Chapter XXXIV: Part 34

This dog was formerly very common in many parts of Great Britain, but is now becoming very scarce, from the circumstance, we have no doubt, of its being so useless. It may be prized as a pet, but certainly not for its beauty. Although its admirers in this country are becoming very limited in number, we are informed by Mrs. Piozzi, that in Italy it is a great favourite, more particularly at Padua.

There is a Sunday market at Moscow, where German pug dogs, which are so dear in London, can be bought for a sum of money equivalent to a shilling.

PULLET, _s._ A young hen.

PULSE, _s._ The motion of any artery as the blood is driven through
it by the heart, and as it is perceived by the touch; vibration;
leguminous plants.

It seems, by the nicest observations, that the pulsations of a healthy horse seldom exceed from forty to forty-five in a minute; exceeding which, in any material degree, there is then reason to believe inflammatory heat is predominant in the frame, and that fever is rapidly advancing in proportion to the increased velocity of the blood.

PULVERISE, _v._ To reduce to powder, to reduce to dust.

PUMICE, _s._ A light and spongy cinder of some fossil. It is ejected
from volcanic mountains, or procured in melting glasses.

PUNCH, _v._ To bore or perforate by driving a sharp instrument.

PUNCH, _s._ A pointed instrument, which, driven by a blow,
perforates bodies; a liquor made by mixing spirit with water,
sugar, and the juice of lemons or oranges; an implement for
cutting out hat or card waddings.

_To make Punch._—A wine-glass nearly full of best refined lump sugar pounded. Twelve ditto of cold spring water, a lime, and half a lemon, (or if no lime, a whole lemon, which might yield about half a wineglassful of juice). Two wineglasses brim full of old Jamaica rum. Let the sugar be well melted, and the lemons thoroughly amalgamated with it and the water, before you add the spirit.

* * * * *

It is better to make the punch with boiling water the night before it is required for use. Strain it in the morning, and place the bottles in a well or stream of water, sheltered from the sun. When wanted at dinner time, you will have a cooler and much more mellow beverage than if the water had been taken from the spring.—_Hawker_—_Wild Sports._

PUNCTURE, _s._ A hole made with a sharp point.

PUNGENT, _a._ Pungent, sharp on the tongue, acrid; piercing, sharp,
acrimonious, biting.

PUNT, _s._ A light flat boat for fishing and shooting.

_Dressing for Punts and Canoes._—To keep gunning punts and canoes from leaking, or, as those who use them call it, weeping, melt a pint of tar with a pound of pitch, and either half a pint of common oil, or a proportional quantity of suet. You have then only to pour a little of this mixture into the seams of your punt, and, instead of bedaubing her all over the bottom, as we did in the old school, seven or eight years ago, have the bottom painted with one or two coats of red lead, which will last much longer, and with which the boat rows much lighter.

White resin and mutton suet is even a better dressing, and by far the lightest of any.

* * * * *

_Punt Shooting._—The punt shooters (men who earn their livelihood in winter by attacking the wild fowl, night and day, according as the tide serves) kill great numbers. The pursuit is hazardous, especially when there is much ice in the river, by which they sometimes get encircled, and then can only float with the current, and are kept often two or three tides before they can extricate themselves, and their punt is ill calculated to sustain pressure against its sides, which are not twenty inches high from the surface of the water; in this the punter by night drops down with the tide, or uses his paddles after the fowl; he knows their haunts, and takes every advantage of wind, tide, moon, &c.; his gun, which carries as much as a little cannon, is laid with the muzzle over the stem of the punt, in a hitch, which regulates the line of aim: at the bottom of the punt he lies upon his belly, and gets as near the rout of fowl that are upon the water as possible; when within the range of his gun, he rattles with his feet against the bottom of his punt, and when the fowl begin to spring at this unexpected sound, at that moment he pulls the trigger, and cuts a lane through their ranks, he instantly follows the direction of his shot, and gathers up those that are killed, or just expiring, for very seldom he makes it answer to row after fowl only wounded. He then charges his gun, and drifts further down the river, in hopes of a second, third, and successive shots. By this mode a man has brought home from fourscore to an hundred wild fowls, of various kinds, in one night’s excursion; and this will not seem an exaggerated account, when the multitudes which, in hard frosty weather, with the wind at east or north-east, haunt the Blackwater river are known. The numbers that are seen in their day-flights, and the noises of the various kinds of a night, are almost beyond belief: to the compiler, prepared as he was to behold amazing quantities, they exhibited far beyond what he was led to expect, and to others who have seen their throngs, the astonishment has been perhaps still greater. A punt shooter of the name of Bowles, has been known to clear upwards of an hundred pounds in a season by his gun; the wild fowl were sold to the higlers, &c., at two shillings a couple, one with the other; allowing his expenses to be only thirty pounds, here were two thousand six hundred birds brought home; an immense destruction, when the whole period allotted for it does not much exceed five months. Forty-two wigeons have been killed at a single shot in the day-time, and the difficulty of approaching the great flocks of fowl in the light is tenfold. A man, in whose punt the compiler was, got eighteen wigeons at one shot, and many that were crippled, escaped. If in the day, or at night, the punters get a shot at the fowl at feed upon the ooze, they tie on their plashes (similar to the mud-pattens used in Hampshire), and collect their spoil.

The best time for this shooting is the first or second day’s thaw after a sharp frost, and when deep snow has long covered the ground; the fowl are then flying in every direction to dabble in the fresh water, which then appears all around inviting them. Another favourable opportunity is at the commencement of a frost, with the wind strong at east, and a sleet or snow falling: if the guns can but be kept dry, there is no complaint about the using them, and the fowl in such weather always fly lower than when the atmosphere is clear.—_Daniel_—_Hawker._

PUP, _v._ To bring forth whelps, used of a bitch bringing young.

All dogs that are much domesticated and confined, appear particularly subject to difficulty in bringing forth; consequently during pregnancy much exercise should be given, as nothing tends more to easy parturition than full exercise. Sometimes the constitution itself, in these tender and artificial breeds, is not equal to the exertion of labour; and sometimes false presentation increases the obstruction. Whenever a difficulty in pupping occurs, which has existed more than four or five hours, the bitch should be examined by means of a finger passed up the vagina; and, if any portion of a pup should be found to present itself, so as to be within reach of the finger, a skein of worsted ought, if possible, to be fastened around it; and, during the throes, or labour pains of the animal, it should be gently drawn away. If it cannot be reached in this way, a little longer time may be allowed; but, after all, should it not advance, a pair of forceps may be used to assist the extraction. It is a good practice to give a laxative as soon as any symptoms of pupping appear; and, when delivery seems much delayed, it will be prudent, in all cases, to bathe in warm water, and to give nutriment if the labour is protracted: occasional doses of laudanum united with æther must be given if any convulsive appearances come on. The patience of bitches in labour is extreme, and their distress, if not relieved, is most striking and affecting. Their look is, at such times, particularly expressive, and apparently imploring.—_Blaine._

PUPPY, _s._ A whelp, a progeny of a bitch; a name of contempt to an
impertinent fellow.

PURGATIVE, _a._ Cathartic, having the power to cause evacuation
downwards.

PURGE, _v._ To cleanse, to clear from impurities; to evacuate the
body by stool; to have frequent stools.

PURGE, _s._ A cathartic medicine, a medicine that evacuates the body
by stool.

PURL, _s._ A kind of medicated malt liquor, in which wormwood and
aromatics are infused.

PURPLE, _a._ Red, tinctured with blue.

PURPLE, _v._ To make red, to colour with purple.

PURSENET, _s._ A net of which the mouth is drawn together by a
string.

PURSINESS, _s._ Shortness of breath.

PURULENT, _a._ Consisting of pus or the running of wounds.

PUS, _s._ The matter of a well-digested sore.

PUSS, _s._ The fondling name for a cat; the sportsman’s term for a
hare.

PUSTULE, _s._ A small swelling, a pimple, an efflorescence.

PUSTULOUS, _n._ Full of pustules, pimply.

PUT, _s._ A clown; a vulgar game at cards.

Put, played with a complete pack, generally by two people, sometimes by three, and often by four, is a game at which the cards rank differently from all others, tray being the best, next the deuce, then ace, king, and so on in the usual order, as at whist. After cutting for deal, &c., at which the highest put card wins, three cards, by one at a time, are given to each player, then the game is played in the following way. If the non-dealer throw up his cards he loses a point; if he play, and the dealer do not lay down another to it, he gains a point; but should the dealer either win the same, pass it, or lay down one of equal value, forming what is styled a tie, the non-dealer is still at liberty to put, that is play, or not, and his opponent then only gains a point; then if both parties agree to go on, whoever gains all the tricks or two out of three, wins five points, which are the game; if each player win one trick, and the third be a tie, then neither party scores.

Four-handed put differs only in this, that on both sides, one of the players gives his best card to his partner, who lays out one in lieu of it, and the game is afterwards played as in two-handed put.

If the dealer turn up any of his adversary’s cards in dealing another deal may be demanded; but if he turn up his own he is to abide by it. Should a faced card occur, the pack must be shuffled and dealt again. When more cards than necessary are given to the non-dealer, he may either claim a fresh deal, or have the extra cards drawn; but should the dealer give himself too many, then his opponent is entitled to a point, and may either have another deal, or draw the supernumerary cards. Bystanders ought never to interfere, under penalty of paying the stakes. Either party saying, I put, must abide the event of the game, or pay the stakes.—_Hoyle._

PUTREFACTION, _s._ The state of growing rotten; the act of making
rotten.

PUTTOCK, _s._ A buzzard.

PUZZLE, _v._ To perplex, to confound, to embarrass, to entangle.

PYROTECHNY, _s._ The art of managing fire; the art of making
fireworks.

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QUACK, _v._ To cry like a duck; to act the part of a boasting
pretender to physic, or any other art.

QUADRANGULAR, _a._ Square, having four right angles.

QUADRILLE, _s._ A game at cards.

The game of quadrille is played by four persons, with forty cards; the four tens, nines, and eights, are discarded from the pack; the deal is made by distributing the cards to each player, three at a time, for two rounds, and once four to each, beginning with the right-hand player, who is the elder hand.

The stakes, consisting of several equal billets or contracts, comprising the counters and fish, are distributed among the players, who agree upon the value thereof, and upon the number of tours, which are usually ten. After the trump is named, the right-hand player leads, and should the ombre, either alone or with a friend, win all the tricks, he gains the vole, or, if six tricks, the game; but if he get only five tricks he loses by remise, and if only four, by codill. The game, consolation, matadores, bastos, and other payments, are variously regulated, according as the game is won or lost. The holder of either or both of the red aces, is entitled to a fish for each.

SOME SHORT RULES FOR LEARNERS.

1. When you are the ombre, and your friend leads from a mat, play your best trump, and then lead the next best the first opportunity.

2. If you possess all the trumps, keep leading them, except you have other certain winning cards.

3. If all the mats should not be revealed by the time you have won six tricks, do not risk playing for the vole.

4. When you are the friend called, and hold only a mat, lead it, but if only a mat, guarded by a small trump, lead the small one; though when the ombre is last player, lead the best trump you have.

5. Punto in red, or king of trumps in black, are good cards to lead when they are your best, and should either of them succeed, then play a small trump.

6. When the ombre leads to discover the friend, if you hold king, queen, and knave, put on the knave.

7. Preserve the called suit, whether friend or foe.

8. When playing against a lone hand, never lead a king, unless you have the queen, nor change the suit, nor permit, if possible to prevent it, the ombre to be last player.

9. Call on the strongest suits, except you have a queen guarded, and, if elder hand, you have a better chance than when middle hand.

10. A good player may succeed better with a weaker hand, when either elder or younger, than if middle hand.

THE RANK OF THE CARDS WHEN NOT TRUMPS.

CLUBS AND SPADES.

King,
Queen,
Knave,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Deuce.
————————
In all 9.

HEARTS AND DIAMONDS.

King,
Queen,
Knave,
Ace,
Deuce,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
——————————
In all 10.

THE RANK AND ORDER OF THE TRUMPS.

CLUBS AND SPADES.

Spadille, the ace of spades.
Manille, the deuce of spades or of clubs.
Basto, the ace of clubs.
King,
Queen,
Knave,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three.
——————————
In all 11.

HEARTS AND DIAMONDS.

Spadille, the ace of spades.
Manille, the seven of hearts or diamonds.
Basto, the ace of clubs.
Punto, the ace of hearts or diamonds.
King,
Queen,
Knave,
Deuce,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
——————————
In all 12.

N.B. Spadille and basto are always trumps, by which the red suits have one trump more than the black.

There are three matadores, viz.—spadille, manille, and basto, which force all inferior trumps; but if an ordinary trump be led, you are not obliged to play a matadore; though, if spadille be led, and you hold manille or basto unguarded, you must play it; also, if manille be led, and you have basto unguarded, that must be played.

* * * * *

1. The first thing, after seeing the cards, is to ask leave; to pass; or play _sans prendre_; and if you name a wrong trump you must abide by it.

2. If all the players pass, he who holds spadille is obliged to play what is called forced spadille; but though he should not make three tricks, he is not basted.

3. The player who calls a king, ought to have a fair probability of winning three tricks, to prevent being basted.

4. Therefore, such games only are set down as give a fair chance to win by calling a king, with directions at the end of each what to lead.—_Hoyle._

QUADRUPED, _s._ An animal that goes on four legs, as, perhaps, all
beasts.

QUADRUPLE, _a._ Fourfold, four times told.

QUAGMIRE, _s._ A shaking marsh.

QUAIL, (_Tetrao Coturnix_, LINN.; _Le Caille_, BUFF.) _s._ A bird of
game.

The length of the quail is seven inches and a half. Bill dusky; eyes hazel; the colours of the head, neck, and back, are of a mixture of brown, ash-colour, and black; over each eye there is a yellow streak, and another of the same colour down the middle of the forehead; a dark line passes from each corner of the bill, forming a kind of forget above the breast; the scapular feathers are marked by a light yellowish streak down the middle of each; the quills are of a lightish brown, with small rust-coloured bands on the exterior of the feathers; the breast is of a pale rust-colour, spotted with black, and streaked with pale yellow; the tail consists of twelve feathers, barred like the wings; the belly and thighs are of a yellowish white; the legs pale brown. The female wants the black spots on the breast, and is easily distinguished by a less vivid plumage.

Quails are almost universally diffused throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa; they are birds of passage, and are seen in immense flocks traversing the Mediterranean Sea, from Europe to the shores of Africa, in the autumn, and returning again in the spring, frequently alighting, in their passage, on many of the islands of the Archipelago, which they almost cover with their numbers. On the western coasts of the kingdom of Naples, such prodigious numbers have appeared, that an hundred thousand have been taken in a day, within the space of four or five miles. From these circumstances it appears highly probable that the quails which supplied the Israelites with food, during their journey through the wilderness, were sent thither on their passage to the north, by a wind from the south-west, sweeping over Egypt and Ethiopia, towards the shores of the Red Sea.

Quails are not very numerous here; they breed with us, and many of them are said to remain throughout the year, changing their quarters from the interior counties to the sea coast. The female makes her nest like the partridge, and lays to the number of six or seven eggs of a greyish colour, speckled with brown. The young birds follow the mother as soon as hatched, but do not continue long together: they are scarcely grown up before they separate; or, if kept together, they fight obstinately with each other, their quarrels frequently terminating in each others’ destruction. From this quarrelsome disposition in the quail, it was that they were formerly made use of by the Greeks and Romans, as we use game-cocks, for the purpose of fighting. We are told that Augustus punished a præfect of Egypt with death, for bringing to his table one of these birds, which had acquired celebrity by its victories. At this time the Chinese are much addicted to fighting quails: in some parts of Italy it is likewise said to be no uncommon practice. After feeding two quails very highly, they place them opposite to each other, and throw a few grains of seed between them; the birds rush upon each other with the utmost fury, striking with their bills and heels till one of them yields.

* * * * *

In our way down to the beach, we observed a number of high poles erected at small distances in the low grounds. These the lad told us served to stretch their nets upon in the quail season. Capri has in all ages been celebrated for the prodigious number of quails caught there. The principal revenues of the bishop and of some convents, arise from the quails they send to Naples. In a good season, which lasts about three weeks only, 150,000, and in one day 12,000 have been taken. As birds of passage, they alight here merely to rest themselves in their flight to other countries; begin arriving in April, and continue till the middle of May. That period is a time of profit and rejoicing for the Capreans, every one being at liberty to shoot or catch as many as he can. Exhausted as the bird is, there is little difficulty in seizing him. The most common and productive method is, for one man to have a net, which he carries folded up on two poles, another drives the quails towards him, when the former instantly expands his net, and as soon as the birds strike against it, he turns the net with great dexterity, and confines them entangled as they are. They are then put into a bag, to preserve them alive, because the live ones fetch a double price at Naples. Very often, however, this pastime is attended with serious consequences; the bearer of the net, in twisting it round, frequently loses his balance, from the weight of the long poles, and is precipitated from the rocks. Even boys from the age of four amuse themselves by catching them with the hand in the bushes, and putting them under the netting which they constantly wear on their heads; and on their return home, the height of this _animated_ head dress, as it affords the best proof of their success, is a matter of triumph among them. In Egypt, when these birds arrive in the month of September, I have more than once seen the Arabs killing and laming them, by throwing short sticks at them. During the time that the Capitani Bey blockaded the harbour of Alexandria with his Turkish squadron, one of the Greek sailors of his ship had caught two or three which had perched on the rigging. The mussulman rewarded him generously, and desirous of varying the hard fare which a blockading squadron has usually to sustain, by a more ample supply of such a delicate rarity, promised a piastre for every quail that should be brought him. In a few days the rigging, sails, and yards were covered with flocks of quails; great numbers were caught of course, and every one was brought into the cabin, as the price had been so liberally fixed. To escape the dilemma of either ruining his purse or breaking his promise, the Capitani Bey resorted to the alternative of standing out to sea, as by removing from the coast he got rid of the visits of these expensive strangers.

* * * * *

In January, 1806, Lord Fitzharris was returning from shooting, when close to the sea his dogs pointed, and he shot a quail; in the same field he killed a brace more, these consisted of a male, female, and young bird; they were fat and in exceeding good condition, and it was conjectured that the old birds had been disabled from pursuing their autumnal migration. A similar incident not having occurred to any sportsman, in that part of England, in some measure accounts for Mr. Pennant’s remark (which he made for its singularity), of a quail being shot in Kent, during the winter of 1781.—_Bewick_—_Daniel_—_Letters from the Campagna Felice._

QUAILPIPE, _s._ A pipe with which fowlers allure quails.

QUARRY, _s._ A square; game flown at by a hawk; a stone mine, a
place where they dig stones; the ancient term for game, both
winged and quadruped.

QUARRY, _v._ To prey upon; to dig out stones.

QUART, _s._ The fourth part, a quarter; the fourth part of a gallon;
the vessel in which strong drink is commonly retailed.

QUARTAN, _s._ The fourth-day ague.

QUARTER, _s._ A fourth part; a region of the skies, as referred to
the seaman’s card.

QUARTER, _v._ To divide into four parts; to divide, to break by
force; to divide into distinct regions; to traverse back and
forward carefully as a pointer quarters a field.

QUASSIA, _s._ A powerful bitter, useful in weakness of the stomach.

QUICK, _s._ The living flesh; sensible parts; plants of hawthorn.

QUICKSILVER, _s._ The vulgar name for mercury.

QUILL, _s._ The hard and strong feather of the wing, of which pens
are made; prick or dart of a porcupine; wing feathers of birds
generally.

QUINARY, _a._ Consisting of five.

QUINT, _s._ A set of five; sequents of five; a term at cards,
pronounced _kent_.

QUINZE, _s._ A game at cards.

Quinze is a French game, usually played by two persons only, admired for its simplicity and fairness, depending entirely upon chance, being soon decided, and not requiring the attention of most other games on the cards, and therefore calculated for those who love to sport upon an equal hazard.

It is called quinze from fifteen being the game, made in the following manner:—first, the cards must be shuffled by the player, and when they have cut for deal, which belongs to him who cuts the lowest, they may be shuffled again, the dealer having the privilege to shuffle last: this being done, the adversary cuts, after which the dealer gives one card to his adversary and one to himself; if the adversary do not like his card, he has a right to have as many more given to him, one after the other, the pips of which will make 15, or come nearest to it, which are usually given from the top of the pack; for example, if he should have a deuce, and draw a five, which make seven, he should go on, in hopes of coming nearer to 15; if he then draw an eight, which makes just 15, and be elder-hand, he is sure of winning the game: but should he over-draw, and make above 15, he loses, unless the dealer does the same, in which case it is a drawn game, and they double the stakes; and thus go on till one of them has won the game by standing, and being 15, or the nearest to it, below that number, &c. At the end of each game, the cards are put up and shuffled, and the players cut anew for the deal, the elder hand constantly having the advantage.—_Hoyle._

QUITTER, _s._ A disease of the hoof. _Vide_ APPENDIX.

QUITTERBONE, _s._ A hard round swelling upon the coronet, between
the heel and the quarter.

QUIVER, _s._ A case for arrows.

QUIVERED, _a._ Furnished with a quiver.

QUOIT, _s._ Something thrown to a great distance, to a certain
point; the discus of the ancients is sometimes called in English
quoit, but improperly.

QUOIT, _v._ To throw quoits, to play at quoits.

QUOTIDIAN, _a._ Daily, happening every day.

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RABATE, _v._ In falconry, to recover a hawk to the fist again.

RABBET, _s._ A joint made by paring two pieces, so that they wrap
over one another.

RABBIT, _s._ A furry animal that lives on plants, and burrows in the
ground.

Rabbit-keeping is practised by a few individuals in almost every town, and by a few in almost every part of the country; but thirty or forty years ago, there were one or two very considerable feeders near the metropolis, keeping each, according to report, from fifteen hundred to two thousand breeding does. These large concerns have ceased, it seems, long since, and London receives the supply of tame as well as wild rabbits, chiefly from the country.

The only considerable rabbit-feeders of whom I heard, some years since, were two gentlemen, the one resident in Oxfordshire, the other in Berks. The former fed some hundreds, and then, it was said, intended to double his stock. The huts were placed in a small building set apart for that purpose. The then stock produced one load of dung per week, two loads of which were sufficient to manure an acre of land. Three dozen of rabbits per week were sent to the London market, but keep and attendance reckoned, no other profit accrued, excepting the dung, the price of which used to be eight-pence per bushel, and I believe thirty-six bushels are reckoned a load. The Berks gentleman, according to the survey of that county, fed white rabbits, on account of the superior value of their skins, from their application of late years to the purpose of trimmings. Twenty does and two bucks were my largest stock.

* * * * *

The rabbit-house should stand upon a dry foundation, and be well ventilated. Exposure to too much humidity, whether externally or internally, is fatal to rabbits, which are liable to the rot like sheep, and from the same causes. The rains of 1799, which continued nearly four months, destroyed my stock of rabbits, which were hutted in a boarded shed, not well defended from the cold and moist air. Ventilation and fresh air are also necessary, where considerable numbers of these animals are kept, which will not else remain healthy, or prosper for any length of time: and even sudden mortality may ensue, from impure and stagnant air. A thorough draught or passage for the air is thence indispensable, and should be contrived in the building, with the convenience of shutting such opposite windows or doors in cold and wet weather.

The huts or hutches are generally placed one above another, to the height required by the number of rabbits, and the extent of the room. Where a large stock is kept, to make the most of room, the hutches may be placed in rows, with a sufficient interval between, for feeding and cleaning, instead of being joined to the wall, in the usual way. It is preferable to rest the hutches upon stands, about a foot above the ground, for the convenience of cleaning under them. Each of the hutches, intended for breeding, should have two rooms, a feeding and a bed-room. Those are single for the use of the weaned rabbits, or for the bucks, which are always kept separate.

When much green meat is given, rabbits make a considerable quantity of urine, and I have sometimes seen occasion to set the hutches sloping backwards a few degrees, a very small aperture being made the whole length of the floor, to carry off the urine. A sliding door in the partition between the two rooms, is convenient for confining the rabbits during the operation of cleaning; which, indeed, is a good argument for having all the hutches double, it being more troublesome to clean out a room with a number of rabbits in it, than with only one. It must not be forgotten, that the teeth of rabbits are very effectual implements of destruction to any thing not hard enough to resist them, and their troughs should be bound with something less penetrable than wood. As they are apt to scratch out their food, and dung in it, I have often thought it might be useful to adopt the feeding troughs with moveable boards, as well for rabbits as hogs.

The floor of the hutches should be planed smooth, that wet may run off, and a common hoe with a short handle, and a short broom, are most convenient implements for cleaning these houses. The object being to obtain the dung pure, for sale, no litter should be allowed; but on a farm where the dung is expended at home, the hutches should be littered with refuse hay or straw, perfectly dry. The rabbit-house to contain a tub for the dung, and a bin for a day’s supply of hay, corn, roots, or other food, which should be given in as fresh a state as possible.

* * * * *

As to the varieties of form and colour, in the rabbit, the short-legged, with width and substance of loin, generally few in number, and to be obtained only by selection, are the most hardy, and fatten most expeditiously, taking on fat both internally and in the muscular flesh. They have, besides, the soundest livers—the rabbits being generally subject to defects of the liver: they are the smallest variety. There is a very large variety of the hare colour, having much bone, length and depth of carcase, large and long ears, with large eyes, resembling those of the hare. They might well be taken for hybrid or mules, but from the objection of their breeding. Their flesh is high coloured, substantial, and more savoury than that of the common rabbit; and they make a good dish, cooked like the hare, which, at six or eight months old, they nearly equal in size. The large white, and yellow and white species, have whiter and more delicate flesh, and, cooked in the same way, will rival the turkey.

With respect to colour, I have always preferred the wild colour, and black, finding the skins of full as much worth as the white. The Turkish or French rabbit, with long white fur, differs little from the common varieties; nor did I find their skins of more value, either for sale or home use. I have been in the habit of drying the skins, for linings of night-gowns, and other domestic purposes; but have always found reason to prefer the short, close fur. The large above-mentioned—indeed any peculiar varieties—must be sought among the London dealers.

Of late years, in London, the term _smut_, has been applied as a mark of distinction in the rabbit. Thus, there are single and double smuts. The smut consists of a black spot on the side of the rabbit’s nose: when there are two black spots, one on each side of the nose, it constitutes a double smut. Generally, the rabbits are prized for the number of these black spots upon the head and body, and for the fineness and length and size of the ears, which occasions their falling about the head, in a manner different from the common rabbit. Black and tortoise-shell are the favourite colours.

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Rabbits are divided into four kinds—_warreners_, _parkers_, _hedgehogs_, and _sweethearts_. Burrowing under ground is favourable, it appears, to the growth of fur; and the warrener, though a member of a subterraneous city, is less effeminate than his kindred who roam more at large. His fur is most esteemed, and after him comes the parker, whose favourite haunt is a gentleman’s pleasure-ground, where he usually breeds in great numbers, and not unfrequently drives the hares away. The hedgehog is a sort of vagabond rabbit, that travels, tinker-like, throughout the country, and would be better clad if he remained more at home. Sweethearts are tame rabbits, and their fur, though sleek, is too silky and soft to be of much use in the important branch of hat-making.

_Breeding._—The doe will breed at the age of six months, and her period of gestation is thirty or thirty-one days. It should be premised, that the buck and doe are by no means to be left together; but their union having been successful, the buck must be immediately withdrawn, and the doe tried again in three days: in fact, with rabbits, this business is conducted on the same principle as in the stud. Like chickens, the best breeding rabbits are those kindled in March. Some days before parturition, or kindling, hay is to be given to the doe, to assist in making her bed, with the flue, which nature has instructed her to tear from her body for that purpose. She will be at this period seen sitting upon her haunches, and tearing off the flue, and the hay being presented to her, she will, with her teeth, reduce and shorten it to her purpose.—Biting down of the litter or bed, is the first sign of approaching pregnancy. The number produced, generally between five and ten; and it is most advantageous always to destroy the weak or sickly ones, as soon as their defects can be perceived, because five healthy and well-grown rabbits are worth more than double the number of an opposite description, and the doe will be far less exhausted. She will admit the buck again with profit at the end of six weeks, when the young may be separated from her and weaned. Or the young may be suckled two months, the doe taking the buck at the end of five weeks, so that the former litter will leave her about a week before her next parturition.

A notion was formerly prevalent, of the necessity for giving the buck immediately after the doe had brought forth, lest she should pine, and that no time might be lost; and if it were intended that no time might be lost in destroying the doe, such, indeed, would be the most successful method. Great care should be taken that the doe, during her gestation, be not approached by the buck, or indeed by any other rabbit; as, from being harassed about, she will almost certainly cast her young. One doe in a thousand may devour her young; a sign that she ought to be otherwise disposed of. Some does admit the buck with difficulty, although often apparently in season; such should be immediately fattened off, since it can never be worth while to keep an objectionable individual for breeding, of a stock to be produced in such multitudes. Should the doe be weak on her bringing forth, from cold caught or other cause, she will drink beer-caudle, as well as any other lady; or warm fresh grains will comfort her; a malt mash; scalded fine pollard, or barley-meal, in which may be mixed a small quantity of cordial horse-ball.

_Feeding._—Upon a regular plan, and with sufficient attendance, it is better to feed three times than twice a day. The art of feeding rabbits with safety and advantage is, always to give the upper-hand to dry and substantial food. Their nature is congenial with that of the sheep, and the same kind of food, with little variation, agrees with both. All weeds, and the refuse of vegetation, should be banished from rabbit feeding. Such articles are too washy and diuretic, and can never be worth attention, whilst the more solid and nutritious productions of the field may be obtained in such plenty, and will return so much greater profit. Rabbits may, indeed, be kept, and even fattened upon roots, good green meat, and hay; but they will pay for corn; and this may be taken as a general rule. Rabbits which have as much corn as they will eat, can never take any harm from being indulged with almost an equal portion of good substantial vegetables. However, the test of health is, that their dung be not too moist. Many, or most, of the town feeders never allow any greens at all; the reason, I suppose, because they feed almost entirely on grains. The corn proper for rabbits:—oats, peas, wheat; pollard, and some give buck-wheat, The greens and roots, the same as our cattle crops, namely carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, and if potatoes, baked or steamed. Lucerne, cabbage-leaves, clover, tares, furze. I have had them hoven, from eating rape; and not improbably, mangold might have a similar effect. Clover and meadow-hay, pea and bean straw.

Rabbits are generally sold from the teat, but there is also a demand for those of larger size, which may be fattened upon corn and hay, with an allowance of the best vegetables. The better the food, the greater weight, better quality, and more profit, which I apprehend to be generally the case in the breeding of all animals. Some fatten with fresh grains and pollard. I have tried all wheat, and all potato oats, comparatively; but could find no difference in the goodness of the flesh. The rabbit’s flesh being dry, the allowance of succulent greens may tend to render it more juicy; and I suppose the old complaint of the dryness of the flesh in Devon beef, entirely fed by hay, might be remedied in the same way. Rabbits are in perfection for feeding at the fourth or sixth month; beyond which period their flesh becomes more dry, and somewhat hard. It requires three months, or nearly so, to make a rabbit thoroughly fat and ripe; half the time may make them eatable, but by no means equal in the quality of the flesh. They may yet be over fattened, as appears by specimens exhibited a few years since, at Lord Somerville’s show, which were loaded with fat, without and within, like the best feeding sheep; and at the late London cattle show, two were exhibited, one of them exceeding the weight of fifteen pounds.

Castrated rabbits might be fattened, no doubt, to the weight of upwards of ten, or even fifteen pounds, at six or seven months old. The operation should be performed at the age of six or seven weeks. I have not succeeded in castrating the rabbit, but am informed it is successfully practised in the land of capons, namely, Sussex, near Chichester, where on the average, not one in three hundred is lost by the operation, which is performed at five or six weeks old.

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In slaughtering full-grown rabbits, after the usual stroke upon the neck, the throat should be perforated upwards, towards the jaws, with a small-pointed knife, in order that the blood may be evacuated, which would otherwise settle in the head and neck. It is an abomination to kill poultry by the slow and torturing method of bleeding to death, hung up by the heels, the veins of the mouth being cut; but still more so the rabbit, which in that situation utters horrible screams. The entrails of the rabbit, whilst fresh, are said to be good food for fish, being thrown into ponds.

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By 7 & 8 Geo. IV. if any person unlawfully and wilfully, in the night time, take any hare or coney, in any warren or ground lawfully used for the keeping thereof, whether enclosed or not, every such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanour; and persons guilty of the same offence in the day time, or using any snare or engine, are subject to a penalty of five pounds. But this does not extend to the taking, in the day time, any conies on any sea bank or river bank in Lincolnshire, so far as the tide shall extend, or within a furlong of such bank.

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_Ampthill Rabbit Bazaar._—I have stated at the commencement of this article, that the large concerns had generally ceased. Of late, one has arisen at Ampthill, Beds; upon a more extensive scale than ever before attempted, established by J. H. Fisher, Esq., an agent of his Grace the Duke of Bedford. Upon so extensive a plan, indeed, is this new undertaking, that it may well be styled our grand National Rabbit Bazaar. The building, situated upon an eminence, is square, somewhat resembling barracks, with a court withinside the walls, and with thirty acres of fine light land adjoining, under culture of those crops known to be best adapted to the nourishment and support of rabbit-stock. It was proposed to keep between four and five thousand breeding does, which number is probably now complete. The young rabbits, from seven to nine weeks old, are sent to Newgate and Leadenhall markets, fifty to sixty dozens, weekly. The quantity of dung produced, which is reserved with the utmost care, and free from any extraneous substances, must be very considerable. A number of men and boys are employed in the concern, under the direction of an experienced foreman, and the utmost regularity of attention observed with respect to management, feeding, and cleanliness.

This bazaar has been honoured by the visits of persons of the highest rank; of his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, his Grace the Duke of Bedford, Lord Holland, Lord Vernon, and a number of ladies and gentlemen.

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The wold warreners catch their rabbits with fold-nets, with spring-nets, and with “tipes,” a species of trap.

The fold-nets are set about midnight, between the burrows and the feeding grounds; the rabbits being driven in with dogs, and kept inclosed in the fold until morning.

The spring-net is generally laid round a haystack, or other object of inducement for rabbits to collect in numbers.

The tipe or trap is a more modern invention; it consists of a large pit or cistern, covered with a floor, with a small trap door nicely balanced, near its meuse. It used to be set by a haystack, but since turnips are now grown for the winter food, in an inclosure within the warren, the trap is placed within the wall of this inclosure. For a night or two the rabbits are suffered to go through the meuse, and over the trap, that they may be familiarised to where the turnips are grown, after that the trap-door is unbarred, and the number wanted are taken. In emptying the cistern, the rabbits are culled, the fat ones are slaughtered, and the others turned upon the turnips to improve.

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In shooting a rabbit, always consider the foremost half of him as your target, or he will probably be shot in a slovenly manner; and if there is an earth near, most likely scramble to it, and make his escape.—_Moubray_—_Daniel._

RABID, _a._ Fierce, furious, mad.

RACE, _s._ A generation, a collective family; a particular breed;
contest in running; course on the feet; progress, course.

RACING, _v._ A contest of speed, in which horses are commonly
employed.

It is believed that horse-racing was known and practised by the Anglo-Saxons, but most probably confined to persons of rank and opulence, and followed only for amusement sake.

The first indication, however, of a sport of this kind occurs in the description of London, written by Fitzstephen, who lived in the reign of Henry II. He tells us, that horses were usually exposed for sale in West Smithfield; and, in order to prove the excellency of the most valuable hackneys and charging steeds, they were matched against each other; his words are to this effect—“When a race is to be run by this sort of horses, and perhaps by others, which also in their kind are strong and fleet, a shout is immediately raised, and the common horses are ordered to withdraw out of the way. Three jockeys, or sometimes only two, as the match is made, prepare themselves for the contest; such as being used to ride know how to manage their horses with judgment: the grand point is, to prevent a competitor from getting before them. The horses, on their part, are not without emulation, they tremble and are impatient, and are continually in motion: at last the signal once given, they strike, devour the course, hurrying along with unremitting velocity. The jockeys, inspired with the thoughts of applause and the hopes of victory, clap spurs to their willing horses, brandish their whips, and cheer them with their cries.”

In the middle ages there were certain seasons of the year when the nobility indulged themselves in running their horses, and especially in the Easter and Whitsuntide holidays.

It is certain, that horse-races were held upon various holidays, at different parts of the kingdom, and in preference to other pastimes. “It had been customary,” says a Chester antiquary, “time out of mind, upon Shrove Tuesday, for the company of sadlers belonging to the city of Chester, to present to the drapers a wooden ball, embellished with flowers, and placed upon the point of a lance; this ceremony was performed in the presence of the mayor, at the cross in the ‘Rodhee,’ or Roody, an open place near the city; but this year,” continues he, “the ball was changed into a bell of silver, valued at three shillings and sixpence, or more, to be given to him who shall run the best, and the farthest on horseback, before them upon the same day.”

Here we see the commencement of a regular horse-race, but whether the courses were in immediate succession, or at different intervals, is not perfectly clear; we find not, however, the least indication of distance posts, weighing the riders, loading them with weights, and many other niceties that are observed in the present day.

Races something similar to those above mentioned, are described by Butcher, as practised in the vicinity of the town of Stamford, in Lincolnshire. “A concourse,” says he, “of noblemen and gentlemen meet together, in mirth, peace, and amity, for the exercise of their swift running-horses, every Thursday in March. The prize they run for is a silver and gilt cup, with a cover, to the value of seven or eight pounds, provided by the care of the alderman for the time being; but the money is raised out of the interest of a stock formerly made up by the nobility and gentry, which are neighbours and well-wishers to the town.”

Running horses are frequently mentioned in the registers of the royal expenditures. It is notorious, that king John was so fond of swift horses and dogs for the chase, that he received many of his fines in the one or the other; but at the same time it does not appear that he used the horses for any purposes of pleasure, beyond the pursuits of hunting, hawking, and such like sports of the field.

In the reign of Edward III. the running-horses purchased for the king’s service, were generally estimated at twenty marks, or thirteen pounds six shillings, and eightpence each; but some few of them were prized as high as twenty-five marks. An entry appears, dated the ninth year of this king’s reign, which states, that the king of Navarre sent him as a present two running-horses, which I presume were very valuable, because he gave the person who brought them no less than one hundred shillings for his reward.

In the reign of James I. public races were established in many parts of the kingdom; and it is said that the discipline and modes of preparing the horses upon such occasions were much the same as are practised in the present day. The races were then called bell courses, because, as we have seen above, the prize was a silver bell.

At the latter end of the reign of Charles I. races were held in Hyde Park, and at Newmarket. After the restoration, horse-racing was revived and much encouraged by Charles II., who frequently honoured this pastime with his presence; and, for his own amusement, when he resided at Windsor, appointed races to be made in Datchet mead. At Newmarket, where it is said he entered horses and run them in his name, he established a house for his better accommodation; and he also occasionally visited other places where horse-races were instituted.

About this time it seems, that the bells were converted into cups, or bowls, or some other pieces of plate, which were usually valued at one hundred guineas each; and upon these trophies of victory the exploits and pedigree of the successful horses were most commonly engraved. William III. was also a patroniser of this pastime, and established an academy for riding; and his queen not only continued the bounty of her predecessors, but added several plates to the former donations. George I. instead of a piece of plate, gave a hundred guineas, to be paid in specie.

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RULES OF RACING.

Horses take their ages from May-Day; that is, a horse foaled any time in the year 1828, will be deemed a year old on the 1st of May, 1829.

Four inches are a hand. Fourteen pounds are a stone.

Catch weights are, each party to appoint any person to ride without weighing.

A post match, is to insert the age of the horses in the article, and to run any horse of that age, without declaring what horse, till he come to the post to start.

A Handicap Match, is A, B, and C, to put an equal sum each into a hat; C, who is the handicapper, makes a match for A and B, who, when they have perused it, put their hands into their pockets, and draw them out closed; then they open them together, and if both have money in their hands, the match is confirmed; if neither have money, it is no match. In both cases, the handicapper draws all the money out of the hat; but if one has money in his hand, and the other none, then it is no match; and he that has money in his hand is entitled to the deposit in the hat.