Bill of middle length, slender, straight, soft, flexible throughout;
compressed from the base; at the point depressed, flattened, and broader
than in the middle, the nasal groove being prolonged towards the point;
nostrils at the sides slit lengthwise; legs slender, three toes directed
forwards, and almost entirely divided; wings of middle size, the first
quill the longest.—_Montagu._
CALIVER, _s. obs._ A hand-gun, or harquebuse; an old musket.
CALL, _v._ To name; to make a noise like quails and partridges.
CALL, _s._ An instrument to call birds.
_The Call of Birds_ is, in most instances, effected by the lungs and
larynx; but some species of woodpecker, in the breeding season, have a
very extraordinary and peculiar call to each other, by strong reiterated
strokes of their bill against the dead sonorous branch of a tree. These
calls seem to be a species of song.—_Montagu._
CALLOSITY, _s._ A kind of swelling without pain.
CALLOUS, _a._ Hardened, insensible.
CALLOW, _a._ Unfledged, naked, wanting feathers.
CALOMEL, _s._ Mercury six times sublimed.
Calomel, or _submuriate of mercury_, is the most useful of the mercurial
preparations, and composed of oxide of quicksilver and muriatic acid.
When prepared it is a fine white powder, rather inclining to yellow, and
very ponderous. It is the most efficacious _anthelminthic_ we are
acquainted with (see ANTHELMINTHIC), and an excellent _alterative_. When
a brisk purgative is wanted, calomel may be added to the common physic,
which is composed chiefly of aloes.
Though calomel possesses these useful qualities, it must be given with
caution, and its effects carefully watched; as it sometimes acts very
violently and unexpectedly on the stomach and bowels, and induces a
dangerous degree of weakness. Salivation is sometimes the effect of
calomel, when given daily as an alterative, or as a remedy for farcy or
mange; the mouth becoming so sore, and the tongue so swollen, as to
prevent the horse’s feeding. When these accidents occur, the medicine
should be discontinued a short time, and the horse allowed to drink
plentifully of water-gruel, linseed infusion, or any other mucilaginous
drink. When the bowels are affected by it, opium is the best remedy,
should arrow-root gruel or wheat-flour gruel prove ineffectual. In some
cases, where it has produced great irritation about the anus or bladder,
opium should be given in the form of _clyster_. (See CLYSTERS.) If the
mouth becomes very sore, let it be washed with a solution of alum, by
means of a syringe.
Whenever calomel is given, the horse must be kept warm, drink warm
water, and have regular exercise. When calomel is given as an
anthelminthic, or as a purgative, the dose is from one to two drachms;
as an alterative, from fifteen grains to half a drachm. Calomel
generally acts upon the kidneys, increasing the discharge of urine. (See
ALTERATIVES and ANTHELMINTHICS.)—_White._
CALVE, _v._ To bring forth a calf, spoken of a cow. To drop a fawn.
CALUMBA, _s._ A plant. The root is a good tonic and stomachic.
CALX, _s._ Any thing rendered reducible to powder by burning.
CAMBER, _s._ A piece of timber cut archwise. The bending of a
gun-stock.
CAMLET, or CAMBLET, _s._ A kind of stuff, originally made by a
mixture of silk and camel’s hair; it is now made with wool and
silk. It is much used for shooting jackets, as it resists water
well, and is light and strong.
CAMPHOR, _s._ A kind of resin produced by a chemical process from
the camphor tree. The tree from which camphor is extracted.
The following description of the properties of camphor was given me by
an old M. D. Camphor is at once an _emollient_, an _antispasmodic_, an
_anodyne_, a _febrifuge_, and a _sedative_.—_Condition of Hunters._
CANARY, _s._ Wine brought from the Canaries; sack.
CANARY BIRD, (_Fringilla canaria_, LINN.) _s._ A much admired
singing bird.
In length this beautiful species is about five inches and a half; the
bill pale flesh-colour, passing into reddish white; eyes chestnut brown;
the whole plumage of a rich, deep primrose colour, inclining to yellow;
edge of the quills sometimes yellowish white; legs and feet the same
colour as the bill. The female is distinguished from the male by the
plumage being of a paler colour; the yellow round the bill, eye, and on
the breast and edge of the wing, being also of a paler yellow; she is
likewise rather larger and less slender in form towards the tail.
There are said to be upwards of thirty varieties of the breeds of
canaries, which can be easily distinguished; and the number is
increasing every year. In London, we have societies for promoting the
breeds, and a premium is awarded to the competitor who comes nearest to
the model of perfection given out by the society the season prior to the
competition.
There are two distinct species of canaries, the plain and the
variegated, or, as they are technically called, the gay spangles, or
mealy; and jonks, or jonquils. These two varieties are more esteemed by
amateurs than any of the numerous varieties which have sprung from them;
and although birds of different feathers have their admirers, some
preferring beauty of plumage, others excellence of song, certainly that
bird is most desirable where both are combined. The first property of
these birds consists in the cap, which ought to be of fine orange
colour, pervading every part of the body except the tail and wings, and
possessing the utmost regularity without any black feathers, as, by the
smallest speck, it loses the property of a show-bird, and is considered
a broken-capped bird. The second property consists in the feathers of
the wing and tail being of a deep black up to the quill, as a single
white feather in the wing or tail causes it to be termed a foul bird;
the requisite number of these feathers in each wing is eighteen, and in
the tail twelve. It is, however, frequently observed that the best
coloured birds are foul in one or two feathers, which reduces their
value, although they may still be matched to breed with.
* * * * *
A small breeding cage is all that is required for rearing these birds;
but where a room can be allotted to the purpose, it ought to have shrubs
for them to roost and build, with plenty of water to drink and bathe in,
that being indispensable for all birds. The light should be admitted
into the room from the east, for the benefit of the morning sun, and the
windows should have wire cloth, that they may enjoy the fresh air. The
floor of the apartment ought to be strewed with sand or white gravel,
and on that should be thrown groundsel, chickweed, or scalded rapeseed;
but when breeding, they should have nothing except hard chopped eggs,
dry bread, cake without salt, and, once in two or three days, a few
poppy-seeds. Some bird-fanciers give their breeding-birds plantains and
lettuce-seeds; but this should be done sparingly, and only for two days,
lest it should weaken them.
About the 15th of April they ought to be furnished with flax, soft hay,
wool, hair, moss, and other dry materials, for building the nest, which
usually occupies about three days: the time of incubation is thirteen
days; but when the hen has sat eight or nine days, it is necessary to
examine the eggs, holding them carefully by the ends, against the sun or
a lighted candle, and to throw away the clear ones. Some bird-fanciers
substitute an ivory egg until the last is laid, when the real ones are
replaced, that they may be hatched at the same time.
When the young are to be reared by the stick, they must be taken from
the mother on the eighth day, taking nest and all. Prior to this, the
food should consist of a paste composed of boiled rapeseed, the yolk of
an egg, and crumbs of cake unsalted, mixed with a little water; this
must be given every two hours. This paste ought not to be too wet, and
must be renewed daily, until the nestlings can feed themselves. The hen
has generally three broods in the year, but will hatch five times in the
season, each time laying six eggs.
The process of moulting, which takes place five or six weeks after they
are hatched, is frequently fatal to them. The best remedy yet known is
to put a small piece of iron into the water they drink, keeping them
warm during the six weeks or two months which generally elapse before
they regain their strength. This malady, to which they are all subject,
is often fatal to the hen after the sixth or seventh year; and even the
cock, though from superior strength he may recover, and continue
occasionally to sing, and survive his mate four or five years, appears
dull and melancholy from this period, till he gradually droops, and
falls a victim to this evil.
If it is proposed to rear gay birds, the cock and hen should be of the
same deep colour; if mottled birds are required, both parents should be
mottled. When a gay bird and a fancy bird are matched, they are termed
mule-birds, because they are irregularly mottled in their plumage, and
therefore of no value, although they be equally good singers. The
spangled or French canary cock, with a mealy hen, often produces
beautiful varieties.
* * * * *
The most common cause of disease in birds proceeds from a superabundance
of food, which brings on repletion. In this case the intestines descend
to the extremities of the body, and appear through the skin, while the
feathers on the part affected fall off, and the poor bird, after a few
days, pines and dies. If the disease is not too far gone, putting them
in separate cages, and confining them to the cooling diet of water and
lettuce-seed, may save the lives of many: they are also subject to
epilepsy, asthma, ulcers in the throat, and to extinction of the voice.
The cure for the first is doubtful; it is said that if a drop of blood
fall from the bill, the bird will recover life and sense; but if touched
prior to falling of itself, it will occasion death. If they recover from
the first attack, they frequently live for many years without any
alteration in their note. Another cure is to inflict a slight wound in
the foot. Asthma is cured by plantain, and hard biscuit soaked in white
wine; while ulcers, like repletion, must be cured by cooling food. For
extinction of voice, the cure ought to be hard yolk of eggs, chopped up
with crumbs of bread, and for drink a little liquorice-root, or a blade
of saffron in water. In addition to these evils, the canary is infested
by a small insect, if they are kept dirty. To avoid this, they should
have plenty of water to bathe in, in a new cage, covered with new cloth,
and their seeds well sifted and washed. These attentions, if
troublesome, are nevertheless necessary to possess a thriving bird. When
wild, it has already been remarked, that all birds require water, and to
a canary this is so necessary, that if a saucer or cup of snow be put
into the cage they will flutter against it with the utmost delight, even
during the most severe winters. They are bred in immense numbers, both
for amusement and commerce, in France, Tyrol, Germany, and in this
country: those from Germany are in the least esteem, from their living
only one or two years in this country, although the cock of this variety
is an approved songster.—_Montagu._
CANCER, _s._ A crabfish; a virulent swelling; a sore.
The virulent, dreadful ulcer, that is so fatal in the human subject, and
is called cancer, is unknown in dogs; yet there is very commonly a large
scirrhous swelling of the teats in bitches, and of the testicles (though
less frequent) in dogs, that as it sometimes becomes ulcerated, so it
may be characterised by this name. In the early state of this disease,
discutients prove useful; as vinegar with salt, and camphor and Spanish
flies with mercurial ointment, have sometimes succeeded, taking care to
avoid irritating the part so much as to cause blister. But when the
swelling is detached from the belly, and hangs pendulous in the skin, it
had better be removed; and, as a future preventative, suffer the bitch
to breed. Scirrhous testicles are likewise sometimes met with; for these
no treatment yet discovered succeeds, but the removal of the part, and
that before the spermatic chord becomes much affected, or it will be
useless.—_White._
CANCEROUS, _a._ Having the virulence of a cancer.
CANDLE, _s._ A light made of wax or tallow, surrounding a wick of
flax or cotton.
Candles, as well as lamps, often afford good prognostics of weather.
When the flames of candles flare and snap, or burn with an unsteady or
dim light, rain, and frequently wind also, are found to follow. The
excrescences from the wicks called funguses also denote rain and
wind.—_Foster._
CANE, _s._ A kind of strong reed; the plant which yields the sugar;
a lance. Canes are sometimes used for fishing-rods.
CANELLA-ALBA, _s._ An aromatic stimulant.
CANINE, _a._ Having the properties of a dog.
CANKER, _s._ A worm that preys upon, and destroys fruits; a fly that
preys upon fruits; any thing that corrupts or consumes; an
eating or corroding humour; corrosion, virulence; a disease in
trees.
_Canker in the ear._—A common and troublesome disease, to which dogs are
liable. To cure it, boil two ounces of best shag tobacco in a quart of
water, until one pint is consumed; dip the dog’s ears, as it is boiling
hot, into the tobacco water, until two inches above the cankered part;
repeat it three successive days. To bring the hair again, burn some old
shoe, and mix with a quarter of a pound of hog’s-lard, and frequently
anoint the ears; but the readiest and best way to rid dogs of cankers,
is to apply the rounding-iron.
* * * * *
In the early stages, a wash composed of half a drachm of superacetate
(sugar) of lead, dissolved in four ounces of rose or rain water, is
often all that is necessary. A small teaspoonful may be introduced
(previously warmed to a blood heat, to prevent surprise) night and
morning, rubbing the root of the ear at the same time, to promote the
entrance of the wash into the cavities. In more obstinate cases, it is
prudent to add fifteen or twenty grains of vitriolated zinc (white
vitriol) to the wash; and if, instead of water, a decoction of oak bark
is made use of to form the wash, it will greatly promote the end
desired. In some cases, acetate of copper (verdigris), mixed with oil,
has proved beneficial when introduced in the same manner. In others,
submuriate of quicksilver (calomel) and oil have produced amendment in
the same way. A _very_ weak injection of the oxymuriate of quicksilver
(corrosive sublimate) has succeeded when every other application has
failed. A very mild injection of nitrate of silver, as one grain to two
ounces of water, has done much good also.
* * * * *
Canker on the outside of the ear consists of an ill-disposed ulcer,
which is usually situated on the lower edge of the flap or pendulous
part of one or both ears, dividing it into a kind of slit. It seems to
itch intolerably, and is therefore kept in a continual state of
aggravation by the shaking of the dog’s head. An unguent, made with
equal parts of ointment of nitrated quicksilver and calamine cerate, may
be applied once a day, carefully securing the ear from the injury
occasioned by the shaking of the head, by a sort of head dress, during
its use. Or the following may be tried:—
Oxymuriate of quicksilver
(corrosive sublimate) very
finely powdered 3 grains
Cerate of calamine (Turner’s
cerate) 1 drachm
Sublimated sulphur (milk of) 1 scruple.
In some cases, the oxymuriate of silver has become more efficacious in a
wash, six grains being dissolved in four ounces of water. Strong
astringent lotions are sometimes useful; as alum dissolved in a
decoction of oak bark. When the disease proves very obstinate, excision
must be resorted to, taking care that the whole, not only of the
immediate cracked part, but also of its tumefied edges, are included in
the operation.
* * * * *
In tumefied flap of the ear, the tumour ought either to be opened its
full length, and a pledget of lint introduced, to prevent too hasty a
union of the outer edges of the sac; or a seton should be introduced,
embracing the whole of the tumour, which should be suffered to remain
for a week or ten days. By this means, instead of a discharge of serum,
healthy matter will form in a little time; the sides will granulate and
unite, and on the removal of the seton, the external lips of the wound
will close firmly and healthily.—_Blaine._
CANKER, _v._ To corrupt, to corrode; to infect, to pollute.
CANOA, or CANOE, _s._ A boat made by cutting the trunk of a tree
into a hollow vessel; a very light boat.
The Poole canoe is built sharp at both ends, on the plan of the
Greenland whale-boat, except being so flat at the bottom as to draw only
two or three inches of water, and so light as to weigh only from sixty
to two hundred pounds. In making all canoes for gunning, the builder
should be careful to have the bottoms of them a little rounded (say
about half an inch of convex “a-midships,” for a bottom three feet
broad); and, what is of still more consequence, a little “kammelled,” or
sprung; that is, gradually rising “fore and aft,” in order to “give them
life.” They will, otherwise, row miserably heavy, and, when they get
aground, suck the mud or sand so much, that, in order to get them off
again, you might be forced to stand up, and this would frighten away the
fowl. If, however, the bottom of a canoe is too much kammelled, she will
never keep steady in going to birds. Some people, for this reason, leave
hollow grooves between the bottom planks. I should say, that to every
five feet of plank I would give about one inch of “kammel;” so that the
bottom of the canoe being ten feet, would, by holding a string along the
centre of the bottom, outside, prove convex about two inches. If a
little more, she would be none the worse; perhaps the better, provided
that she drew water enough to give a bearing to every part; otherwise
the ends that were sprung, would, by being out of the water, “cluck” so
much as to make birds swim away in the night. In short, let your draught
of water be the chief guide to regulate the kammelling, or springing, of
your punts and canoes. If not required for rough work, or a fixed
swivel-gun, I should recommend all the planks to be not more than three
quarters of the thickness specified in the plate; as nothing, provided
it be perfectly safe, can be too light for getting to wild birds. It is
the large size of a boat, not the substance of the wood, that makes her
safe in a sea. If the builder puts some oakum and tar round the heads of
the principal nails, before he drives them in, so much the
better.—_Hawker._
CANTER, _s._ A short gallop.
The chief paces for a hack to carry a gentleman are the walk and the
canter. A very quick trot is a most ungentlemanlike pace, and only fit
for a butcher; besides which, it wears out a horse much sooner than a
canter, from the weight being all thrown upon one fore leg at the same
time; whereas, in the canter, it is equally divided between both. Added
to this a canter is much more easy, as well as safer to the rider, the
horse having his haunches more under him than when he trots, thereby
more likely to recover himself in case of making a mistake, which the
best is sometimes subject to. Fast trotting also distresses a horse more
than cantering, because in the one he is going up to the top of his
speed, and in the other much below it.—_Nimrod._
CANTHARIDES, _s._ Spanish flies, used to raise blisters.
These insects are found adhering to trees of different kinds in France,
Germany, and Spain: those from the latter country are considered the
best.
Cantharides are so very acrimonious, that they inflame and excoriate the
skin; and hence raise a more perfect blister than any other substance:
this property renders them extremely useful in veterinary practice, in
which a good _blister_ is the most important of all external remedies.
Cantharides should be finely powdered; but previously to this operation
they should be sifted, that they may be free from a great deal of dust
and useless matter, which we generally observe with them. When powdered,
they may be either formed into an ointment, a liniment, or a spirituous
tincture; but the former is the best form, and most commonly used. (See
BLISTERS.)
Cantharides are imported from Sicily and Astracan, in sacks and small
chests. The best are of a lively fresh colour, a small size, and not
mouldy, nor mixed with the _Melolontha vitis_; an insect resembling them
in some degree, but possessing no vesicating property. It may be
distinguished by its form, which is more square than that of the Spanish
fly, and by its black feet. If Spanish flies have been properly dried
and kept in a well-stopped glass bottle, they retain their acrimony, and
remain unchanged a great length of time; but sometimes they are attacked
by a small worm, which, however, feeds on the inactive part only of the
fly, reducing it to a powder that still possesses the active quality of
the entire insect. They soon putrify when kept in a damp place, and
therefore should be occasionally spread out to the air.—_Thomson’s
London Dispensatory._
CANTLE, _s._ A piece with corners. The hinder part of the saddle.
CAP, _s._ A strong covering for the head, formerly worn by
huntsmen—hats are now preferred by gentlemen riders. _Vide_
COPPER.
CAPARISON, _s._ A sort of cover for a horse; generally horse
furniture.
CAPELOT, _s._ A swelling on the hock; it is harmless, but incurable.