Chapter XXI: Part 21

_Peritus._ The advantage you here mention, does not come into play—it is a matter of consideration for the workman alone. I would admit it, did I consider that the workman himself was ill-paid, but the contrary is the fact. It has already been conceded, that, although a gun progresses in value as it progresses in price, yet not in an equal ratio, and part of the difference consists in the greater (I might most say undue) pay, in proportion to his labour, which a first-rate workman can procure; and secondly, in the great credit which any one maker may obtain over others from the known excellence of his work: these latter are two little monopolies, and must be paid for while they exist; but it is your business to fix a limit upon this by selecting from the best makers, and procuring the most for your money; and you may be certain, that although large manufactories can be carried on with greater advantage in the country, in circumstances where moderate ability is required, and many hands used, and machinery can also be called into play upon the same terms, yet superior manual dexterity will always overcome the difference of dearness of living and present itself where there is and ever must be the greatest mart, and most continued as well as highest bidders for it; to wit, in that place where the manufacture to be produced is in the highest credit and perfection. And as these two will, therefore, continue to operate upon each other, the demand for guns and the perfection of their manufacture, will draw the best workmen, and they will again produce the most perfect guns: and London will thus continue the best mart for the buyer as well as the seller, until some other city spring up, where the purchasers of the article become more numerous, and the talents of the workmen more appreciated.

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That our times should be as far distinguished for increased effect and superior elegance in the formation of fire-arms, as for any other mechanical improvement, will be admitted by all but the most prejudiced of the old school. Antique gunners may still be found, who are obstinate in preferring the flint to the percussion plan. But any person who has suffered the disappointments that the best guns on the former principle will entail upon those who carry them, and particularly in wet and stormy weather, will freely admit the wonderful advantages that simple and effective invention, the copper-cap, confers upon the modern sportsman. The misery entailed upon the man who in rain and storm attempts to load and discharge a flint gun, may be reckoned among the worst upon the human catalogue; and if he who has suffered repeated disappointments of eternal misses and dilatory explosions from a thick flint and a damp pan, tried the simple and elegant improvement now in general use, he would abandon the stone gun for ever.

It has been said that gun-making is only brought to perfection in London, and that the Irish are not able to compete with their English rivals. I am, I confess, decidedly partial to a London gun; and while I admit that I have occasionally met with excellent fire-arms produced by Dublin makers, yet they are, in finish and elegance, generally behind those which one gets from any of the leading artists in the great metropolis. To point to any particular name among the host of London makers, would be absurd. From more than a dozen a person will be certain of obtaining a first-rate implement; and from the Mantons, Purdy, Egg, and many others, guns of the most efficient qualities and beautiful finish will be procured.

* * * * *

_Trial between French and English Guns._—We then made trial of some guns of the manufactory, and it may be reasonably supposed the best were selected. I had only brought two of my own, one of which was my coach gun, not more than two feet long, but even this far surpassed those produced by the manufactory. They made some shots at the distance of ninety-eight yards, but did not succeed.

It was afterwards agreed to have a full and fair trial of my guns against the manufactory, and each party was naturally anxious for success. The Poker, or Bonaparte, as the gun is termed, opened the ball, and she threw her shot so exactly, that the French admitted, “une mouche ne pouvoit pas l’echapper.”

Theirs in return failed, after which they assayed about four others. The next was my air gun, at ninety-three yards, against their rifle. I shot within an inch of their mark though it was not fully pumped; the day was extremely sultry, and yet my next shot was still more exact.

The next trial was my double rifle, which was, apparently, greatly in their favour, as the sight to a single rifle is far more accurate. On preparing to reload, I found that, owing to some mistake, the loader and the bullet moulds were either lost or mislaid. However, some bullets were found to fit, and, after loading with powder merely by guess, I made eight shots, each sufficient to pierce through a deer’s head, and one even touched the edge of the white.

We had several other trials both with rifles and air guns, but the result afforded a convincing proof of the superiority of the English manufactures: several bets were made on this occasion, and general Beaumont, the appointed judge, decided impartially in favour of my guns, but, out of respect for the civilities I had received, I ordered a single and double barrelled gun of the best make.

* * * * *

The mounting of their guns at Versailles is certainly excellent, and the carving of their stocks is most beautifully conceived and is capitally executed, but their barrels are not fitted in that workman-like manner which constitutes a striking excellence in the English manufactories. They are also very inferior to my countrymen in the art of browning, and in the construction of their locks.

The manufactory at Versailles was under the patronage of the First Consul, and he frequently ordered the most costly pieces, as presents for foreign princes, or general officers; one gun was produced which was then completing for the Consul, at the price of eight hundred guineas. The sum was certainly very great, but I remember receiving a fowling piece as a present from Lord Rockingham, which cost his lordship four hundred guineas, in consequence of my having killed a sparrow, which had perched on the top of Wentworth house.

* * * * *

_Anno_ 1712, a brass gun was advertised to be shot for, at Hoxton, which was in the shape of a walking cane, might be used either as a gun or pistol, and which contained a telescope, a dial on the head, and a perpetual almanac.

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_Directions for cleaning guns._—Let your barrels be first washed perfectly clean with cold, and then fill each of them with hot water; which, by the time it has nearly run out at the touch-holes, will accelerate their being wiped dry, as much as though boiling water had been used; and before they have completely discharged the water, stop the muzzles and touch-holes; and after shaking it up and down in the barrels, turn it out at the muzzles, by which means you will effectually stir up and expel any extraneous matter that may have lodged in the bottom of the chambers. To ascertain this, hold them with the touch-holes towards the window, and (with the breechings which I have recommended) you will, by looking into each muzzle, plainly perceive the light in the chamber appearing like one dot surrounded by two (and sometimes three) rings. I have recommended washing guns with cold water, from having found that it always more readily removes the foulness occasioned by the powder, which, from sudden heat, is apt, at first, to dry and adhere more closely to the calibre: whereas, with cold water, it remains in a moist state, and immediately mixes.

In cleansing barrels, a little fine sand may not be amiss, and will generally answer in removing the lead. If hot water should be required for this purpose, the gun may be scoured with it, after having been washed with cold.

Gun-makers generally apply hot water to clean the barrels if much leaded, and afterwards finish with cold; but cold water is best, and the tow being strewed over with steel-filings, will better remove the lead, and at the same time do no injury to the inside polish of the barrel.

Every shooter should have the breeches of his guns taken out at least twice a year. To undo them without springing the barrels, let him use tallow and wax mixed, and anoint the threads; steeping the barrels in warm water before trying to unscrew them; any fault may be easily discovered by thus inspecting the barrels.

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If a stupid fellow wedges dry tow into your gun, with the cleaning rod, pour boiling water on it, and the rod may then be turned round and drawn out. I remember this occurred with a large punt-gun, at which I caught four men hauling away most unmercifully, but to no effect; I luckily came by and saved the destruction of the cleaning-rod, if not the injury of the barrel, by suggesting this simple contrivance.

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TECHNICAL TERMS USED BY GUN-MAKERS.

Bolts—Pieces of iron, which fasten the barrel to the stock.

Bridle—The polished piece of steel, which caps the tumbler; it is secured by two screws, and also the scear-screw.

Cap—The covering for the worm of the ramrod.

Chain or Swivel—A little catch attached to the neek of the tumbler, which receives the end of the mainspring.

Chamber—Centre tube in breeching. Antechamber is the smaller tube, leading from this to the touch-hole.

Cock-screw—That which fastens the flint.

Cup—The concave at the top of the improved breechings.

Escutcheons, ornamental—Pieces of silver, to prevent bolts from wearing the stock; and also the shield on which the crest and cipher are engraved.

Face of the Hammer—The part which, by coming in contact with the flint, strikes fire.

False Breeching—The part where the nose of the breechings hook in, before the barrels can be laid in the stock.

False Breech-screw—Passes through the stock into the trigger-plate, and screws them together.

Fence—The part between cock and pan, on which is received the solid cock.

Guard—Curved plate to defend the triggers.

Hammer-spring—That on which the hammer is moved.

Hammer-bridle—A part which the tail of the hammer works in.

Heel-plate—The plate with which the butt is tipped.

Jaw—Lips of the cock, to hold the flint.

Lock-plate—Plate to which all the lock is screwed.

Loops—Eyes to receive the bolts that fasten the barrel to the stock.

Mainspring—That spring by which the tumbler is worked with the cock.

Nipple—The iron pillar on which the copper cap of a detonating-gun is placed.

Pipes—Tubes to receive the ramrod.

Rib—Piece of iron which strengthens the barrel, and on which the ramrod rests.

Scroll-guard—An extension from the guard to steady the hand.

Scear—That which catches the tumbler for half or whole cock, and which, being pushed up by the trigger, lets the cock fall.

Scear-spring—The spring which holds the scear in the notches of the tumbler, at half or whole cock.

Side-nail—A screw which fastens on the locks.

Sight—The piece of metal, attached to the end of a gun-barrel, to assist the eye in taking aim at an object.

Spring-cramp—A small instrument for dissecting locks.

Tail—The shoulder of a hammer.

Top-piece—Elevated rib, along which is directed the line of aim.

Trigger-plate—Plate in which the triggers work.

Trigger-springs—Small springs to keep the triggers constantly pressing close to scear.

Tumbler—The moveable centre piece of a lock, which falls with the cock.

Tumbler-screw—The screw which fastens on the cock.

Vent-hole—A small hole at the side of the breeching in detonating-guns, to let out the gas, and lessen the recoil.

Worm—Screw at the end of ramrod.—_Hints to Sportsmen_—_Thornton_—_Daniel_—_Hawker_—_Wild Sports._

GUNPOWDER, _s._ The powder put into guns to be fired.

Gunpowder is composed of very light charcoal, sulphur, and well refined saltpetre. The powder used by sportsmen in shooting game is generally composed of six parts of saltpetre, one of charcoal, and one of sulphur; but these proportions, as well as the introduction of other ingredients, and the sizes of the grains, are undoubtedly varied by the different manufacturers in the composition of the powders of the same denominations, and are always kept profoundly secret.

The materials are put into a wooden trough, where they are ground together, to render the contact of the nitrous and combustible particles intimate and equal throughout the whole mass. The mixture is occasionally sprinkled with water to form an amalgam, which is afterwards granulated, and to prevent the finer particles of the sulphur and the charcoal from flying off, which would necessarily alter the proportion of the composition. The powder-makers employ more or less time in the operation of grinding, in proportion to the quantity and quality of the saltpetre. When they conceive that the ingredients are properly mixed together, they from the paste form these little grains, which, being dried, obtain the name of gunpowder.

There are two general methods of examining gunpowder, one with regard to its _purity_, the other with regard to its _strength_.

Its _purity_ is known by laying two or three little heaps near each other upon white paper, and firing one of them. For if this takes fire readily and the smoke rises upright, without leaving any dross or feculent matter behind, and without burning the paper, or firing the other heaps, it is esteemed a sign that the sulphur and nitre were well purified, that the coal was good, and that the ingredients were thoroughly incorporated together; but if the other heaps also take fire at the same time, it is presumed, that either common salt was mixed with the nitre, or that the coal was not well ground, or the whole mass not well beat or mixed together; and if either the nitre or sulphur be not well purified the paper will be black or spotted.

To determine the _strength_ of powder, dry it perfectly and ascertain how many sheets of paper it will drive the shot through at the distance of ten or twelve yards. In this trial we should be careful to employ the _same sized shot_ in each experiment—the quantity both of the shot and the powder being regulated by exact weight, otherwise we cannot, even in this experiment, arrive to any certainty in comparing the strength of different powders, or of the same powder at different times.

Mr. Daniel, in speaking of gunpowder, gives the following recipe for increasing its strength. We entirely coincide in his opinion that it is quite unnecessary to augment the force of modern gunpowder, and insert the directions rather for the experimentalist than the sportsman.

“The following method of increasing the force of gunpowder one-third in proportion to its original goodness, was discovered by a physician of Fogano, in Tuscany, whose name was Francesco. To every pound of powder add four ounces of quick lime, fresh and well pulverised; let the whole be shaken until the mixture is perfect, and afterwards kept for use in a close stopped vessel. To the chemists is left to decide upon what principle the lime acts in strengthening the powder. The experiment is said to be certain. It is necessary to add, that the powder used in priming must be unmixed with lime. Without artificially augmenting the strength of gunpowder, that made by Messrs. Pigou and Andrews will be found excellent; and it is to be feared, if a gentleman cannot kill with the above, no chemical preparation will much assist his endeavours.”

The concluding observations are taken from a very clever and ingenious work, published many years ago, and entitled “An Essay on Shooting.”

Powder ought to be kept very dry; every degree of moisture injures it. Good powder, however, does not readily imbibe moisture; and, perhaps, there is no greater proof of the bad quality of powder, than its growing damp quickly when exposed to the air. This readiness to become moist, depends upon the saltpetre employed in the composition not having been freed from the common salt it contains in its crude state, and which, in consequence, has a very strong attraction for watery particles.

Powder may acquire a small degree of dampness, and be freed from it again by drying, without much injury to its quality. But if the moisture is considerable, the saltpetre is dissolved, and the intimate mixture of the several ingredients thereby entirely destroyed. Drying powder with too great a heat also injures it; for there is a degree of heat, which, although not sufficient to fire the powder, will yet dissipate the sulphur, and impair the composition by destroying the texture of the grains. The heat of the sun is, perhaps, the greatest it can with safety be exposed to, and, if properly managed, is sufficient for the purpose; when this cannot be had, the heat of a fire, regulated to the same degree, may be employed; and for this end, a heated pewter plate is perhaps as good as anything, because pewter retains so moderate a heat, that there can be little danger of spoiling the powder by producing the consequences before-mentioned.

It is observable that damp powder produces a remarkable foulness in the fowling-piece after firing, much beyond what arises from an equal quantity of dry powder; and this seems to arise from the diminution of the activity of the fire in the explosion.

Unless the sportsman is _very particular indeed_ in the mode of keeping his powder, we would recommend him always to air it and his flask before he takes the field.

Flasks made of copper or tin are much better for keeping powder in than those made of leather, or than small casks; the necks of these should be small, and well stopped with cork.—_Wild Sports._

GUNSHOT, _s._ The reach or range of a gun.

GUNSHOT, _a._ Made by the shot of a gun.

GUNSMITH, _s._ A man whose trade is to make guns.

GUNSTICK, _s. obs._ The rammer.

GUNSTOCK, _s._ The wood to which the barrel of a gun is fixed.
_Vide_ STOCK.

_To repair a broken stock._—See then, I first put a little glue between the fractured parts, and then tie them strongly round. Hand me that gimlet. Now we have a hole right through, at right angles with the grasp;—dip that peg in glue, and hand it over to me—so now we have it driven tight in. I let loose the string at one end, and begin to bind the stock with this waxed thread, leaving the glue that has oozed from the sides of the wood to lay hold of the thread—so now it is finished off like a cricket-bat. Let us borrow a small strip of ribband of the hostess, to bind over and prevent our friend’s hand from being stuck to the stock. Enough; I will venture to say that the bandage would remain firm much longer than it will be left there; and though the grasp of the gun is a little thicker, it will not much matter, and it is but a make-shift after all.—_Hints to Grown Sportsman._

GURGITTING, _s._ In falconry, act of suffocation in hawks.

GUST, _s._ A sudden violent burst of wind.

GUT, _s._ The long pipe reaching with many convolutions from the
stomach to the vent; the stomach, the receptacle of food.

GUT, _v._ To eviscerate, to draw; to take out the inside.

GWINNIAD, _s._ The name of a fish.

The gwinniad, although a fish, is not immediately within the list of those that are objects of the angler’s attention, yet it is noticed as being a native of peculiar parts of this country. It is found, according to Pennant, in one of the lakes of Ireland—Lough Neagh, where it is called the pollen; in Lough Maben, in Scotland, where it is termed the vangis; and the Scotch have a tradition, that it was there first introduced by their beauteous queen, the unhappy Mary Stuart.

They are taken in nets, but never by any bait, keeping on the bottom of the lake, and feeding on small shells, and the leaves of the water gladiole, a plant peculiar to these mountain lakes.—_Daniel._

GYMNASTIC, _a._ Relating to athletic exercises.

GYRATION, _s._ The act of turning any thing round; the ascent of a
hawk.

GYRE, _s._ A circle described by anything going in an orbit.

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HAAK, _s._ A fish.

HACK, _v._ To turn hackney; to abuse.

HACKLE, _s._ Raw silk, any filmy substance unspun.

_To Prepare Hackles._—First, pick and bunch them, and be careful they are the feathers of old cocks, otherwise they will not be worth a farthing when dyed, as they will all curl in on each edge, and shrivel up in the points. Bunch each colour by themselves, and throw them into a basin of hot water. Take them out one by one, and rub soap on them downwards, dipping them occasionally in the water till you see they are clean; dip them in a weak solution of alum water, and then wash them very well in clean water, and they are done.

Every shade of red will come out of the dye, differing in colour, whether olive or cinnamon. For olives, ground richly in turmeric, and throw into the same liquor the size of a hazel nut of best madder. Boil in that a quarter of an hour, and throw in a small bit of copperas, first lifting out your hackles till the copperas is dissolved, and when the liquor boils, throw in your feathers for an instant, and you have fine olives. Black hackles dyed in this way, become a rich green olive, or dooghadoo. For cinnamons ground richly in turmeric, all red hackles; then put in two teaspoonfuls of cochineal, ground or powdered, boil them in that for a quarter of an hour, then put in one teaspoonful of best brazil dust, and boil for a quarter of an hour, and you have fine cinnamons. Any dirty tawneys, or grizzle hackles may be dyed in this, and it will improve them much. There is a sort of reddish cuckoo hackle that may be dyed in turmeric and madder, as in the olive hackle process, but not to have any copperas. There is also a yellowish white with a black vein in the middle, and edged with black. All whites, natural yellows, or yellowish whites for the drakes. There is a scald whitish cuckoo hackle with very little black in it—have nothing to do with them. All those marked as above should be dyed in the following way:—

Take one chip of young fustic, and two or three seedy sprigs of French weed; boil in this till they come to a faint yellow: draw them, if you wish a bunch of that colour, and if not, put in one pinch of turmeric, and one of madder; boil in this for a quarter of an hour, and I think you will have fine hackles for the drakes. You have no richness from the weed, but when you add the turmeric and madder you have. In every instance except this, I condemn and forbid the dyeing with turmeric and young fustic, as it will ruin every thing that is dyed in it—it gives so bad a colour.

_To stain hackles of a fine rich Gold Colour._—Ground strongly in turmeric, then add a tea-spoonful of best madder, boil well for fifteen minutes, and draw them. Add then two spoonfuls more of madder, and boil for the same time, and draw again. Then add three more, and boil as before; and, lastly, add six spoonfuls of madder, and boil for half an hour, and you have four fine shades of gold colours.—_Ancient Recipes._

HACKNEY, _s._ A hired horse; a hireling; any thing let out for hire;
a horse of small value used to ride to cover.

HACKNEY, _v._ To practise in one thing; to accustom to the road.

HADDOCK, _s._ A sea fish of the cod kind.

The haddock, one of the commonest fishes in the London markets, begins to be in roe in the middle of November, and so continues until the end of January; from that time until May they are thin tailed, and much out of season. The grand shoal of haddocks comes periodically on the Yorkshire coasts.

Fishermen assert, that when the sea is rough, haddocks sink down into the ooze and sand at the bottom, and there shelter themselves until the storm subsides; their reason for this assertion is, that in boisterous weather they take none, and those that are caught immediately after a storm, have their backs covered with mud. The bulk of the haddock is seldom known to exceed fourteen pounds; these are uncommon, and extremely coarse, the best for the table weighing from two to three pounds. The black spot beyond the gills, is the mark which superstition interprets to be the impression left by the finger and thumb of St. Peter, when he took the tribute money out of the mouth of a fish of this species, and which has been ever since that miracle continued to the whole race of haddocks.

The haddock taken on the Irish coasts are much superior to what is found in the English markets. Those of seven or eight pounds weight are preferred to smaller fish, being considered finer and firmer.—_Daniel, &c._

HAFT, _s._ A handle, that part of an instrument that is taken into
the hand.

HAGGARD, _a._ Wild, untamed, irreclaimable; lean; rugged, deformed.

HAGGARD, _s._ Any thing wild or irreclaimable; a species of hawk.

HAIL, _s._ Drops of rain frozen in their falling; a provincial name
for shot.

HAIR, _s._ One of the common teguments of the body; a single hair;
any thing proverbially small; small filaments issuing out of the
pores of the skins of animals, and serving for the most part as
a covering. The constituent parts of hair are animal matter,
oil, silex, sulphur, carbonate of lime, &c.—_Crabbe._

Hair that is most proper, is that taken from a young, healthy, grey, or white stallion, and which is of a pale transparent water-colour; that from the middle of the tail is the best. The hairs should be sorted singly, and the biggest, roundest, and freest from blemishes, made up into small bundles; the next sized hairs, and all that are sound and good, are to be alike sorted and parcelled out; they are then to be laid in clean spring water for twelve hours; after that, washed well, and dried either with bran, or by hanging them in a room where the heat of a fire or sun comes (they must not be placed too near a fire); when dry, they should be again sorted, and the best done up five or six score together, with their root-ends quite equal, and tied round with thread at both ends and in the middle, and should be kept in a dry place. Hair must not touch oil, which will make it hollow and soon decay; it ought to be kept in parchment. Dipping it in water every two or three months, and afterwards slowly drying it, will preserve it for years.

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Sorrel, chestnut, or brown-coloured hairs are best for ground angling, especially in muddy waters, as they nearly resemble the colour of the water; white, grey, or darkish white hair, is for clear streams. Some use a pale watery green for weedy rivers in summer. Black will only do for rivers immediately flowing from mosses.

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_To make the hair grow in horses._—When the surfeit or sharp humour prevents the wound healing, take a piece of fresh butter and boil it in a spoon, to which, add a common charge of gunpowder; mix well, and anoint the part at night; wash off the ointment with vinegar in the morning; repeat this for two or three times.

HAIRCLOTH, _s._ Stuff made of hair; it is useful in cleansing a
horse’s skin of impurities.

It is also assistant to health, that confined dogs should have their hides rubbed every day with a hair cloth, or a wisp of straw; this dislodges the furfuraceous matter of the skin, and prevents its adhesion, which forms the first step to mange: it also assists general circulation, and stands in the stead of exercise. This practice of rubbing would prove an excellent substitute for washing in many cases, particularly where water proves injurious, which it sometimes does to delicate dogs.—_Blaine._

HALE, _a._ Healthy, sound, hearty.

HALF-BRED, _s._ Any horse not thorough bred; half-bred, imperfect.

HALIBUT, _s._ A sort of fish.

HALLOO, _interj._ A word of encouragement when dogs are let loose on
their game.

HALLOO, _v._ To cry as after dogs; to encourage with shouts; to
chase with shouts; to call or shout to.

HALM, _s._ Straw.

HALT, _v._ To limp, to be lame; to stop in a march.

HALTER, _s._ A rope to hang malefactors; a cord; a manger rope.

HALTER, _v._ To bind with a cord; to catch in a noose.

HAMMER, _s._ The instrument, consisting of a long handle and heavy
head, with which any thing is forced or driven; a part of a gun
cock.

If a hammer is too hard, the flint will make scarcely any impression on it; and if too soft, it soon becomes dented, like lead; but when of good temper, the impression is moderate, and the sparks, before they are extinguished, pause in the pan, and occasion a whizzing noise.—_Hawker._

HAMMER, _v._ To beat with a hammer; to forge or form with a hammer.

HAMMOCK, _s._ A swinging bed, generally used in vessels; a hempen
cloth bag to sleep on, six feet long and three feet wide.

HAMSTRING, _s._ The tendon of the ham.

HAMSTRING, _v._ To lame by cutting the tendon of the ham.

HAND, _s._ That member of the body which reaches from the wrist to
the fingers’ end; measure of four inches; cards held at a game;
pressure of the bridle.

HANDER, _s._ Conveyer in succession; the person who manages the cock
when fighting.

HANDFUL, _s._ As much as the hand can gripe or contain; a small
quantity.

HANDGALLOP, _s._ A slow easy gallop.

HANDGUN, _s. obs._ A gun wielded by the hand.

HANDLE, _s._ That part of any thing by which it is held in the hand.

HANDY, _a._ Ready, dexterous, skilful, convenient.

HANK, _s._ A skein of thread; a skein of gut containing 100 threads.

HARBOUR, _s._ A port or haven for shipping; an asylum; a shelter;
the lair or haunt of a dog.

HARBOUR, _v._ To entertain, to shelter, to secure; to trace a deer
to cover.

HARDY, _a._ Brave, stout, daring; strong, hard, firm.

HARE, _s._ A small quadruped, remarkable for timidity, vigilance,
and fecundity.

The generic character of the hare consists in its having two front teeth, both above and below; and the upper pair duplicate, two small interior ones standing behind the others: the forefeet with five, and the hinder with four toes.

These animals live entirely on vegetable food, and are all remarkably timid. They run by a kind of a leaping-pace, and in walking they use their hind feet as far as the heel. Their tails are either very short (called in England scuts), or else they are entirely without.

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_The Common Hare._—This little animal is found throughout Europe, and indeed in most of the northern parts of the world. Being destitute of weapons of defence, it is endowed by Providence with the passion of fear. Its timidity is known to every one: it is attentive to every alarm, and is, therefore, furnished with ears very long and tubular, which catch the most remote sounds. The eyes are so prominent, as to enable the animal to see both before and behind.

The hare feeds in the evenings, and sleeps in his form during the day; and as he generally lies on the ground, he has the feet protected both above and below, with a thick covering of hair. In a moonlight evening, many of them may frequently be seen sporting together, leaping about and pursuing each other: but the least noise alarms them, and they then scamper off, each in a different direction. Their pace is a kind of gallop, or quick succession of leaps; and they are extremely swift, particularly in ascending higher grounds, to which, when pursued, they generally have recourse, here their large and strong hind legs are of singular use to them. In northern regions, where, on descent of the winter’s snow, they would, were their summer fur to remain, be rendered particularly conspicuous to animals of prey, they change in the autumn their yellow grey dress, for one perfectly white; and are thus enabled, in a great measure, to elude their enemies.

In more temperate regions, they choose in winter a form exposed to the south, to obtain all the possible warmth of that season: and in summer, when they are desirous of shunning the hot rays of the sun, they change this for one with a northerly aspect: but in both cases they have the instinct of generally fixing upon a place where the immediately surrounding objects are nearly the colour of their own bodies.

In one hare that a gentleman watched, as soon as the dogs were heard, though at the distance of nearly a mile, she rose from her form, swam across a rivulet, then lay down among the bushes on the other side, and by this means evaded the scent of the hounds. When a hare has been chased for a considerable length of time, she will sometimes push another from its seat, and lie down there herself. When hard pressed, she will mingle with a flock of sheep, run up an old wall, and conceal herself among the grass on the top of it, or cross a river several times at small distances. She never runs in a line directly forward, but constantly doubles about, which frequently throws the dogs out of the scent; and she generally goes against the wind. It is extremely remarkable that hares, however frequently pursued by the dogs, seldom leave the place where they were brought forth, or that in which they usually sit; and it is a very common thing to find them after a long and severe chase, in the same place the following day.

The females have not so much strength and agility as the males; they are, consequently, more timid, and never suffer the dogs to approach them so near, before they rise as the males. They are likewise said to practise more arts, and double more frequently.

This animal is gentle, and susceptible even of education. He does not often, however, though he exhibits some degree of attachment to his master, become altogether domestic: for although taken very young, brought up in the house, and accustomed to kindness and attention, no sooner is he arrived at a certain age, than he generally seizes the first opportunity of recovering his liberty, and flying to the fields.

Whilst Dr. Townson was at Gottingen, he had a young hare brought to him, which he took so much pains with, as to render it more familiar than these animals commonly are. In the evenings it soon became so frolicsome, as to run and jump about his sofa and bed; sometimes in its play it would leap upon, and pat him with his forefeet, or whilst he was reading, even knock the book out of his hand. But whenever a stranger entered the room, the little animal always exhibited considerable alarm.

Mr. Borlase saw a hare that was so familiar as to feed from the hand, lie under a chair in a common sitting room, and appear, in every other respect, as easy and comfortable in its situation as a lap-dog. It now and then went out into the garden, but after regaling itself always returned to the house as its proper habitation. Its usual companions were a greyhound and a spaniel, both so fond of hare-hunting, that they often went out together, without any person accompanying them. With these two dogs this tame hare spent its evenings: they always slept on the same hearth, and very frequently would rest itself upon them.

Hares are very subject to fleas. Linnæus tells us, that cloth made of their fur will attract these insects, and preserve the wearer from their troublesome attacks. In India the hare is hunted for sport, not only with dogs, but with hawks, and some species of the cat genus. The flesh, though in esteem among the Romans, was forbidden by the Druids, and by the Britons of the early centuries. It is now, though very black, and dry, and devoid of fat, much esteemed by the Europeans, on account of its peculiar flavour.

The female goes with young about a month; she generally produces three or four at a litter, and this about four times in a year. The eyes of the young ones are open at birth: the dam suckles them about twenty days, after which they leave her, and procure their own food. They make forms at a little distance from each other, and never go far from the place where they were brought forth. The hare lives about eight years.

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Some believe that hares propagate but once a year, but, in the author’s opinion, they breed from February to the end of harvest. The doe chooses some thick dry brake, high grass, clover, or standing corn, to kindle in; her paps come forwarder under her belly, than those of almost any quadruped; she does not long suckle her young; if she did, and had many, the udder would be drawn too big, and be inconvenient whilst the hare was running; she brings forth differently from the rabbit, her offspring being completely formed and quick-sighted the instant they are dropped. Among naturalists it is a received notion that the hare, especially the buck, seldom lives beyond seven years, and that when either is killed, another succeeds to occupy its place; whence is derived the proverb—“The more hares you kill, the more you will have to hunt;” for when the buck and doe live undisturbed together a little time, they suffer no stranger to reside within their limits. It is also a well experienced truth, that some places are remarkable for being seldom without hares, and others (although as likely, in all appearance, to harbour them) rarely with any. Whether it is any particular excellence in the feed, in the situation for forming advantageously, for warmth, hearing, or seeing, that induces them to prefer certain spots to others, or that on the death of a buck or doe, another succeeds, and they possess their usual circle, cannot be ascertained, but the fact is perfectly established.

* * * * *

The first ring a hare takes is generally the foundation of the ensuing pastime, all the doubles she afterwards makes are in a great measure like the first; a hare will go over great part of trailed land, and visit her works of the preceding night and morning; sometimes a buck will take endways over fresh ground, without offering to return; the doe usually runs in a circle, unless with young, or having recently kindled; at such times she often runs forward, and scarcely ever escapes with life, being naturally unfit for fatigue: however, both sexes greatly regulate their conduct according to the season and weather. After a rainy night, in a woody country, neither buck nor doe will keep the cover, owing to the drops of wet hanging on the spray; they therefore run the highways or stony lanes, for as the scent naturally lies strong, they hold the roads which take the least; not that a hare judges upon what soil the scent lies weakest; it is her ears that chiefly direct her, for the hounds being oftener at fault on the hard paths than the turf, she finds herself not so closely pressed, and is not so much alarmed with the continual cry of the dogs at her heels. The louder the cry, the more she is terrified, and flies the swifter; the certain effect of which is, a heart broken sooner than with a pack equal in number and goodness, but who spend their tongues less free. The same principle directs the hare to run to the covers in autumn; when the ground is dry, and the wind cold at north or east; she then keeps the paths that are covered with leaves, which are so continually falling and blowing about, that the best hounds can carry no scent; her alarms are consequently short, and she rests contented where she is least disturbed.

* * * * *

When a hare rises out of form, if she erects her ears, and at first runs slowly, with her scut cast over her back, it is surely old and crafty. When a hare is hunted to her form, along the hard highways, and feeds far away from cover, and that her doublings and crossings are wide and large, it is a buck; for the does generally keep close to the side of some cover, and, when going to feed in the corn-fields, seldom cross over the furrows, but follow the track of them: when hunted they turn frequently, use many stratagems, and rarely leave the country round their seat, whilst the buck, after two or three turns about his form, runs straight forward four or five miles, and then probably squats in some place where he has before preserved himself. A buck or jack hare may also be known by his head being shorter, his ears more grey, his shoulders redder, and the body being smaller than the doe, and, at his first starting, by the whiteness of his hinder parts.

They who make a business of hare-finding (and a very advantageous one it is, in some counties), are enabled to find them in any weather, by observing the direction of the wind. People frequently do not find hares, from not knowing them in their forms. A gentleman coursing with his friends, was shown a hare that was found sitting: “Is that a hare?” he cried; “then, by Jove, I found two this morning as we rode along.”

* * * * *

According to the season of the year, the hare is to be looked for: if it be spring, upon fallows or green corn; during the autumn, in stubbles or turnips; in winter they will seat themselves near houses, in brambles and tufts of thorns.

* * * * *

Hares will certainly, when hard pressed, go to vault; that is, take the ground like a rabbit.

* * * * *

_Fecundity of Hares._—A male and female hare were put together by Lord Ribblesdale, for a year, when the offspring amounted to sixty-eight. A couple of rabbits, inclosed for the same period, produced about three hundred.

* * * * *

_Feet of Hares._—Tender feet in dogs are owing to the softness of that fleshy substance called the ball of the foot; but nature has to the hare been singularly liberal in this part by supplying her with such feet as are not subject to, and indeed scarcely susceptible of hurt, so as to incommode her in running. The balls of her feet, instead of hard flesh, are covered with strong coarse fur, suited so well for the purpose, that she never treads easier or to more advantage than on the hardest beaten track, or rugged, stony road; the very surface which cripples a dog she glides over with pleasure. In a frost she has an evident superiority to most creatures; the horse does not at that season take his gallops for fear of foundering; the greyhound or hound would in running start all their claws, and tear their soles to pieces, whilst the hare treads as soft as if she went on wool.

_Hare Warren._—The warren should be paled, and the meuses made of brick; but to any person making a warren, Mr. Beckford recommends examining the traps, boxes, and stoppers, all of which have peculiarities not easy to be described. His town warren is in a wood of near thirty acres, and is cut into many walks; a smaller warren, which would perhaps answer as well, should have only one walk, and that round the outside of it. No dog must ever be allowed to enter it, and traps for stoats and polecats should be constantly set. Parsley sown in it will induce the hares to keep at home. When hares at the end of a season become shy of the traps from having been often caught, it will be necessary to drive them in with spaniels. The warren hares will be found very thick round the warren, for they will be unwilling to leave it, and when disturbed by dogs will immediately go in. The number of hares which a warren will supply is hardly to be conceived; but Mr. B. prefers a warren in the midst of an open country (which might be stopped close on hunting days), to the catching hares in traps, and then turning them down. A warren so situated would supply the whole country with hares, which, after one turn round it, would most probably run straight on end.

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_The Varying Hare._—This species has a very soft fur, which in summer is grey, with a slight mixture of tawny; the tail is always white. The ears are shorter, and the legs more slender than those of the common hare, and the feet more closely and warmly furred. In size this animal is somewhat smaller.

Besides other cold parts of Europe, the varying hare is found on the tops of the highest Scotch hills, never descending to the plains. It never mixes with the last species, though common in the same neighbourhood. It does not run fast, and when alarmed takes shelter in clefts of the rocks.

In September it begins to change its grey coat and resume its white winter dress, in which only the tips and edges of the ears and the soles of the feet are black. In the month of April it again becomes grey. It is somewhat singular that although this animal be brought into a house, and even kept in stoved apartments, yet it still changes its colour at the same period that it does among its native mountains.

* * * * *

Hounds for hunting box hares should not be too fleet, and they are to be hunted like a pack of fox hounds, as a trap hare runs very much in the same manner, and will even top the hedges; Mr. B. concludes his remarks upon the running of trap hares, with the method recommended by a gentleman to insure them to run straight, which was tying a piece of riband to their ears.

The hounds mostly used for hare hunting, are the deep-tongued, thick-lipped, broad and long hung southern hounds.

The fleet, sharp-nosed dog, ears narrow, deep-chested, with thin shoulders, showing a quarter cross of the fox hound.

The rough wire-haired hound, thick quartered, well hung, and not too much flesh on his shoulders.

The rough or smooth beagle.—_Daniel_—_Buffon, &c. &c._

HARELIP, _s._ A fissure in the upper lip, with want of substance.

HARNESS, _s._ The leather gear, &c., used to attach horses to
carriages.

HARNESS, _v._ To fix horses in their traces.

HARPOON, _s._ A bearded dart with a line fastened to the handle,
with which whales are struck and caught.

HARQUEBUSS, _s. obs. Fr._ Arquebuse. A handgun; a musquet.

HARRIER, HEN HARRIER, (_Circus Pygargus_, FLEMING), _s._ A small
sized hawk. It is generally believed by ornithologists to be the
same species as the Ringtail.

HARRIER, _s._ A dog for hunting hares.

This dog is now almost universally used in Great Britain for hare hunting. He was originally generated in a double cross, between the small beagle, the southern hound, and the dwarf fox.

There are, however, various harriers produced by crosses introduced in breeding, dictated by knowledge and experience, and depending on the kind of country they hunt in, and the wish or fancy of the owner of the pack; all of which are a great alteration in the blood.

The harrier pursues the hare with great eagerness and speed, allowing her but little time to breathe or double. The keenest sportsmen often find it difficult to keep up with this dog, and with a strong hare it is rather fatiguing work. There is a great deal of melody and cheerful harmony in the voices of harriers during the chase.

Mr. Beckford, who was justly esteemed one of the best judges of dogs in Britain, endeavoured, as far as possible, to breed his harriers with much bone and strength within a small compass, and, at the same time, of a handsome make. These respective qualities he obtained; and his hounds ran remarkably well together, went fast, had all the alacrity that could be desired, and would hunt the coldest scent.

Although the harrier is the best adapted for hare hunting, yet there are situations where he is too weak, being ill-suited for swampy and marshy lands, such as those of Lancashire and Lincolnshire, and many other places. The large low southern hound seems best calculated for such localities. Harriers which are of a larger description, and crossed for the purpose of speed, are only superior in open countries, where, for want of covert, the hare will run five or six miles right out without a single turn. In such cases the pleasure of the chase may be compared to those of fox-hunting.

Harriers, in Mr. Beckford’s judgment, to be good, must be kept to their proper game. Hounds cannot be perfect unless used to one scent, and one style of hunting; to run fox with them teaches them to skirt, and is of great disservice to them. The high scent which a fox leaves, the straightness of his course, the eagerness of the pursuit, and the hallooing that usually accompanies it, all contribute to spoil a harrier.—_Brown_—_Daniel._

HARRY, _v._ In Scotland, signifies to rob, plunder, or oppress;
destruction of game by birds of prey.

HART, _s._ A he-deer of the large kind; the male of the roe.

HARTSHORN, _s._ A volatile alkali, originally drawn from the horn of
a stag, called by modern chemists subcarbonate of ammonia.

HASLET, or HARSLET, _s._ The heart, liver, and lights of a hog, with
the windpipe and part of the throat to it.

HATCH, _v._ To produce young from eggs; to quicken the eggs by
incubation.

HATCH, _s._ A brood excluded from the egg; the act of exclusion from
the egg; the half-door; in the plural, the doors or openings by
which they descend from one deck or floor of a ship to another.

HATTOCK, _s._ A shock of corn. _Provincial._

HAUL, _v._ To pull, to draw, to drag by violence, to draw a net.

HAUL, _s._ Pull, violence in dragging; a draught of fishes.

HAUM, _s._ Straw.

HAUNCH, _s._ The thigh, the hind hip; the hind part of a deer.

HAUNT, _v._ To frequent, to be much about any place.

HAUNT, _s._ Place in which game feed and are found.

HAW, _s._ The berry and seed of the hawthorn; a hedge; an
excrescence in the eye; a small piece of ground adjoining to a
house.

HAWTHORN, _s._ The thorn that bears haws; the white thorn.

HAWTHORN, _a._ Belonging to the white thorn; consisting of white
thorn.

HAWK, _s._ A bird of prey, used much anciently in sport to catch
other birds.

Hawks (_Accipitrina_, _Vigors_) are birds of prey, belonging to the falcon family (_Falconidæ_, LEACH), and characterised by the wings being short, and, when closed, scarcely reaching to the end of the tail; the first quill feather very short, the third nearly equal to the fourth, which is the longest in the wing; shanks plaited, long, and slender; middle toe greatly exceeding the two lateral ones in length; claws much hooked, and very sharp; flight rapid and direct. They pounce upon their prey on the wing, and are so bold as to attack much larger birds than themselves.

* * * * *

_Breaking of Hawks._—When the hawk is placed upon the fist with his hood on, he will at first _bait_, (flutter off,) when he is to be replaced gently by the hand; but he will very soon learn to sit still. He must be carried on the fist during the greater part of the day frequently, and stroked with a feather on his back and legs.

When he is to be fed, the hood must be taken off. At first, this is best done at night, with a candle so placed as to give no more light than is absolutely necessary; but in two or three days this precaution will not be required, and he may be unhooded, and fed by daylight.

He must now be brought, by degrees, to stand quiet when the hood is to be put on.

The brail is used for this purpose. This is a thong of soft leather, with a slit running longitudinally along the middle, of such a length as to admit the pinion joint.