Chapter XXVIII: Part 28

MANGER, _s._ The place or vessel in which animals are fed with corn.

MANGINESS, _s._ Scabbiness, infection with the mange.

MANTLING, _s._ In falconry, the lowering of a hawk’s feathers down
to her feet.

MAPLE-TREE, _s._ A tree frequent in hedge-rows.

Maple is much used in making gun-stocks, and, from the closeness of its grain, and its being susceptible of a high polish, is generally preferred by gun-makers to every other wood. Of late, to stain stocks black has become very fashionable, and come into general use among the leading gun-makers.

MARE, _s._ The female of a horse.

MARITIME, _a._ Performed on the sea, marine; relating to the sea,
naval; bordering on the sea.

MARK, _s._ A token by which anything is known; anything at which a
missile weapon is directed; the evidence of a horse’s age; a sum
of thirteen shillings and fourpence; a character made by those
who cannot write their names.

MARKSMAN, _s._ A shot; a man skilful to hit a mark.

MARL, _s._ A kind of clay, much used for manure.

MARROW, _s._ An oleaginous substance contained in the bones.

MARSH, _s._ A fen, a bog, a swamp; a morass; a snipe haunt.

MARSH MALLOW, _s._ A plant useful in making mucilaginous or
emollient drinks, clysters, or fomentations.

The root is the best part, and, if carefully dried, may be kept a long time. These mucilaginous drinks are useful when the bowels or bladder are inflamed or irritated by strong physic, or when there is any pain in the urinary passages. They should be given frequently in the course of the day, and may occasionally be made the vehicle for more active medicines. Any thing which contains mucilage in sufficient quantity may be employed for the purpose of making emollient drinks.—_White._

MARSHY, _a._ Foggy, fenny, swampy; produced in marshes.

MARTEN, _s._ A large kind of weasel, whose fur is much valued; a
kind of swallow that builds in houses, a martlet.

This is the most beautiful, and the most destructive to pheasants, of the British beasts of prey. The marten is about eighteen inches long, the tail ten, or, if measured to the end of the hair at the point, where it is also the thickest and darkest, twelve inches; the head is small, and elegantly shaped: the eyes are lively, and all its motions agile and graceful; the ears are broad, rounded and open; the back, sides, and tail, are covered with a fine thick ash-coloured down at bottom, with long hair intermixed, of a bright chestnut, tipped with black, giving a darkish brown appearance to the whole; the head brown, with a slight cast of red; the legs and upper side of the feet, chocolate—the under sides are covered with similar thick down, to the body; the feet are broad; the claws white, large, and sharp, but incapable of being, at pleasure, sheathed or dilated; they are well suited for climbing trees, in which, in this country, it constantly resides: the throat and breast are white; belly of the same colour with the back, except being rather paler; but martens vary in their colours, inclining, more or less, to ash colour, according to their age, or the seasons of the year they are taken in.

The skin and excrements of this animal have an agreeable, musky scent, and are free from that disgusting rankness which distinguishes the other species of this genus, as the pole-cat, &c. The fur is valuable, and much used to line or trim the gowns of magistrates, aldermen, &c. The marten lives in the woods, and in winter very often shelters itself in magpies’ nests, breeds in the hollows of trees, and brings from four to six young ones at a time; they are brought forth with their eyes unopened, but quickly arrive at a state of perfection. The female has but a small quantity of milk in proportion to her size, but she amply compensates for this natural defect by bringing home eggs and live birds to her offspring, thus early habituating them to a life of carnage and plunder. As soon as the young are able to leave the nest, they are led by the dam through the woods, where the birds at once recognise their enemies, and fail not to attend them, as they do the fox, with every mark of animosity and terror. When taken young, the marten is easily tamed, is extremely playful and good-humoured; its attachment, however, is not to be relied on if it gets loose, for it will immediately take advantage of its liberty, and retire to the woods, its natural haunts. A farmer in the parish of Turling, in Essex, was famous for taming this animal, and had seldom less than two. Some years since, one used to run tame about the kitchen of the Bald-faced Stag inn, on Epping forest.

M. Buffon affirms of a marten that he had tamed (it should seem but imperfectly), that it drank frequently, sometimes slept two days successively, and at other times continued as long awake. When preparing for sleep, it folded itself round, covering its head with its tail. He describes its motions as so violent, incessant, and troublesome, that it was necessarily kept chained. After escaping from its fetters, and returning once or twice, it at last went entirely away.

The pine marten (whose skin is considered of a far superior quality to the common), which is distinguished by a yellow throat and breast, and of which such numbers are sold at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s sales—at one of which, 12,370 good skins, and 2360 damaged ones, were sold; and about the same time the French brought into the port of Rochelle, from Canada, no less than 30,325 skins—is sometimes found in Wales, in the counties of Merioneth and Carnarvon. In Scotland it is the only kind of marten; where it inhabits the fir forests, frequently usurping the drays or nests of the squirrel, building its own nest at the top of the trees, and produces seven or eight young at a birth.

The marten’s food is poultry, game, and small birds; it will not eat mice, rats, and moles, and is said to feed also on grain, and to be extremely fond of honey. It is said to be a great enemy to cats, and will even attack the wild cat, which, although much stronger, is always worsted, and often killed in the combat, and a contest is sure to take place whenever they meet.

The scent of the marten is very sweet to hounds, and it is the best animal to enter young fox-hounds at. The marten, by running to the thickest bushes it can find, teaches hounds to run cover, which is of infinite service to them. When closely pursued, it climbs a tree, and its agility is astonishing, for though it falls frequently from a tree into the midst of a pack of hounds, each intent on the catching it, the instances are very few of a marten being caught by them in that situation. They are not found in any great numbers; the most ever met with by the compiler, was in the large woods near Rayleigh, in Essex.

They attack the pheasants when at roost, and make great havoc. The steel trap, baited with a piece of pheasant or wood-pigeon, will generally be successful. Some prefer the box trap (such as is used in warrens), which should be baited with a bird in the centre, and the feathers strewed through the inside of the trap, from one end to the other; but a more certain way of catching them, in a park or cover paled in, is the following: as they constantly run the pales and posts to dry themselves in the morning, have a groove cut in some of the posts and gate-posts where they run, sufficient to contain a strong hawk or rat-trap; the trap must be set in this groove, without a bait: in leaping upon the place, they are sure to be taken. A small chain should be fixed to the trap, and fastened to the post.

The common house cat, turned wild, is another mortal foe to pheasants, and does more mischief than many sorts of naturally wild vermin. In Moulsham Thrift, a large cover belonging to Sir H. St. John Mildmay, sixteen of these animals were killed by a pack of fox-hounds, in four days, drawing the cover for foxes. They may be destroyed in traps, like the marten; but the bait must be sprinkled with valerian, and if the hutch or box-trap be used, valerian should be scattered in and about the trap, which will certainly allure them, for of this drug they are immoderately fond.

Another way to take either the wild or the pole cat, is to set box-traps in the bottom of the ditches, or under walls or pales, with the ends of the traps fenced up, for four or five yards aslant, and two or three yards wide at the entrance, with earth, bushes, or broken pales, so that the vermin shall not pass without entering the traps. This is the method used by warreners. When the traps are so placed, a trail of rabbits’ paunches should be drawn from one trap to another, and the baits are red herrings half broiled. Each end of the traps is to be rubbed with them, and a part of the herring is to be afterwards hung upon the nail over the bridges of the traps. This is a mode that will cause great destruction amongst them. A thin bag, sufficiently large to admit an end of the trap, is to be provided and slipped over it, when any of the traps are sprung, and by rattling at the other end of the trap, the creature will spring into the bag; for without precaution, if it be a wild cat, the moment the light is admitted, it will fly in the face of the person opening it. By having both ends of the box-traps painted white, and rubbed over with the entrails of any animal, the hares will be deterred from entering, at the same time it will allure the vermin to go into the traps.

MARTLET, _s._ A kind of swallow; the bank swallow.

_Industry of Birds._—Dr. Steel, who lives near the mineral springs of Saratoga, in New York, has ascertained that the bank swallow (_hirundo riparia_) knows how to vary, according to necessity, the construction of its nest. If it finds sandy banks, it bores holes in them, and thus forms for its future family a commodious habitation, into which none of their enemies can enter. When this resource is wanting, it approaches the houses, and, although less accustomed to man than the swallow of the windows, it attaches its nest to granaries, farm-yard sheds, and similar edifices; and then, it being necessary to build instead of to dig, it selects materials, transports them, and puts them in their proper places. It thus appears that this species of swallow has not essentially the habits indicated by its specific name; but that it will live contentedly wherever it can find food, safety, and the charms of society; for isolated families, or solitary nests, are never seen. A little colony, which established itself in the neighbourhood of Saratoga in 1828, increased so rapidly that in 1830 it consisted of several hundreds of nests.

* * * * *

For some time after they appear, the hirundines in general pay no attention to the business of nidification, but play and sport about, either to recruit from the fatigue of their journey, if they do migrate at all, or else that their blood may recover its true tone and texture after it has been so long benumbed by the severities of the winter. About the middle of May, if the weather be fine, the martin begins to think in earnest of providing a mansion for its family. The crust or shell of this nest seems to be formed of such dirt or loam as comes most readily to hand, and is tempered and wrought together with little bits of broken straws to render it tough and tenacious. As this bird always builds against a perpendicular wall without any projecting ledge under, it requires its utmost efforts to get the first foundation firmly fixed, so that it may safely carry the superstructure. On this occasion the bird not only clings with its claws, but partly supports itself by strongly inclining its tail against the wall, making that a fulcrum; and thus steadied, it works and plasters the materials into the face of the brick or stone. But then that this work may not, while it is soft and green, pull itself down by its own weight, the provident architect has prudence and forbearance enough not to advance her work too fast; but by building only in the morning, and by dedicating the rest of the day to food and amusement, gives it sufficient time to dry and harden. About half-an-inch seems to be a sufficient layer for a day. Thus careful workmen when they build mud walls (informed at first perhaps by this little bird) raise but a moderate layer at a time, and then desist; lest the work should become top-heavy, and so be ruined by its own weight. By this method in about ten or twelve days is formed an hemispheric nest with a small aperture towards the top, strong, compact, and warm; and perfectly fitted for all the purposes for which it was intended. But then nothing is more common than for the house sparrow, as soon as the shell is finished, to seize on it as his own, to eject the owner, and to line it after its on manner.

After so much labour is bestowed in erecting a mansion, as Nature seldom works in vain, martins will breed on for several years together in the same nest, where it happens to be well sheltered, and secure from the injuries of weather. The shell or crust of the nest is a sort of rustic-work full of knobs and protuberances on the outside; nor is the inside of those that I have examined smoothed with any exactness at all; but is rendered soft and warm, and fit for incubation, by a lining of small straws, grasses, and feathers; and sometimes by a bed of moss interwoven with wool. In this nest they tread, or engender, frequently during the time of building; and the hen lays from three to five white eggs.—_White’s Selborne._

MARTINGAL, _s._ A broad strap made fast to the girths under the
belly of a horse, which runs between the two legs to fasten the
other end under the noseband of the bridle.

The martingal is generally attached to a horse who throws his head up. It is unsafe in the field, and only efficient when used by a light handed and practised rider.

MASH, _s._ Anything mingled or beaten together into an
undistinguished or confused body; a mixture for a horse.

Bran mashes are made by pouring boiling water on fresh sweet bran in a pail, so that the mixture, when stirred, may be about the consistency of a soft poultice; it is then to be covered over, and not given to the horse until sufficiently cold. When it is thought necessary to steam the head, as it is termed, the mash is put into the manger while hot. Steaming the head is recommended in strangles, colds, and sore throats.

Bran mashes are proper in fever and all inflammatory complaints. They are useful also as a preparative to physic, serving to remove indurated fæces, and to facilitate the operation of the medicine. Mashes are a necessary diet while physic is operating. In making malt mashes, the water should be below the boiling point, otherwise the malt would be spoiled. Mashes are given for recruiting strength, when a horse is debilitated from fever or any other cause. When a horse has been fed high for some time with oats and beans, a change to bran mashes for two or three days will often do a great deal of good. The bran should be fresh, and perfectly free from any musty smell. There is a finer kind of bran, named gurgings or pollard, which, though more nutritious, is not so fit for medicinal purposes.—_White._

MASH, _v._ To beat into a confused mass; to mix malt and water
together in brewing.

MASTER-SINEW, _s._ A large sinew that surrounds the hough, and
divides it from the bone by a hollow place, where windgalls are
usually seated.

MASTIC, _s._ A kind of gum gathered from trees of the same name; a
kind of mortar or cement.

MASTICATION, _s._ The act of chewing.

Hay, as often given, is too dry for mastication or digestion. If it has been suffered to stand until the seed becomes ripe, it is very deficient in nutriment, and difficult of digestion; and, however perfectly it may be masticated, will only serve to oppress the stomach without affording any thing that is capable of being formed into good chyle. Hay that has been kept more than one year becomes dry and deficient in nutriment, especially when kept in small mows and exposed to the wind. When such hay therefore is given to horses, it requires to be moistened with water, and given in moderate quantity. From eight to twelve pounds of hay and one peck of oats is a sufficient allowance, both as to proportion and quantity, for any saddle horse of whatever size he may be, provided he has only moderate work; but when his exertions exceed that degree which may be termed moderate, then an additional allowance is necessary, and that addition should be in oats or beans.

The teeth may be imperfect, and often are so; the grinders wear in a different manner from that in which they would, were the animals in a state of nature: consequently sharp edges are sometimes formed on the outside of the higher grinders, and on the inside of the lower grinders; and the inside of the cheeks and the tongue, with the skin or membrane connected with it, are thereby wounded, which prevents the horse from masticating, without considerable pain, and induces him to swallow his food imperfectly chewed; this is more especially the case with hay; and when hay is swallowed in this state it does harm, being difficult of digestion, as then its nutritive matter is not easily extracted by the gastric power; hence arise indigestion, flatulency, and numerous disorders. Mastication may be impeded or prevented by that state of the mouth which generally attends teething: it may also be affected by an injudicious use of the bit (as is well known in regiments of cavalry where it is too common), and has been attributed to the spiculæ of the squirrel-tail grass. The consequence of this imperfection is worms, in addition to indigestion and all its consequences.—_White._

MASTIFF (_Canis Anglicus_, LINN.), _s._ A dog of the largest size.

This is a large and powerful animal, much stronger than the bull dog; his ears are longer and more pendulous; his lips are full and loose, the upper one hanging considerably over the lower at the two extremities; his aspect is grave and somewhat sullen; and his bark loud, deep-toned, and terrific, particularly during the night.

The mastiff differs in form from the bull-dog in being much longer in the legs, and not so deep in the chest; and while his head is large in proportion to his body, he wants the projecting under jaw of the latter.

Buffon was of opinion that the mastiff is not an original race, but a mongrel generated betwixt the Irish greyhound and the bull-dog. This, however, must be mere conjecture; for the mastiff, in his pure and uncontaminated state, has a much more dignified aspect than either of these dogs; and we are rather inclined to believe him to be an original breed peculiar to Britain. We are borne out in this opinion, as we find it on record that so early as the time of the Roman emperors, this country was celebrated on account of its dogs of this kind. At the period Great Britain was under the Roman yoke, an officer was appointed to live here, whose sole business it was to breed, select, and send to Rome such as promised, by their size and strength, to become fit for the combats of the amphitheatre. Dr. Caius, in his Treatise on British Dogs, tells us that three mastiffs were reckoned a match for a bear, and four for a lion.

This dog, from his large size and commanding aspect, is naturally calculated to intimidate strangers, and he is admirably suited for and principally used in protecting large and extensive premises containing property of value, which he watches with most scrupulous care and assiduity. He is so instinctively impressed with the importance of his charge, that he will only quit it with the loss of his life, which he will rather forfeit than betray the confidence reposed in him. With his naturally commanding and imposing appearance, calculated to keep at a distance the ill-intentioned, he is nevertheless possessed of the greatest mildness of manners, and is as solicitous to gain attention and as faithfully grateful for favours bestowed, as the most diminutive of the canine tribe. The mastiff displays one peculiarity which seems inherent,—his ferocity is always increased by the degree of restraint in which he is kept. If constantly on the chain he is much more dangerous to approach than when in a state of liberty; from whence it evidently appears that what may be considered as a friendly kindness on one side, is always productive of confidence on the other.

The mastiff usually shows a remarkable and peculiar warmth in his attachments, and, on the other hand, he is equally distinguished for inveteracy in his dislike. If he is once severely corrected or insulted, it is almost impossible to eradicate the feeling from his memory, and it is no less difficult to obtain a reconciliation with him. He seems conscious of his own strength, power, and authority, and will seldom condescend to lower his dignity by servile fawning, while he appears to consider his services as only befitting a trust of the highest importance. This dog is naturally possessed of strong instinctive sensibility, speedily obtains a knowledge of all the duties required of him, and discharges them too with the most punctual assiduity. In the protection of gardens, houses, woodyards, and widely extended manufactories, his vigilance is very striking; he makes regular rounds of the whole premises like a watchman, examines every part of them with a careful eye; his penetration reaches even the remotest corner, and not a spot is passed by until he is satisfied that all is in a state of perfect security. During the night he gives a signal of his presence by repeated and vociferous barkings, which are increased upon the least cause of alarm; and, contrary to the spirit of the bull-dog, whose invariable practice is to bite before he barks, the mastiff always warns before he attacks. This breed is very difficult to be obtained in purity, from the various admixtures and experimental crosses which have taken place. The genuine old English mastiff is now rarely to be seen, although we have dogs of various sizes and colours which go under that name.

This animal, conscious of his superior strength, has been known to chastise, with great propriety, the impertinence of an inferior:—a large dog of this kind, belonging to the late M. Ridley, Esq., of Heaton, near Newcastle, being frequently molested by a mongrel, and teased by its continual barking, at last took it up in his mouth by the back, and with great composure dropped it over the quay into the river, without doing any further injury to an enemy so much beneath his notice.—_Sporting Anecdotes._

MASTLIN, _s._ Mixed corn, as wheat and rye.

MAT, _s._ A texture of sedge, flags, or rushes.

MAT, _v._ To cover with mats; to twist together, to join like a mat.

MATADORE, _s._ A term used in the games of quadrille and ombre. The
matadores are the two black aces when joined with the two black
deuces, or red sevens in trumps.

MATCH, _s._ Anything that catches fire; a contest, a game; one equal
to another. _Vide_ RACING.

MATCH, _v._ To be equal to; to equal; to suit, to proportion; to
marry.

MATE, _s._ A husband or wife; a companion, male or female; the male
or female of animals; one that sails in the same ship; one that
eats at the same table; a kind of toothed instrument to pull up
wood; a pickaxe.

MAW, _s._ The stomach of animals; the craw of birds.

MAW-WORM, _s._ Gut-worms frequently creep into the stomach, whence
they are called stomach or maw-worms.

MAY-FLY, _s._ An insect; a very killing artificial fly.

MEAD, _s._ A kind of drink made of water and honey.

MEADOW, _s._ Rich pasture ground from which hay is made.

MEAL, _s._ The act of eating at a certain time; a repast; the flour
or edible part of corn.

MEALY, _a._ Having the taste or soft insipidity of meal; besprinkled
as with meal.

MEASE, _s._ A mease of herrings is five hundred.

MEASLES, _s._ A kind of eruptive and infectious fever; a disease of
swine.

MEASLY, _a._ Scabbed with the measles.

MEATHE, _s._ A kind of drink.

MEDICATE, _v._ To tincture or impregnate with anything medicinal.

MEDICINAL, _a._ Having the power of healing, having physical virtue;
belonging to physic.

MEDICINE, _s._ Any remedy administered by a physician.

MEDULLAR or MEDULLARY, _a._ Pertaining to the marrow.

MEER, _s._ A lake, a boundary.

MEERSHAUM, _s._ A fine sort of Turkish clay, of which pipes are made
in Germany of various forms. It assumes a beautiful brown colour
after it has been used for smoking some time.—_Crabbe._

MELOE, _s._ Insects, of which the two principal species are the oil
beetle, so called because, on being handled, it exudes from its
legs drops of a clear deep-yellow oil or fluid, of a very
peculiar or penetrating smell; and the meloë vesicatorius, or
Spanish fly, which is used for blistering.—_Ibid._

MELWEL, _s._ A kind of fish.

MEMBRANE, _s._ A membrane is a web of several sorts of fibres
interwoven together for the covering and wrapping up of some
parts.

MEMBRANOUS, _a._ Consisting of fibres.

MENAGE, _s._ A collection of animals.

MENAGERIE, _s._ A place for keeping foreign birds, and other curious
animals.

MENSTRUUM, _s._ All liquors are called menstruums which are used as
dissolvents, or to extract the virtues of ingredients by
infusion or decoction.

MERCURIAL, _a._ Under the influence of Mercury; active, sprightly;
consisting of quicksilver.

Mercurial ointment is made by rubbing together in a mortar quicksilver and hogs’ lard, in various proportions, according to the strength required, until the former disappears, and the mixture assumes a dark blue or lead colour.

In the strongest mercurial ointment there are equal parts of quicksilver and lard; these are the best proportions in which it can be made, as it is easily weakened by the addition of lard.

Mercurial ointment is employed in veterinary practice as an application to callous swellings or enlarged joints. It is mixed with camphor in those cases, and is certainly much more efficacious when converted into a blister by the addition of cantharides or euphorbium. In this state it is a good remedy for bog spavin or other swellings of the hock joint.

Mercurial ointment is said to be an effectual remedy for the scab in sheep, and is often an ingredient in ointments for the mange.—_White._

MERCURY, _s._ A mineral or metallic fluid vulgarly called
quicksilver, and distinguished from all other metals by its
extreme fusibility, which is such that it does not assume
the solid state until cooled to the thirtieth degree below 0
on Fahrenheit’s thermometer; and of course is always fluid
in temperate climates. It is volatile, and rises in small
portions at the common temperature of the air. It readily
combines with gold, silver, lead, tin, bismuth, and zinc,
and on that account is usefully employed in silvering
looking-glasses, making barometers and thermometers, and for
various other purposes.—_Crabbe._

MERE, _s._ A pool, commonly a large pool or lake; a boundary.

MERGANSER, _s._ (_Mergus serrator_, LINN.)

This species is about twenty-one inches in length; weight two pounds. The bill is three inches long; the upper mandible dusky, the lower red; irides purplish red. The head and part of the neck black, glossed with green; on the back of the head the feathers are long, forming a sort of pendant crest; the rest of the neck and under part of the body white; breast ferruginous, mixed with black and white; upper part of the back glossy black; rump marked with brown and cinereous transverse streaks; the scapulars and wing coverts are some black and some white; quills dusky; tail brown; legs orange; claws black.

Mr. Pennant says this species breeds in the Isle of Ely, on the shores amongst the loose stones. They sometimes appear in the south of England in winter, but more frequently in the north, and are said to breed in Scotland in some of the lochs. They are found in the Russian dominions, about the great rivers of Siberia.

They are also said to breed on the shores of Greenland, and are observed at Hudson’s Bay in large flocks, breeding there as well as at Newfoundland, chiefly on the islands. The nest, which is built on the margin of lakes and rivers, is said to be made with dry grass, lined with down; the eggs are generally eight in number, of a bluish white; sometimes as many as thirteen in a nest, about the size of those of a duck. The young may be distinguished from the adult, by the black band on the wing spot.—_Montagu._

MERGUS, _s._ A genus in ornithology.

Birds of this genus have roundish slender bills, furnished at the end with a hard, horny, crooked nail; edges of the mandibles very sharply toothed, or serrated; the nostrils small, subovated, and placed near the middle of the bill: tongue rough, with hard indented papillæ turned backward; legs short; feet webbed; toes long, and the outer ones about the same length as the middle; the head is small, but the quantity of soft silky feathers with which it is furnished, and which they can bristle up from the nape of the neck to the brow, give it a large appearance. They are a broad, long-bodied, and flat-backed kind of birds, and swim very squatly on the water, the body seeming nearly submerged, with only the head and neck clearly seen. They are excellent divers, remaining a long while under water, and getting to a great distance before they appear again. They fly near the surface of the water, and, notwithstanding the shortness of their wings, with great swiftness, though seldom to any great distance. They devour a large quantity of fish; and their pointed sharp-toothed, and hooked bills, are well calculated for holding fast their slippery prey, none of which, when once within their gripe, can escape. Latham enumerated six species and three varieties of this genus, five of which are accounted British birds. George Strickland, Esq., of Ropin, enumerates six species of this genus, which are all met with in Great Britain and its adjacent isles: the author agrees with him likewise in opinion, that much remains to be done in order to clear up the doubts in which their history is involved, and by which the classification of different species is confused: he says, “The genus mergus, though only a very small tribe of birds, still remain in the greatest obscurity, and I have not yet met with any ornithologist, who has not, in my opinion, multiplied the number of the species, by considering birds of this genus as of different kinds, when they differ only in sex.” His arrangement is as follows:—

GENUS MERGUS.

Species 1 Merganser Goosander
2 Castor Dun Diver
3 Serrator Less Dun Diver
4 Albellus Smew
5 ———————— Lough Diver
6 Minutus Red-headed Smew.

For a particular description of each species, _vide Bewick, Montagu, &c. &c._

MERLIN, _s._ A kind of hawk.

_The Merlin_—(_Falco Æsalon_, LINN.; _L’Emerillon_, BUFF.)—The smallest of all the hawk kind, scarcely exceeding the size of a black bird. Its bill is blue; cere and irides yellow; the head is of a rust colour, streaked with black; back and wings of a deepish brown, tinged with ash, streaked down the shafts with black, and edged with rust colour: quill feathers dark tipped and margined on the inner webs with reddish white: the breast and belly are of a yellowish white, with streaks of rusty brown pointing downwards; the tail is long, and marked with alternate dusky and pale bars; the wings, when closed, do not reach quite to the end of the tail; the legs are yellow; claws black.

The merlin, though small, is not inferior in courage to any of the falcon tribe. It was used for taking larks, partridges, and quails, which it would frequently kill by one blow, striking them on the breast, head, or neck. Buffon observes, that this bird differs from the falcons, and all the rapacious kind, in the male and female being of the same size. The merlin does not breed here, but visits us in October; it flies low, and with great celerity and ease. It preys on small birds, and breeds in woods, laying five or six eggs.

MERRYTHOUGHT, _s._ A forked bone in the body of fowls.

MESENTERY, _s._ That round which the guts are convolved.

MESH, _s._ The space between the threads of a net.

MESH, _v._ To catch in a net; to insnare.

METAL, _s._ A hard compact body, malleable and capable of fusion.
The metals are six in number; first, gold; second, silver;
third, copper; fourth, tin; fifth, iron; and sixth, lead.

METALLIC, _a._ Partaking of metal, containing metal, consisting of
metal.

METALLINE, _a._ Impregnated with metal; consisting of metal.

METTLE, _s._ Spirit, sprightliness, courage.

METTLESOME, _a._ Sprightly, lively, brisk.

MEW, _s._ A cage, an enclosure, a place where a thing is confined;
cry of a cat; a sea fowl; the place where a hawk changes her
feathers.

The mew is the place where hawks are put to moult. They are sometimes kept loose in a room; but it is, in my opinion, much better to mew them on perches or on blocks.

Hawks must be fed very high, and kept very quiet when they mew; they are also kept unhooded, and frequently bathed.—_Sebright._

MIDGE, _s._ A small fly, a gnat. The artificial midge is very
serviceable in evening fishing.

MIDRIFF, _s._ The diaphragm.

MIDSTREAM, _s._ Middle of the stream.

MIGRATION, _s._ Act of changing place.

What has so often been said of herrings, mackerel, and other gregarious fish moving in vast shoals from Shetland to the Orkneys, and of their then dividing and surrounding the Islands of Great Britain and Ireland, is, I think, liable to some objections.

During the last month (April) large shoals of mackerel came on the shallows, a few miles from Brighton, one day, and disappeared the next. This is constantly observed to be the case, not only there but in other places, and may perhaps be accounted for in this way. We must consider that there are probably as many mountains, and valleys, and plains in the sea as we know there are on land. We are to recollect that those mountains and valleys are covered with weeds of various kinds, which afford food and shelter to an infinite number of fish and marine animals and insects; and we know that all fish come into shallow water for the purpose of depositing their ova, which the influence of the air, not, as has been commonly supposed, of the sun, is required for bringing to maturity. Is it not probable, then, that the shoals of fish which are found on our fishing banks, have left some neighbouring deep, where they had retired for the winter, till they are rendered buoyant by the quantity of roe within them, and are directed by instinct to go and deposit it in the adjacent shallows? If, as is generally supposed, all fish, both great and small, from the whale to the herring, have each their respective haunts and localities, why should we suppose that they quit those haunts to go many hundred miles in search of spawning ground, when that ground is to be found near their winter retreats? It appears more probable that the large shoals of fish which are found are quite unconnected with each other, and that they have all just quitted some neighbouring deep for the nearest shallow, only moving on as the ground is occupied, or till they have paired and the roe is ready to be deposited.—_Jesse._

MILE, _s._ The usual measure of roads in England, one thousand seven
hundred and sixty yards; eight furlongs, or five thousand two
hundred and eighty feet.

MILK, _s._ The liquor with which animals feed their young; emulsion
made by contusion of seeds.

_To dry up a Bitch’s Milk._—Take goose grease and rum, equal portions, rub the teats once or twice a day; if the case is bad, for three or four days.

Brandy and salad oil, used in the same way, will have a similar effect.

MILKTOOTH, _s._ Milkteeth are those small teeth which come forth
before when a foal is about three months old.

MILKWHITE, _a._ White as milk.

MILLDAM, _s._ The mound by which the water is kept up to raise it
for the mill.

MILLEPEDES, _s._ Wood-lice, so called from their numerous feet.

MILLER’S-THUMB, _s._ A small fish found in brooks, called likewise a
bull’s head.

MILLET, _s._ A plant; a kind of fish.

MINERAL, _s._ Fossil body, matter dug out of mines.

MINNOW, _s._ A very small fish, a pink.

This beautiful little fish abounds in many of our small gravelly streams, where they keep in shoals; it is sometimes called the pink, and when in right season and not sick, which only happens just after spawning, is dappled, its sides inclining to a greenish watery sky colour, its belly white, and its back almost black, but these colours are not universal; the body is slender and smooth, the scales being extremely small; it seldom exceeds three inches in length; the lateral line is of a golden colour, the back flat and of a deep olive; the sides and belly vary greatly in different fish, as a few are of a rich crimson, others are bluish, and others white. The tail is forked, and marked near the base with a dusky spot. The minnow appears first in March, continues until Michaelmas, and then betakes himself to the mud, weed-roots, or wood in rivers, to secure himself from floods and fishes of prey. They are usually full of spawn all the summer (for they breed often), and quickly arrive at their growth and perfection.

Although so diminutive in size, the minnow may be compared for the excellency of its taste to many of the most famed fish; they are in some places made into minnow tansies; after being gutted and well washed in salt and water, their heads and tails cut off, they are then to be put with yolks of eggs well beat with cowslips and primrose flowers, and a little tansy shred very small, and fried in good butter; the sauce to them is butter, vinegar, or verjuice, and sugar. To the young sportsman, who has not possessed himself of the patience requisite to form the angler, the minnow yields plenty of amusement. They will in hot weather bite eagerly all day, and are frequently drawn out of the water from their adhering to the end of the worm, without being touched by the hook; the best way to catch them, is, to have three or four very small hooks, baited with the least red worm, or a piece of one, and a crow quill float; fish deeper than midwater, or near the ground in shallow places, in eddies, and at the sides of small streams.

Minnows are very excellent baits for many fish, as will hereafter be specified, and when wanted in haste for that purpose, a small meshed casting-net will save much time and trouble, as enough for a day’s diversion may be caught at a throw or two in shallow streams.

* * * * *

_Minnow Fishing._—The tackle for minnow fishing for trouts, should be of the same sort as that for salmon, with this difference, that it must be finer, with a stout single silk worm gut at bottom, and the hook No. 2, 3, or 4, according to the bigness of the trout in the water where angled for: the middle-sized and whitest minnows are the best (of which those caught in streams are far brighter than those procured from ditches or stagnated waters), and the way of baiting recommended by Walton, is,

“To put the hook in at the mouth and draw it out through the gill about three inches; then again put the hook in at the mouth, and let the point and beard come out at the tail; then tie the hook and the tail about with a fine white thread, which will make it spin quicker; pull back that part of the line which was slack when the hook was thrust in the second time, which will fasten the head of the minnow, so as to make it be almost straight on the hook; try if it turns well, which it cannot do too fast. Angle with the point of the rod down the stream, drawing the minnow against the current gradually, and near the surface: when descried, the trout will freely come at it; be careful not to snatch it away, nor strike until he has turned with the bait. For this angling the winch and ringed rod is to be always used; and there should be two or three swivels on the line, which will assist the spinning of the minnow.”

Walton’s method may be altered and improved, by first thrusting the hook in at the lower side of the minnow’s under, and also quite through the upper chap, drawing it two or three inches on the line, and putting the hook in at the mouth as before directed; this will keep the minnow’s mouth closed, which otherwise should be stitched up.

Various hooks are recommended in minnow fishing; one much used consists of a large hook, with two very small ones fastened back to back to a piece of gut about two inches long, with a small hook to another gut something shorter, to fasten the head of the minnow: these pieces of gut are so attached to the link, that the two small hooks may be about the middle of the minnow when baited, and the other reach the head; a small lead cap (which renders other weight unnecessary) slides upon the link, keeps the short pieces of gut close, and falls upon the head of the minnow. The advocates for this plan boast of the certainty of hooking the trout with the two small hooks; this may be true, says an angler of no inconsiderable skill, but he asks if these small hooks (which seldom exceed No. 12) are sufficient to kill a trout of any bigness; and when a fish is hooked by these, the other hooks are entirely useless, from the situation in which they are placed. Another objection started by the same gentleman, is, that when the gut to which they are tied has been a short time in the water, it will not sustain the weight of the hooks, but they will sink below the minnow, and are continually foul of weeds and rubbish at the bottom; besides, the lead cap, falling upon the minnow’s head, totally conceals the eyes, parts which add life and attraction to the bait, and are, on that account, so essential to be seen.

Some use about three feet of stout silkworm gut for the bottom links, with two or three small swivels, which prevents the line from being entangled, and assists the twirling of the minnow. If these hooks are used as directed for pike, it will be successful; the bottom swivel must be open at one end, that the link on which the hooks are may be taken off occasionally to be baited; the proper size of these hooks is No. 7; if the old method of a large hook and a smaller above it, be preferred, the proper sizes are Nos. 2 and 6, with a running line; the angler can permit the minnow to be carried by the current under bushes, banks, &c.; this will be effected by his suffering the stream to gain upon it when he pulls it back, which also prevents its sinking to the bottom, and entangling the hooks; as he draws it gently against the stream, favouring the direction to which he would have the bait driven, it will of course spin round very quick, and this is the moment the trout usually takes it; by holding the rod firm, he will infallibly hook himself; will then spring out of the water several times, and, by an astonishing strength and agility, endeavour to get quit of the hook. The angler must not be too hasty, but lower his right hand, which will raise the top of his rod and keep it bent; by this means the trout may be tired, but he will not readily suffer himself to be got into the landing-net; the best way therefore, instead of bringing the fish to the surface (where he will so violently plunge, as to endanger breaking the rod, line, or hook), is to keep him as deep in the water as possible.

Artificial minnows made of mother of pearl, &c., fitted to single, two, or more hooks, and bent in various attitudes, are to be purchased at all the tackle makers.—_Daniel._

MINT, _s._ A valuable herb that grows very abundantly. There are two
kinds used in horse medicine, spearmint and peppermint. The
former is an excellent carminative, generally affording relief
in flatulency of the stomach and bowels, and the complaints
which arise from it, termed gripes and flatulent colic.

MINUTE, _s._ The sixtieth part of an hour; any small space of time.

MINUTE-GLASS, _s._ A glass of which the sand measures a minute.

MINUTE-WATCH, _s._ A watch in which minutes are more distinctly
marked than in common watches which reckon by the hour. Such are
generally used by judges of a course, &c.

MISS, _v._ Not to hit; to mistake.

MISSEL THRUSH (_Turdus viscivorus_, LINN.; _La Drainé_, BUFF.) _s._
A bird.

The length of this bird is about eleven inches. The bill is dusky, the base of the lower bill yellow; the eyes hazel; the head, back, and lesser coverts of the wings, are of a deep olive brown, the latter tipped with white: the lower part of the back and rump tinged with yellow; the cheeks are of a yellowish white, spotted with brown, as are also the breast and belly, which are marked with larger spots of a dark brown colour; the quills are brown, with pale edges; tail feathers the same, the three outermost tipped with white; the legs are yellow, claws black. The female builds her nest in bushes or low trees, and lays four or five eggs, of a greenish blue colour, marked with red spots. Its nest is made of moss, leaves, &c., lined with dry grass, strengthened on the outside with small twigs. It begins to sing very early, often on the turn of the year in blowing showery weather, whence in some places it is called the storm-cock. Its note of anger is very loud and harsh, between a chatter and a shriek, which accounts for some of its names. It feeds on various kinds of berries, particularly those of the misletoe, of which birdlime is made. It was formerly believed that the plant of that name was only propagated by the seed which passed the digestive organs of this bird, whence arose the proverb—“_Turdus malum sibi cacat_;” likewise feeds on caterpillars and various kinds of insects, with which it also feeds its young.

This bird is found in various parts of Europe, and is said to be migratory in some places, but continues in England the whole year, and frequently has two broods.—_Bewick._

MISSILE, _a._ Thrown by the hand, striking at a distance.

MIST, _s_. A low thin cloud, a small thin rain, the drops of which
are hardly perceptible.

MISLETOE, _s._ The name of one of those plants which draw their
nourishment from some other plant. It generally grows on the
apple tree, sometimes on the oak, and was held in great
veneration by the ancient Druids.

MITE, _s._ A small insect found in cheese or corn; a weevil; vermin
found about the head and nares of hawks.

MITHRIDATE, _s._ Mithridate was formerly, before medicine was
simplified, one of the capital medicines of the shops,
consisting of a great number of ingredients, and has its name
from its inventor, Mithridates, king of Pontus.

The following is the recipe for Mithridate, or Confection of Democrites.

Cinnamon twenty-four drachms; Indian spikenard, ginger, saffron, shepherd’s-purse seed, frankincense, Chian turpentine, of each ten drachms; Zedoary mace, long pepper, juice of hypocistus, storax, opoponax, galbanum, opobalsam and castor, of each one ounce; scordium, cubebs, white pepper, carrot seed, bdellium, of each seven drachms; celtic nard, gentian, dittany of Crete, red roses, wild parsley seed, cardamoms, sweet fennel seeds, gum arabic, strained opium, dissolved in wine, of each five drachms; aromatic reed, valerian root, sagapenum, aniseed, of each three drachms; catechu, St. John’s wort, skinks, of each two ounces and a half, &c. &c.

Another of these absurd preparations is composed of _seventy-two_ articles.

MITTENS, _s._ Coarse gloves for the winter; gloves that cover the
arm without covering the fingers.

MOB, _v._ To harass or overbear by tumult; a term in hunting.

MOHAIR, _s._ Thread or stuff made of camel’s or other hair; an
excellent article for sporting dresses.

MOLE, _s._ A mole is a formless concretion of extravasated blood,
which grows into a kind of flesh in the uterus; a natural spot
or discolouration of the body; a mound, a dyke; a little beast
that works whilst under ground.

MOLECATCHER, _s._ One whose employment is to catch moles.

MOLEHILL, _s._ Hillock thrown up by the mole working underground.

MOLLUSCA, _s._ An order of the class Vermes of Linnæus. It
comprehends naked simple animals not included in a shell, but
furnished with limbs, as snails, star fish, sea urchins, cuttle
fish, &c.

MOON-EYED, _a._ Having eyes affected by the revolutions of the moon;
dim-eyed, purblind.

MOONFISH, _s._ Moonfish is so called, because the tail fin is shaped
like a half moon.

MOOR, _s._ A marsh, a fen, a bog, a tract of low and watery ground;
a negro.

MOORCOCK, _s._ The male of the moorhen.

MOORHEN, _s._ A fowl that feeds in the fens, without web feet.

MOOSE, _s._ A large American deer. They were formerly found in
Ireland, and their gigantic remains are frequently discovered in
the bogs and morasses.

MOP, _s._ Pieces of cloth, or locks of wool, fixed to a long handle,
to clean floors, carriages, &c. &c.

MORASS, _s._ Fen, bog, moor.

MORBID, _a._ Diseased, in a state contrary to health.

MORBIDNESS, _s._ State of being diseased.

MORDANT, _a._ Biting, pungent, acrid.

MORELAND, _s._ A mountainous or hilly country.

MORILLON, (_Anas Glaucion_, LINN.; _Le Morillon_, BUFF.) _s._ An
aquatic bird.

Bill brown, orange from the nostrils to the point, the knob of which is black; it is an inch and a half long, rather narrow towards the apex; the nostrils are placed very forward; head brown, cheeks tinged with black; irides straw colour; a broad white circle round the neck, the back part of which is mottled with brown; breast, sides of the body, and scapular feathers, white, barred with black; belly white; thighs and vent feathers brown and white; inner coverts of the wings brown; back and coverts of the wings black, mottled with white; quill feathers and tertials black; secondaries white; tail rounded and grey; legs and toes yellow brown, with a greenish tinge; webs and claws black. Length, one foot four inches; breadth, two feet four inches; weight, one pound seven ounces.

They are generally seen in small flocks, diving for their food, near the shore.—_Bewick._

MORTAR, _s._ A strong vessel in which materials are broken by being
pounded with a pestle; a short wide cannon, out of which bombs
are thrown; cement made of lime and sand with water, and used to
join stones or bricks.

MORTIFICATION, _s._ The state of corrupting or losing the vital
qualities, gangrene; humiliation, vexation, trouble; to humble,
to depress, to vex.

MORTISE, _s._ A hole cut into wood that another piece may be put
into it.

MOSS, _s._ A plant.

MOTH, _s._ A small winged insect that eats cloths and hangings; an
evening fishing fly.

MOULT, _v._ To shed or change the feathers, to lose the feathers.

MOUNTAIN, _s._ A large hill, a vast protuberance of the earth.

MOUNTAIN, _a._ Found on the mountains, as mountain hares, mountain
partridges.

MOUNTAINOUS, _a._ Hilly, full of mountains; large as mountains,
huge; inhabiting mountains.

MOUSE, _s._ The smallest of all beasts, a little animal haunting
houses and corn-fields. _Vide_ FIELD MOUSE.

MOUTH, _s._ The aperture in the head of any animal at which the food
is received; the opening, the entrance; the instrument of
speaking.