Chapter XV: Part 15

The common eel will grow to a large size, sometimes to weigh twenty pounds, but that is extremely rare; in 1799 one was taken out of the Kennet, near Newbury, which weighed fifteen pounds. As to instances brought by Dale and others, of these fish increasing to a superior magnitude, there is much reason to suspect them to have been congers; since the enormous eels they describe, have all been taken at the mouth of the Thames or Medway.

* * * * *

The following curious fact is recorded by Mr. Swallow, some years since the British Consul-General in Russia:—Having occasion to go from Petersburgh to Moscow, where eels are a great rarity, he ordered some, to carry as a present; upon being taken out of the water, they were thrown upon the ground to be frozen, and soon appeared quite dead, and almost a piece of ice; they were then packed in snow, and when arrived at Moscow, which was four days after, the eels being put into cold water, and so thawed, discovered gradually signs of life, and soon perfectly recovered!

* * * * *

The eel was anciently said to possess the power of enforcing sobriety upon the most devoted subject of the jolly god. “If you would some notorious drunkard and common swil-bowle to loth and abhorre his beastlie vice, and for ever after to hate the drinking of wine, put an eele alyue into some wyde mouthed potte with a couer, hauing in it suche a quantitie of wine as may suffice of itselfe to suffocate and strangle the eele to death; which doone, take out the dead eele, and let the partie, whom you would have reclaymed from his bibacitie, not knowing hereof, drinke of that wine onely, euen as much as he listeth.”—_Jesse_—_Daniel_—_Sir H. Davy_, _&c._

EFT, _s._ A newt, an evet, a small lizard.

EGG, _s._ That which is laid by feathered animals, from which their
young is produced; the spawn or sperm of creatures.

_Eggs of Birds._—By experiment it appears that birds do not instinctively know the necessary time of incubation.

Those who suppose a bird capable of producing eggs at will, or that any bird is excited to lay more eggs than usual by daily robbing their nest, are certainly mistaken. In a domesticated fowl it is probable the desire of incubation may be prolonged by leaving little or nothing in the nest to sit on. It will therefore lay the number allotted by nature, which is determined before the first egg is produced.

It is but few birds, if any, that would produce a second lot of eggs in the same season if unmolested; but if their nests are destroyed, it is probable three or four separate lots may be produced.

The growth of an egg after impregnation is exceedingly rapid; the yolk only is formed in the _ovarium_, where it remains till within twenty-four hours of its being produced; when that part is fully matured, it separates and falls down the _oviduct_ into the _uterus_, where the egg is perfectly formed; first, the _vitellus_ or yolk is surrounded by the _albumen_ or white; and lastly is covered with a calcareous shell. The very expeditious growth of these last appear to be an extraordinary exertion of nature. The calcareous covering of an egg is concreted and formed in a most expeditious manner; a few hours only seem necessary for this work. Only one _vitellus_ separates from the _ovarium_ at a time, (except as we shall hereafter mention,) till the exclusion of which no other succeeds. But this is a daily production, with few exceptions, there is no more time allowed for perfecting the _albumen_ and shell than twenty-four hours.

_Colours of Eggs._—It was a notion of Darwin’s that the variety in the colours of eggs, as well as in the colours of many animals, is adapted to the purposes of concealment from their natural enemies. Thus, he remarks, that the eggs of the hedge-chanter (_Accentor modularis_) are greenish blue, as are those of magpies and crows, which are seen from beneath in wicker nests, between the eye and the blue of the firmament. M. Glöger, a German naturalist, has followed up this singular theory into some detail, and considers it to be a remarkable provision of nature, that birds whose nests are most exposed, and whose eggs are most open to the view of their enemies, lay eggs of which the colour is the least distinguishable from that of surrounding objects, so as to deceive the eye of birds, or other plundering animals; while birds, the eggs of which have a bright decided colour, and are consequently very conspicuous, either conceal their nests in hollows, or only quit their eggs during the night, or begin to sit immediately. It is also to be remarked that in the species of which the nest is open, and the female brings up the brood without the assistance of the male, these females are generally of a different colour from the male, less conspicuous, and more in harmony with the objects around.

* * * * *

_Eggs of Game._—Taking or wilfully destroying the eggs of game, subjects the offender to the following penalties for each egg:—

Pheasant, partridge, swan £1 0 0
Any wild-fowl, crane, bustard
(and one year’s imprisonment
for the offence) 0 1 8
Bittern, heron, shoveller 0 0 8

_Rennie_—_Montagu_, _&c._

EGRET (_Ardea garzetta_, LINN.; _Egretta_, BUFF.), _s._ A fowl of
the heron kind.

The egret is one of the smallest, as well as the most elegant of the heron tribe: its shape is delicate, and its plumage as white as snow; but what constitute its principal beauty are the soft, silky, flowing plumes on the head, breast, and shoulders: they consist of single slender shafts, thinly set with pairs of fine soft threads, which float on the slightest breath of air. Those which arise from the shoulders are extended over the back, and flow beyond the tail. These plumes were formerly used to decorate the helmets of warriors: they are now applied to a gentler and better purpose, in ornamenting the headdresses of the European ladies, and the turbans of the Persians and Turks.

The egret seldom exceeds a pound and a half in weight, and rarely a foot and a half in length. A bare green skin is extended from the beak to the eyes, the irides of which are pale yellow: the bill and legs are black. Like the common heron, they perch and build their nests on trees, and live on the same kinds of food.

This species is found in almost every temperate and warm climate, and must formerly have been plentiful in Great Britain, if it be the same bird as that mentioned by Leland in the list or bill-of-fare prepared for the famous feast of Archbishop Nevil, in which one thousand of these birds were served up. No wonder the species has become nearly extinct in this country.—_Bewick._

EGYPTIACUM, _s._ Liniment of verdigris. It is useful in diseases of
the frog and heel, and is formed by boiling five ounces of
powdered verdigris, one pound of honey, and seven ounces of
vinegar, until they are incorporated.

EIDER DUCK, ST. CUTHBERT’S DUCK, or GREAT BLACK AND WHITE DUCK
(_Anas mollissima_, LINN.; _L’Eider_, BUFF.), _s._

This wild but valuable species is of a size between the goose and the domestic duck, and appears to be one of the graduated links of the chain which connects the two kinds. The full-grown old males generally measure about two feet two inches in length, and two feet eight in breadth, and weigh from six to above seven pounds. The head is large; the middle of the neck small, with the lower part of it spread out very broad, so as to form a hollow between the shoulders, which while the bird is sitting at ease, seems as if fitted to receive its reclining head. The bill is of a dirty yellowish horn colour, darkish in the middle, and measures, from the tip to the corners of the mouth, two inches and a half: the upper mandible is forked in a singular manner towards each eye, and is covered with white feathers on the sides, as far forward as the nostrils. The upper part of the head is of a soft velvet black, divided behind by a dull white stroke pointing downwards: the feathers from the nape of the neck to the throat, are long, or puffed out, overhanging the upper part of the neck, and look as if they had been clipped off at the lower ends; they have the appearance of pale pea-green velvet shag, with a white line dropping downward from the auriculars on each side. The cheeks, chin, upper part of the neck, back, and lesser wing coverts, are white; the scapulars, and secondary quills, next the body, dirty white: bastard wings, and primary quills, brown; the secondaries and greater coverts are the same, but much darker: the lower broad part of the neck, on the front, to the breast, is of a buff colour; but in some specimens tinged with rusty red: the breast, belly, vent, rump, and tail coverts, are of a deep sooty black: tail feathers hoary brown: legs short and yellow: webs and nails dusky. The female is nearly of the same shape, though less than the male, weighing only between five and six pounds; but her plumage is quite different, the ground colour being of a reddish brown, prettily crossed with waved black lines: and in some specimens the neck, breast, and belly, are tinged with ash: the wings are crossed with two bars of white: quills dark: the neck is marked with longitudinal dusky streaks, and the belly is deep brown, spotted obscurely with black.

The eider duck lays from three to five large, smooth, pale olive-coloured eggs; these she deposits and conceals in a nest, or bed, made of a great quantity of the soft, warm elastic down, plucked from her own breast, and sometimes from that of her mate. The groundwork or foundation of the nest is formed of bent grass, sea weeds, or such like coarse materials, and it is placed in as sheltered a spot as the bleak and solitary place can afford.

In Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen, Lapland, and some parts of the coast of Norway, the eiders flock together, in particular breeding places, in such numbers, and their nests are so close together, that a person in walking along can hardly avoid treading upon them. The natives of these cold climates eagerly watch the time when the first hatchings of the eggs are laid: of these they rob the nest, and also of the more important article, the down with which it is lined, which they carefully gather and carry off. These birds will afterwards strip themselves of their remaining down, and lay a second hatching, of which also they are sometimes robbed; but, it is said, that when this cruel treatment is too often repeated, they leave the place, and return to it no more.

The eider birds build their nests on little islands, not far from the shore, and sometimes even near the dwellings of the natives, who treat them with such kindness and circumspection as to make them quite tame. In the beginning of June they lay five or six eggs, and it is not unusual to find from ten to sixteen eggs in one nest, with two females, who agree remarkably well together. The whole time of laying continues six or seven weeks, during which time the natives visit the nest, for the purpose of taking the down and eggs, at least once a week. They first carefully remove the female, and then take away the down and part of the eggs; after which she lays afresh, covering her eggs with new down plucked from her breast; this being taken away, the male comes to her assistance, and covers the eggs with his down, which is left till the young are hatched. One female, during the whole time of laying, generally gives half a pound of down. The down from the dead birds is accounted of little worth, having lost its elasticity. There are generally exported fifteen hundred or two thousand pounds of down on the company’s account, exclusive of what is privately sold.—The young ones quit the nest soon after they are hatched, and follow the female, who leads them to the water, where, having taken them on her back, she swims with them a few yards, and then dives, and leaves them floating on the water: in this situation they soon learn to take care of themselves, and are seldom afterwards seen on the land, but live among the rocks, and feed on insects and sea-weed.

* * * * *

“In my way hither,” says Major C., “I measured the flight of the eider ducks by the following method; viz., on arriving off Duck Island, six miles distant from Henly Tickle, I caused the people to lay on their oars; and when I saw the flash of the guns, which were fired at a flock of ducks as they passed through the latter, I observed by my watch how long they were in flying abreast of us. The result of very many observations, ascertained the rate of their flight to be ninety miles in an hour.”

* * * * *

The extraordinary elasticity of the down appears from what I have already said of three quarters of an ounce filling a large hat; and Pontoppidan says, that two or three pounds of it, though pressed into a ball, which may be held in the hand, upon being allowed to expand, will fill the foot-covering of a large bed. It is worthy of notice, however, that it is only the down taken from the nests which has this great elasticity, for what is taken from the dead birds is much inferior, being, as Pontoppidan says, “fat, subject to rot, and far from as light as what the female plucks to form a bed for its young.” It is on this account that it is prohibited by the laws of Norway to kill the eiders for their down.

The young have been taken from the Farn Islands, in hopes of their becoming domesticated, but all attempts have proved ineffectual; probably for want of proper food, which is said principally to consist of shell-fish.

The native regions of this bird extend from 45° north, to the highest latitudes yet discovered, both in Europe and America; some wandering pairs have been known to breed on the rocky islands beyond Portland, in the district of Mayne, which is, perhaps, the most southern extent of their breeding place. Greenland and Iceland abound with them, and they are numerous on the coast of Labrador. They associate together in flocks, generally in deep water, diving for shell-fish, retiring frequently to the rocky shore to rest themselves, particularly on the approach of a storm. Their flesh is much esteemed by the inhabitants of Greenland, but tastes strongly of fish. Wilson says, that several attempts have been made to domesticate them, but hitherto without effect.—_Bewick_—_Von Troil_—_Montagu._

ELK, _s._ A large and stately animal of the stag kind.

ELL, _s._ A measure containing a yard and a quarter.

ELM, _s._ The name of a tree.

ELOPS, _s. obs._ A fish, reckoned by Milton among the serpents.

EMACIATE, _v._ To lose flesh, to pine.

EMBROCATION, _s._ The act of rubbing any part diseased with
medicinal liquors; the lotion with which any diseased part is
washed.

Embrocations are of a stimulating nature, and are greatly assisted by friction. Of this kind are opodeldoc, soap liniment, &c.

MUSTARD EMBROCATION.
_For inflammation of the Lungs._

Flour of mustard 4 oz.
Liquid ammonia 1½ oz.
Oil of turpentine 1 oz.

Water, a sufficient quantity to bring it to the consistence of cream. Flour of mustard mixed into a thin paste with water only is a powerful stimulant, and may be employed with good effect in cases of internal inflammation either of the bowels or lungs.

EMBROCATIONS.
_For hard indolent Tumours._

No. 1. Olive oil 4 oz.
Camphor 4 dr.—Mix.

2. Mercurial ointment 2 oz.
Olive oil and camphor, of each 2 dr.

Embrocations of a more stimulating kind are sometimes employed in swellings of the joints, old strains or other local affections, such as soap liniment with liquid ammonia, olive oil, oil of turpentine, and liquid ammonia, but blisters in such cases are generally more effectual.

Embrocations are often improperly employed, as in recent strains, or inflamed tumours, and other cases where emollient or cooling applications are required. Both strains and bruises are, at first, attended with a degree of inflammation, proportionate to the violence of the injury, and the susceptibility of the injured part; therefore they require, at first, such treatment as is calculated to subdue inflammation, that is, bleeding and purging with a suitable diet, and in strains, rest. The local or topical remedies in the inflammatory stage, are poultices, but in these cases bleeding and purging, immediately after their occurrence, are an essential part of the treatment.—_White._

EMERY, _s._ An iron ore, useful in cleaning and polishing steel.

EMMET, _s._ An ant, a pismire.

EMOLLIENT, _a._ Softening, suppling.

EMOLLIENTS, _s._ Such things as sheathe and soften the asperities of
the humours, and relax and supple the solids. _Vide_ POULTICE
and FOMENTATION.

EMULSION, _s._ A form of medicine, by bruising oily seeds and
kernels.

Emulsions are pectoral medicines, generally mixtures of oil and water, by the intervention of an alkali or mucilage, given alone in coughs.

SIMPLE EMULSION.

Salad oil 2 oz.
Clarified honey 3 oz.
Soft water 1 pint
Sub-carbonate of potash 2 dr.—Mix.

PECTORAL EMULSION.

Camphor 1 to 2 dr.

To be rubbed into a powder by means of a few drops of spirit of wine.

Oil of aniseed 12 to 15 drops.

To this mix gradually from 12 oz. to a pint of the simple emulsion. Nitrate of potash and tincture of opium are added in irritability of the bladder.—_White._

ENTER, _v._ To initiate in a business, method, or society.

_To enter hounds._—The first thing to be attended to in young dogs of all kinds is to make them understand their name well, and answer to it, before training; for which they should be rewarded and caressed. After foxhounds have learned to follow freely, they should be coupled, and led out among sheep, deer, &c., and made to understand that such is not their game; but two dogs should never be coupled together, as they are sure to quarrel. A few at a time should be let loose amongst sheep, and if they attempt to run after them, should be severely chastised, and the cry of _ware sheep_ be often repeated to them; which cry will, generally, on future occasions, have the effect of stopping them from sheep-running, without the necessity of using the whip. Great care is necessary at the offset to prevent them from worrying a sheep, which they will sometimes do under the management of careless trainers; for if they be allowed to taste the blood, it will be very difficult afterwards to break them from this bad habit.

Young hounds should be often walked about the courts of the kennel, followed by the whipper in, who should rate them after the huntsman. They should also be frequently taken out with people on foot, which teaches them to be more tractable and attentive, and much more manageable. It is better to take them out to their walks in a country where they are to be hunted, as the sooner they acquire a knowledge of it the better; and when they are thrown out, or left behind, are more likely to find their way home.

In entering fox-hounds it should always be at their own game; although some are foolish enough to begin them with hares, which just requires a second training to break them from that pursuit. Nothing is so good for rendering young hounds obedient as walking them frequently out amongst sheep, hares, and deer, and restraining their pursuit of these animals. This probation will teach them to be steady. A fox-cub should then be turned out before them, in the company of some old hounds as leaders, which train them in a short time instinctively, as it were, to hunt themselves. After they have tasted blood, it will be more difficult to repress their ardour than to excite it. Every means of encouraging them should be used in the earlier stages of their training, and punishment only administered after they have made some progress. In flogging a hound for a fault, the whipper-in should use his voice at the same time; this teaches him to know for what he is beaten; and Mr. Daniel suggests the propriety of introducing a live hare into the kennel, and to flog the dogs soundly whenever they attempt to approach her.

_To enter Hawks._—While the hawk is _waiting on_ at a proper height, his head being turned inwards, a partridge tied to a creance is to be thrown up; and when the hawk has taken it, he must be allowed to eat it on the ground near the falconer, who is to walk round him, and whistle to him as usual.

When this lesson has been repeated three or four times, by throwing up partridges not confined by the creance, the education of the eyess may be considered as completed; and he may be taken into the field to be used in the way that I shall endeavour to describe; but it will be necessary to give him every advantage in his first flights, and to have a live partridge in the bag, ready to be thrown up to him, should he fail in his first attempts to take his game.

I have now described the mode of breaking eyesses, as practised by the falconers; but I am of opinion that it might be better done, and with infinitely less trouble, by using the young hawk, when flying at hack, to feed always on the lure.

He would soon learn to fly to it, when swung round in the air, and would thus be taught to wait on.

The falconer should kneel down to the hawk, when he is feeding on the lure, and give him meat from the hand, by which means he may not only be made tame, but may be prevented from carrying.

When the season for hawking is at hand, a few live partridges should be thrown up to him, and he should be allowed to eat them near the falconer.

I have no doubt but by this treatment a young hawk would be fit for use as soon as he was taken up, and that nothing more would be required than to accustom him to _stand to the hood_.—_Brown_—_Sebright._

ENTERING, _s._ Entrance, passage into a place.

ENTIRE, _a._ Whole, undivided; complete in its parts. ENTIRE HORSE:
a stallion.

E O, _s._ A game.

An E O table is circular in form, but of no exact dimensions, though in general about four feet in diameter. The extreme circumference is a kind of counter or depôt for the stakes, marked all round with the letters E and O; on which each adventurer places money according to his inclination. The interior part of the table consists first, of a kind of gallery, or rolling-place, for the ball, which, with the outward parts, above called depôt or counter, is stationary or fixed. The most interior part moves upon an axis, or pivot, and is turned about with handles, while the ball is set in motion round the gallery. This part is generally divided into forty niches or interstices, twenty of which are marked with the letter E, and the other twenty with the letter O. The lodging of the ball in any of the niches, distinguished by those letters, determines the wager. The proprietors of the tables have two bar holes, and are obliged to take all bets offered either for E or O; but if the ball fall into either of the bar holes, they win all the bets upon the opposite letter, and do not pay to that in which it falls; an advantage in the proportion of two to forty, or five per cent in their favour.—_Hoyle._

EPHEMERA, _s._ An insect that lives only one day.

EPIDEMIC, _s._ That which falls at once upon great numbers of
people, as a plague; generally prevailing, affecting great
numbers of men or animals.

EPILEPSY, _s._ A convulsive motion of the whole body, or some of its
parts, with a loss of sense. _Vide_ BLAINE, WHITE, PERCIVALL.

EQUERRY, _s._ Master of the horse.

EQUESTRIAN, _a._ Appearing on horseback; skilled in horsemanship;
belonging to a horse.

EQUIPAGE, _s._ Furniture for a horseman; carriage, vehicle;
attendance, retinue; accoutrements, furniture.

EQUIPOISE, _s._ Equality of weight, equilibration.

ERGOT, _s._ A sort of stub, like a piece of horn, placed behind and
below the pastern joint.

ERRHINES, _s._ Powders which cause sneezing, by being blown up the
nostrils. They are composed generally of hellebore, snuff,
asarabacca, or turbith mineral.

ERYSIPELAS, _s._ An eruption of a hot acrid humour.

ESCHAR, _s._ A hard crust or scar made by hot applications.

ESCHAROTIC, _a._ Caustic, having the power to sear or burn the
flesh.

Escharotics are generally in the form of powder. Such are nitric oxide of mercury (red precipitate), exsiccated sulphate of alumine (burnt alum), acetate of copper (crystallised verdigris), sulphate of copper (blue vitriol). These are applied, either separately, or two or more of them are mixed together, and finely powdered; sometimes they are mixed with bole armeniac or chalk, by which they are rendered milder, or with lard or digestive ointment.

ESCHAROTIC POWDERS.

No. 1. Exsiccated or burnt alum 2 dr.
Nitric oxide of mercury ½ oz.—Mix.

No. 2. Sulphate of copper 1 oz.
Bole Armeniac 1 oz.—Mix.

No. 3. Acetate of copper 1 oz.
Burnt alum 2 dr.—Mix.

_See_ CAUSTICS, ASTRINGENTS, DIGESTIVES, and DETERGENTS.

ESCHAROTIC LINIMENT.

Honey 8 oz.
Muriatic acid 1 oz.
Verdigris 1 oz.
Mix over a slow fire.

This liniment may be made stronger by substituting nitrous acid for muriatic, or by retaining the muriatic, and substituting for the verdigris one drachm of sublimate. A weaker liniment is made, and a very useful one, by using two ounces of vinegar instead of the muriatic acid. (See EGYPTIACUM). Escharotics are applied to foul ulcers, and are employed to destroy fungous or proud flesh.—_White._

ESCULENT, _s._ Something fit for food.

ESSENCE, _s._ In medicine, the chief properties or virtues of any
simple, or composition, collected into a narrow compass.
_Essence of mustard_, composed of camphor, oil of rosemary, and
oil of turpentine, is a good stimulating embrocation.

ESSENTIAL, _a._ Necessary; important in the highest degree,
principal; pure, highly rectified. _Essential oils_ are obtained
by distillation from mint, pennyroyal, peppermint, lavender,
caraway seeds, anise-seeds, juniper berries, lemon-peel,
sandal-wood, &c.

ESTRAPADE, _s. obs._ The defence of a horse that will not obey, but
rises before, and yerks furiously with his hind legs.

ESTUARY, _s._ An arm of the sea; the mouth of a lake or river in
which the tide ebbs and flows.

ETHER, _s._ An element more fine and subtile than air; a chemical
preparation. Sulphuric ether is a powerful stimulant, and must
be given with caution. White mentions an instance of two ounces
destroying a horse.

ETHIOP’S MINERAL, _s._ A preparation made by rubbing equal parts of
quicksilver and flower of sulphur together, until the mixture
becomes black, and the quicksilver invisible.

Ethiop’s mineral, though generally considered as an inert medicine, is possessed of considerable virtue, and is probably the best mercurial in cases where it is necessary to introduce mercury into the circulation, as in farcy, glanders, obstinate mange, &c. It should be given in a dose of two or three drachms in the horse’s corn, once or twice a day, until an offensive smell is perceived in the horse’s breath, or he is found to stale more than usual; these symptoms indicate that the mercury has got into the circulation. The disorder for which it is given may, at this period, be expected to yield to the mercurial influence, and may not require a further continuance of the medicine.—_White._

EUPHORBIUM, _s._ A plant; a gum resin that exudes spontaneously from
a large oriental tree.

Euphorbium is brought to us in small drops, of a pale yellow colour, which are generally mixed with woody and other extraneous matter. It is used as an external application, and generally employed in the form of tincture; sometimes it is mixed into an ointment with hog’s-lard, mercurial ointment, oil of origanum, oil of bay, &c., being previously reduced to a fine powder. It is also frequently an ingredient in strong blisters, to which it proves a powerful auxiliary. In whatever form euphorbium is employed, it proves extremely acrimonious and stimulating, and is useful in reducing callous swellings of the back sinews, curbs, windgalls, &c.

The tincture is made by steeping one ounce of the powder in four or six ounces of rectified or proof spirit, frequently shaking the bottle which contains the mixture, and keeping it in a warm place; after eight or ten days to be strained off, and kept well corked.—_White._

EWE, _s._ The she sheep.

EXFOLIATION, _s._ The process by which the corrupted part of the
bone separates from the sound.

EXPECTORATION, _s._ The act of discharging from the breast; the
discharge which is made by coughing.

EXPECTORANTS, _s._ Medicines that increase the discharge of mucus,
and thus relieve coughs and impeded breathing. In costive cases
they should be assisted by clysters and bran mashes.

EXPECTORANT BALLS.

1. Gum ammoniacum 2 to 4 dr.
Powdered squill 1 to 2 dr.
Castile soap 3 dr.
Oil of aniseed 30 drops.
Ginger 1 dr.
Syrup enough to form a ball.

2. Gum ammoniacum 2 oz.
Powdered squills 1 oz.
Powdered ipecacuana ½ oz.
Powdered opium ½ oz.
Powdered ginger 1 oz.
Powdered allspice 1 oz.
Oil of aniseed ½ oz.
Balsam of sulphur 4 oz.
Castile soap, softened by being
beaten up with a little syrup 2 oz.

To be beaten into a mass fit for making balls. The dose from one ounce to one ounce and a half daily, or twice a day.

3. Barbadoes aloes 1 dr.
Assafœtida 1 dr.

Liquorice powder and syrup enough to form the ball. One to be given daily until the bowels are a little opened, or the cough is cured.

4. Gum ammoniacum 2 dr.
Powdered squills 1 dr.
Ipecacuana ½ dr.
Castile soap 2 dr.

Syrup and liquorice powder enough to form the ball. One to be given daily, or twice a day.

Dr. Paris, in his Pharmacologia, remarks, that more is to be gained by the combination of these remedies, than can be obtained by any of them separately.

DRENCH.

Garlic bruised 4 oz.
Boiling vinegar 12 oz.

Macerate near the fire three or four hours, then press out the fluid part, and mix with it six ounces of honey. This is sufficient for two doses, and may be given morning and evening. It cannot, perhaps, be too often repeated, that, unless the horse’s diet is carefully attended to, medicine will avail but little, either in chronic cough or imperfect wind.—_White._

EXPLODE, _v._ To drive out with noise and violence.

EXPLOSION, _s._ The act of driving out anything with noise and
violence.

In January, 1809, Mr. Sayers, of Cuckfield, was reloading his fowling-piece; the powder ignited (supposed from a latent spark left by the paper wadding in the barrel), and drove the powder flask, which was copper, to a considerable height in the air, and shattered it to atoms. Mr. Sayers luckily escaped with no injury, except a slight scratch on his fingers. Accidents similar to the above may be effectually prevented by using pieces of pasteboard, felt, or leather, to charge, with instead of soft paper.—_Daniel._

EXTENSOR, _s._ The muscle by which any limb is extended.

EXTIRPATION, _s._ The act of rooting out, excision.

EXTRACT, _v._ To draw out of something; to draw by chemical
operation.

EXUVIÆ, _s._ Cast skin, cast shells; whatever is shed or cast off by
animals.

EYAS, _s._ A young hawk just taken from the nest. _Vide_ HAWK.

EYASMUSKET, _s. obs._ A young unfledged male musket hawk.

EYE, _s._ The organ of vision; any thing formed like an eye; any
small perforation; a small catch into which a hook goes; bud of
a plant.

EYE, _v._ To watch, to keep in view.

EYEBALL, _s._ The apple of the eye.

EYESORE, _s._ Something offensive to the sight.

EYESPOTTED, _a._ Marked with spots like eyes.

EYETOOTH, _s._ The tooth on the upper jaw next on each side to the
grinders, the fang.

EYEWATER, _s._

No. 1. Super-acetate of lead (sugar
of lead) 2 dr.
Vinegar 2 to 4 oz.
Soft water 14 oz.
Mix.

No. 2. Sulphate of zinc 1½ dr.
Diluted sulphuric acid ½ dr.
Water 1½ pint.

3. Super-acetate of lead 2 dr.
Sulphate of zinc 5 scrup.
Water 1 pint.
Mix and strain through blotting paper.

In severe attacks of inflammation of the eye, it is often in so irritable a state as to admit only of the application of warm water, or milk and water; then dilute either of the above eye waters with an equal quantity of warm water; but when the inflammation has abated, they may be made stronger, and applied cold. Should the above formulæ be found ineffectual, let one, two, or three ounces of tincture of opium be added, or a larger proportion of vinegar to No. 1 than is directed. The vinous tincture of opium (_vinum opii_), undiluted, has often done good, applied by means of a small camel hair pencil brush, or squeezed into the inner corner of the eye, by means of a small bit of clean sponge. A solution of the extract of belladonna, in white wine, or diluted spirit, may also be tried. _Vide_ BLAINE, PERCIVALL, and WHITE.

EYRE, _s. obs._ In Forestry, the court of justice itinerant.

EYRY, _s._ The place where birds of prey build their nests and
hatch. _Vide_ AËRIE.

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FALCO, (LINN.), _s._ A genus thus characterised:—

Head covered with feathers, bill strong, short, generally bending from its base, which is covered with a naked and coloured cere. Nostrils round or oval, lateral, and placed in the cere. Tongue in most species fleshy and divided by a slit. Upper orbit of the eye projecting. Legs feathered to the toes, or naked. Toes three forwards and one behind, the middle toe connected with the outer one, as far as the first joint. Claws short and very hooked, strong and retractile. Female superior in size to the male.—_Montagu._

FALCON, _s._ A hawk trained for sport; a bird of immense flight.
_Vide_ HAWK.

It is recorded, that a falcon belonging to a Duke of Cleves, flew out of Westphalia into Prussia in one day; and in the county of Norfolk, a hawk has made a flight at a woodcock near thirty miles in an hour.

But what are these compared to the actual velocity and continuance of the flight of a falcon, that is recorded to have belonged to Henry IV., King of France, which escaped from Fontainbleau, and in twenty-four hours after was found in Malta, a space computed to be not less than 1350 miles? a velocity equal to fifty-seven miles an hour, supposing the hawk to have been on wing the whole time. But as such birds never fly by night, and allowing the day to be at the longest, or to be eighteen hours light, this would make seventy-five miles an hour. It is probable, however, that he neither had so many hours of light in the twenty-four to perform the journey, nor that he was retaken the moment of his arrival, so that we may fairly conclude much less time was occupied in performing that distant flight.—_Vide_ FLIGHT OF BIRDS.

FALCONER, _s._ One who breeds and trains hawks.

The village of Falconswaerd, near Bois le Duc, in Holland, has for many years furnished falconers to the rest of Europe. I have known many falconers in England, and in the service of different princes on the Continent, but I never met with one of them who was not a native of Falconswaerd.

It has been the practice of these sober and industrious men to stay with their employers during the season for hawking, and to pass the remainder of the year with their families at home.

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A falconer, whose province it was to tame, manage, and look after falcons and other hawks, was formerly as great and conspicuous a character as the most celebrated huntsman of the present day. The influence of fashion and the changes wrought by time have, however, so obscured both sport and sportsmen in this way, that neither hawk, falcon, or falconer, are to be seen or heard of, unless in the northern parts of the kingdom, where it is also nearly buried in oblivion.—_Sebright_—_Daniel._

FALCONRY, _s._ _Vide_ HAWKING.

FALLOW, _a._ Pale red, or pale yellow; unsowed, left to rest after
the years of tillage; ploughed, but not sowed; unploughed,
uncultivated.

FALLOW DEER, _s._ The domestic or park deer.

No two animals can make a more near approach to each other than the stag and the fallow deer, and yet no two animals keep more distinct, or avoid each other with more fixed animosity; they never herd or intermix together, and consequently never give rise to an intermediate race. It is even rare, unless they have been transported thither, to find fallow-deer in a country where stags are numerous.

The fallow-deer is easily tamed, and feeds upon many things which the stag refuses; he also preserves his venison better: nor does it appear that the rutting, followed by a long and severe winter, exhausts him, but he continues nearly in the same state throughout the year. He browses closer than the stag, for which reason he is more prejudicial to young trees, and often strips them too close for recovery. The young deer eat faster and with more avidity than the old. At the second year they seek the female, and, like the stag, are fond of variety. The doe goes with young eight months and some days; she commonly produces one fawn, sometimes two, but very rarely three. They are capable of engendering, from the age of two years to that of fifteen or sixteen; and in short they resemble the stag in all his natural habits, and the greatest difference between them is the duration of their lives. From the testimony of hunters it has been remarked, that stags live to the age of thirty-five or forty years, and from the same authority we understand that the fallow-deer does not live more than twenty. As they are smaller than the stag, it is probable that their growth is sooner completed.

* * * * *

If some curious gentleman would procure the head of a fallow-deer, and have it dissected, he would find it furnished with two spiracula, or breathing places, besides the nostrils; probably analogous to the _puncta lachrymalia_ in the human head. When deer are thirsty they plunge their noses, like some horses, very deep under water while in the act of drinking, and continue them in that situation for a considerable time; but, to obviate any inconveniency, they can open two vents, one at the inner corner of each eye, having a communication with the nose. Here seems to be an extraordinary provision of nature worthy our attention; and which has not, that I know of, been noticed by any naturalist. For it looks as if these creatures would not be suffocated, though both their mouths and nostrils were stopped. This curious formation of the head may be of singular service to beasts of chase, by affording them free respiration: and no doubt these additional nostrils are thrown open when they are hard run.—_Buffon_—_White’s Selborne._

FALSE QUARTER, _s._

_False Quarter_ is a defect in the hoof of a horse, originally occasioned by some injury producing a destruction of parts, as quitter, canker, wounds, treads, bruises, or such formation of matter by which a part of the hoof has been unavoidably destroyed, or necessarily taken away. In the regeneration of parts, the incarnation (from the rigid and horny nature of the hoof) is irregular and imperfect, forming a sort of cleft (or artificial union) with the sound part upon the surface, productive of a sensible weakness underneath. This imperfect and defective junction renders such quarter, as it is called, inadequate to the weight it is destined to bear; in which case much judgment is required, and may be exerted, in the palliation, as perfect cure is not to be expected. Care must be taken in forming the shoe to relieve the tender part from the pressure, by hollowing it at that particular spot, and letting the bearing be fixed entirely upon the sound parts. By constant attention in reducing the prominent edges of the irregular projection with the fine side of the rasp, and a few occasional impregnations with fine spermaceti oil, the hoof may be sometimes restored to its original formation.—_Taplin._

FARCY, s. The leprosy of horses.

Farcy is intimately connected with glanders; they will run into each other, or their symptoms will mingle together, and before either arrives at its fatal termination its associate will almost invariably appear. An animal inoculated with the matter of farcy will often be afflicted with glanders, while the matter of glanders will frequently produce farcy. They are different types or stages of the same disease. There is, however, a very material difference in their symptoms and progress, and this most important of all, that while glanders are generally incurable, farcy, in its early stage and mild form, may be successfully treated.

Veterinary writers tell us that it is a disease of the absorbents in the skin, and therefore the first indication of this disease, even before any drooping, or loss of condition, or of appetite, is generally the appearance of little tumours—_farcy buds_—close to some of the veins, following the course of the veins, and connected together by a kind of cord, which farriers call _corded veins_. When they are few and small they may possibly exist for several weeks without being observed; but at length they increase in number and in size, and become painful and hot, and some of them begin to ulcerate. They appear usually about the face or neck, or inside of the thigh, and in the latter case there is some general enlargement of the limb, and lameness.

In some cases, however, the horse will droop for many a day before the appearance of the _buttons_ or _farcy buds_; his appetite will be impaired;—his coat will stare;—he will lose flesh. The poison is evidently at work, but has not gained sufficient power to cause the absorbents to swell. In a few instances these buds do not ulcerate, but become hard and difficult to disperse. The progress of the disease is then suspended, and possibly for many months the horse will appear to be restored to health; but he bears the seeds of the malady about him, and, all at once, the farcy assumes a virulent form, and hurries him off. These buds have sometimes been confounded with the little tumours, or lumps of _surfeit_. They are generally higher than these tumours; not so broad; have a more knotty feel, and are principally found on the inside of the limbs, instead of the outside.

Few things are more unlike, or more perplexing, than the different forms which farcy assumes at different times. One of the legs, and particularly one of the hinder legs, will suddenly swell to an enormous size. At night the horse will appear to be perfectly well, and, in the morning, one leg will be three times the size of the other, with considerable fever, and scarcely the power of moving the limb.

At other times the head will be subject to this enlargement—the muzzle will particularly swell, and a stinking discharge will issue from the nose. Sometimes the horse will gradually lose flesh and strength; he will be hide-bound—mangy eruptions will appear in different parts; the legs will swell; cracks will appear at the heels, and the inexperienced person may conceive it to be a mere want of condition combined with grease.

Farcy, like glanders, springs from infection, or from bad stable management. It is produced by all the causes which give rise to glanders; but with this difference, that it is more frequently generated, and is sometimes strangely prevalent in particular districts.

The treatment of farcy varies with the form it assumes. In the button or bud farcy, a mild dose of physic should be first administered. The buds should be then carefully examined, and if any of them have broken, the budding iron, of a dull red heat, should be applied to them; or if matter should be felt in them, showing that they are disposed to break, they should be penetrated with the iron. These wounds should be daily inspected, and if, when the slough of the cautery comes off, they look pale, and foul, and spongy, and discharge a thin matter, they should be frequently washed with a lotion, composed of a drachm of corrosive sublimate dissolved in an ounce of rectified spirit; the other buds should likewise be examined, and opened with the iron as soon as they evidently contain matter. When the wounds begin to look red, and the bottom of them is even and firm, and they discharge a thick white or yellow matter, the friar’s balsam will speedily heal them. As, however, the constitution is now tainted, local applications will not be sufficient, and the disease must be attacked by internal medicines, as soon as the physic has ceased to operate. The corrosive sublimate will be the best alterative, and may be given in doses of ten grains, gradually increased to a scruple, with two drachms of gentian and one of ginger, and repeated morning and night until the ulcers disappear, unless the horse is violently purged, or the mouth becomes sore, when a drachm of blue vitriol may be substituted for the corrosive sublimate. During this, the animal should be placed in a large box, with a free circulation of air; and green meat, or carrots, the latter more particularly, should be given him, with a fair allowance of corn. If he could be turned out during the day, it would be advantageous; but at all events he should be daily exercised. It is related by Mr. Blaine, that a horse so reduced as not to be able to stand, was drawn into a field of tares, and suffered to take his chance: the consequence was, that when he had eaten all within his reach, he was able to rise and search for more, and eventually recovered. In an early stage of the disease, and if glanders have not appeared, this treatment will frequently succeed. If, after the wounds have healed, the absorbents should continue to be corded, a blister, or light firing, will probably be serviceable.—_The Horse._

FAULT, _s._ Offence; defect; puzzle, difficulty; a term in hunting.

FAVOURITE, _s._ A person or thing beloved. In racing, the term is
used to express supposed superiority, as “first favourite for
the Leger.”

FAWN, _s._ A young deer.

FAWN, _v._ To bring forth a young deer; to court by frisking before
one as a dog.

FEATHER, _s._ The plume of birds; upon a horse, a sort of natural
frizzling hair.

At the root of the first quill in each wing of the woodcock, is a small pointed narrow feather, very elastic, and much sought after by painters, by whom it is used as a pencil. A feather of a similar kind is found in the whole of this tribe, and also in every one of the tringas and plovers which the author has examined.—_Bewick._

FEATHER, _v._ To dress in feathers; to fit with feathers; to tread
as a cock; to strike feathers from a bird fired at.

FEBRIFUGE, s. Any medicine serviceable in fever. _Vide_ FEVER.

FEED, _v._ To supply with food; to graze; to consume by cattle; to
take food; to prey.

FEED, _s._ Food, that which is eaten; a certain portion of corn
given to a horse.

FEEDER, _s._ One that gives food; one that eats; a kennel servant.

FEELER, _s._ One that feels; the horns or antennæ of insects.

FEET, _s._ The plural of foot.

_Feet of Birds._—Technical terms:—

_Pinnatus._—Finfooted or scalloped, a term applied to the feet of coots.

_Pes lobatus._—Applied when the toes are furnished with broad plain membranes, as in the foot of the red-necked grebe.

_Semi-palmatus_—Semi-palmated: when the middle of the webs reach only about half the length of the toes.

When the middle toe claw is notched like a saw, it is called _serrated_; and _pectinated_ when toothed like a comb.

* * * * *

The large crooked talons of birds of prey, and their hooked beaks, are well formed for securing and tearing their victims. The formation of the feet of the woodpeckers, the toes being placed two forward and two backward, is well calculated for climbing, and the cuneiform shape of the extremity of their bills is suited to the purpose of cutting holes in decayed trees; their tongue is also wonderfully contrived to search out insects beyond the reach of their bill, by its great length, which is double that of the tongue at least. The wryneck has this singularity, as well as the like formation of toes; which last is also found in the cuckoo: but neither of these birds is seen to climb up the bodies of trees, nor have either the stiff sharp-pointed feathers in the tail, as in the woodpecker, so admirably adapted to support them when in the act of hewing. This agrees with the observations of an ingenious living naturalist, the Rev. Revett Shepherd. “The cuckoo,” says he, “is furnished with two toes before and two behind, and yet is never known actually to climb, a convincing proof that such conformation does not necessarily bring with it the power of climbing, more especially when we consider that the nuthatch (_Sitta Europæa_), and the creeper (_Certhia familiaris_), have their toes placed in the usual manner, and yet run up and down trees with as much facility as the woodpeckers. The use of the _pedes scansorii_, as they evidently in this case conduce not to climbing, I judge to be this; it is well known that this bird will oftentimes sit by the half-hour together on the bough of a tree, vociferating its loud and pleasing note; in doing this, it sits remarkably forward, and appears in constant agitation, continually moving its body up and down with great elegance; now, as it sits so forward, while using this exertion, it would be liable to lose its balance and quit its hold, had it only one toe behind; whereas, by the contrivance of two, it is enabled strongly to adhere to the branch.”

The legs and feet of aquatic birds are wonderfully formed for accelerating their motion in that element, which is their greatest security. The bone of the leg is sharp, and vastly compressed sideways: the toes, when the foot is brought forward, close in behind each other in such a manner as to expose a very small surface in front, so that, in the action of swimming, very little velocity is lost in bringing the legs forward; this is very conspicuous in the diver. Some aquatic birds are web-footed before the whole length of the toes, as in the ducks; others only half the length of the toes, like the avoset. Some again have all four toes webbed, as in the cormorant; others whose feet are furnished with a fin-like membrane or each side of the toes; these are either plain, as in the grebe, or lobed, as in the coot and phalarope. There are also some who swim and dive well, whose toes are long and slender, and not furnished with webs or fins, such as the water-hen and rail; but these live as much on land as in water. The gulls and terns, although web-footed, seem incapable of diving; the latter, indeed, we never observed to settle on the water; the former is so buoyant that it floats elegantly on the surface. The avoset, whose feet bespeak it an inhabitant of the water, does not seem to have the power of swimming; the water-ouzel, on the other hand, has not the least appearance of an aquatic, nor can it swim; but it will dive, and remain a long time under water. The serrated claw in the heron and nightjar is a singular structure, which we have not discovered the use of. The bill as well as the feet of birds, makes one of the strong natural divisions; but these are described under the head of each genus.

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