfort to the reader has been employed, it is feared that many a sin of omission will be laid at the Compiler’s door. From the difficulty attendant on alphabetic arrangement, some articles also were omitted in their proper place, and must be sought for in the Appendix. All the compiler can say in apology is, that when the Field Book is found summary or imperfect, the necessity of compression must be recollected, and a reference to a competent authority will enable the reader to find all that he requires. The Compiler would here remark, that the books and authors mentioned above, will be found of infinite service in their respective departments; and many of them are indispensably necessary to him who would possess a well-appointed stable and a healthy kennel.

One subject introduced into the pages of the Field Book, might to some appear anomalous. Yacht-sailing has been slightly noticed; and had the limits of the work permitted, it should have held the prominent place to which it is so well entitled. While hill or forest bounds the sporting adventurers of other lands, the “deep, deep sea” is made subservient to the pastimes of Great Britain; and the flag, which in war bore “the battle and the breeze,” in peace sweeps over the blue wave which owns its power, and would almost prove that the elements themselves cannot bound the sportive enterprise of the true-born Briton.

London, April 8, 1833.

THE FIELD BOOK;

OR,

SPORTS AND PASTIMES OF THE BRITISH

ISLANDS.

Abdomen, s. A cavity commonly called the lower venter or belly.

Wounds of the Abdomen, or Belly, may occur to horses in leaping hedges, or pales, or be inflicted by the horns of a cow. Sometimes the tendinous covering of the belly is ruptured, while the skin remains entire; the gut then protrudes and forces out the skin into a tumour. This is a rupture of the belly, and is thought incurable. I have known one very large rupture cured by cutting out a piece of the skin which covered it, and then sewing up the wound and supporting it with a bandage. In some accidents the skin also is divided, with its peritonæal covering; the gut then comes out, and the wound is of a very dangerous nature, and still more so if the gut itself is wounded. The first thing to be done is to put the gut back, taking care to remove any dirt or other matter that may be sticking to it; for which purpose, should it be found necessary, it may be washed with warm water. If the gut cannot be returned, from its being full of air, the opening in the belly may be carefully enlarged to the necessary size. After the gut is returned, the skin only should be stitched up; and a cushion of several folds of old linen and tow being placed on the wound, should be kept in its situation by means of a wide bandage rolled round the body, and carefully secured. The animal should then be copiously bled, have his bowels emptied by clysters, and his food restricted to grass or bran mashes, and that in moderate quantity.

Aberdevine, s. (Carduelis spinus, Cuvier).

Size of the redpole, (Fringilla linaria,) or between that and the linnet. Length rather more than five inches; bill reddish-white, tipped with blackish brown; eyes, umber-brown; head, greenish black; over each eye a pale streak of dingy primrose-yellow; neck, back, wings, and tail, oil-green, paler, and more yellow, on the lower parts of the back towards the tail coverts. The feathers of the back and wings are streaked down the middle with a tint formed of blackish-green and hair-brown; sides of the head, throat, breast, and under parts, pale wax-yellow, inclining to sulphur-yellow; middle of the parts below the breast very pale wine yellow, passing into white; across each wing are two bands of primrose yellow, and between them one of black; part of the quills and tail edged with pale gamboge-yellow: legs and feet pale flesh-red. The head of the female is of a brownish-colour, inclining to grey where the male is black; cheeks and sides of the neck siskin green or oil green; and all the rest of her plumage is of a more dingy colour than in the male.

These birds are of so mild, gentle, and docile a disposition, that they become quite tame almost immediately after they are taken. They may be taught many pretty tricks, such as to open the door of their cage, draw up their food and water, and come to the hand to be fed at the sound of a little bell or a whistle. Their food is the same as that of canaries, and they are managed in the same manner.—Montagu.

Abscess, s. A morbid cavity in the body.

Absorbents, s. Medicines which neutralise the acid matter in the bowels or stomach. Potash, soda, magnesia, chalk, &c., are commonly employed.

Absterge, v. To cleanse by wiping.

Abstergent, a. Cleansing; having a cleansing quality.

Acacia catechu, s. An extract from the inner wood of the acacia; a powerful tonic and astringent, and useful in diarrhœa and diabetes.

Accident, s. That which happens unforeseen; casualty, chance. (Vide Gun.)

Accipiter, s. A genus of the falcon family thus characterised. Bill short. Nostrils somewhat oval. Shanks elongated and smooth. Shins plated with scales, the sutures scarcely perceptible.—Vigors.

Acetate, s. The salt formed from a combination of acetic acid with alkalies or metallic oxides. Acetates are largely used in veterinary practice, as those of ammonia, lead, &c.

Acetate of Alumine (in dyeing)

Is prepared by pouring acetate of lead into a solution of alum, on which a double decomposition takes place; the sulphuric acid combines with the lead, and the sulphate of lead precipitates in the form of an insoluble powder, while the alumine combines with the acetous acid, and remains in the liquor.

This mordant gives a richer colour than alum.

Lime is also sometimes employed as a mordant, but it does not answer so well in general, not giving so good a colour. It is used either in acetate of lime water, or as a sulphate of lime dissolved in water.

A solution of indigo in the sulphuric acid is used for dyeing wool. This is called the Saxon blue, and it gives a very beautiful colour.

To dye by the sulphate of indigo, dissolve one part of indigo in four parts of concentrated sulphuric acid; add to the solution one part of dry carbonate of potash, and dilute the whole with eight times its weight of water. Boil the wool for an hour in a solution of five parts of alum, and three of tartar, for every thirty-two parts of cloth. The wool is then to be put in a bath of sulphate of indigo, diluted according to the strength of shade required, and kept till it has acquired the desired colour. The use of the alum and tartar is not to act as mordants, but to facilitate the decomposition of the indigo; and the alkali is added to the sulphate for the same reason.

Acid, a. Sour, sharp.

Acids, s. In veterinary practice are divided into three classes, mineral, vegetable, and animal. Mineral are sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic. Vegetable, acetic (vinegar), and tartaric (cream of tartar). Muriatic acid is commonly called spirit of salt. Sulphuric, oil of vitriol.

Action, s. The accordance of the motions of the body with the words spoken. In sporting parlance, it is used to describe the movements of a horse.

Adder, s. A serpent, a viper, a poisonous reptile.

Adders or vipers are found in many parts of Europe; but the dry, stony, and in particular the chalky countries abound with them. These animals seldom grow to a greater length than two feet; though sometimes they are found above three. The ground colour of their bellies is a dirty yellow; that of the female is deeper. The whole length of the back is marked with a series of rhomboid black spots, touching each other at the points; the sides with triangular ones; the belly entirely black. It is chiefly distinguished from the common ringed snake by the colour, which in the latter is more beautifully mottled, as well as by the head, which is thicker than the body; but particularly by the tail, which, in the viper, though it ends in a point, does not run tapering off to so great a length as in the other. When, therefore, other distinctions fail, the difference of the tail can be discerned at a single glance.

The adder differs from most other serpents in being much slower, as also in excluding its young completely formed, and bringing them forth alive. The kindness of Providence seems to be exerted not only in diminishing the speed, but also the fertility, of this dangerous creature.

The adder is capable of supporting very long abstinence, it being a well ascertained fact that some have been kept in a box six months without food; yet during the whole time their vivacity was not abated. They feed only a small part of the year, but never during their confinement; for if mice, their favourite diet, should at that time be thrown into their box, though they will kill, yet they will never eat them. When at liberty they remain torpid throughout the winter; yet, when confined, they have never been observed to take their annual repose.

They are usually taken with wooden tongs, by the end of the tail, which may be done without danger; for, while held in that position, they are unable to wind themselves up to hurt their enemy; yet, notwithstanding this precaution, the viper-catchers are often bitten by them; but, by the application of olive oil, the effect is safely obviated.

William Oliver, a viper-catcher, at Bath, was the first who discovered this admirable remedy. On the first of June, 1735, in the presence of a great number of persons, he suffered himself to be bit by an old black viper, brought by one of the company, upon the wrist, and joint of the thumb of the right hand, so that drops of blood came out of the wounds. Being willing to satisfy the company thoroughly, and trusting to the speedy effects of his remedy, which was nothing more than olive oil, he forbore to apply anything till he found himself exceedingly ill, and quite giddy; in about an hour and a quarter after the first of his being bit, a chafing dish of glowing charcoal was brought in, and his naked arm was held over it as near as he could bear, while his wife rubbed in the oil with her hand, turning his arm continually round, as if she would have roasted it over the coals; he said the poison soon abated, but the swelling did not diminish much. Most violent purgings and vomitings soon ensued; and his pulse became so low and so often interrupted, that it was thought proper to order him a repetition of cordial potions; he said he was not sensible of any great relief from these; but that a glass or two of olive oil, drank down, seemed to give him ease. Continuing in this dangerous condition, he was put to bed, where his arm was again bathed over a pan of charcoal, and rubbed with olive oil, heated in a ladle over the charcoal. From this last operation he declared that he found immediate ease, as though by some charm: he soon after fell into a profound sleep, and, after about nine hours’ sound rest, awaked about six the next morning, and found himself very well.

In every quarter of the globe but Europe, dogs are exposed to the venomous attacks of snakes, whose bite is instantly mortal. The viper is the only animal of this kind in Britain capable of inflicting a wound attended with serious consequences, and to which dogs become exposed when hunting. In these cases, the bitten part swells enormously, and the animal expresses great distress and suffering: at length he becomes affected with torpor, or, in some cases, with convulsions, when death commonly ensues. But it is not often that these bites are fatal, particularly when proper means are resorted to for obviating the effects. These means consist in freely rubbing the bitten part with volatile alkali, or with the spirit of hartshorn mixed with oil; giving also seven, ten, or twelve drops of the volatile alkali, or otherwise forty drops to a large dog, of the spirit of hartshorn, in a teaspoonful or two of sweet oil, every hour, until the amendment is evident.

The venomous stings of hornets, wasps, and bees, may be relieved by applying the vegetable blue used to colour linen. Laudanum also, or vinegar, or brandy, will, either of them, often remove the pain and inflammation speedily.—Buffon—Blaine.

Adhesive, a. Sticking, tenacious.

Adhesive, or Sticking Plaster, is made with diachylon, a small portion of resin, and a still less of common turpentine—or with diachylon and galbanum. Sticking plaster is employed to keep the edges of a fresh wound together; but in horses, when the wound is extensive, this is done more effectually by suture, that is, by sewing up the wound.

Aërie, s. A nest of hawks, or other birds of prey.

The following account of the robbery of an aërie is given by Mr. Bullock:—“On the 10th of June, 1812, they were seen in their aërie on the tremendous cliff called the West Craigs, in the Isle of Hoy, (one of the Orkneys,) the towering rocks of which rise to the perpendicular height of 1200 feet from the sea. About one third of the way down this awful abyss, a slender pointed rock projected from the cliff, like the pinnacle of a Gothic building: on the extremity of this is a hollow scarcely of a sufficient size for the purpose for which these birds had fixed on it, i. e., a place of security for rearing their young; the situation was such as almost to defy the power of man to molest their habitation; yet, with the assistance of a short slender rope, made of twisted hogs’ bristles, did the well-known adventurous climber, or rocksman, ‘Woolly Tomson,’ traverse the face of this frightful precipice, and, for a trifling remuneration, brought up the young birds.

“After a fatiguing scramble up the sides of the mountain, we arrived at the place from whence we could see the aërie beneath; the distance was so great that the young eagles appeared no larger than pigeons. After placing us in a secure situation on a projecting ledge of the rock, Tomson left us, carrying his rope in his hand, and disappeared for upwards of half an hour; when, to our great joy, we discovered him creeping on his hands and knees up the spiry fragment, on which lay the unfledged eaglets; when, knowing he was then in our sight, he knelt on the top, and looking towards us, waved his hat. At this time it was impossible to see the situation he was in without trembling for his safety; the slender point of the rock on which he knelt was at least 800 feet above the surges of the Atlantic, which, with unbroken violence, were foaming beneath him. Yet he deliberately took from his pocket a cord, and tying the wings of the young birds, who made some resistance with their bills and talons, he put them into a basket, and began to descend, and in a few minutes the overhanging masses of stone hid him from our view. The old birds were in sight during the transaction, and made no attempt to defend, but, soaring a quarter of a mile above, occasionally uttered a short shrill scream, very different from their usual barking noise. Had they attempted a rescue, the situation of the climber would have been extremely dangerous, as the slightest deviation or false step would have precipitated him into eternity, a misfortune that a few years since befel his brother on the same spot, when in his company.

“After waiting in a most painful state of suspense for near an hour, our climber suddenly made his appearance, and, laughing, presented his prize.”

“In Doomsday Book a hawk’s aërie is returned among the most valuable articles of property; which proves the high estimation these birds were held in at the commencement of the Norman conquest.”—Bullock—Strutt.

Æthiop’s-mineral, s. A medicine so called, from its dark colour, made of quicksilver and sulphur ground together in a marble mortar.

Age, s.

Age of a Horse.—The age of a horse may be discovered by certain marks in the front teeth of the under jaw until he is eight years old, about which period they are generally worn out. An experienced person can, however, judge of a horse’s age pretty nearly by the countenance and general appearance of the animal, as well as by the length of the teeth and form of the tushes. Between the second and third year a colt begins to change his sucking or colt’s teeth, as they are termed, for permanent teeth, which are larger, and of a different form and colour. The sucking teeth are small, and of a delicate white colour. When a colt is three years old, or between the second and third year, he changes his two front teeth, above and below; between the third and fourth year the two next are changed; and between the fourth and fifth year the two next, or corner teeth, are changed. About the end of the fourth year, or a little later, the tushes appear. Mares have seldom any tushes. At five years old the horse has a full mouth of permanent or horse teeth, and the corner teeth are those by which the age is ascertained after that period: they have a remarkable hollow or shell-like appearance when they first come up; but by the time the horse has completed his fifth year they have acquired some size, and look more like the other teeth. There is a cavity on their upper surface, at this period, of a dark or blackish colour. At six years old the cavity is much diminished, and at seven it is still less; at eight it has entirely disappeared, or if any mark remain, it resembles rather the eye of a bean. The tushes at five years old have two concavities withinside them, converging upwards, and terminating in the point of the tooth: at six, one of these concavities is lost; that is, the one next the grinder: at seven, the other is diminished, but not quite gone: at eight, it is generally gone, but not always: afterwards the tush gradually gets more round and blunt. These are the changes by which the horse’s age is usually determined; but they are subject to variations, and the only certain method of ascertaining the age, after six, is by a reference to the breeder. The length of the teeth is no criterion whatever; nor can the countenance be depended upon until the horse becomes very old and grey. The marks in the upper teeth have been thought to indicate the age: the marks in the two front teeth disappearing at eight, in the two next at ten, and in the corner teeth at twelve.

The general signs of age, unconnected with the animal’s teeth, are easily distinguishable. The head grows lean and fine; the features look more striking; the hollows over the eyes deeper; the eyes themselves grow irritable, and twinkle; the cheeks become lank; the gums and soft palate pale and shrunk; the sub-maxillary space is capacious; and grey hairs make their appearance in various places, more particularly over the eyes and about the face. In regard to the body generally, it also makes a more striking display of its shapes, than in any former part of life; the neck grows thin and fine; the withers grow sharp, and give an appearance of increased length and obliquity to the shoulder; the back sinks; the quarters assume a more blood-like turn, and seem to lengthen; tumors of all kinds, spavins, splents, windgalls, &c. generally become in part or wholly absorbed; the legs feel sinewy and free from puff, though they may evince instability and weakness. Now-a-days it is not often that we meet with horses thus advanced in years; still more rarely with any that have grown decrepit from age.

The horse, if properly treated, will live to a great age. The best time of his life is considered to be betwixt that of five and ten years, although there have been instances where he has proved highly serviceable until twenty years; and it is on record, that some horses have wrought till upwards of thirty years old. Mares are said to be aged at seven years old, and horses at eight.

The Age of Dogs.—These animals do not, like horses and cattle, present any exact criterion of their age; nevertheless, attention to the following appearances will assist us in determining the matter. At about four years, the front teeth lose their points, and each of them presents a flattened surface, which increases as the age advances; they likewise lose their whiteness. In dogs fed much on bones, and in those who “fetch and carry,” these teeth suffer very much, and are sometimes broken out while the dog is yet young. The holders, or tusks, are also blunted by the same causes. At seven or eight, the hair about the eyes becomes slightly grey. Gradually, likewise, a greyish tint extends over the face; but it is not till ten, eleven, or twelve years, that the eyes lose their lustre: when they become dim, general decay proceeds rapidly, though the life of some dogs is extended to fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen years; and I have seen a mother and son vigorous at twenty and twenty-one years old. Although such instances as the latter must be considered as rare, yet even these have been exceeded, if I might depend on my authority; for I once saw a small French dog, which I was assured had reached his twenty-fourth year, and which, at the time I saw him, was still vigorous and lively. I am not aware that much difference exists between the various breeds, as to the age they arrive at: spaniels, however, I have observed, are usually long lived; while terriers, on the contrary, I have seldom observed very old. The usual life of the dog may be considered as ranging between twelve and fifteen years: domestication has tended, in some degree, to curtail the period, but not so much as might have been expected, considering the powerful operation of artificial habits.—White—Percival—Brown—Blaine.

Aged, a. Old, stricken in years. When horses pass that period of life when their age is not discoverable by the teeth marks, they are commonly termed aged.

Agistor, s. Anciently an officer who attended upon the king’s woods and forest lands, to receive and take in cattle, &c. by agistment; that is to depasture within the forest, or to feed upon the pannage, &c. This officer was constituted by letters patent.

Aim, v. To endeavour to strike with a missile weapon.

Aim, s. The direction of a missile weapon; the point to which the thing thrown is directed.

Air, v. To expose to the air; to take the air; to warm by the fire.

Air-bladder, s. A bladder filled with air, and used in lake fishing to buoy the ends of night lines and mesh nets.

Air-cells of Birds.

The lungs of birds have several openings, communicating with corresponding air-bags or cells, which fill the whole cavity of the body from the neck downwards, and into which the air passes and re-passes in the process of breathing. This is not all: the very bones of birds are hollowed out with the design of receiving air from the lungs, from which air-pipes are conveyed to the most solid parts of the body, and even into the quills and plumelets of the feathers, which are hollow or spongy for its reception. As all these hollow parts, as well as the cells, are only open on the side communicating with the lungs, the bird requires only to take in a full breath to fill and distend its whole body with air, which, in consequence of the considerable heat of its body, is rendered much lighter than the air of the atmosphere. By forcing this air out of the body again, the weight becomes so much increased, that birds of large size can dart down from great heights in the air with astonishing velocity. The structure of insects is not a little analogous.—Ins. Trans.

Air-gun, s. A species of gun charged with air instead of powder.

The air-gun, although long known, has never been much used, as its slight report is the only advantage it can possess over fire-arms, while its danger and inefficiency are admitted. Fatal accidents have occurred in charging it, and every attempt to remedy the danger has been unsuccessful. In the old principle, the globe or ball which forms the receiver has frequently blown up while the air was being pumped in, and loss of life or severe injury resulted. Latterly, the attention of several experimentalists has been directed to its improvement. One of them, Mr. Laing, of the Haymarket, imagined he had overcome the great objection; and by a very ingenious alteration, in which the globe was done away with, and the air-receiver transferred to the stock of the gun, he hoped thus to have removed the danger. But in this he was sadly disappointed. While trying the improved air-gun, the receiver burst, injured him severely, and induced him to abandon any farther experiments with this dangerous instrument.

Indeed, the manifest inferiority of the air-gun to the rifle, would, independently of its danger, prevent it from coming into general use. As an instrument, it is extremely troublesome to shoot with, and liable to constant derangement. Its power is very weak, and in accuracy of aim the rifle is far superior. Even the advantage of slight report in the discharge is now comparatively done away with, in consequence of the recent introduction of the small-bore rifles for rook and rabbit shooting; which, from the trifling quantity of powder used in charging, are scarcely louder than the air-gun.

Purday, whose reputation as a rifle maker is deservedly high, has brought them to great perfection; and some beautiful guns of this description may be seen at his manufactory, which, though so small in the gage as to require bullets eighty to the pound, are perfect alike in execution and workmanship.

With respect to the Air-cane, though a more recent invention, it is only necessary to say, that it has all the disadvantages of the air-gun, with much weaker power, and a greater liability to get out of order. It is a mere toy, and, certainly, a very dangerous one.

Formerly, poachers were in the habit of using air-guns to destroy pheasants in the preserves. The instrument made no noise, and the operator preferred the boisterous, rainy night, when the moon was nearly at the full; the wet did not in the least affect the discharge of this implement, and the keepers knew a common gun could not be effectually employed in such tempestuous weather; besides, the report caused immediate alarm, and frequent detection. Vast numbers of pheasants were carried off, before this practice was discovered.

The late Mr. Tyssen was partial to an air-gun for shooting rooks, rabbits, &c., and was using one at Donyland Park, in Essex, when the screw of the valve gave way, as the servant was pumping the air into it; the copper ball fortunately took such a direction, that no one was hurt; but, in passing through the trees, it cut off some considerable branches. This accident staggered his confidence in the security of their principle, and from the best informed persons he consulted upon the subject, he was convinced there was no certainty of their being safe, and he wisely relinquished the air-gun, with all its asserted superlative properties.—Daniel.

Airy, a. Composed of air; relating to the air; high in air; light as air; gay, sprightly, full of mirth, lively.

Alcohol, s. A highly rectified spirit of wine.

Alkali, s. Any substance which combines with an acid, and produces a salt.

Alkalies form one of the classes of saline bodies, and are of three kinds: the vegetable alkali—kali, or potash,—the mineral alkali—soda, or natron,—and the volatile alkali, or ammonia. Alkalies are distinguished by their changing blue vegetable colours to a green, and yellow to orange; by combining rapidly with acids, and forming with them neutral salts—and by rendering oils miscible with water. Vegetable and mineral alkalies, not being evaporable, except in a high degree of heat, are termed fixed: and ammonia, being evaporable in a low temperature, obtains the name of volatile alkali.—White.

Alkaline, a. That which has the qualities of alkali.

Allspice, s. Jamaica pepper, a powerful cordial and carminative; the dose from two to three or four drachms. Mr. Bracey Clarke, in a book he has published on flatulent or spasmodic colic, or gripes, strongly recommends a tincture of allspice in proof spirit, as an effectual remedy for that disorder. The dose about 4 to 6 oz. in water.

Allure, v. To entice to any thing.

Aloes, s. A precious wood used in the east for perfumes, of which the best sort is of higher price than gold; a tree which grows in hot countries; a medicinal juice extracted from the common aloes tree.

Aloes is the inspissated juice of a plant of the same name, and is an effectual purgative for horses. It is intensely bitter, and strong and unpleasant to the smell.

Socotrine aloes is grown in the island Socotra, and is safer in its operation than the other kinds. It is of a dark reddish or brown colour, opaque, and less disagreeable to smell than the others. It formerly sold at a high price, and was therefore liable to adulteration. Barbadoes aloes is a coarser medicine, liable to produce griping, and other unpleasant effects; but it is a safe and efficacious purgative. It is darker coloured, less brittle, and of a stronger and more disagreeable smell—more active than the Socotrine; and considered more certain in its operation. Every kind of aloes is liable to produce bad consequences if given too largely, or if the horse be treated improperly while under its effect. There is a peculiarity in the horse’s intestines which renders them more liable to be injured by purgatives than those of other domestic animals, and therefore cathartic medicines should be prepared by persons of judgment and experience.

Cape aloes is rather transparent, very brittle, easily powdered, in this state of a bright yellow colour; the odour arising from it is not so strong as the Barbadoes, but stronger and less agreeable than the Socotrine. This kind is sold at a much lower price than the others, but is so weak and uncertain in its effect, that it is seldom employed in veterinary medicine. The dose of Socotrine aloes is from five to nine, Barbadoes from four to six, and Cape from six to ten drachms.

Aloes operates more speedily when united with soap, or any of the fixed alkalies. In old books cream of tartar is prescribed with aloes, under the supposition that it prevented griping, but soap is preferable.

Aloes is sometimes given as an alterative in doses of one or two drachms. It is also an ingredient in Friar’s balsam, and compound tincture of myrrh; preparations much used by farriers.—White.

Alpine Spaniel (Canis Alpinus), s.

The spaniel of St. Bernard exceeds all others of the same tribe in size and beauty. He generally reaches two feet in height at the shoulders, and is upwards of five feet from the nose to the tip of the tail. His coat is much more curled than that of either the springer or the cocker, and his hair is very closely set, with short woolly fur at the roots; his feet like those of all the dogs of cold climates, are protected from the possibility of being cut by the frost, by being covered with a thick fur, which, besides, enables him to climb those almost inaccessible ridges of ice which are so numerous on the Great St. Bernard. There is a peculiarity about the corners of the eyes of this dog which is attributed to the snow, and the high Alpine regions which he inhabits.

In point of intelligence, the Alpine spaniel may be reckoned at least equal to any of the species; and he has the greatest aptitude for learning anything to which he may be trained. He is peculiarly adapted to those stormy regions, the Swiss Alps; and Providence, in the wisdom of its arrangements, seems to have placed him where he was to be most serviceable to mankind.

These dogs are kept by the monks of the monasteries of the Swiss Alps for the express purpose of searching, during heavy snow storms, for travellers who may have fallen into cavities or pits, in which situation, without timely assistance, they would soon be starved or frozen to death. The practice is to send them out in pairs, and being perfectly conversant with the nature of their employment, they traverse a great extent of the adjoining country. By marks in the snow, but principally from the scent formed from the breath of persons so situated exhaling through the drift, they discover the pit that contains the buried traveller; in which case they instantly return and give the alarm, when assistance being procured, these sagacious animals lead the benevolent monks to the relief of the unfortunate individual.

The following anecdote appears to be well authenticated:—In crossing the mountain St. Gothard, near Airola, the Chevalier Gaspard de Brandenberg and his servant were buried by an avalanche; his dog, who escaped the heap of snow, did not quit the place where he had lost his master: this was fortunately not far from the convent; the animal howled, ran to the convent frequently, and then returned; struck by his perseverance, the next morning the people from the house followed him; he led them directly to the spot, scratched the snow, and after thirty-six hours passed beneath it, the Chevalier and his domestic were taken out safe, hearing distinctly, during their confinement, the howling of the dog, and the discourse of their deliverers. Sensible that to the sagacity and fondness of this creature he owed his life, the gentleman ordered by his will, that he should be represented on his tomb with his dog; and at Zug, in the church of St. Oswald, where he was buried in 1728, they still show the monument, and the effigy of the gentleman, with the dog lying at his feet.—Brown—Daniel.

Alteratives, s. Gentle medicines which act gradually upon the constitution.

Those commonly employed are nitre, antimony, sulphur, resin, and Æthiop’s mineral, exhibited in combination. Laxative Alteratives are substituted for purgatives: diuretic are recommended for reducing or preventing swellings of the leg; and diaphoretic to increase insensible perspiration, and assist the coating of the horse.

Alum, s. A saline body, composed of sulphuric acid, alumine, and potash.

It is used internally as an astringent, in diarrhœa, diabetes, &c., and externally as a remedy for grease. When burnt it is efficacious in cleansing ulcers, and for this purpose usually combined with red precipitate.

Alum is produced by placing a quantity of crude alum in an iron ladle, and keeping it over a slow fire until the watery particles are evaporated, and the mass becomes a light and pulverisable substance.

Aluminous, a. Relating to alum, or consisting of alum.

Amaurosis, s. A dimness of sight, not from any visible defect in the eye, but from some distemperature in the inner parts, occasioning the representations of flies and dust floating before the eyes.

In horses, this disease is caused by a pressure of blood upon the nerve of the eye; and in the earlier stages may be relieved by bleeding, but when of long standing it is incurable.

Amble, v. To move upon an amble, to pace; to move easily; to walk daintily.

Amble, s. An easy pace.

Ambler, s. A pacer.

Ambury, s. A bloody wart on a horse’s body.

The removal of amburies, or warts, is commonly effected by a tight ligature of silk; but, in every case, no matter where the wart may be, the use of the knife is preferable. Some farriers touch them with arsenic, mixed with a little soft soap; but this is a dangerous method, and often produces a serious degree of inflammation and sloughing.

Farriers generally endeavour to get rid of wens by blistering, but this never answers; and sometimes they use arsenic and soap; but this is not only very dangerous, but generally ineffectual also. The knife is the safest, most expeditious, and most effectual remedy for wens, and every kind of encysted tumour. When a considerable artery is opened in cutting out a wen, the bleeding may be stopped by tying it, by means of a tenaculum or a crooked needle, or the bleeding vessel may be laid hold of by a pair of forceps and tied.

American Game, s.

The woodcocks are, in all respects, like those in England, except that they are only about three-fifths of the size. They breed here, and are in such numbers, that some men kill twenty brace or more in a day. Their haunts are in marshy places or woods. The shooting of them lasts from the 4th of July, till the hardish frosts come. Here are five months of this sort, and pheasants and partridges are shot from September to April.

The snipes are called English snipes, which they resemble in all respects, and are found in great abundance in the usual haunts of snipes.

The grouse is precisely like the Scotch grouse. There is only here and there a place where they are found; but they are, in those places, killed in vast quantities, in the fall of the year.

As to the wild ducks and other water-fowl, which are come at by lying in wait, and killed most frequently swimming or sitting, they are slaughtered in whole flocks. An American counts the cost of powder and shot. If he is deliberate in everything else, this habit will hardly forsake him in the act of shooting. When the sentimental flesh-eaters hear the report of his gun, they may begin to pull out their white handkerchiefs, for death follows the pull of his trigger, with perhaps even more certainty than it used to follow the lancet of Dr. Rush.

The plover is a fine bird, and is found in great numbers upon the plains and in the cultivated fields of the islands. Plovers are very shy and wary, but they have ingenious enemies to deal with. A waggon or carriage of some sort is made use of to approach them, and then they are easily killed.

Rabbits are very abundant in some places. They are killed by shooting, for all here is done with gun—no reliance is placed upon a dog.—Cobbett.

Ames-ace, s. Two aces thrown at the same time on two dice.

Ammonia, s. A volatile alkali, produced from bones or sal ammoniac, and other mineral substances. Carbonate of ammonia, a stimulant and cordial. Drop ammoniac, as an expectorant, is given successfully in doses of two, three, and four drachms.

Amphibious, a. That which can live in two elements.

Anas, s. The generic name of the duck tribe.

The Duck, a genus thus characterised. Bill middle size, strong, straight, more or less depressed, covered with a thin skin, often more raised than broad at the base, which is either furnished with a fleshy substance or quite smooth, always depressed towards the point, which is rounded, blunt, and clawed, margins of the two mandibles toothed with plates, of either a flat or a conical form. Nostrils almost at the surface of the bill, at some distance from the base, somewhat oval, half closed by the flat membrane which lines the nostril. Legs short, feathered to the knees, drawn back towards the belly; three toes before, wholly webbed; hind toe free, articulated higher up on the flank, without a membrane, or having only the rudiments thereof. Wings of middle size; the first quill either as long as the second or rather shorter.

Temminck divides the genus into four sections. 1. The Goose; 2. The Swan; 3. The Duck. A. Ducks having the hind claw naked. B. Ducks having the hind claw covered with a loose membrane.

This genus, in which ornithologists have included all the Swans, Geese, and Ducks, amounts, according to the latest enumeration, to ninety-eight species, and about fourteen varieties; thirty-three of the former, and one of the latter, are accounted British birds.

From the swan downward to the teal, they are all of a clean-plumaged, beautiful race of birds, and some of them exquisitely so. Those which have been reclaimed from a state of nature, and live dependent on man, are extremely useful to him; under his protection they breed in great abundance, and without requiring much of his time or care, lead their young to the pool almost as soon as they are hatched, where they instantly, with instinctive perception, begin to search for their food, which at first consists chiefly of weeds, worms, and insects; these they sift, as it were, from the mud, and for that purpose their bills are admirably adapted. When they are further advanced in life, they pick up the sodden scattered grain of the farm-yard; which, but for their assiduous searchings, would be lost. To them also are allotted large quantities of corn which are shaken by the winds from the over-ripened ears in the field. On this clean and simple food they soon become fat, and their flesh is accounted delicious and nourishing.

In a wild state, birds of various kinds preserve their original plumage; but when tamed they soon begin to vary, and show the effects of domestication: this is the case with the tame goose and the duck, which differ as much from the wild of their respective kinds, as they do from each other.—Bewick.

Anasarca, s. A general dropsy, consisting of a watery fluid lodged beneath the skin.

Anasarca arises from debility or inflammation. The former occurs to old horses when turned out into poor or marshy pasture, and is indicated by general swelling of the belly, chest, and hind legs; it generally ends fatally unless strong diuretics and sudorifics are employed; and these are combined in the celebrated old drench of Markham, which has cured more horses of this disorder than any other remedy; and is considered in the low country, about Glastonbury and Wedmoor, where this disease is prevalent, an infallible remedy. It consists of a decoction of wormwood in a gallon of ale, which is boiled down to two quarts, and skimmed. In this one ounce of Castile soap is dissolved, and then there is to be stirred in six drachms of grains of paradise, powdered, and the same quantity of long pepper. The whole of this mixture is given at once, fasting. The horse to be clothed and rode about until he sweats and stales profusely, which he soon does, and is then relieved. The horse is often capable of doing some work after his recovery; but the constitution of such horses is generally too far broken to receive any permanent benefit from this or any other treatment. The other kind of dropsy, or that which depends on a high degree of general inflammation, most commonly attacks colts during the first, second, or third year, or before they begin to change their grinding teeth. At this period there is less blood formed, not only from the state of the grinding teeth, the gums, and the mouth in general, which is such as to render mastication painful and imperfect, but from the stomach sympathising with this state of the mouth. This disorder in young colts is first observed by dulness, disinclination to motion, hanging the head, and indifference in grazing. There are swellings also on the belly, chest, sheath, or udder, which are sometimes very considerable. When these symptoms are observed, the colt should be taken up and bled until he is quite faint, or drops down from faintness. Nothing more is necessary, unless it is turning him into a place where he can have but little food and sufficient exercise. Markham’s drench has been given to colts when affected with the Moor ill, as the disorder is termed, with success.

In dogs, this complaint very seldom occurs, unless as an accompaniment of the ascites. I have, however, now and then seen it, and, in most of the cases, it was in old dogs who had laboured under some previous debility. In such instances, when any remaining stamina affords a chance for recovery, the treatment recommended for dropsy of the belly may be resorted to: very small punctures may also be made in the distended skin.—White—Blaine.

Angle, s. An instrument to take fish, consisting of a rod, a line and a hook.

Angle, v. To fish with a rod and hook.

Angle-rod, s. The stick to which the fisher’s line and hook are hung.

Angler, s. He that fishes with an angle.

The Angler will take care, when he means to fish at bottom, to have with him different kind of lines neatly coiled up, strong single hairs, hooks untied of divers sorts, and also tied to bottom links of coarse and fine gimp of twisted and single silk worm gut, of hog’s bristles, and of white and sorrel hair; likewise to be provided with cork and quill floats, and spare caps. Shot split, and small pistol bullets to poise the floats; shoemaker’s wax in a piece of leather (if the wax be too stiff, temper it with tallow); silk of various sizes and colours; recollecting, that hooks for worm fishing, and red paste, are usually tied on with scarlet; and those for gentles, yellow paste, and grubs with straw-coloured silk; a plummet to ascertain the depth of the water when a float is used; a clearing ring to disentangle the hook, which is used by running it along and over the top of the rod, and gradually down the line (holding it by a strong twine, long enough for any such purpose) to where the hook is fast, if at a stump or other immoveable substance; but if it be hung to weeds, let the ring get below the hook, then pull the twine, and the ring will break the weeds, and thus save both line and hook; in the former case, if it does not release the hook, it will enable the line to be broken near to it, and prevent the line from being strained in any other part. A sharp pen-knife, a pair of scissors, a small whetstone about two inches long and a quarter of an inch square, are indispensible. A landing-net, the iron hoop made with joints, and a socket to contain a handle for it; some use a light hook that screws into a long staff, which not only secures the taking of a large fish out of the water, but also is a useful implement in disengaging the line from weeds or boughs of trees. A disgorger to put down the throat of a fish when he has swallowed the hook, until it is touched, when by pulling the line gently at the same time that the instrument presses down the hook, it will be freed. These may be made of a piece of split cane five or six inches long, and a quarter of an inch wide, with a notch at each end. Baits should be carried, the gentles, pastes, and natural flies, in tin boxes; for the latter, with holes punched in the top to admit air. He will likewise not be without worms of different sorts in canvass and woollen bags, and a larger one for malt or other ground bait: to hold the baits, it is far better to have something like a fish-woman’s apron, with three or four partitions (made as below), than to dangle the gentle-case or worm-bags from a button. A piece of coarse cloth, three quarters in length and breadth, doubled to within three inches at one side; which three inches must be doubled back again, and sewed all along close to the first doubling to receive a belt; the great doubling at each side is then to be sewed up, so that the foreside may allow room for the hand to go easily into the pockets, which will be ten inches deep; and when stitched in three places, will leave four divisions, each four inches broad. The fishbasket, pannier, or creel, as they are made very neat and light in wicker-work, should be large enough to admit the fish to lie at full length; they are thus better preserved, both in appearance and for use, than when bent and crushed together; some persons carry their pannier at their back, others under the left arm, having the side nearest them rather hollowed: in these baskets are sometimes a partition at the top, for holding night lines, &c.—Daniel.

Angling, p. The art of fishing with a rod and line.

Angling came into general repute in England about the period of the Reformation, when both the secular and regular clergy, being prohibited by the common law from the amusement of hunting, hawking, and fowling, directed their attention to this recreation. The invention of printing assisted in exciting attention to this subject, and made known its importance “to cause the helthe of your body, and specyally of your soul,” as the first treatise quaintly concludes. Wynkin de Worde gave the world, in 1496, a small folio republication of the celebrated Book of St. Albans. It contained, for the first time, a curious tract, entitled the Treatyse of Fysshinge with an Angle; embellished with a wood cut of the angler. This treatise is imputed to Dame Juliana Berners, or Barnes, prioress of a nunnery near St. Albans. “The angler,” she observes, “atte the least hath his holsom walke and mery at his ease, a swete ayre of the swete savoure of the meede flowers that makyth him hungary; he hereth the melodyous armony of the fowles, he seeth the yonge swannes, heerons, duckes, cotes, and many other fowles, with their brodes, whych me seemyth better than alle the noyse of the houndys, the blast of hornys, and the scrye of fowles, that hunters, fawkeners, and fowlers, can make. And if angler take fysshe, surely thenne is there noo man merier than he is in his spyryte?” The Book of St. Albans contains “Treatises perteynynge to Hawkynge and Huntynge,” as well as “Fysshinge with an Angle;” and several editions of it were printed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; as that under the title of “The Gentleman’s Academie in 1595;” “The Jewel for Gentrie in 1674.” Mr. Haselwood, a learned biographer, has recently favoured the public with a well finished fac-simile reprint of the work, but he disputes the claim of the fair lady above mentioned to be the authoress of the above treatise on angling, and only assigns her a small portion of the treatise on hawking, the entire treatise on hunting, a list of the beasts of chase, and another of birds and fowls.

Walton’s inimitable “Discourse on Angling” was first printed in 1653, in an elegant duodecimo, with plates of the most considerable fish cut in steel. This edition, and three subsequent ones, consisted wholly of what is now called part the first of the “Complete Angler,” or Walton’s individual portion of the work. While engaged in 1676, being the eighty-third year of his age, in preparing the fifth edition, he received from his friend, Charles Cotton, Esq., a gentleman in Derbyshire, “Instructions how to angle for a Trout or Grayling in a clear Stream,” as they were first called, which afterwards became part the second of this joint publication.

Angling has been thought of sufficient importance to be protected by statute. This first occurred in the reign of Edward I., when imprisonment and treble damages were awarded against all that should trespass on the rights of authorised fishers. By the 31 Hen. VIII. c. 2, s. 2, it was enacted, “If any evil disposed persons shall fish in the day time, from six in the morning to six in the evening, in any ponds, stews, or moats, with nets, hooks, or bait, against the will of the owners, they shall, on the conviction thereof, at the suit of the king, or the party aggrieved, suffer imprisonment for the space of three months, and find security for their good behaviour.” By the 5 Eliz., c. 21, s. 2, it is enacted, “If any person shall unlawfully break or destroy any head or dam of a fish pond, or shall wrongfully fish therein, with intent to take or kill fish, he shall, on conviction at the assizes or sessions, at the suit of the king or the party injured, be imprisoned three months and pay treble damages; and after the expiration of the said three months, shall find sureties for good behaviour for seven years to come.”

By the 22 & 23 Car. II. c. 25, s. 7, it is enacted, “That if any person shall, at any time, use any casting net, drag net, shore net, or other net whatsoever; or any angle, hair, noose, troll, or spear; or shall lay any wears, pots, nets, fish-hooks, or other engines; or shall take any fish by any means whatsoever, in any river, stew, moat, pond, or other water, or shall be aiding thereunto, without the consent of the owner of the water, and be convicted thereof within one month after the offence committed, such offender shall give to the party injured such satisfaction as a justice shall appoint, not exceeding treble damages; and pay the overseers of the poor such sum, not exceeding 10s., as the justice shall think fit: in default of payment, the said penalties to be levied by distress; or the offender to be committed to the house of correction for a term not exceeding one month, unless he enter into a bond, with surety, in a sum not exceeding £10, never to offend in like manner.” Justices are also authorised to destroy all such articles as before recited and adapted to the taking of fish, as may be found in the possession of offenders when taken. Persons aggrieved may appeal to the quarter sessions, whose judgment shall be final.

And by the 4 & 5 William and Mary it is enacted, “That no person (except makers and sellers of nets, owners of a river or fishery, authorised fishermen and their apprentices) shall keep any net, angle, leap, pike, or rather engine, for taking of fish. The proprietor of any river or fishery, or persons by them authorised, may seize, and keep to his own use, any engine which shall be found in the custody of any person fishing in any river or fishery, without the consent of the owner or occupier. And such owner, occupier, or person authorised by either, sanctioned by the consent of any justice, in the day time, may search the houses or other places of any unqualified person, who shall be suspected of having such nets, or other engines in his possession, and the same to seize and keep to their own use, or cut in pieces and destroy.” Stealing fish in disguise is made felony of by the 9 Geo. I. c. 22. “If any person armed and disguised shall unlawfully steal, or take away, any fish out of any river or pond, (whether armed or not,) shall unlawfully and maliciously break down the head or mound of any fish pond, whereby the fish shall be lost and destroyed, or shall rescue any person in custody for any such offence, or procure any other to join him therein, he shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy.” This (commonly called the Black Act) is made perpetual by 31 Geo. II. c. 42.

By the 5 Geo. III. c. 14, s. 1, it is enacted, “That if any person shall enter into any park or paddock enclosed, or into any garden, orchard, or yard, belonging to, or adjoining to, any dwelling-house, wherein shall be any river, pond, moat, or other water, and, by any means whatsoever, (without the consent of the owner,) steal, kill, or destroy, any fish, bred, kept, or preserved therein, or shall be assisting therein, or shall receive or buy any such fish, knowing them to be such, shall, upon conviction, be transported for seven years. Persons making confession of such offence, and giving evidence against an accomplice, who, in pursuance thereof, shall be convicted, will be entitled to a free pardon.” And by the same act, section 3, it is provided, “That if any person shall take, kill, or destroy, or attempt to take, kill, or destroy, any fish in any river or stream, pool, pond, or any other water, (not being in any park or paddock enclosed, or in any garden, orchard, or yard, belonging or adjoining to a dwelling-house, but in any other enclosed ground, being private property,) such person being thereof convicted by confession, or the oath of one witness before a justice, shall forfeit five pounds to the owner of the fishery of such river or other water; and in default thereof shall be committed to the house of correction for a time not exceeding six months.”

By the 1 Eliz. c. 17, “All fishermen are forbidden to destroy the fry of fish, small salmon and trout, under a penalty of twenty shillings;” and by the 4 & 5 Anne, for the protection of salmon in the counties of Southampton and Wilts, no salmon shall be taken between the first of August and twelfth of November. Statutes of Geo. I. and II., forbid the same fish to be taken in the rivers Severn, Wye, Ware, Ouse, &c., under eighteen inches long.

It is held that when the lord of the manor has the soil on both sides of the river, as in the case of the Severn, the right of fishing goes with it; and he who intrudes thereon must prove his claim of a free fishery; but when the tide ebbs and flows, and the river is an arm of the sea, as in the case of the Thames, the right is presumed to be common, and he who claims a privilege must prove it.—Ency. Lon. (Vide Fish, Fishing, &c. &c.)

Animal, s. A living creature.

Animal, a. That belongs or relates to animals.

Animalcule, s. A small animal.

Aniseed, s. A stimulant and cordial, much used in veterinary practice. The essential oil is generally preferred.

Ankle, s. The joint which joins the foot to the leg.

Ankle-bone, s. The bone of the ankle.

Anodyne, a. That which has the power of mitigating pain.

Keep them together in a well-corked bottle three or four weeks, frequently shaking it. The dose two or three ounces in water.

The ball may be mixed with warm ale, if the form of a drench be preferred to that of a ball, and either of the receipts will be found a good remedy in flatulent or spasmodic colic.—White.

Anoint, v. a. To rub over with unctuous matter; to consecrate by unction.

Anser, s. The goose, a genus thus characterised. Bill shorter than the head, a little conical, as are the marginal denticulations. Neck of a middle length.

Ant, s. An emmet, a pismire.

An universal bustle and activity observed in anthills may be generally regarded as a sign of rain. The ants frequently appear all in motion together, and carry their eggs about from place to place.—Foster.

Anthelminthics, s. Medicines that destroy worms, or expel them from the intestines.

The mercurial purgatives are generally considered the most effectual anthelminthics. A variety of vegetables have been thought to possess this quality, but I believe without foundation; among these are box, rue, savin, and wormwood. Æthiop’s mineral, antimony, sulphur, and tin, have also been considered as anthelminthics. I believe tin has not been fairly tried: and as it is an efficacious anthelminthic in dogs, it may probably be found useful in horses. Of all the mercurial preparations, calomel is by far the best for this purpose, and may be given with aloes, soap, and some aromatic oil, with a little ginger. Many prefer giving the calomel at night, and the purgative the following morning. Aloes are a good anthelminthic. A saline substance was some time ago introduced from India, as a remedy for that species of worm termed botts. It seems to be composed of common salt and liver of sulphur, but it does not appear to deserve the high character that was given of it; though, like salt or brine, it may sometimes have been found an effectual anthelminthic.—White. (Vide Worms.)

Anthrax, s. A scab or blotch which burns the skin.

Anticor, s. A preternatural swelling in a horse’s breast, opposite his heart.

This is, I believe, an inflammatory disorder, and requires bleeding and opening medicines, with fomentations. It is said to happen frequently, and often end fatally, in France and Italy; but seldom in this country. It consists in a painful swelling of the breast and belly, sometimes ending in suppuration, sometimes in dropsy. After bleeding and opening medicine, give mild diuretics and grass.—White.

Antidote, s. A medicine given to obviate the effects of poisons.

Antimonial, a. Made of antimony.

Antimony, s. A metal.

Preparations of antimony are extensively used in veterinary practice, generally in combination. In fevers it is particularly useful, and in a fluid preparation is recommended in foul ulcers of the feet, caukers, &c. &c.

Antiseptics, s.

Antiseptics are medicines which prevent putridity, or remove it if begun. The most efficacious are bark and other bitters; opium, wine, ether, ammonia, and camphor.

Horses do not appear to be subject to those fevers which, in the human system, are termed putrid. In gangrene, or mortification of the external parts, antiseptic fomentations are employed, which are made by boiling wormwood, rue, and other bitter herbs in water.

Antispasmodic, a. That which has the power of relieving the cramp.

Antispasmodics, s.

Antispasmodics in veterinary practice possess the power of allaying inordinate or painful motions in the system, particularly those involuntary contractions in parts which are naturally subject to the command of the will.

Medical writers divide antispasmodics into two kinds, viz. stimulants and sedatives. To the former belong arsenic, preparations of copper, zinc, and iron; also, ammonia, ether, essential oils, &c. The latter comprehends opium, musk, camphor, and all the vegetable narcotics.

Medicines of the fœtid kind, such as galbanum, assaœtida, &c., have also an antispasmodic quality.

When spasm arises from irritation, sedatives are to be given; but when it depends merely on debility, tonics are evidently proper. The spasmodic complaints to which horses are liable, are locked jaw and spasmodic or flatulent colic, commonly named gripes, in which the most efficacious antispasmodic is opium; but it is generally joined with others, such as camphor, assaœtida, ether, oil of peppermint, juniper, caraways, or allspice, or other aromatics.

Spices and aromatic seeds, such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, caraways, aniseed, &c., are often joined with opium, either in powder or infused with it in proof spirit, to form a tincture, and will be found a good antispasmodic in that form.

Antler, s. Branch of a stag’s horn.

Aperient, a. Gently purgative.

Apex, s. The tip or point.

Apiary, s. The place where bees are kept.

Apoplexy, s. A sudden deprivation of all sensation.

Apostume, s. A hollow tumour filled with purulent matter.

Apparatus, s. Those things which are provided for the accomplishment of any purpose. (Vide Shooting.)

Application, s. The act of applying any thing to another; the thing applied.

Aqua-fortis, s. Weak nitric acid.

Aquiline, a. Resembling an eagle; when applied to the nose, hooked.

Arab, s. or Arabian. A horse bred in Arabia.

The Arabian.—Of all the countries in the world where the horse runs wild, Arabia produces the most beautiful breed—the most generous, swift, and persevering. They are found, though not in great numbers, in the deserts of that country, and the natives use every stratagem to take them. Although they are active and beautiful, yet they are not so large as those bred up tame. They are of a brown colour, their mane and tail very short, and the hair black and tufted. Their swiftness is incredible; the attempt to pursue them in the usual manner of the chace, with dogs, would be entirely fruitless: such is the rapidity of their flight, that they are instantly out of view, and the dogs themselves give up the vain pursuit. The only method, therefore, of taking them is by traps hidden in the sand, which entangling their feet, the hunter at length comes up, and either kills them or carries them home alive. If the horse be young, he is considered among the Arabians as a very great delicacy, and they feast upon him while any part is found remaining; but if from his shape or vigour he promises to be serviceable in his more noble capacity, they take the usual methods of taming him by fatigue and hunger, and he soon becomes a useful domestic animal. But the horses thus caught, or trained in this manner, are at present very few; the value of Arabian horses all over the world has, in a great measure, thinned the deserts of the wild breed, and there are few to be found in those countries, except such as are tame.

The Arabian breed has been diffused into Barbary as well as Egypt, and into Persia also. Those from the former country are usually denominated “Barbs.”

Let the Arab be ever so poor, he has horses: they usually ride on the mares, experience having taught them that they bear fatigue, hunger, and thirst, better than horses; they also are less vicious, more gentle, and will remain, left to themselves, in great numbers, for days together, without doing the least injury to each other. The Turks, on the contrary, do not like mares, and the Arabians sell them the horses which they do not keep for stallions.

The Arabs have no houses, but constantly live in tents, which serve them also for stables, so that the husband, the wife, and the children, lie promiscuously with the mare and foal. The little children are often seen upon the body or the neck of the mare, while these continue inoffensive and harmless, permitting them thus to play with and caress them without injury.

The Arabs never beat their horses; they treat them gently; they speak to them, and seem to hold a discourse; they use them as friends; they never attempt to increase their speed by the whip, nor spur them, but in cases of necessity;—however, when this happens they set off with amazing swiftness, they leap over obstacles with as much agility as a buck, and if the rider happens to fall, they are so manageable that they stand still in the midst of their most rapid career.

The Arabian horses are of a middle size, easy in their motions, and rather inclined to leanness than fat. They are regularly dressed every morning and evening, and with such care, that the smallest roughness is not left upon their skins. They wash the legs, the mane, and the tail; the two latter they never cut, and very seldom comb, lest they should thin the hair.

They give them nothing to eat during the day; they only give them to drink once or twice, and at sunset they hang a bag to their heads, in which there is about half a bushel of clean barley: they continue eating the whole night, and the bag is again taken away the next morning. They are turned out to pasture in the beginning of March, when the grass is pretty high. When the spring is past they take them again from pasture, and then they get neither grass nor hay during the rest of the year; barley is their only food, except now and then a little straw. The mane of the foal is always clipped when about a year or eighteen months old, in order to make it stronger and thicker; they begin to break them at two years old, or two years and a half at farthest; they never saddle or bridle them till at that age, and then they are always kept ready saddled at the door of the tent, from morning till sunset, in order to be prepared against any surprise. They at present seem sensible of the great advantage their horses are to the country; there is a law, therefore, that prohibits the exportation of the mares, and such stallions as are brought into England are generally purchased on the eastern shores of Africa, and come round to us by the Cape of Good Hope.

The Arabs preserve the pedigree of their horses with great care, and for several ages back. They distinguish the races by different names, and divide them into three classes; the first is that of the nobles, the ancient breed, and unadulterated on either side; the second, that of the horses of the ancient race, but adulterated; and the third the common and inferior kind: the last they sell at a low price, but those of the first class, and even of the second, amongst which are found horses of equal value to the former, are sold extremely dear. They know, by long experience, the race of a horse by his appearance; they can tell the name, the surname, the colour, and the marks properly belonging to each. When the mare has produced the foal, witnesses are called, and an attestation signed, in which are described the marks of the foal, and the day noted when it was brought forth. These attestations increase the value of the horse, and are given to the person who buys him. The most ordinary mare of this race sells for five hundred crowns; there are many that sell for a thousand, and some of the very finest kinds for fourteen or fifteen hundred pounds.

Eighty or one hundred piastres are given for an ordinary horse, which is in general less valued than an ass or mule; but a horse of a well known Arabian breed will fetch any price. Abdallah, pacha of Damascus, had just given three thousand piastres for one. The history of a horse is frequently the topic of general conversation. When I was at Jerusalem, the feats of one of these steeds made a great noise. The Bedouin, to whom the animal, a mare, belonged, being pursued by the governor’s guards, rushed with her from the top of the hills that overlooked Jericho. The mare scoured at full gallop an almost perpendicular declivity without stumbling, and left the soldiers lost in admiration and astonishment. The poor creature, however, dropped down dead on entering Jericho, and the Bedouin, who would not quit her, was taken weeping over the body of his companion. This mare has a brother in the desert, who is so famous, that the Arabs always know where he has been, where he is, what he is doing, and how he does. Ali Aga religiously showed me, in the mountains near Jericho, the footsteps of the mare that died in the attempt to save her master,—a Macedonian could not have beheld those of Bucephalus with greater respect.

The pure Arabians are somewhat smaller than our race horses, seldom exceeding fourteen hands two inches in height. Their heads are very beautiful, clean, and wide between the jaws; the forehead is broad and square; the face flat; the muzzle short and fine; the eyes prominent and brilliant; the ears small and handsome; the nostrils large and open; the skin of the head thin, through which may be distinctly traced the whole of the veins; the neck rather short than otherwise. The body may, as a whole, be considered too light, and the breast rather narrow; but behind the arms, the chest generally swells out greatly, leaving ample room for the lungs to play, and with great depth of ribs. The shoulder is superior to that of any other breed; the scapula, or shoulder-blade, inclines backwards nearly an angle of forty-five degrees; the withers are high and arched; the neck beautifully curved; the mane and tail long, thin, and flowing: the legs are fine, flat, and wiry, with the posteriors placed somewhat oblique, which has led some to suppose that their strength was thereby lessened—but this is by no means the case; the bone is of uncommon density; and the prominent muscles of the fore arms and thigh, prove that the Arabian horse is fully equal to all that has been said of its physical powers. The Arabian is never known, in a tropical climate, to be a roarer, or to have curbs, the shape, from the point of the hock to the fetlock, being very perfect. It is a remarkable fact, that the skin of all the light-coloured Arabians is pure black, or bluish black, which gives to white horses that beautiful silvery gray colour so prevalent among the coursers of noble blood. Bay and chestnut are also common, and considered good colours. It has been remarked in India, that no horse of a dark gray colour was ever known to be a winner on the turf. If an Arabian horse exceed fourteen and a half hands in height, the purity of his blood is always doubted in India.

Speaking of the docile character of the Arab horse, the late Bishop of Calcutta writes: “My morning rides are very pleasant. My horse is a nice, quiet, good-tempered little Arab, who is so fearless, that he goes, without starting, close to an elephant, and so gentle and docile, that he eats bread out of my hand, and has almost as much attachment and coaxing ways as a dog. This seems the general character of the Arab horses, to judge from what I have seen in this country. It is not the fiery, dashing animal I had supposed, but with more rationality about him, and more apparent confidence in his rider, than the majority of English horses.”—Le Keux—Brown—Clarke—Heber.

Arbalist, s. A cross-bow.

Archer, s. He that shoots with a bow.

Archery, s. The use of the bow; the act of shooting with the bow; the art of an archer.

Archery is the art or exercise of shooting with a bow and arrow.

In this island, archery was greatly encouraged in former times, and many statutes were made for the regulation thereof; whence the English archers became the best in Europe, and obtained many signal victories. The Artillery Company of London, though they have long disused the weapon, are the remains of the ancient bowmen or archers. Artillery (artillerie) is a French term, signifying archery; as the king’s bowyer was in that language styled artillier du roy. And from that nation the English seem to have learnt at least the use of the cross-bow. William the Conqueror had a considerable number of bowmen in his army, when no mention is made of such troops on the side of Harold. And it is supposed that these Norman archers shot with the arbalist, or cross-bow, in which formerly the arrow was placed in a groove, termed in French, a quarrel, and in English, a bolt. Of the time when shooting with the long-bow first began among the English, there appears no certain accounts. Their chronicles do not mention the use of archery till the death of Richard I.; who, in 1199, was killed by an arrow at the siege of Limoges, in Guienne, which Hemingford mentions to have issued from a cross-bow. After this, there appears no notice of archery for nearly one hundred and fifty years; when an order was issued by Edward III., in the fifteenth year of his reign, to the sheriffs of most of the English counties, for providing five hundred white bows, and five hundred bundles of arrows, for the then intended war against France. Similar orders were repeated in the following years, with this difference only, that the sheriff of Gloucestershire is directed to furnish five hundred painted bows, as well as the same number of white.

Philip de Comines acknowledges what our own writers assert, that the English archers excelled those of every other nation; and Sir John Fortescue says “the safety of the realme of England standyth upon archers.” And hence the superior dexterity of their archers gave the English a great advantage over their capital enemies, the French and Scots.

The Normans used the bow as a military weapon; and, under their government, the practice of archery was not only much improved, but generally diffused throughout the kingdom.

In the ages of chivalry, the usage of the bow was considered as an essential part of the education of a young man who wished to make a figure in life.

The ladies also were fond of this amusement; and by a curious representation from an original drawing in a manuscript of the fourteenth century, we see it practised by one who has shot at a deer, and wounded it with great adroitness; and in another previous engraving, the hunting equipments of the female archers, about the middle of the fifteenth century, are represented.

It was usual, when the ladies exercised the bow, for the beasts to be confined by large inclosures, surrounded by the hunters, and driven in succession from the covers to the stands, where the fair sportswomen were placed; so that they might readily shoot at them, without the trouble and fatigue of rousing and pursuing them. It is said of Margaret, the daughter of Henry VII., that when she was on her way towards Scotland, a hunting party was made for her amusement in Alnwick Park, where she killed a buck with an arrow. It is not specified whether the long-bow or the cross-bow was used by the princess upon this occasion: we are certain that the ladies occasionally shot with both; for when Queen Elizabeth visited Lord Montacute, at Cowdrey, in Sussex, on Monday, August 17th, 1591, “Her highness tooke horse, and rode into the park, at eight o’clock in the morning, where was a delicate bowre prepared, under the which were her highness’ musicians placed; and a cross-bow, by a nymph, with a sweet song, was delivered into her hands, to shoote at the deere; about some thirty in number were put into a paddock, of which number she killed three or four, and the countess of Kildare one.”

Roger Ascham, in his instructions to the archer, first of all recommends a graceful attitude. He should stand, says this writer, fairly, and upright with his body, his left foot at a convenient distance before his right; holding the bow by the middle, with his left arm stretched out, and with the three first fingers and the thumb of the right hand upon the lower part of the arrow affixed to the string of the bow. In the second place, a proper attention was to be paid to the nocking, that is, the application of the notch at the bottom of the arrow to the bow-string: we are told that the notch of the arrow should rest between the fore-finger and the middle finger of the right hand. Thirdly, our attention is directed to the proper manner of drawing the bow-string: in ancient times, says Ascham, the right hand was brought to the right pap; but at present it is elevated to the right ear, and the latter method he prefers to the former. The shaft of the arrow, below the feathers, ought to be rested upon the knuckle of the fore-finger of the left hand; the arrow was to be drawn to the head, and not held too long in that situation, but neatly and smartly discharged, without any hanging upon the string. Among the requisites necessary to constitute a good archer, are a clear sight, steadily directed to the mark, and proper judgment to determine the distance of the ground; he ought also to know how to take the advantage of a side-wind, and to be well acquainted with what compass his arrows would require in their flight: courage is also an indispensable requisite, for whoever, says our author, shoots with the least trepidation, he is sure to shoot badly. One great fault in particular he complains of, which young archers generally fall into, and that is, the direction of the eye to the end of the arrow, rather than to the mark; to obviate this evil habit, he advises such as were so accustomed, to shoot in the dark, by night, at lights set up at a proper distance for that purpose. He then concludes with observing, that “bad tutorage” was rarely amended in grown-up persons; and therefore he held it essentially necessary that great attention should be paid to the teaching of an archer properly, while he was young; “for children,” says he, “if sufficient pains are taken with them at the onset, may much more easily be taught to shoot well, than men,” because the latter have frequently more trouble to unlearn their bad habits, than was primitively requisite to learn them good ones.

Kings and princes have been celebrated for their skill in archery, and among those of our own country may be placed King Henry VII., who in his youth was partial to this exercise, and therefore it is said of him in an old poem, written in praise of the Princess Elizabeth, afterwards Queen to Henry VII.

See where he shoteth at the butts,

And with hym are lordes three;

He weareth a gowne of velvette blacke,

And it is coted above the knee.

He also amused himself with the bow after he had obtained the crown, as we find from an account of his expenditures, where the following memorandums occur: “Lost to my Lord Morgan at buttes, six shillings and eightpence:” and again, “Paid to Sir Edward Boroughes thirteen shillings and fourpence which the kynge lost at buttes with his cross-bowe.” Both the sons of King Henry followed his example, and were excellent archers.

In a curious manuscript of the time of Queen Elizabeth, is this account of an archer and all his necessary appendages:—“Captains and officers should be skilful of that most noble weapon, and see that their soldiers, according to their draft and strength, have good bows, well notched, well strynged, and every strynge whippe in their noche; and in the myddes rubbed with wax, braser, and shooting glove; some spare strynges trymed as aforesaid; every man one shefe of arrows, with a case of leather defensible against the rayne; and in the same fower and twentie arrows, whereof eight of them should be lighter than the residue; to gall or astonye the enemye with the hail-shot of light arrows, before they shall come within the danger of the harquebuss shot. Let every man have a brigandine or a little cote of plate, a skull or huskyn, a mawle of leade of five foote in lengthe, and a fusee, and the same hanging by his girdle with a hooke and a dagger; being thus furnished, teach them by musters to marche, shoote, and retire, keeping their faces upon the enemy’s. Sum tyme put them into great nowmbers, as to battle appertayneth; and thus use them oftentimes practised, till they be perfecte; for those men in battel or skirmish cannot be spared. No other weapon maye compare with the same noble weapon.”

The Royal Company of Scotland, one of the most ancient associations in the empire, is said to owe its origin to the commissioners who were originally appointed by James I., to superintend and regulate the exercise of archery throughout the kingdom. These commissioners, who were generally people of character and respectability, picked out among the number of men under their superintendence, the most expert archers; and, in cases of emergency, made a present of their services to the government, in order that they might form the king’s bodyguard. While in this situation, they gave repeated instances of their courage and dexterity. Within seven miles of Edinburgh, the royal company still claims the rank of the King’s Chief Body Guards. In the year 1677, this company was known under the name and title of His Majesty’s Company of Archers; and in the same year, and by the same act of the privy council, a piece of plate of the value of twenty pounds was shot for at the annual parades of the company, called Weapon-shawings; this plate was denominated the “King’s Prize.” At the period to which we are at present alluding, the Royal Company consisted of the principal nobility of Scotland. But the revolutionary principles to which they so tenaciously adhered, almost annihilated their consequence, and withheld the continuance of the King’s prize. Their original magnificence was, however, revived on the accession of Queen Anne to the throne; but their attachment to the unfortunate and ill-fated house of Stuart, again proved the declension of their splendour. But these differences, by the annihilation of the family to whom they are attached, have now subsided, and they are now reinstated in all their former consequence. In 1788 the annual prize was revived and shot for, in the presence of a numerous body of spectators. We may here observe, that the three principal bodies of archers in England and Scotland, are now incorporated in one; by the union of the Woodmen of Arden, the Toxopholites, and the Royal Society of Archers. The prizes, which properly belong to the latter, and which are annually shot for, are, first, a silver arrow, which was presented by the town of Musselburgh, which seems to have been shot for as far back as the year 1603. Whoever gains this may take charge of it for a year; at the expiration of which period it is returned with any device that his imagination may suggest. Second, a silver arrow, which, in A. D. 1626, was granted by the town of Peebles. Third, a silver arrow, given by the town of Edinburgh, A. D. 1709. Fourth, a silver punch-bowl, about the value of fifty pounds, made at the expense of the company of Scotch silversmiths. Fifth, the king’s prize, which is the entire property of the winner. These prizes are shot for at what is called rovers: the marks are placed at the distance of one hundred and eighty-five yards. The uniform of the Royal Company of Archers is tartan, lined with white, and trimmed with green and white fringes; a white sash with green tassels, and a blue bonnet with St. Andrew’s feather and cross. They have also two standards; on one of which is inscribed, “Nemo me impune lacessit;” on the other, “Dulce pro patria periculum.”—Ascham—Strutt—Ency. Lon.

Arcubalister, s. obs. A cross-bow man.

Arm, s. The limb which reaches from the hand to the shoulder; the large bough of a tree; an inlet of water from the sea; in sporting parlance, that portion of the horse’s fore-leg comprised between the shoulder and the knee.

Aromatic, a. Spicy; fragrant, strong-scented.

Aromatics, s. Spices; stimulants, as cinnamon, cloves, &c.

Arquebuse, s. obs. A hand gun.

Arrack, s. A spirituous liquor.

Arrow, s. The pointed weapon which is shot from a bow.

“There are three essential parts in the composition of the arrow,” says Ascham, “the stele or wand, the feathers, and the head. The stele was not always made with the same species of wood, but varied as occasion required, to suit the different manners of shooting practised by the archers;” he commends sound ash for military arrows, and preferred it to asp, which in his day was generally used for arrows belonging to the army; but for pastime, he thought that none were better than those made of oak, hardbeam, or birch; “but after all,” says he, “in this point I hold it best to trust to the recommendation of an honest fletcher.” The feathers from the wing of a goose, and especially of a grey goose, he thought were preferable to any others for the pluming of an arrow.

English arrows then had forked heads and broad heads, but round pointed heads resembling a bodkin were reckoned better. The notch, or small hollow part at the bottom of the arrow, made for the reception of the bow-string, was varied as occasion required, or at the will of the archer, being sometimes deep and narrow, and sometimes broad and not deep.

An arrow, weighing from twenty to twenty-four pennyweights, made of yew, was considered by archers to be the best that could be made. The feathers of a goose should be used; and the bird from which they are taken should be two or three years of age. In an arrow, it is remarkable that two out of three feathers are commonly white, as they are plucked from the gander; but the third is usually brown or grey, being taken from the goose; and this difference of colour shows the archer when the arrow is properly placed. The expression of the “grey goose’s wing,” in the old ballad of Chevy Chase, is an allusion to this occurrence; originally, arrows were armed with flint or metal heads; latterly with iron of different forms and names. Henry IV. ordained that all arrows should be well boiled or brased, and hardened at the points with steel. Arrows were usually reckoned by sheaves; a sheaf consisting of twenty-four arrows. They were carried in a quiver, called an arrow case, which served for the magazine. In ancient times, different species of combustible materials were attached to the heads of arrows, and shot from long bows; and even subsequently to the invention of gunpowder this mode has been carried into execution. According to Neade, an archer may shoot an ounce of fireworks from an arrow twelve score yards. Among the stores at Berwick and Newhaven, in the reign of Edward VI., arrows with wildfire are enumerated. Some slight opinion of the strength of an arrow in its full flight, may be formed from the account given by Edward VI. in his journal: he observes, that one hundred archers shot arrows each before him, and afterwards altogether; that they shot at an inch board: some pierced it through and stuck in the other board, and others pierced it through with the heads of their arrows.—Ascham—Strutt.

Arsenic, s. A mineral, the preparations for which are sometimes used in veterinary practice.

There are two kinds, white and yellow: white arsenic is a powerful tonic, and has been given with success in glanders and farcy. Yellow arsenic, mixed with lard, is used to remove warts, and in fistula and poll-evil.

Arsenical, a. Containing arsenic.

Arterial, a. That which relates to the artery; that which is contained in the artery.

Artery, s. An artery is a conical vessel, conveying the blood from the heart to all parts of the body.

Articular, a. Belonging to the joints.

Asafœtida, s. A very offensive-smelling gum. It has antispasmodic qualities; and in veterinary practice is said to be serviceable in coughs, thick wind, and lock-jaw.

Ascarides, s. Little worms generally found in the rectum.

Ascites, s. For this disease in horses and dogs, see White, Blaine, &c.—Vide Anasarca.

Ash-colour, s. A colour between brown and gray.

Ash colour, pearl colour, or golden cinnamon.—Take some walnut roots and boil till your stuff begins to strike, then add some galls; boil till it comes up near to what you want, and then add some copperas, but very sparingly.

ANOTHER METHOD.

Take a little fresh black-thorn bark and a few young tops of briar; boil them in water, and when you think all the dye is extracted, take them out, and put in a small bit of your stuff for trial, and, if you like the colour, put in the whole when boiling, and boil till it comes to your liking. Bush-thorn bark, when ground, if fresh, will, in turmeric, give a rich golden cinnamon.

Ash-coloured Falcon, s. This bird is smaller than the Hen Harrier or Ringtail, with which it is frequently confounded. It is a scarce bird, though Selby says he has taken it in Northumberland, where it breeds on the open moors. Pennant calls it a variety of the Ringtail.

Asinine, a. Belonging to an ass.

Ass, s. An animal of burden.

This animal, though now so common in all parts of these islands, was entirely lost among us during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, for Hollingshed informs us, that in his time “our lande did yield no asses.” Yet we are not to suppose that so useful an animal was unknown here before that period; in fact, mention is made of them as early as the time of King Ethelred, above five hundred years preceding, and again in the reign of Henry III., so that it must have been owing to some accident that the race was extinct during the reign of Elizabeth. We are not certain as to the time it was again introduced, probably in the succeeding reign, when our intercourse with Spain was renewed, in which country this animal was greatly used.

Their constitution is so hardy, that even in the depth of winter, the most wretched hovel is sufficient for them from the cold; and so temperate are they with respect to food, that they can subsist on such vegetables as almost any other animal would refuse to eat. The thistle and plantain, which generally grow in abundance on waste lands and along the sides of roads, afford them a sufficient feast after their day of toil is concluded.

When young they are sprightly, handsome, light, and even graceful; but they soon lose those qualities, either from age or bad treatment, and become slow, stubborn, and headstrong. The ass is strongly attached to his master, notwithstanding he is usually ill-treated; he will scent him at a great distance, and distinguish him from any other person. Of all the animals covered with hair he is the least subject to vermin, which apparently proceeds from the peculiar hardness and dryness of the skin; and for the same reason he is less sensible than the horse to the whip, and to the stinging of flies.

The milk of the ass is the lightest of all milks, and is recommended by medical men to persons of delicate stomachs.

The age of the ass is equal to that of the horse, and even in some instances, exceeds it. One which died in 1782 had been employed in turning the water-wheel at a deep well in Carisbrook Castle for forty years.

By far the largest breed of asses at this time known in the world is in Spain; they are large, strong, elegant, and stately animals, often fifteen hands or more in height. The best of this breed sell there at very high prices, sometimes for as much as a hundred guineas each, and upwards. In other countries of Europe the ass is nearly as much neglected as it is in Great Britain. In Sardinia there is a race of asses that are very little larger than dogs; they seldom exceed two feet in height, and are in all respects proportionately small.

As the skin of the ass is very hard, and very elastic, it is used for different purposes, such as to make drums, shoes, and thick parchment for pocket-books, which latter is slightly varnished over. It is also of ass’s skin that the orientals make their sagri, or, as we call it, shagreen. Probably, too, the bones of asses are harder than those of other animals, since the ancients made their best-sounding flutes of them. In proportion to his size, the ass can carry a greater weight than any other animal; he sleeps much less than the horse, and never lies down for that purpose, unless very much tired.—Le Keux.

Asthma, s. A frequent, difficult, and short respiration, joined with a hissing sound and a cough.

Asthma in Dogs.

The Canine Asthma is hardly ever observed to attack any but old dogs, or those who, by confinement, too full living, and want of exercise, may be supposed to have become diseased by these deviations from a state of nature. It is hardly possible to keep a dog very fat, for any great length of time, without bringing it on. This cough is frequently confounded with the cough that precedes and accompanies distemper; but it may be readily distinguished from this, by an attention to circumstances—as the age of the animal, its not affecting the general health, nor producing immediate emaciation, and its less readily giving way to medicine. The cure is often very difficult, because the disease has in general been long neglected before it is sufficiently noticed by the owners. As it is in general brought on by confinement, too much warmth, and over-feeding, so it is evident the cure must be begun by a steady persevering alteration in these particulars. The medicines most useful are alteratives, and of those, occasionally, emetics are the best. One grain of tartarised antimony (i. e. tartar emetic), with two, three, or four grains of calomel, is a very useful and valuable emetic. This dose is sufficient for a small dog, and may be repeated twice a week with great success—always with palliation.

It derives its origin from the artificial mode of life forced on pet and fancy dogs, whose close confinement and over-feeding lead to an extraordinary accumulation of fat: and according to the degree in which these predisposing causes have been applied, the disease appears earlier or later in life. In some it comes on at three or four years old: in others, rather less artificially treated, it may not appear until seven or eight.

In some cases, the irritation of the cough, and the accompanying hectic, emaciates and wears down the animal: in others, the pulmonary congestion stops respiration, and kills by a sudden suffocation; or the obstruction the blood meets with in its passage through the heart, occasions accumulation in the head, and convulsive fits are the precursors of death. Now and then a rupture of the heart, or of some large blood-vessel, suddenly destroys: but by far the most common termination of the complaint is in dropsy, or serous collections within the chest or belly, or both, but most frequently of the latter. In these cases, the limbs and external parts of the body waste, but the belly increases in its size; the legs also swell; the hair stares; the breathing becomes very laborious; and, in the end, suffocation ensues.

Of the various remedial plans I have pursued, none have appeared more uniformly beneficial than a course of emetics, steadily persisted in twice a week. In the intermediate days alteratives were administered, with the occasional use of a purgative, provided the dog was strong, fat, and plethoric; otherwise this was dispensed with: but it should be remembered, that this remedial plan must be uniformly and long continued, to ensure permanent benefit. The alterative is as follows:—