Bill slender, rather awl-shaped, and straight; but with the point of the
upper mandible slightly bent and notched; lower mandible straight; base
more high than broad; nostrils at the sides of the base oval, and partly
covered with a membrane: legs having the shank longer than the middle
toe; toes three before and one behind, the outer toe being joined at its
base to the middle one; wings with the first quill very short, sometimes
indeed wanting; the second and third nearly of equal length; wing
coverts and scapulars short.—_Montagu._
SYMPATHETIC, _a._ Having mutual sensation, being affected by what
happens to the other.
SYMPATHY, _s._ Fellow feeling, mutual sensibility, the quality of
being affected by the affection of another.
Animals which are unable to associate with their own species will
sometimes form most strange attachments. I had last year a solitary
pigeon, who, being unable to procure a mate, attached itself to an old
barn-door fowl, whose side it seldom left at night, roosting by him in
the hen-house. The cock seemed sensible of the attachment of the pigeon,
and never molested it, or drove it from him.
At Aston Hall, in Warwickshire, I remember to have seen a cat and a
large fierce bloodhound, who were always together, the cat following the
dog about the yard, and never seeming tired of his society. They fed
together, and slept in the same kennel.
Some animals of the same species form also strong attachments for each
other. This was shown in the case of two Hanoverian horses, who had long
served together during the peninsular war, in the German brigade of
artillery. They had assisted in drawing the same gun, and had been
inseparable companions in many battles. One of them was at last killed;
and after the engagement the survivor was picqueted as usual, and his
food brought to him. He refused, however, to eat, and was constantly
turning round his head to look for his companion, sometimes neighing, as
if to call him. All the care that was bestowed upon him was of no avail.
He was surrounded by other horses, but he did not notice them; and he
shortly afterwards died, not having once tasted food from the time his
former associate was killed. A gentleman who witnessed the circumstance
assured me that nothing could be more affecting than the whole demeanour
of this poor horse.—_Jesse._
SYMPTOMATIC, _a._ Happening concurrently; betokening.
SYRINGE, _s._ A pipe through which any liquor is squirted.
_Syringe_, _v._ To spout by a syringe; to wash with a syringe.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABBY, _a._ Brinded, brindled; term applied to a cat.
TADPOLE, _s._ A young shapeless frog or toad, consisting only of a
body and a tail.
TAGTAIL, _s._ A worm which has the tail of another colour.
TAIL, _s._ That which terminates the animal behind, the continuation
of the vertebræ of the back hanging loose behind; the lower
part; the hinder part of anything; _to turn tail_, to run away.
When a dog is cropped, it is usual also to cut off a portion of the
tail. Dog fanciers, as they are termed, commonly bite it off; but it
were to be wished that a larger portion was added to both their
knowledge and humanity. The tail does not grow materially after cutting,
therefore the length may be previously determined on with sufficient
accuracy, and cut off with a pair of sharp scissors. If the ears and
tail are cut off at the same time, it is prudent to tie a ligature about
the tail, to prevent the effusion of blood, as sometimes the bleeding,
from both ears and tail together, will weaken the animal too much, and
early distemper may follow; but when the tail alone is cut, no ligature
is necessary. When a ligature is used, neither tie it too tight, nor
suffer it to remain more than twelve hours. On the twisting off either
the ears or tail, I will waste no invective; for if the cruelty does not
strike the performer, I am sure no assertion of mine, that it is far
inferior in every point of view to excision, and has for ever deafened
many it has been practised on, will be attended to.—_Blaine._
TALLOW, _s._ The grease or fat of an animal, suet.
TALON, _s._ The claw of a bird of prey.
TAME, _a._ Not wild, domestic; crushed, subdued, depressed,
spiritless, unanimated.
TAME, _v._ To reduce from wildness, to reclaim, to make gentle; to
conquer.
TAN, _v._ To impregnate or imbue with bark; to imbrown by the sun.
TAN, _s._ A dark brown colour: the marks of a terrier.
TANSY, _s._ A plant.
This plant grows abundantly about the borders of fields; it has a
strong bitter taste, and rather a pleasant odour. It may be employed
in the form of a decoction as a vehicle for tonic or stomachic
medicines. It has been said to possess an anthelmintic quality, but I
believe there is no foundation for this opinion. It is used also in
fomentations.—_White._
TAR, _s._ Liquid pitch.
_Tar Ointment._—This is a good remedy for thrushes, and other diseases
of the frog. It appears to promote the growth of horn by gently
stimulating the secretory vessels of that part.
The rotten parts of the frog having been carefully removed with a knife,
and the rest well cleansed, the tar is to be melted and poured into the
cleft or cavity; a pledget of tow is then to be laid on the part, and
confined by some proper contrivance. In bad cases a small proportion of
sulphuric acid should be carefully mixed with the tar; and when a thrush
has degenerated into the disease termed canker, a larger proportion of
the acid should be employed.
Tar mixed with oil of turpentine and cantharides forms a strong blister.
Farriers sometimes employ tar as a remedy for cough; but it more
frequently aggravates than relieves the complaint.
Tar, when mixed with verdigris, or finely powdered blue, or white
vitriol, forms a good liniment or ointment for canker or thrushes. It
may be occasionally employed also with alum. Tar is an excellent
stopping for flat thin soles, mixed with tallow: in the latter form it
makes a good hoof ointment, and when rubbed about the coronet and hoof,
is said to render the hoof tough.—_White._
TARGET, _s._ A kind of buckler or shield borne on the left arm.
TARPAWLING, _s._ Hempen cloth smeared with tar.
TARRIER, _s._ A sort of small dog that hunts the fox or otter out of
his hole. In this sense it ought to be written and pronounced
Terrier, which see.
TEAL (_Anas Crecca_, _Linn._; _La Petite Sarcelle_, BUFF.), _s._ A
wild fowl.
[Illustration: THE TEAL.]
This beautiful little duck seldom exceeds eleven ounces in weight, or
measures more, stretched out, than fourteen inches and a half in length,
and twenty-three and a half in breadth.
The bill is a dark lead colour, tipped with black; irides pale hazel; a
glossy bottle green patch, edged on the upper side with pale brown, and
beneath with cream-coloured white, covers each eye, and extends to the
nape of the neck: the rest of the head, and the upper part of the neck,
are of a deep reddish chestnut, darkest on the forehead, and freckled on
the chin and about the eyes with cream-coloured spots: the hinder part
of the neck, the shoulders, part of the scapulars, sides under the
wings, and lower belly, towards the vent, are elegantly pencilled with
black, ash-brown, and white transverse waved lines; the breast, greatly
resembling the beautifully spotted appearance of an India shell, is of a
pale brown or reddish yellow, and each feather is tipped with a roundish
heart-shaped black-spot: the belly is a cream-coloured white: back and
rump brown, each feather edged with a pale colour: vent black: the
primary quills, lesser and greater coverts, are brown; the last deeply
tipped with white, which forms a bar across the wings; the first six of
the secondary quills are of a fine velvet black; those next to them,
towards the scapulars, are of a most resplendent glossy green, and both
are tipped with white, forming the divided black and green bar or beauty
spot of the wings.
The tail consists of fourteen feathers, of a hoary brown colour; with
pale edges: the legs and feet are of a dirty lead colour. The female,
which is less than the male, is prettily freckled about the head and
neck with brown and white. She has not the green patch behind the eyes,
but a brown streak there, which extends itself to the nape of the neck;
the crown of the head is dark brown; the upper mandible yellow on the
edges, olive green on the sides, and olive brown on the ridge; nail
black, and the under bill yellow; breast, belly, and vent glossy
yellowish white, spotted on the latter parts with brown; the upper
plumage is dark brown, each feather bordered with rusty brown, and edged
with grey: the wings and legs nearly the same as those of the male.
The teal is common in England in the winter months, but it is uncertain
whether or not they remain throughout the year to breed, as is the case
in France. The female makes a large nest, composed of soft dried
grasses, (and, it is said, the pith of rushes) lined with feathers,
cunningly concealed in a hole among the roots of reeds and bulrushes
near the edge of the water, and some assert that it rests on the surface
of the water, so as to rise and fall with it. The eggs are of the size
of those of a pigeon, six or seven in number, and of a dull white
colour, marked with small brownish spots; but it appears that they
sometimes lay ten or twelve eggs, for Buffon remarks that that number of
young ones are seen in clusters on the pools, feeding on cresses, wild
chervil, &c., and no doubt, as they grow up, they feed, like other
ducks, on the various seeds, grasses, and water plants, as well as upon
the smaller animated beings with which all stagnant waters are so
abundantly stored. The teal is highly esteemed for the excellent flavour
of its flesh: it is known to breed, and remain throughout the year in
various temperate climates of the world, and is met with as far
northward as Iceland in the summer.
* * * * *
Of all the prizes that a wildfowl shooter could wish to meet with, a
flock of teal is the very first. Independently of their being by far the
best birds of the whole anas tribe, they are so much easier of access,
and require such a slight blow, that no matter whether you are prepared
for wild fowl, partridges, or snipes, you may at most times with very
little trouble contrive to get near them; and this being once done, you
have only to shoot straight to be pretty sure of killing.
I have seen teal “duck the flash,” though never but once, and then I had
rather a slow shooting gun.
If you spring a teal, he will not soar up and leave the country like a
wild duck, but most probably keep along the brook, like a sharp flying
woodcock, and then drop suddenly down; but you must keep your eye on the
place, as he is very apt to get up again and fly to another before he
will quietly settle. He will frequently, too, swim down the stream the
moment after he drops, so that if you do not quickly cast your eye that
way, instead of continuing to look for him in one spot, he will probably
catch sight of you and fly up, while your attention is directed to the
wrong place. If the brook in which you find him is obscured by many
trees, you had better direct your follower to make a large circle, and
get a head of, and watch him, in case he should slily skim away down the
brook, and by this means escape from you altogether. You should avoid
firing at random, as this may drive him quite away from your
beat.—_Bewick_—_Hawker._
TENCH, _s._ A small pond-fish.
[Illustration]
The tench is generally prized as a fine rich fish in England, but it is
not so much esteemed on the continent: the Germans, in derision, call it
the Shoemaker. They take red worms best in the spring; and gentles, not
too much scoured, or sweet paste, in the hot months. Use a fine
gut-line, quill-float, and No. 9 or 10 hook; fish close to the bottom,
and ground-bait with small pellets of bread, or chewed bread, or bread
and bran mixed; or throw in about half-a-dozen gentles, or pieces of
worms, frequently, close to your float. When the large tench take a
bait, especially in still waters, they take or suck it in slowly, and
generally draw the float straight down; strike immediately it
disappears.
The tench will breed in rivers, lakes, and ponds, but they thrive best
in those ponds where the bottom is composed of loamy clay, or mud, and
in foul and weedy waters; they will sometimes bite very free all day in
summer, during warm, close, dark weather, particularly while small,
misty rain descends; at other times, only late in the evening, or early
in the morning.—_Salter._
TENDON, _s._ A sinew, a ligature by which the joints are moved.
TENNIS, _s._ A play at which a ball is driven with a racket.
A tennis court is usually ninety-six or ninety-seven feet long, by
thirty-three or four in breadth. A net hangs across the middle, over
which the ball must be struck, to make any stroke good. At the entrance
of a tennis-court there is a long covered passage before the dedans, the
place where spectators usually are, into which, whenever a ball is
played, it counts for a certain stroke. This long passage is divided
into different apartments, which are called galleries, viz. from the
line towards the dedans, is the first gallery; door, second gallery; and
the last gallery, is what is called the service-side. From the dedans to
the last gallery are the figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, each at a yard
distance, marking the chaces, one of the most essential parts of this
game. On the other side of the line is the first gallery; door, second
gallery; and last gallery, what is called the hazard-side; every ball
played into the last gallery on this side tells for a certain stroke,
the same as into the dedans. Between the second and this last gallery
are the figures 1, 2, marking the chaces on the hazard-side. Over this
long gallery is the pent-house, on which the ball is played from the
service-side to begin a set of tennis, and if the player should fail
striking the ball (so as to rebound from the pent-house) over a certain
line on the service-side, it is reckoned a fault; and two such faults
following are counted for a stroke. If the ball pass round the
pent-house, on the opposite side of the court, and fall beyond a
particular described line, it is called passe, goes for nothing, and the
player is to serve again.
On the right hand of the court from the dedans, a part of the wall
projects more than the rest, in order to make a variety in the stroke,
and render it more difficult to be returned by the adversary, and is
called the tambour: the grill is the last thing on the right hand, in
which if the ball be struck, it is reckoned 15, or a certain stroke.
A set of tennis consists of six games, but if what is called an
advantage set be played, two successive games above five games must be
won to decide; or in case it should be six games all, two games must
still be won on one side to conclude the set.
When the player gives his service in order to begin the set, his
adversary is supposed to return the ball, wherever it falls after the
first rebound, untouched; for example: if at the figure 1, the chace is
called at a yard, that is to say, at a yard from the dedans; this chace
remains till a second service is given, and if the player on the service
side should let the ball go after his adversary returns it, and the ball
fall on or between any one of these figures, they must change sides, for
he will be then on the hazard-side to play for the first chace, which if
he win by striking the ball so as to fall, after its first rebound,
nearer to the dedans than the figure 1, without his adversary being able
to return it from its first rebound, he wins a stroke, and then proceeds
in like manner to win a second stroke, &c. If a ball fall on a line with
the first gallery, door, second gallery, or last gallery, the chace is
likewise called at such or such a place, naming the gallery, &c. When it
is just put over the line, it is called a chace at the line. If the
player on the service-side return a ball with such force as to strike
the wall on the hazard-side, so as to rebound, after the first hop, over
the line, it is also called a chace at the line.
The chaces on the hazard-side proceed from the ball being returned
either too hard, or not hard enough: so that the ball, after its first
rebound, falls on this side the line which describes the hazard-side
chaces, in which case it is a chace at 1, 2, &c. provided there be no
chace depending, and according to the spot where it exactly falls. When
they change sides, the player, in order to win this chace, must put the
ball over the line, any where, so that his adversary does not return it.
When there is no chace on the hazard-side, all balls put over the line
from the service-side, without being returned, reckon.
The game, instead of being marked one, two, three, four, is called for
the first stroke, fifteen; for the second, thirty; for the third, forty;
and for the fourth, game, unless the players get four strokes each;
then, instead of calling it forty all, it is called deuce, after which,
as soon as any stroke is got, it is called advantage; and in case the
strokes become equal again, deuce again; till one or the other gets two
strokes following, to win the game.
The odds at this game are very uncertain, on account of the chances: and
various methods of giving odds have been used to render a match equal.
* * * * *
At the time when tennis play was taken up seriously by the nobility, new
regulations were made in the game, and covered courts erected, wherein
it might be practised without any interruption from the weather. In the
sixteenth century tennis-courts were common in England, and the
establishment of such places countenanced by the example of the
monarchs.
We have undoubted authority to prove that Henry VII. was a tennis
player. In a MS. register of his expenditures made in the thirteenth
year of his reign, and preserved in the remembrancer’s office, this
entry occurs:—“Item, for the king’s loss at tennis, twelve-pence; for
the loss of balls, three-pence.” Hence one may infer, that the game was
played abroad, for the loss of the balls would hardly have happened in a
tennis court. His son Henry, who succeeded him, in the early part of his
reign was much attached to this diversion; which propensity, as Hall
assures us, “being perceived by certayne craftie persons about him, they
brought in Frenchmen and Lombards to make wagers with hym, and so he
lost muche money; but when he perceyved theyr crafte, he eschued the
company and let them go.” He did not however give up the amusement, for
we find him, according to the same historian, in the thirteenth year of
his reign, playing at tennis with the Emperor Maximilian for his
partner, against the prince of Orange and the marquis of Brandenborow:
“the earl of Devonshire stopped on the prince’s side, and the lord
Edmond on the other side; and they departed even handes on both sides,
after eleven games fully played.”
James I., if not himself a tennis player, speaks of the pastime with
commendation, and recommends it to his son as a species of exercise
becoming a prince. Charles II. frequently diverted himself with playing
at tennis, and had particular kind of dresses made for that purpose. So
had Henry VIII. In the wardrobe rolls we meet with tenes-cotes for the
king, also tennis-drawers and tennis-slippers.
A French writer speaks of a damsel Margot, who resided at Paris in 1424,
and played at hand-tennis with the palm, and also with the back of her
hand, better than any man; and what is most surprising, adds my author,
at that time the game was played with the naked hand, or at best with a
double glove.—_Hoyle_—_Strutt._
TENT, _s._ A soldier’s movable lodging place, commonly made of
canvass extended upon poles; any temporary habitation, a
pavilion; a roll of lint put into a sore; a species of wine
deeply red.
TEREBINTHINE, _a._ Consisting of turpentine, mixed with turpentine.
TERRIER, _s._ A dog that follows his game underground.
[Illustration]
_The Scotch Terrier._ (_Canis terrarius, variety α._)—It is now
impossible to trace the origin of the terrier, but from the many
characteristics peculiar to itself, we would almost be induced to
consider it a primitive race. Certain it is, that this dog has been for
many ages assiduously cultivated and trained to the particular sports to
which nature seems to have so well adapted him. To the fox, hare,
rabbit, badger, polecat, weasel, rat, mouse, and all other kinds of
vermin, he is a most implacable enemy; he has also a strong natural
antipathy to the domestic cat.
The name terrier seems to be derived from the avidity with which he
takes the earth in pursuit of all those animals which burrow.
There are two kinds of terriers,—the rough haired Scotch and the smooth
English.
The Scotch terrier is certainly the purest in point of breed, and the
English seems to have been produced by a cross from him.
The Scotch terrier is generally low in stature, seldom more than twelve
or fourteen inches in height, with a strong muscular body and short and
stout legs; his ears small and half pricked; his head is rather large in
proportion to the size of his body, and the muzzle considerably pointed;
his scent is extremely acute; so that he can trace the footsteps of all
other animals with certainty; he is generally of a sand colour or black;
dogs of these colours are certainly the most hardy, and more to be
depended upon; when white or pied, it is a sure mark of the impurity of
the breed. The hair of the terrier is long, matted, and hard, over
almost every part of his body. His bite is extremely keen.
There are three distinct varieties of the Scotch terrier, viz. the one
above described; another about the same size as the former, but with the
hair much longer and somewhat flowing, which gives his legs the
appearance of being very short. This is the prevailing breed of the
western islands of Scotland. The third variety is much larger than the
former two, being generally from fifteen to eighteen inches in height,
with the hair very hard and wiry, and much shorter than that of the
others. It is from this breed that the best bull-terriers have been
produced.
The terrier, amongst the higher order of sportsmen, is preserved in its
greatest purity, and with the most assiduous attention; and it seems of
the utmost importance not to increase its size, which would render him
unsuitable for the purpose in which he is employed, that of entering the
earth to drive out other animals from their burrows, for which his make,
strength, and invincible ardour, peculiarly fit him. On this account he
is the universal attendant upon a pack of fox hounds, and though last in
the pursuit he is not the least in value. Indeed a brace of these dogs
is considered indispensable in a complete fox-hunting establishment, and
they are generally of different sizes, so that the smallest may enter an
earth which will not admit the other. As soon as the hounds are thrown
into covert, the terrier becomes the busiest in the field when
endeavouring to find the fox; whenever the game is started, and the
hounds running breast high, and at their utmost speed, this active
little animal is seldom far behind, and is sure to be up at the first
check. It is when the fox is supposed to have earthed, that the services
of the terrier are most essentially required; he enters with the utmost
eagerness, and soon informs the ear of the sportsman whether or not he
is in, and at what distance from the mouth, when he is speedily dug out.
The principal objection to the reddish coloured terrier in a pack is,
that by juvenile sportsmen, in the clamour of the chase, they are
frequently hallooed off for a fox.
_The English Terrier._ (_Canis terrarius, variety β._)—This is a
handsome sprightly dog, and generally black on the back, sides, and
upper part of the head, neck, and tail; the belly and the throat are of
a very bright reddish brown with a spot of the same colour over each
eye. The hair is short and somewhat glossy; the tail rather truncated,
and carried slightly upwards; the ears are small, somewhat erect, and
reflected at the tips; the head is little in proportion to the size of
the body, and the snout is moderately elongated. This dog, though but
small, is very resolute, and is a determined enemy to all kinds of game
and vermin, in the pursuit and destruction of which he evinces an
extraordinary and untaught alacrity. Some of the larger English terriers
will even draw a badger from his hole. He varies considerably in size
and strength, and is to be met with from ten to eighteen inches in
height.
This dog, or the wire-haired Scotch terrier, is indispensably necessary
to a pack of fox-hounds, for the purpose of unearthing the game. From
the greater length of leg, from his general lightness, and the elegant
construction of his body, he is more adapted for running, and of course
better enabled to keep up with the pack than the Scotch terrier.
Mr. Daniel, in his Rural Sports, mentions a match against time with a
terrier, which took place in 1794, in which a small dog ran six miles:
the first mile in two minutes, the second in four, the third in six, the
fourth in eight, and the fifth and sixth in eighteen minutes,—an immense
falling off, considering his wonderful speed, and the known stoutness of
the terrier. We doubt there has been some unsteadiness either in the
watch or watch-holder. He afterwards ran six miles in thirty-two
minutes.—_Brown._
TESTACEA, _s._ Shell-fish, the third order of the class Vermes.
TESTACEOUS, _a._ Consisting of shells, composed of shells; having
continuous, not jointed shells, opposed to crustaceous.
TETHER, _s._ A string by which cattle are held from pasturing too
wide.
THAMES’ YACHTS, _s._ Small vessels of pleasure used by members of
the river clubs.
[Illustration]
The sailing clubs upon the Thames, comprise the Royal Sailing
Society—the Royal Thames’ Yacht-club—the Clarence—British—Royal Yacht,
and several minor associations. Throughout the season several cups and
prizes are annually given; and the severe and spirited contests between
the beautiful small craft which form these fancy fleets, are highly
interesting.
The sailing matches on the river are divided into two classes—one above,
and the other below the bridges. The smaller yachts, ranging from six to
twenty-six tons, are commonly entered for the former, while a larger
class contend for prizes sailed for between Greenwich and Gravesend.
These elegant and truly national amusements, appear to be rapidly
gaining a prominent place in the list of fashionable recreations; and
aquatic sports now occupy that dull and sombre season, from the period
hunting ends, till russet autumn summons the sportsman to the field.
THIGH, _s._ The thigh includes all between the buttock and the knee.
THILL, _s._ The shafts of a wagon.
THILLHORSE or THILLER, _s._ The last horse that goes between the
shafts.
THIRST, _s._ The pain suffered for want of drink, want of drink;
eagerness, vehement desire.
THOROUGHBRED, _a._ Completely educated, completely taught; in
sporting parlance, applied to racehorses of unblemished
pedigree.
THOROUGHPIN, _s._ A swelling of the capsular ligament attendant on
bog spavin.
There are placed in the neighbourhood of joints certain bags, containing
a mucous fluid for the purpose of lubricating the parts, and these
sometimes become inflamed and enlarge. A similar enlargement is found
above the hock, between the tendons of the flexor of the foot, and the
extensor of the hock. As from its situation it must necessarily project
on both sides of the hock, in the form of a round swelling, it is called
a thorough-pin. It is an indication of considerable work, but, except it
be of very great size, it is rarely attended by lameness. The mode of
treatment must resemble that recommended for wind-galls. Although
thorough-pin cannot be pronounced to be unsoundness, yet it behoves the
buyer to examine well a horse with thoroughpin, and to ascertain whether
undue work may not have injured him in other respects.—_The Horse._
THOWL, _s._ The pin or piece of timber by which the oar is kept
steady in rowing.
THRAPPLE, _s._ The windpipe of any animal.
THROAT, _s._ The forepart of the neck; the main road of any place.
THROSTLE, _s._ A species of thrush, a small singing bird. It is said
to have the breast darker and the tail shorter than this bird;
but there are not sufficient grounds to believe it is distinct
from the thrush.
THROTTLE, _s._ The windpipe.
THROTTLE, _v._ To choke.
THROW, _v._ To perform the act of casting; to cast dice; to cast a
horse.
Horses are thrown down by means of hobbles. The hobble is about two feet
in length, two inches and five-eighths in width, and about a quarter of
an inch thick. It is formed by a strong piece of leather, about four
feet in length, which, being doubled, has a strong iron buckle included
at one end, and firmly sewed in. About four inches and a half further
back, a large iron ring is to be sewed in, in the same manner, for the
purpose of allowing a strong rope to pass through it easily. The ring,
or rather the part so named, may be made straight where it is sewed into
the leather, and the rest may be rounded. The remaining part of the
leather is to be strongly sewed together, which will make the thickness
of it what we have before described. Several holes are to be punched at
this end of the hobble, to admit the tongue of the buckle when it is put
round the horse’s leg. On the under side of the hobble, a piece of
thinner and wider leather is to be fixed, extending from the part where
the ring is attached to about half an inch beyond the extremity of the
buckle; this is intended to prevent the latter from galling the horse’s
leg. The rope should be strong, not twisted tight, but made flexible,
like a bell-rope, and about six yards in length. One end of the rope is
to be firmly and permanently attached to the ring of one of the hobbles,
and this hobble must be placed on the fore-leg, opposite to the side on
which the horse is to be thrown. If the hobble to which the rope is
attached is placed on the left fore-leg, the other end of the rope is to
be passed first through the ring of that on the left hind-leg, then
through that on the right hind-leg, next through that on the right
fore-leg, and lastly, through the ring, where the rope is attached, that
is, the left fore-leg hobble.
By this contrivance it will be readily seen that the legs of the horse
may be drawn together, so that if pushed or forced towards the right
side, he must of necessity fall. Three men are generally required to
pull the rope, in order to draw the legs together; and to render this
more easy, the hind-legs should be placed under him as much as possible
before any attempt is made to pull the rope. The horse should have
blinds, or have his eyes covered with a piece of rug, before the hobbles
are put on; it may be necessary, also, to twitch him, and hold up the
fore-leg while the hind-leg hobble is putting on. But the twitch must be
removed before he is thrown, and not used unless absolutely necessary.
The men who are to pull the rope should stand within two yards of the
horse, as they then pull with double the force they would at a distance
of four yards, their power then having a tendency to draw the legs off
the ground, and upwards, which causes him to fall more quickly. One man
should stand at the rump, on the left side, to push him when the legs
are drawn up together; and one man should hold him steadily by the head,
standing in front of him; and as soon as the horse is down, that man
should throw himself on the neck, and incline the nose upward, by
lifting the halter; thus he can keep the head and neck down without
difficulty.
M. Girard, in his Traité du Pied, has proposed an improvement in
throwing horses, which is very simple, and should always be employed:
but it requires an additional assistant, or two would still be better.
If the horse is to be thrown on the right side, a long piece of web, or
a rope, is to be fastened round the right fore arm, close up to the
elbow. The other end is then to be passed over the withers, and held at
a little distance by one or two men. The force which is applied in this
way will cause the horse to fall more readily, and with more certainty,
and exactly in the situation where he is required to be thrown. This
contrivance, therefore, is extremely useful in confined places, where
there is just room enough to throw a horse, and no more. The horse being
thrown down, and his legs closely drawn together, the end of the hobble
rope is to be passed under the hobble rings, between the fore and hind
legs, and secured with a hitch, as it is termed, so that he cannot
separate them again until the hobbles are unbuckled, and then they all
may be taken away at once, and the horse suffered to get up.
In letting the horse get up again, the hobbles must be unbuckled
cautiously, beginning with the under fore and hind one. These should be
unbuckled gently, and not jerked, as that would cause the horse to
struggle, and render it difficult to take them off, or the leg might get
loose, and he may thus hurt one of the assistants, who happens to be
standing incautiously within the stroke of his fore or hind leg. I have
seen hobbles in which the tongues were movable, so that by drawing them
out with a pair of pincers the hobbles were all taken off at once.
In performing operations upon the horse, it is not only necessary to
throw him down as I have described, but in firing the outside of the
fore leg, for example, in the pastern, the hobble must be taken off, and
the leg secured by means of a web passed round the leg above the knee,
and secured to the upper hind leg, immediately above the hock, or it may
be secured to the under fore leg; perhaps both these contrivances would
be found useful in strong horses that struggle much. In firing the
inside of the fore leg, that is, the under fore leg, nothing more is
necessary than to take it out of the hobble, and draw it forwards by
means of a web passed round the hoof, or the pastern.
Horses, however, have sufficient power to extend even the under fore leg
considerably, unless a man lies on the shoulder, which should always be
avoided. It is better to restrain the leg, by passing a web round it
above the knee, and fastening the other end to the hind leg above the
hock. If then the other three legs are drawn backward, by means of the
hobble rope, the under fore leg will be sufficiently exposed for any
operation that may be required. In firing the upper hind leg in the
pastern, it is necessary to take off the hobble; but the leg must first
be secured by means of a web, fastened above the hock, and the other end
brought forward, and, under a collar of web, passed round the neck,
close to the shoulder. The leg may thus be effectually restrained; but,
as an additional restraint, it may be tied also to the under hind
leg.—_White._
THRUSH, THROSTLE, GREY BIRD, or MAVIS, (_Turdus musicus_, LINN.; _La
Grive_, BUFF.) s. A small singing bird.
This is larger than the redwing, but much less than the missel, to which
it bears a strong resemblance both in form and colours. A small notch is
observable at the end of the bill, which belongs to this and every bird
of the thrush kind; the throat is white, and the spots on the breast
more regularly formed than those of the missel thrush, being of a
conical shape; the inside of the wings and the mouth are yellow, as are
also the legs; the claws are strong and black.
The throstle is distinguished among our singing birds by the clearness
and fulness of its note; it charms us not only with the sweetness, but
variety of its song; which it begins early in the spring, and continues
during part of the summer. This bold and pleasing songster, from his
high station, seems to command the concert of the grove, whilst in the
beautiful language of the poet,
“The jay, the rook, the daw,
And each harsh pipe (discordant heard alone)
Aid the full concert, while the stock-dove breathes
A melancholy murmur through the whole.”
The female builds her nest generally in bushes; it is composed of dried
grass, with a little earth or clay intermixed, and lined with rotten
wood; she lays five or six eggs of a pale-blue colour, marked with dusky
spots. Although this species is not considered with us as migratory, it
has, nevertheless, been observed in some places in great numbers during
the spring and summer, where not one was to be seen in the winter, which
has induced an opinion that they either shift their quarters entirely,
or take shelter in the more retired parts of the woods. The throstle is
migratory in France. M. de Buffon says that it appears in Burgundy about
the end of September, before the redwing and fieldfare, and that it
feeds upon the ripe grapes, and sometimes does much damage to the
vineyard. The females of all the thrush kind are very similar to the
males, and differ chiefly in a less degree of brilliancy in the colours.
* * * * *
Opposite my study windows at Lee, I observed last summer, a missel
thrush fly boldly at a carrion-crow, and persecute him with bill and
wing till he seemed glad to leave the field. This, however, is
far outdone by the account M. Le Vaillant gives of a party
of missel thrushes attacking and actually vanquishing an
eagle.—_Bewick_—_Rennie_—_Montagu._
THRUSH, _s._ Small, round, superficial ulcerations, which appear
first in the mouth; they may affect every part of the alimentary
duct, except the thick guts; a disease in a horse’s foot.
This is a disease of the frog, causing a discharge of matter from its
division or cleft, not often productive of lameness, especially in the
hind feet, where it is always a consequence of negligence in the groom,
in permitting a horse to stand in his dung, or upon foul wet litter.
This softens and rots the horny frog, the putrid and acrid fluids
penetrate through the soaked and rotten horn, and inflame the sensible
frog, causing it to discharge a fetid acrimonious matter, instead of
secreting horn for its own defence, as it does in the healthy state.
Thrushes in the fore-feet are sometimes occasioned by contraction of the
heels, but more frequently by the horny box or hoof, considered all
together, becoming too thick, and consequently inelastic. In this case,
the blood is principally distributed to the sensible frog; the arteries
that supply this not being liable to compression, being lodged in that
elastic substance of fatty membrane and cartilage, of which the body of
the sensible frog is composed. This Lafosse supposes to be destitute of
nerves, and that its covering or skin only is endued with sensibility. I
believe this opinion is correct; for in this part sensibility is not
only unnecessary, but would be injurious. This part forms a very curious
spring, and is constructed in a manner that is truly wonderful. It is
composed of fatty matter and cartilage, which are so distributed, that
the more the frog is compressed, the nearer the cartilages approach each
other; thus the frog becomes denser and denser, while its elasticity
increases in a similar ratio. When it is compressed to the greatest
degree, the effect is imparted to the lateral cartilages, and these
bodies impart it to the heels, and quarters or sides of the hoof, and
thus it is that the motions of the hoof are produced. To admit of this
motion of the hoof, which is the only one that takes place, the elastic
membranes yield in a very slight degree, which diminishes from the heel
to the toe, but is sufficient for the economy of the foot. The treatment
of thrush must depend altogether upon the cause which produces it. When
in the hind foot, and occasioned by filthiness, the cause must be
removed, and then the disorder may cease; but this is not always the
case, for the thrush sometimes has proceeded so far as to produce
ulceration of the sensible frog, which then requires to be dressed with
a solution of blue vitriol, or oxymel of verdigris. Before this is done,
the cleft of the frog should be thoroughly cleansed to the bottom by
means of tow; and if there is any ragged horn covering a diseased part,
it should be completely removed. One of these dressings, when it is
properly done, is sufficient for the cure. Some tar, or hoof-ointment,
such as has been prescribed in the chapter on contracted heels, may be
applied hot, to promote the regeneration of horn, and to defend it from
moisture. In cases where the frog has become very tender or rotten, I
have found it necessary to apply a mixture of tar and sulphuric acid,
which is made by adding one ounce, by weight, of sulphuric acid to one
pound of melted tar, and stirring the mixture for some time. As to the
thrush in the fore-feet, the treatment is different. Here also the cause
must be first removed, which is, an undue determination of blood to the
frog, in consequence of the compression the sensible foot suffers from a
contraction of the heels; or from a superabundance of horny matter
generally in the crust, and often in the sole also. The motion which I
have described as constantly going on in the hoof, will now appear to be
an essential provision in that part; for the heels, as they contract,
become deficient in, and at length totally lose, their elasticity. When
the frog, under this circumstance, comes down upon the ground and
receives pressure, the pain the animal feels from the ineffectual
attempt thus made to expand the inelastic and inflexible heels, causes
him to lift the frog a little, and go principally on the toe; hence the
stumbling and falling so common in this case. This kind of thrush then
is to be considered rather as useful than otherwise; and by attempting
to stop it by those preparations which are usually employed, the
lameness is often increased. The only thing to be done is to rasp the
heels and quarters, thin the soles, cover the frog with tar ointment,
and wrap the foot in an emollient poultice; in slight cases, complete
and permanent relief will be thus afforded. Should the thrush continue
after the hoof has been well soaked with the poultice, and especially if
the frog is very tender and rotten, apply the mixture of tar and
sulphuric acid. Egyptiacum, either alone or with a small portion (a few
drops to two ounces) of sulphuric acid, has been recommended. In old
thrushes, physic may be useful, and some alterative medicine. Sometimes
a run at grass is necessary in moist ground, and a horse may often be
worked while he is thus kept. In bad cases, palliation only can be
expected, unless a new hoof be obtained of a better kind, by rasping the
quarters and thinning the sole, until spots of blood appear; and then,
after stopping the feet with tar-ointment, turning the horse to grass.
Thrushes may happen in the fore-feet merely from filthiness, and may
then be cured as they are in the hind-feet; but this is not a common
occurrence.
The third kind of thrush I have to describe is not so common as the two
former, and is no other than an incipient canker. It may always be cured
by removing from the frog every bit of horn that is detached from the
sensible frog, and by which a diseased part may be concealed, and then
applying to the affected part a saturated solution of blue vitriol, or
egyptiacum, with a few drops of sulphuric acid. Cleanliness must be
carefully attended to; and when the disease of the frog has been cured,
tar, or hoof-ointment, may be employed to promote the regeneration of
horn.—_White._
TICK, _s._ Score, trust; the case which holds the feathers of a bed;
the louse of dogs or sheep.
To destroy ticks, rub the dogs over with oil. The oil operates by
stopping up their spiracula, or breathing pores; a few drops of oil
poured on a wasp so as to cover it, destroys it in a few
seconds.—_Blaine._
TIKE, _s._ A species of dog.
TILT, _s._ A tent, any covering over head; the cover of a boat; a
military game at which the combatants run against each other
with lances on horseback; a thrust. _Vide_ STRUTT.
TIN, _s._ One of the primitive metals, called by the chemists
Jupiter.
This metal is a good anthelmintic in dogs; and though not employed in
veterinary practice, appears to be worth a trial. I have known great
numbers of worms discharged from dogs, by giving filings or scrapings of
pewter, which is composed principally of tin and lead. The dose about a
drachm. _Vide_ ANTHELMINTICS.—_White._
TINCTURE, _s._ Colour or taste superadded by something; medical
preparations made by infusing or digesting vegetables, &c.
either in rectified or proof spirit.
Compound tincture of benzoin, commonly named Friar’s, or traumatic
balsam, is made by digesting gum benzoin, aloes, &c. in rectified
spirit. Tincture of opium is made by digesting opium in proof spirit.
There are also tinctures made with vinegar, such as squill and meadow
saffron. Compound spirit of ammonia likewise is sometimes employed, as
in the volatile tincture of guaiacum, and fœtid spirit of
ammonia.—WHITE.
TINDER, _s._ Anything eminently inflammable placed to catch fire.
TINGE, _v._ To impregnate or imbue with a colour or taste.
TINSEL, _s._ A kind of shining cloth; anything shining with false
lustre, anything showy and of little value.
TIP, _s._ Top, point, end, extremity.
TIT, _s._ A small horse, generally in contempt; a woman, in
contempt; a titmouse or tomtit, a bird.
TITLARK, _s._ A small bird; a name for the meadow pipit.
TITMOUSE, _s._ A small species of bird.
This diminutive tribe is distinguished by a peculiar degree of
sprightliness and vivacity, to which may be added a degree of strength
and courage which by no means agrees with its appearance. Birds of this
class are perpetually in motion; they run with great celerity along the
branches of trees, searching for their food in every little cranny,
where the eggs of insects are deposited, which are their favourite food.
During spring they are frequently observed to be very busy among the
opening buds, searching for caterpillars, and are thus actively employed
in preventing the mischiefs that would arise from a too great increase
of those destructive insects, whilst at the same time they are intent on
the means of their own preservation; they likewise eat small pieces of
raw meat, particularly fat, of which they are very fond. None of this
kind have been observed to migrate; they sometimes make short flittings
from place to place in quest of food, but never entirely leave us. They
are very bold and daring, and will attack birds much larger than
themselves with great intrepidity.
These birds are very widely spread over every part of the old continent,
from the northern parts of Europe to the Cape of Good Hope, as well as
to the farthest parts of India, China, and Japan; they are likewise
found throughout the vast continent of America, and in several of the
West India islands. They are every where prolific, even to a proverb,
laying a great number of eggs, which they attend with great solicitude,
and provide for their numerous progeny with indefatigable activity.
All the titmice are distinguished by short bills, which are conical, a
little flattened at the sides, and very sharp-pointed; the nostrils are
small and round, and are generally covered by short bristly feathers,
reflected from the forehead; the tongue seems as if cut off at the end,
and terminated by short filaments; the toes are divided to their origin;
the back toe is very large and strong.—BEWICK.
TIVY, _a._ A word expressing speed, from tantivy, the note of a
hunting-horn.
TOAD, _s._ An animal resembling a frog; but the frog leaps, the toad
crawls; the toad is accounted venomous.
I remember some years ago getting up into a mulberry-tree, and finding
in the fork of the two main branches a large toad almost embedded in the
bark of the tree, which had grown over it so much, that he was quite
unable to extricate himself, and would probably in time be completely
covered over with the bark. Indeed, as the tree increased in size, there
seems to be no reason why the toad should not in process of time become
embedded in the tree itself, as was the case with the end of an oak rail
that had been inserted into an elm-tree, which stood close to a public
footpath. This, being broken off and grown over, was, on the tree being
felled and sawn in two, found nearly in the centre of it. The two
circumstances together may explain the curious fact of toads having been
found alive in the middle of trees, by showing that the bark having once
covered them, the process of growth in the tree would annually convey
the toad more nearly to the centre of it, as happened with the piece of
oak-rail; and by showing that toads, and probably other amphibia, can
exist on the absorption of fluids by the skin alone. This is confirmed
by the following fact. A gentleman informed me that he put a toad into a
small flower pot, and secured it so that no insect could penetrate into
it, and then buried it in the ground at a sufficient depth to protect it
from the influence of frost. At the end of twenty years he took it up,
and found the toad increased in size, and apparently healthy. Dr.
Townson, in his tracts on the respiration of the amphibia, proves, I
think satisfactorily, from actual experiment, that, while those animals
with whose economy we are best acquainted receive their principal supply
of liquids by the mouth, the frog and salamander tribes take in theirs
through the skin alone; all the aqueous fluid which they take in being
absorbed by the skin, and all they reject being transpired through it.
He found that a frog absorbed nearly its own weight of water in the
short space of an hour and a half, and that by being merely placed on
blotting-paper well soaked with water; and it is believed that they
never discharge it, except when they are disturbed or pursued, and then
they only eject it to lighten their bodies, and facilitate their escape.
That the moisture thus imbibed is sufficient to enable some of the
amphibia to exist without any other food, there cannot I think be a
reasonable doubt; and if this is admitted, the circumstance of toads
being found alive in the centre of trees is accounted for by this and
the preceding facts related.
In additional proof however of what has been advanced, I may mention
that the respectable proprietor of some extensive coal-mines in
Staffordshire, informed me that his men, in working into a stratum of
thick coal at a very considerable depth, found three live eels in a
small deposit of water in the centre of a block of coal, which died as
soon as they were taken out of it. Another case was mentioned to me by
an eminent physician. A wet spot had always been observed on a freestone
mantel-piece, which afterwards cracked at that place, and upon its being
taken down, a toad was found in it, dead; but its death was probably
owing to the want of that moisture which it had been enabled to imbibe
when the stone was in the quarry, and which gradually lessened by the
action of the fire, as from the moisture which appeared on that part of
the mantel-piece, some time after it was put up, there seems but little
reason to doubt that the toad was alive at that time.
* * * * *
It is a curious fact that toads are so numerous in the island of Jersey,
that they have become a term of reproach for its inhabitants, the word
‘Crepaud’ being frequently applied to them; while in the neighbouring
island of Guernsey not a toad is to be found, though they have
frequently been imported. Indeed, certain other islands have always been
privileged in this respect. Ireland is free from venomous animals, of
course by the aid of St. Patrick. The same was affirmed of Crete in
olden times, being the birth place of Jupiter. The Isle of Man is said
also to be free from venomous creatures. The Mauritius, and I believe
one of the Balearic islands, enjoys the same immunity.—_Jesse._
TOAST, _v._ To dry or heat at the fire; to name when a health is
drunk.
TOD, _s._ A bush, a thick shrub; a certain weight of wool,
twenty-eight pounds.
TOE, _s._ The divided extremities of the feet, the fingers of the
feet.
TON, _s._ A measure of weight of twenty cwts.
TONIC, _a._ Being extended, being elastic; relating to tones or
sounds; a medicine to strengthen the system.
Tonics, according to Murray, are those substances whose primary
operation is to give strength to the system. Their operation is not
mechanical, as was once conceived; they act not on the simple solids,
increasing their tension or tone, but on the living fibre, and are
merely powerful stimulants permanent in their operation. By producing a
gradual excitement, they give vigour to the actions of the system, and
as that excitement is gradually produced, it is in like manner gradually
diminished, and the habitual stimuli continuing to operate, diminished
action does not succeed. Where tonics however are given in excess, are
used unnecessarily, or for too long a time, they weaken the powers of
life.
Tonics may be divided into minerals and vegetables; the former are
generally considered the most powerful, and I believe are at this time
generally preferred, not only on account of their supposed superior
efficacy, but likewise, probably, from their being less expensive, and
the dose less bulky and inconvenient.
The following is the list of tonics given by Murray, as employed in
veterinary medicine:
_Tonics from the mineral kingdom._—Preparations of quicksilver or
mercury; of iron; of zinc; of copper; of arsenic; of oxymuriate of
potash.
_From the vegetable kingdom._—Peruvian bark, pale, yellow, and red;
Angostura bark; snake-root; contrayerva; canella alba; cascarilla;
calumba; quassia; simarouba; gentian; camomile; wormwood; centaury;
Seville orange peel; horehound. Minerals may be employed either
separately, or in combination.