65. If a person agree to play with the cue, he is obliged to play with
it during the whole of the game or match; but if no agreement have been
made, he may at any time change it for the mace, and _vice versâ_. But
when the parties agree to play mace against cue, the mace player has no
right to use a cue, nor has the cue player any right to use a mace,
without permission.
66. When a person agrees to play with a cue, he must play every ball
within his reach with the point thereof; and if he should agree to play
with the butt of the cue, he has no right at any time to play with the
point without permission. Also, when the parties agree to play _point
and point_ of the cue, neither of them has any right to use the _butt_:
but every person who plays with a cue, may use occasionally a long one,
and in such case he may play with the point of a long cue or a mace.
67. If the striker should make his mace or cue touch both balls at the
same time, it is deemed a foul stroke, and if discovered by the
adversary, he wins nothing for any points he might make by the stroke,
and the adversary may break or part the balls.
68. Whenever a foul stroke is made, it is at the option of the adversary
either to part the balls, and play from the striking ring, as at the
beginning, or, if the balls happen to be in a favourable position for
himself, to suffer the preceding striker to score the points; which the
marker is obliged to do in every case where the balls are not broken.
69. The adversary only is bound to see that the striker plays fair,
which, if he neglect, the striker wins all the points he may have made
by that particular stroke, and the marker is obliged to score them.
70. No person has a right to discover whether a stroke be fair or foul
until asked, unless during a four match; and in that case none but the
player or his partner has a right to ask it.
71. Should a dispute arise between the players concerning the fairness
of a stroke, the marker alone is authorised to decide, and from his
decision there is no appeal: but if he happen to be incompetent, the
majority of the disinterested company then present should decide the
dispute.
72. Whoever proposes to part the balls, and his adversary agrees, the
person who made the proposal loses the lead.
73. No person in the room has a right to bet more than the odds on a
hazard or a game; but if he err through ignorance, he should appeal to
the marker, or the table of the odds. Each person who proposes a bet
should name the precise sum; and also should be extremely careful not to
offer a bet when the striker has taken his aim, or is going to strike;
and no bet ought to be proposed on any stroke, that may have any
tendency to influence the player. If A propose a bet which is accepted
by B, it must be confirmed by A, otherwise it is no bet. If any bets be
laid on the hazard, and the striker should lose the game by a miss, at
the stroke in question, it cannot be a hazard, the game being out by a
miss. In all cases the betters are to abide by the determination of the
players, and the betters have a right to demand their money when their
game is over.
74. Every person ought to be very attentive, and listen for the stroke,
before he opens the door of a billiard-room.
75. The striker has a right to command his adversary not to stand facing
or near him, so as to annoy or molest him in his stroke.
76. Each party is to take care of his own game, and his adversary has no
right to answer any questions; as, if the ball be close?—if he touch the
ball? &c.
77. The marker should make those persons who do not play stand from the
table, and give room for the players to pass freely round.
78. Those who play ought to be particularly careful and attentive to
their strokes, when any bets are depending thereon: but even should they
play carelessly, the bets must, in every case, be decided by the event.
79. No person has any right to discover to the player in what manner he
may play his ball. And if it be done, and discovered by the adversary,
he may prevent the striker from scoring the points he has made by the
stroke. Neither, after a stroke has been played, has any one a right to
detect any error the striker may have committed.
* * * * *
_The Dutch Baron._—A few years since the gentlemen of the green cloth
were put out of cue, by a hero of the hazard table imported from the
continent by one of the squad, who, while he pretended to be playing the
losing game, was shrewdly suspected of going snacks in all that rolls
into the pocket.
The Dutch baron was introduced by his friend, who happened to have known
him at Hamburgh. He played in a crowd of billiard amateurs and
professors, many of whom were raw, and lost about one hundred and fifty
guineas with the utmost _sang froid_. Upon his retiring, his friend told
the company he was a fine pigeon, a Dutch baron, who had emigrated from
Holland, with immense property, and who would as readily lose ten
thousand pounds as ten guineas. “Who is he?” was eagerly inquired. “A
Dutch baron, as rich as a Jew,” was answered in a whisper.
No Batavian ever laid out an hundred and fifty guineas so well as the
Dutch baron. The whole corps of riflemen flocked around him like a swarm
of fish at a piece of bread. But little P——, well known at Bath, who
thought he best knew how to make his market, like a man of business,
applied to the baron’s friend to have the first plucking. The friend, as
a great favour, engaged to use his influence; little P—— was at the
billiard table the first man in the morning, that he might secure the
play in his own hands. The baron came: to it they went; little P—— kept
back his play: the Dutch baron played but poorly. Fair strokes he often
missed; but whenever he was at an important point he won as if by
accident. On they went—Hambletonian and Diamond. Little P—— was afraid
of frightening the baron, by disclosing the extent of his play; the
baron played so as to persuade every one he knew little of the game. The
contest was who should play worst at indifferent periods, and who,
without seeming to play well, should play best at important points. The
baron won all on great occasions, till little P—— had lost about £100.
But the baron managed so well that no one thought he could play at all,
and although little P—— was sickened, yet the bait of 150 guineas found
plenty of customers. Some of them, the greatest adepts in the kingdom,
gave the baron, at starting, three points in the game; but the baron’s
accidental good play was so superior, whenever a stake was down, he at
last gave three points to those who had given him three points, and
still beat them—by accident; and before the billiard knowing ones at
Bath would stop, the baron had won nearly ten thousand pounds, with
which he made a bow, and came to London.
But this Dutch nobleman’s fame travelled almost as fast as himself, and
he was found out; not, however, till he had sweated some of the most
knowing gentlemen of the cue.
He concealed his play so well, that no one could form an idea of its
extent. To the best billiard players he gave points, and always won on
important occasions. He seemed to be a very conjurer, commanding the
balls to roll as he pleased; and there was nothing to be named, that it
is not supposed he could accomplish.
And who was the Dutch baron? In Hamburgh, he was the marker at a
billiard table!—_Hoyle_—_Anecdotes of Play._
BIN, _s._ A place where corn or wine is deposited.
BIPAROUS, _a._ Bringing forth two at a birth.
BIPED, _s._ An animal with two feet.
BIPENNATED, _a._ Having two wings.
BIRD, _s._ A general term for the feathered kind, a fowl.
The term of life varies greatly in birds, and does not seem to bear the
same proportion to the time of acquiring their growth, as has been
remarked with regard to quadrupeds.
Most birds acquire their full dimensions in the course of a few months,
and are capable of propagation the first summer after they are hatched.
In proportion to the size of their bodies, birds possess more vitality,
and live longer, than either man or quadrupeds: notwithstanding the
difficulties which arise in ascertaining the age of birds, there are
instances of great longevity in many of them. Geese and swans have been
known to attain to the age of seventy and upwards; ravens are very
long-lived birds—they are said sometimes to exceed a century; eagles are
supposed to arrive at a great age; pigeons are known to live more than
twenty years; and even linnets, and other small birds, have been kept in
cages from fifteen to twenty years.
* * * * *
Every part of their frame is formed for lightness and buoyancy; their
bodies are covered with a soft and delicate plumage, so disposed as to
protect them from the intense cold of the atmosphere through which they
pass; their wings are made of the lightest materials, and yet the force
with which they strike the air is so great, as to impel their bodies
forward with astonishing rapidity, whilst the tail serves the purpose of
a rudder, to direct them to the different objects of their pursuit. The
internal structure of birds is no less wisely adapted to the same
purposes: all the bones are light and thin, and all the muscles, except
those which are appropriated to the purpose of moving the wings, are
extremely delicate and light; the lungs are placed close to the
back-bone and ribs, the air, entering into them by a communication from
the wind-pipe, passes through, and is conveyed into a number of
membranous cells which lie upon the sides of the pericardium, and
communicate with those of the sternum. In some birds these cells are
continued down the wings, and extended even to the pinions, thigh-bones,
and other parts of the body, which can be filled and distended with air
at the pleasure of the animal.—_Vide_ AIR CELLS.
* * * * *
It seems evident that this general diffusion of air through the bodies
of birds is of infinite use to them, not only in their long and
laborious flights, but likewise in preventing their respiration from
being stopped or interrupted by the rapidity of their motion through a
resisting medium. Were it possible for man to move with the swiftness of
a swallow, the actual resistance of the air, as he is not provided with
internal reservoirs similar to those of birds, would soon suffocate him.
* * * * *
The migration of birds would appear miraculous, did we not know their
extraordinary power of flight. Speaking of this, Bewick says—“If we can
suppose a bird to go at the rate of only half a mile in a minute, for
the space of twenty-four hours, it will have gone over, in that time, an
extent of more than seven hundred miles, which is sufficient to account
for almost the longest migration; but, if aided by a favourable current
of air, there is reason to suppose that the same journey may be
performed in a much shorter space of time. To these observations we may
add, that the sight of birds is peculiarly quick and piercing; and from
the advantage they possess in being raised to considerable heights in
the air, they are enabled, with a sagacity peculiar to instinctive
knowledge, to discover the route they are to take, from the appearance
of the atmosphere, the clouds, the direction of the winds, and other
causes; so that, without having recourse to improbable modes, it is easy
to conceive, from the velocity of their speed alone, that most birds may
transport themselves to countries lying at great distances, and across
vast tracts of ocean.”
* * * * *
In speaking of the flight of birds, Mr. Rennie says—“Their capability of
performing flights much longer than there is any necessity for
supposing, may be proved by numerous facts. Even a sparrow has been
calculated to fly at the rate of not less than thirty miles an hour, and
many experiments prove that the eider duck can fly ninety miles in the
same time. The common kite (_falco milvus_) has been observed to pass,
without great exertion, over a space of a quarter of a league, in a
minute; and it could fly, with ease, from Cape Pruth to the Land’s End,
in a single day. M. Audubon, the distinguished ornithologist, has shot
the passenger pigeon of America, and on dissection, found its stomach
full of fresh rice, which, to have resisted the digestive process, must
have been swallowed _not many hours_ preceding its death, but could not
have been obtained within eight hundred miles of the place where it was
killed. Though the nightingale, the willow-wren, and other birds of
passage, fly with only half the swiftness, they may easily arrive in
most parts of the south of Europe, or the north of Africa, in a few
days.”—_Bewick_—_Rennie_—_Montagu._
BIRD, _v. obs._ To catch birds.
BIRDBOLT, _s._ A small arrow with three heads, which was anciently
discharged at birds from a cross-bow.
BIRD-CATCHER, _s._ One that makes it his employment to take birds.
BIRD-CATCHING, _s._ The act of taking birds or wild fowl, whether
for food, for the pleasure of their song, or for their
destruction, as being pernicious to the husbandman, &c. The
methods are by birdlime, nets, decoys, &c. See BIRDLIME, DECOYS,
NETS, &c.
In the suburbs of London there are many persons, who, during the months
of October and March, get their livelihood by an ingenious, and we may
add, a scientific, method of bird-catching, which is totally unknown to
other parts of Great Britain. The reason of this trade being confined to
so small a compass, arises from there being no considerable sale for
singing birds except in the metropolis; and as the apparatus for their
purpose is heavy, and must be carried on a man’s back, it prevents the
bird-catchers going to above three or four miles’ distance. This method
of bird-catching must have been long practised, as it is brought to a
most systematic perfection, and is attended with very considerable
expense. The nets are a most ingenious piece of mechanism, are generally
twelve yards and a half long, and two and a half wide; and no one, till
he becomes eye-witness of the puller’s success, would imagine that a
bird, which is so very quick in all its motions, could be caught by the
nets flapping over each other. The wild birds fly, as the bird-catchers
term it, chiefly during the month of October, and part of September and
November, as the flight in March is much less considerable than that of
Michaelmas. The several species of birds do not make their appearance
precisely at the same time during the months of September, October, and
November. The pipet, a small species of lark, but inferior to the others
in singing, for example, begins to fly about Michaelmas, and then the
woodlark, linnet, goldfinch, chaffinch, greenfinch, and other birds of
flight, succeed; all of which are not easily caught, or in any numbers
at any other time, and more particularly the pipet and the woodlark.
These birds, during the Michaelmas and March flights, are chiefly on the
wing from day-break to noon, though there is afterwards a small flight
from two till night, but this is so inconsiderable, that the
bird-catchers take up their nets at noon. It well deserves the attention
of the naturalist whence these periodical flights of certain birds
arise. As the ground, however, is ploughed during the months of October
and March for sowing the winter and spring corn, it should seem that
they are thus supplied with a profusion both of seeds and insects, which
they cannot so easily procure at any other season. It has been observed,
too, that, during their sitting, they fly always against the wind;
hence, there is great contention amongst the bird-catchers, who shall
gain that point. If, for example, it is westerly, the bird-catcher who
lays his nets most to the east, is sure almost of catching every thing,
provided his call birds are good; a gentle wind to the south-west
generally produces the best sport. The bird-catcher generally carries
with him five or six linnets, of which more are caught than any other
singing-bird, two goldfinches, two greenfinches, one woodlark, one
redpole, a yellow hammer, titlark and aberdevine, and perhaps a
bullfinch; these are placed at small distances from the nets, in little
cages. He has besides what are called slur-birds, which are placed
within the nets, are raised upon the slur, and gently let down at the
time the wild bird approaches them. The slur is a moveable perch to
which the bird is tied, and which the bird-catcher can raise at pleasure
by means of a long string fastened to it. The slur-birds generally
consist of the linnet, goldfinch, and greenfinch, which are secured to
the slur by what is called a brace, which secures the bird without
injuring the plumage. It is a sort of bandage, formed of a slender
silken string, fastened round the body, and under the wings, so as to
hinder the bird from being hurt, let it flutter ever so much. As it has
been found that there is a superiority in birds that are in song, the
bird-catchers contrive that their call-birds should moult before the
usual time. They therefore, in June or July, put them into a box, quite
close under two or three folds of blankets, and leave their dung in the
cage to raise a greater heat, in which state they continue, being
perhaps examined but once a week to have fresh water. As for food, the
air is so putrid, that they eat little during the whole state of
confinement; which lasts about a month. The birds frequently die under
the operation, and hence the value of a stopped bird, as the
bird-catchers style it, rises greatly. When the bird has thus
prematurely moulted, he is in song whilst the wild birds are out of
song, and his note is louder and more piercing than that of a wild one;
but it is not only in his note he receives an alteration, the plumage is
also improved. The black and yellow in the wings of the goldfinch, for
example, become deeper and more vivid, and acquire a beautiful gloss,
which is not to be seen in the wild bird. The bill, which, in the
latter, is black at the end, in the stopped bird becomes white and more
taper, as do its legs; in short, there is as much difference between a
wild and a stopped bird, as there is between a horse kept in
body-clothes, and one at grass. When the bird-catcher has laid his nets,
he disposes his call-birds at proper intervals. There is a most
malicious joy in these call-birds, to bring the wild ones into the same
captivity, which may likewise be observed with regard to decoy ducks.
(_See_ DECOY.) Their sight and hearing infinitely excel those of the
bird-catcher. The moment they see a hawk they communicate the alarm to
each other by a plaintive note, nor will they then jerk or call though
the wild birds are near. But at any other time, the instant that the
wild birds are perceived, notice is given by one to the rest of the
call-birds, as by the first hound that hits on the scent, to the rest of
the pack, after which follows the same sort of tumultuous joy. The
call-birds, while the bird is at a distance, do not sing as a bird does
in a chamber; they invite the wild ones by what the bird-catchers call
short jerks, which, when the birds are good, may be heard at a great
distance. The ascendancy by this call is so great, that the wildest bird
is stopped in his flight; and, if not a sharper, as the bird-catchers
style a bird acquainted with the nets, lights boldly within twenty yards
perhaps of three or four bird-catchers, on a spot which, otherwise, it
would not have taken the least notice of. Nay, it frequently happens,
that if only half a flock are caught, the remainder will immediately
after light in the nets, and share the same fate, and should only one
bird escape, that bird will suffer itself to be pulled at till it is
caught, such a fascinating power have these call-birds.
Here it is worth mentioning, that the bird-catchers frequently lay
considerable wagers whose call-bird can jerk the longest, as that
determines the superiority. They place them opposite to each other, by
an inch of candle, and the bird who jerks the oftenest before the candle
is burnt out, wins the wager. There have been instances of a bird giving
170 jerks in a quarter of an hour; and of a linnet, in such a trial,
persevering in its emulation till it swooned from the perch. Birds, when
near each other, and in sight, seldom jerk or sing. They either fight,
or use short and wheedling calls; the jerking of these call-birds,
therefore, face to face, is a most extraordinary instance of contention
for superiority in song.
Various methods are used to catch different kinds of birds. The
bullfinch, though not properly a singing bird, or a bird of flight, as
it does not move farther than from hedge to hedge, yet, as it sells well
on account of its learning to whistle tunes, and sometimes flies over
where the nets are laid, the bird-catchers have often a call-bird to
ensnare it, though most of them can imitate the call with their mouths.
It is remarkable that the female bullfinch answers the purpose of a
call-bird as well as the male, which is not experienced in any other
species of bird taken by the London bird-catchers. The nightingale is
not a bird of flight, in the sense in which the bird-catchers use the
term. Like the robin, wren, and many other singing birds, it only moves
from hedge to hedge, and does not take the periodical flights in October
and March. Those who catch these birds make use of small trap-nets,
without call-birds, and are considered as inferior in dignity to other
bird-catchers, who will not rank with them. The arrival of the
nightingale is expected by the trappers in the neighbourhood of London,
the first week in April; at the beginning, none but cocks are taken, but
in a few days the hens make their appearance, generally by themselves,
though sometimes with a few males. The latter are distinguished from the
females, not only by their superior size, but by a great swelling of
their vent, which commences on the first arrival of the hens. They are
caught in a net-trap, the bottom of which is surrounded with an iron
ring; the net itself is rather larger than a cabbage-net. When the
trappers hear or see them, they strew some fresh mould under the place,
and bait the trap with a meal-worm. Ten or a dozen have been thus caught
in a day. The common way of taking larks (_Vide_ LARK) is in the night,
with nets called trammels. These are usually made of thirty-six yards in
length, and about six yards over, with six ribs of pack-thread, which at
the ends are put upon two poles about sixteen feet long, and made lesser
at each end. These are to be drawn over the ground by two men, and every
five or six steps the net is made to touch the ground, otherwise it
would pass over the birds without touching them. When they are felt to
fly up against the net, it is clapped down, and then all are safe that
are under it. The darkest nights are best for this sport; and the net
will not only take larks but all other birds that roost on the ground.
In the depth of winter people sometimes take great numbers of larks by
nooses of horse-hair. The method is this:—Take 100 or 300 yards of
pack-thread; fasten at every six inches a noose made of horse-hair; at
every twenty yards the line is to be pegged down to the ground, and so
left ready to take them. The time to use this is when the ground is
covered with snow, and the larks are to be allured to it by some white
oats, scattered all the way among the nooses. They must be taken away as
soon as three or four are hung, otherwise the rest will be frightened,
but though the others are scared away just where the sportsman comes,
they will be feeding at the other end of the line, and the sport may be
thus continued for a long time. Those caught in the day are taken in
clap-nets of fifteen yards long, and two and a half broad, and are
enticed within their reach by bits of looking-glass, fixed in a piece of
a wood, and placed in the middle of the nets, which are put in a quick
whirling motion by the string the larker commands; he also makes use of
a decoy-lark. These nets are used only till the fourteenth of November,
for the larks will not dare to frolic in the air except in fine sunny
weather, and of course cannot be inveigled into the snare. When the
weather grows gloomy, the larker changes his engine, and makes use of a
trammel-net, twenty-seven or twenty-eight feet long, and five broad,
which is put on two poles eighteen feet long, and carried by men under
each arm, who pass over the field and quarter the ground like a setting
dog; when they hear or feel a lark hit the net, they drop it down, and
so the birds are taken. Linnæus observes, that the male chaffinches fly
by themselves, and in the flight precede the females, but this is not
peculiar to them. When the tit-larks are caught in the beginning of the
season, it frequently happens that forty are taken and not one female
among them, and probably the same would be observed as to other birds
(as has been done with relation to the wheatear) if they were attended
to. Experienced bird-catchers tell us, that such birds as breed twice a
year, generally have in their first brood a majority of males, and in
their second, of females, which may, in part, account for the above
observation.
BIRDING-PIECE, _s._ A gun to shoot birds with; an ancient
fowling-piece.
BIRDLIME, _s._ A glutinous substance spread upon twigs, by which the
birds that light upon them are entangled.
Birdlime is prepared in different ways. The best birdlime is made of the
middle bark of the holly boiled seven or eight hours in water, till it
is soft and tender, then laid in heaps in pits in the ground, and
covered with stones, the water being previously drawn from it, and in
this state left for two or three weeks to ferment, till it is reduced to
a kind of mucilage. This being taken from the pit, is pounded in a
mortar, to a paste, washed in river water, and kneaded, till it is free
from extraneous matters. In this state it is left four or five days in
earthen vessels, to ferment and purify itself, when it is fit for use.
It reddens tincture of litmus. Exposed to a gentle heat, it liquifies
slightly, swells in bubbles, becomes grumous, emits a smell resembling
that of animal oils, grows brown, but recovers its properties on
cooling, if not heated too much. The residuum contains sulphate and
muriate of potash, carbonate of lime, and alumina, with a small portion
of iron.
The misletoe affords a juice superior to that of the holly; and if a
young shoot of the common alder be cut through, a stringy juice will
draw out in threads, and follow the knife like birdlime, or the juice of
the holly.
When birdlime is to be put in wet places, the common birdlime is apt to
have its force soon taken away. It is necessary, therefore, to have
recourse to a particular sort, which, from its property of bearing water
unhurt, is called water birdlime, and is prepared thus: Take a pound of
strong birdlime, wash it in spring water till the hardness is all
removed; then beat it well, that the water may be well separated, so as
not a drop remains; then dry it well, and put it into an earthen pot,
add to it as much grease as will make it run, with two teaspoonfuls of
strong vinegar, one spoonful of oil, and a small quantity of Venice
turpentine; let the whole boil for some minutes over a moderate fire,
stirring it all the while; then take it off, and, when there is occasion
to use it, warm it, and cover the sticks well with it. This is the best
sort of birdlime for snipes, and other birds that frequent wet places.
The most successful method of using birdlime is this:—Cut down the
branch of any bushy tree, whose twigs are thick, straight, and smooth.
The willow and the birch tree afford the best of this kind. Let all the
superfluous shoots be trimmed off, and the twigs all made neat and
clean; they must all be well covered with the birdlime, within four
inches of the bottom: no part of the bark where the lime should come
must be left bare; but it is a nice matter to lay it on properly, for if
it be too thick it will give the birds a distaste, and they will not
come near it; and if there be too little of it, it will not hold when
they come there. When the bush is thus prepared, it must be set up in
some dead hedge, or among bushes near the outskirts of a town, or the
like, in the spring, for these places are the resort of small birds at
that time. If it be used in summer, the bush must be placed in the midst
of a quickset hedge, or in whitethorn trees, near fields of corn; and,
in the winter, the proper places are about stacks of corn, hovels,
barns, and the like. When the lime-bush is thus planted, the sportsman
must stand as near it as he can without being discovered, and with the
mouth, or otherwise, make such notes as the birds do when they attack or
call to one another. The time of day for this sport is from sunrise to
ten o’clock, and from one to sunset. Another very good method of
bringing the birds together is by a stale. A bat makes a very good
stale, but it must be fastened so as to be in sight at a distance. An
owl is a still better stale, for this bird never goes abroad but it is
followed by all the small birds. They will gather together in great
numbers about it, and having no convenient place to sit on but the
lime-bush, many will be taken. If a living owl or bat is not to be had,
the skin stuffed will serve the purpose, and will last twenty years.
Some have used the image of an owl carved in wood, and painted in the
natural colours, and it has been found to succeed very well.