Chapter XXXVI: Part 36

I have made many experiments, and thought a good deal, by way of ascertaining the best calibre for answering the particular or general purposes to which the rifle may be applied. We all know that the resistance of the air is the chief obstacle which projected bodies have to encounter. It is so very great, that the range of projected spheres is more regulated by the degree of this resistance than by the velocity they receive from the powder,—the increased velocity of the ball being met by a geometrically increased ratio of atmospheric resistance. The larger bullets, therefore, having less surface in proportion to their mass, are, proportionately, much less resisted; so that the flights of the larger exceed those of the lesser, in more than the proportion of their respective diameters. For instance, a thirty-two pound shot, whose diameter is about six inches, will, with even a less proportionate charge of powder, and at an equal elevation, range half as far again as a nine pound, whose diameter is four inches. The proportion which the surface of a sphere bears to its mass, increasing in a geometrical ratio to the decrease of its diameter—the smaller the sphere, the greater is the proportionate resistance it meets with in its flight. At length, we find that small particles of the heaviest metals, becoming, as it were, nearly all surface, will actually float in the atmosphere, or remain suspended for a considerable time in the lightest fluids. Hence it is, that from the same piece, and with a similar charge of powder, we shall find that the range of an ounce of bird shot will regularly extend with the increased size of the shot employed, until, in progression, we get to the ounce bullet itself, which fits the piece; and which, by the by, at an elevation, would not be impelled further if projected from a twenty-four pound cannon.

The theory of the air’s regular resistance to the onward progress of the bullet, must also be applied to the irregular action of the wind across the line of its flight; which action also increases in the ratio of the decrease of the weight of the bullet. At the distance of 315 yards I have found a strong cross wind to cause a rifle bullet of nineteen to the pound to diverge from three to four feet. On the other hand, I have used a rifle carrying a bullet of ten to the pound, which, with the same wind, did not, at the same distance, diverge more than about one foot. In constructing a butt for rifle practice, regard should, therefore, be had to the more usual direction of the wind; and, as far as the locality will allow, the butt should be placed so as to have the wind more frequently in the line of the range, either way, than across it.

For general, and especially for military purposes, such large rifles as the last mentioned would, coupled with the ammunition, be found too heavy. The rifles commonly used in the United States carry, I am told, a bullet of thirty-two to the pound. The adoption of so small a calibre, I take to have been occasioned by the use of the rifle being, in that country, originally and generally confined to the interior of thick forests, wherein it seldom happens that an object is to be fired at beyond the distance of one hundred yards; and where, moreover, the wind is much less felt than in an open country.

Under the above circumstances, the half-ounce rifles are quite adequate to their purpose; but in a more open, and especially in a mountainous country, the calibre of rifles should be considerably larger. In a hilly country, you are often in the actual presence of the enemy, and capable of greatly annoying him, at distances at which, on a plain, the view is interrupted and confined by the least considerable of surrounding objects. In a hilly country, occasions are perpetually offering, wherein long rifle ranges would cause considerable mischief to your opponents. Such long ranges can never be obtained, nor depended on, with the half-ounce rifles of the Americans and Tyrolese.

If the foregoing observations are founded on fact, it is easy to decide what sort of rifle should be applied to a particular purpose. With respect to general purposes, I am inclined to fix on the calibre of one ounce, or sixteen bullets to the pound. The English government rifles are of nineteen or twenty to the pound; to which calibre there is little objection, especially as it is the same as that of the cavalry carbines and pistols. However, I could advance several reasons,—I do not call them very important ones,—for preferring the French regulation; according to which all the fire-arms of all the different corps, both of cavalry and infantry, are of one and the same calibre, of sixteen bullets to the pound.

With respect to the rifle, at least, I would most strenuously recommend the substitution of percussion for flint locks; over which the advantages of the former are as great as the latter are superior to the huge wheel and pyrites locks of two centuries ago. In comparison to the percussion gun, the very best flint one absolutely hangs fire, and one out of twenty is usually a miss-fire. A cap is put on much quicker than a flint lock is primed; there is no time lost in changing flints; and if Mr. Joyce’s percussion powder be used, there is no foulness or corrosion whatever; lastly, the rifles at present in use might be converted into copper caps at a trifling expense, and new copper cap locks will cost less than flint ones. The only objection to the change (and I own it is a very great one indeed), is the blind prejudice of custom.

To render the use of the copper cap piece still more eligible, especially for military purposes, there should be no lateral vent-hole in the breech, but in lieu of it, a broad convex-headed screw; which, upon being withdrawn, opens a passage into the chamber under the nipple, of an eighth of an inch in diameter.

By this simply contrivance,—which I have applied to all my own guns, rifles, and pistols,—should any obstruction occur, either from wet or dirt, which cannot be removed by merely probing the nipple, it will infallibly he cleared out by removing the screw, scooping out the passage into the chamber, putting a little powder therein, and firing it off, after having probed the nipple and replaced the screw. The aperture formed by the removal of the screw, greatly adds to the facility of washing the barrel.

Instead of the brush and brass wire pricker, required for the present flint-lock service, the use of percussion pieces would make it necessary to substitute a little instrument of steel, resembling the letter T; one half of the horizontal part being a four, or, what is perhaps better, a three-sided pricker, or probe, of about one-twentieth of an inch diameter. The other half of the horizontal piece forms a kind of little scoop, corresponding to the diameter of the lateral screw above mentioned; upon the removal of which it is to be employed. The centre piece, or foot of the T, is a turnscrew, surmounted by a little ring to attach it to the jacket. As, however, the instrument will not be often wanted, perhaps it had better be kept in the trap of the rifle stock, in the inside of which I attach it, by a thong, to a little screw staple.

Some persons recommend that, instead of the lateral screw above described, the nipple itself should be taken out, in case of obstruction, or for the purpose of washing the barrel. This is not only ineffective, but highly improper, as it requires the use of a particular shaped key or pincer to screw the nipple; whereas, such things as will turn a screw, or serve the purpose of a pricker, are to be found everywhere.

The percussion powder for the caps, should by all means be composed of the nitrate of mercury, first brought into use by Mr. F. Joyce, of Old Compton Street. This, instead of having the slightest tendency to corrode the piece, would rather appear to possess an anti-oxidating property; for I have repeatedly found that, having fired upwards of twenty rounds with this percussion powder, and laid the piece by for a month without the least cleansing, it has been, at the expiration of that time, as perfectly free from the least speck of rust as the day it came new from the maker’s shop. This would certainly not be the case even with a common flint lock; but as for the common percussion powder, composed of superoxygenated muriate of potash, it actually corrodes the parts of a gun as much as a drop of nitric acid itself; in fact, upon combustion it evolves, and leaves a residuum of that active fluid upon the iron. The consequent rapid destruction of the parts is such as would, especially in military service, occasion great inconvenience.

I have often compared notes, and reflected upon the respective advantages belonging to the magazine and copper cap locks, either for military or sporting purposes. Of magazine locks hitherto invented, the best and simplest is that by Forsyth, with the magazine sliding upon a plane, in which is the touch-hole, being connected with the cock by a bridle, which causes it to follow or precede its motions. For military use, this lock has the advantage over the copper cap, inasmuch as it saves the time and attention required for priming; nothing else being required than to cock and pull the trigger. In rifle practice, the use of this lock will more than retrieve the small additional portion of time which it requires to push down even my rifle cartridge, above what it takes to drop a cartridge into a common musket, with all its windage. On horseback, the advantages of such magazine locks are still more evident and important; as every one knows what an awkward loss of time and powder the operation of priming a flint lock occasions to a horseman in motion; whereas, with the magazine, containing thirty or forty primings, and a swivel ramrod, a carbine or pistol may be loaded with the same speed and precision on horseback, at a trot or a gallop, as when sitting in a chair. It is certainly easier to put on a copper cap than to prime a flint lock; but, with the magazine, there is no priming operation at all. With the common corrosive percussion powder above spoken of, the magazine lock certainly becomes very unfit for military purposes; for after having fired a shot or two, without subsequent cleaning, the lock will be nearly immovable the day after. However, in the late Spanish campaign of 1823, I had several magazine rifles and pistols, and no other than the corrosive percussion powder; but the officers and men to whom I entrusted them were so proud and so careful of them, as to keep them always in the most perfect order. Anyhow, it is evident that, for cavalry officers at least, the percussion magazine locks are undoubtedly, to be preferred; and, for both officers and men, I will observe, _en passant_, that it is far better to have one double pistol, than two, or half a dozen, single ones; and that whether one or two pistols be used, they should, upon going into action, he secured by a thong to the sword-belt; so as, in case of need, to be instantly disposed of by being dropped over the left shoulder. By having only one pistol, one holster may be converted into a convenient pouch. It is essential that, in double pistols, carbines, or rifles, the axis of the barrels should be perfectly parallel from breech to muzzle. If this be strictly attended to, it is not of much consequence whether they be disposed as in a fowling-piece, or, as it is called, “under and over.” One “under and over” pistol, eight inch barrels (the upper one rifled), nineteen bore, swivel ramrod, with a movable spring butt, to be kept in the other holster when not in use, is an excellent weapon for an officer. The movable butt must also serve the purpose of a mallet in loading the rifled barrel. Three or four slight taps will send the ball home: for, particularly on horseback, a rifle-barrelled pistol cannot well be loaded by pushing with so small a ramrod. With the smooth barrel, the party may fire away, either with ball or buck-shot cartridges, as fast as he pleases.

The copper cap offers the advantage of somewhat greater simplicity, and consequently less liability to derangement; and above all, it is, with the application of wax as hereafter described, perfectly water-proof. For the rifle service, therefore, it might perhaps, in one point of view, be preferable to the magazine; and certainly it is so in every respect for fowling pieces; in the use of which protection from the rain is of much more importance than the gain of a few seconds in loading, and where none of the inconveniences of priming on horseback are experienced. Duelling pistols should decidedly be copper caps. With such pistols there is no occasion whatever for a magazine; and I have found that a delicate trigger cannot be subjected to the slightest casual pull or strain of the magazine stirrup, without great liability to accident.

A remarkable defect in all the rifle-shooting that I have ever seen, is the improper construction of the ramrod, which is much too light. From this it results, that either the bullet is inserted with too little constriction to ensure its revolving on its axis to the end of an extensive flight; or, upon a tighter fit being attempted, much time and awkward exertion are expended in driving it properly “home.”

The friction to be overcome in forcing a bullet into a rifle is, in some respects, analogous to that of a wedge or a nail in entering a piece of wood. Nobody would think of driving a nail or a wedge by mere pressure or pushing, which would not effect the object with a thousand times the force that would suffice in the shape of percussion or impingement. To load a rifle with a mallet is out of the question, especially for military purposes; but I find that the very best effect is produced by having the ramrod of solid brass, considerably heavier than the iron ones of the government rifles. I have also a bit of hard wood, turned into the shape of a pestle, acutely convex at the thick end; and to qualify it for hasty use, I fasten it by a string to the button of my jacket. With this I give the ball a smart tap, which drives it below the centre of its circumference into the grooves of the barrel. If the latter be perfectly clean, the bullet will go down all the way by mere pushing; but this will not be the case after a few shots have been fired, unless the bullet be smaller than it should be. Any how, the ramrod ought always to be flung down once or twice, in conclusion—as the particular ring or jar, so produced, furnishes the only true criterion of the bullet being really “home.”

The ramrod being of the proper weight, and the end applied to the bullet being nearly equal to its calibre and well countersunk, the bullet will be moved by it with a few easy percussions; and should the barrel be ever so foul towards the breech, one or two flings with such a ramrod will send the bullet “home” with the assured ring. Neither a wooden nor a light metal ramrod will produce this effect after a few shots.

The ramrods I have had constructed for my own use are of solid brass, of about half an inch diameter except the end applied to the bullet, which, for a couple of inches, is so large as just to fit easily into the barrel. This large end is bored conically out, so as to contain between two and three drachms of powder, which, in leisure shooting, serves to introduce the charge with the rifle reversed. The ball-drawer, when required, screws into the other end of the rod.

The government rifle ramrods, might, for economy’s sake, be made of iron; but they should be much heavier than they are. It is absolutely necessary to good and quick rifle shooting, that the bullet should be driven into the mouth of the piece by a stroke of some sort or other, previously to the use of the ramrod. Should the little wooden pestle mentioned above be deemed inconvenient in military practice,—which I opine it is not,—a similar effect might be produced by a tap with the round button-like end of the present rifle ramrods; though, for the sake of the barrel, I would recommend that this button should be of soft copper. Were it made more convex, it would drive the bullet further in.

It is evident, that for actual service, the practice cannot be rendered too simple. So I only just mention, _en passant_, that in my own cartridge pouch, twelve cartridges, to be used first, are made with thicker cotton, which, for distinction’s sake, is red or blue. So, as the barrel becomes foul, I get to the other cartridges, of somewhat easier introduction. I have found it very pleasant even to divide my cartridges into three different fits—red, blue, and white. A rifle, however, deteriorates in accuracy of shooting, in proportion to the number of shots fired without cleaning the barrel. For the foulness accumulating mostly towards the breech, forms there a certain degree of constriction and obliteration of the grooves, into which part the bullet being forced, no longer fits the other and greater portion of the barrel, so to ensure its spinning upon its axis to the end of a long range. After twenty-five shots, without cleaning, at 315 yards, in very dry weather, I have found the bullets begin to deviate a little; as they no longer struck the target on the side which had come foremost from the barrel.

With respect to the rifleman’s cartridge-pouch, it should certainly be placed in front, buckling round the waist with a broad strap. The great thickness or projection which is given to the English rifle-pouches has many inconveniences; one of which is, that the weight, being concentrated into one almost cubic mass, causes great fatigue and annoyance, and perhaps injury, to the bearer. So far from having any such shape, I have found that the pouch ought to be so flat, as only to contain one row of tin tubes for cartridges, twenty-four of which occupy a space of about fourteen inches from hip to hip. The tubes being about five inches long, open at each end, but divided in the middle by a diaphragm, contain two cartridges each. When the uppermost row is consumed, to get at the others, it is only required to draw out the tubes, and reverse them in the pouch. If the cartridges are closed up, according to the method recommended in another part of this Treatise, they may, from the increased diameter of the folded end, be made to stick more or less firmly in the reversed half of the tubes, when these are drawn out to be turned. The pouch covers up with a flap of flexible leather, saturated with linseed oil, and secured at pleasure with a round button and loop. At one or both ends of the pouch is a little leathern bag, which may contain one or more packets of spare cartridges. I prefer, however, the method I have observed amongst the Calabrians and Corsicans, who, had they rifles, would be the most formidable skirmishers in the world. Their pouches go all round the body; though sometimes it is, as it were, a double pouch, with only small intervals at each hip, occupied by a bayonet on one side, and a middling-sized pistol on the other. From having only one row of tubes, these pouches are so little protuberant, as to be scarcely more perceptible, under or over the jacket, than a simple belt would be. When the cartridges are exhausted in front, the pouch is easily slipped round as much as required. Moreover, the weight being so distributed all round the body, gives scarcely any incumbrance; and I have found it a further improvement to partially support it by braces, worn under the jacket or waistcoat. Slips from the usual trouser suspenders will answer the purpose.

I must yet add a few words, by way of recommending some essential alterations in the method of exercising the troops to the use of that weapon, which will in most respects apply to the musket, carbine, and pistol.

In all the rifle or musket practice that I have ever seen or heard of, the men are made to fire at a target of about three feet diameter, placed before a bank or mound of earth, which receives all the missing bullets. Nothing can be more ineffectual in the way of instruction than this method! Every shot which misses the target, might as well have been fired vertically in the air, for any instruction it can have afforded to the firer! Even those bullets which do strike the target, will furnish no precise criteria of experience, unless the actual mark of each be immediately pointed out to the man who fired it.

The butt, or rather wall, for teaching rifle or musket shooting, should be at least twelve feet square, or rather twelve feet broad and twenty high. It should be covered entirely with cast-iron plates, of about three quarters of an inch thick. A convenient movable butt may be composed of a rectangular frame of wood, traversed like a window-frame, by pieces of wood at right angles or diagonally, having holes at the intersections for the admission of flat-headed bolts, by which the four corners of the cast-iron plates, corresponding to the size of the square divisions, will be secured to the frame, in close connexion with each other. Such a butt being set up endways, need only be connected, by a pulley at the top, to a couple of poles fixed in the earth, or to the top of a movable triangle. Any inclination, either forwards or backwards, may be given to it by means of the pulley. If it be inclined backwards at an angle of eighty to eighty-five degrees, the bullets, at medium and short ranges, will be reflected upwards nearly perpendicularly in the air.

The ground in front of the butt should be well levelled to the distance of about thirty yards, and covered with sifted road-scrapings, in preference to turf, gravel, or sand.

As unnecessary waste should in all cases be avoided, there is no reason why the recovery of the bullets should not be attended to. The best way to insure this, is to give the surface of the butt an inclination forward, of about ten degrees upon the horizontal line, which will cause the bullets to be reflected downwards upon the smooth ground in front. The recovered lead might be given as the perquisite of the marker, or to the best shot at the drill.

A little on one side, and about five yards in advance of the butt, there should be a little screen, or epaulement, behind which a man might safely stand to perform the office of marker. This marker must be provided with a pot of lamp-black and water, with a brush affixed to a long stick, and a pot of whitewash. He must also have a bit of chalk, or a box of various coloured wafers, to mark the shots. To prepare the butt for shooting, it must be blackened all over. An object is then to be designated in the middle, either with whitewash, or with one or more sheets of white paper, according to the distance, and to the proficiency of the men who are to practise.

Instead of a circular object or target, I recommend, for military practice, a perpendicular parallelogram of two, four, six, twelve, or more inches broad, and one, two, three, or five feet high. If such a figure be made with whiting on the black butt, the bullets will make very distinct marks upon it, while those which miss it will leave white ones on the butt. If paper be used, care must be taken that it be not moved about by the wind. Pieces of thick wrought iron, of the shape and dimensions last described, to suit the different distances, &c., whitened and hung up against the butt, form excellent targets, especially for distant shooting. A loud gong-like clang announces the stroke of a bullet, while the marker may pretty well indicate, with a stick blackened at the end, its precise situation. He will also point out the site of those unresponsive shots which do not hit the mark. The presiding officer should use a telescope. This method will obviate the necessity of perpetually walking up to the target, which occasions much loss of time, confusion, and danger.

As I have always observed that it gives most satisfaction to the firer, when he sees the object fired at actually knocked down from its situation, this result might easily be obtained either with plates of plaster of Paris, or with metal ones. It may be also well to observe, that a bright red is undoubtedly the colour which can be seen at the greatest distance, and consequently the properest for a _bull’s-eye_.

Every shot being marked, and pointed out to the man who fired it, he will always be able to form a criterion by which to regulate his next attempt. Men might as well be made to shoot at a bottle in the dark, as to practise without knowing where the bullet strikes—except when they may chance to hit the bull’s-eye! I will venture to assert, that five shots fired with care, comparison, and reflection, will produce more improvement than fifty expended in the usual irrational manner.

It is particularly requisite to attend to the _perpendicular_ line; and that no shot be allowed to count, which strikes the butt at more than five feet from the ground. In service, it is far better that the bullet should fall rather short, than that it should go over the adversary’s head; as, in the former case, if it be on tolerably level ground, and in the right perpendicular direction, there is a great probability of its hitting him by the ricochet.

Both in rifle and pistol-shooting, an absurd custom prevails, of pointing the piece upwards, and bringing it down to a level with the object to be fired at. Instead of this practice, to which there are many objections, the piece should, previously to being cocked, be pointed downwards, at less than a yard from the foot of the firer. It is then to be steadily raised up in the line of the object, and when within a certain distance from the proposed level, the trigger (if not a detent) should be gradually pressed, according to the knowledge which the firer has of it, so that it may just go off without any pull at the desired moment. While the piece is in motion upwards, the perpendicular line described will be true and steady; and the quicker the motion the truer the line. When the perpendicular motion ceases, the horizontal vacillation begins. The aim, therefore, should not be prolonged beyond the arrival of the sight at the intended level; but whenever it is so, the piece must be lowered below it, and brought up again.

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I have invented, says the Colonel, a simple method of rendering copper caps perfectly water proof. It consists in dipping the open rim, or base of the cap, into green taper wax, melted in a plate over a lamp. The melted wax must not be so deep as to spread into the cap up to the percussion powder at its extremity, but only so high as to form a slight lining of the wax around its inner base. This will suffice to cause the cap to close hermetically over the nipple; so that, provided it be not cracked, and the gun have no lateral vent-hole (which it ought not to have), the loaded piece may be put, over the lock, into a pail of water, without affecting either the cap or the charge. For sporting purposes, it is sufficient to have a few such caps in store, for wet weather. For military use, the whole of the caps might be so prepared at the laboratories.

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Two rifle guns of the manufactory, the one valued at a hundred, the other at twenty-five guineas, were next loaded, and fired by General Beaumont and another person against my rifle, called Caroline, the distance agreed on being one hundred yards. General Beaumont’s first shot hit the bull’s eye, upon which he was highly complimented; mine in return was an inch from it, and high odds were consequently in favour of the General. The succeeding shots were as follows:—

General Beaumont’s second shot missed, and went over the iron plate three feet square.

Colonel Thornton’s ditto near the bull’s eye.

General B’s third shot below the iron, and struck the ground.

Colonel T’s ditto hit the bull’s eye.

General B’s fourth shot struck to the left of the plate thirteen inches from the mark.

Colonel T’s ditto near the mark.

General B’s fifth shot went over the mark.

Colonel T’s ditto within one inch of the bull’s eye.

The other rifle, shot by a person belonging to the manufactory, did not succeed better than General Beaumont, and the decision was consequently given in my favour. The rifle I shot with on this occasion, was the workmanship of Mr. Sluden, of Cockspur Street.

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During the late war in 1775, a company of riflemen, formed from the backwoodsmen of Virginia, was quartered here (Lancaster in New England), for some time. Two of them alternately held a board, only nine inches square, between his knees, while his comrade fired a ball through it from a distance of one hundred paces. The board is still preserved, and I am assured, by several who were present, that it was performed without any manner of deception.—_Maccerone_—_Thornton, &c._

RIGID, _a._ Stiff, not to be bent, unpliant, inflexible.

RING, _s._ A circle; a circle of gold or some other matter worn as
an ornament; a circular course; a circle made by persons
standing round; a number of bells harmonically tuned; the sound
of bells or any other sonorous body; a sound of any kind; a
hunting term.

RINGBONE, _s._ A hard callous substance growing in the hollow circle
of the little pastern of a horse; it sometimes grows quite round
like a ring.

RINGDOVE, CUSHAT, or QUEST, (_Columba palumbus_, LINN.; _Le Pigeon
ramier_, BUFF.) _s._ A kind of pigeon.

This is the largest of all the pigeon tribe, and measures above seventeen inches in length. The bill is of a pale red colour; the nostrils are covered with a mealy red fleshy membrane; the eyes are pale yellow; the upper parts of the body are of a bluish ash-colour, deepest on the upper part of the back, the lower part of which, the rump, and forepart of the neck and the head, are of a pale ash-colour; the lower part of the neck and are of a vinous ash-colour; the belly, thighs, and vent are of a dull white; on the hinder part of the neck there is a semicircular line of white (whence its name) above and beneath which the feathers are glossy, and of a changeable hue in different lights; the greater quills are dusky, and all of them, excepting the outermost, edged with white; from the point of the wing a white line extends downwards, passing above the bastard wing; the tail is ash-colour, tipped with black; the legs are red, and partly covered with feathers; the claws black.

The ring dove is very generally diffused throughout Europe; it is said to be migratory; but that it does not leave us entirely we are well convinced, as we have frequently seen them during the winter on the banks of the Tyne, where they constantly breed in the spring. The nest is composed of small twigs, so loosely put together, that the eggs may be seen through it from below.

The female lays two white eggs, and is generally supposed to have two broods in the year. They feed on wild fruits, herbs, and grain of all kinds; they likewise are very fond of the roots of the pernicious weeds so well known to farmers under the name of _whickens_; the _Triticum repens_, or couch-grass, is the principal one; their flesh is very delicious when they have fed upon these, but it soon acquires an unpleasant flavour when they have lived upon turnips, which, from necessity, they are driven to eat in severe winters. The ring dove has a louder and more plaintive sort of cooing than the common pigeon, but is not heard except in pairing time, or during fine weather.

The ring dove or wood pigeon is the largest species in England, weighing about twenty ounces, and is too well known to need particular description as to its plumage.

The major part of them, in respect to this kingdom, are emigrants, departing elsewhere at the latter end of the year, and returning early in the spring. In the beginning of winter they assemble in large flocks, and leave off their plaintive cooing, which they commence in March, when they pair; they chiefly inhabit the woods, and build in the tops of trees, making a large, loose, and flat nest, with dry sticks and bents; they breed twice in the year, first in April; the second brood appears most numerously in August; they seldom lay more than two eggs, larger but alike in colour to other pigeons, and sit fourteen days before the young are hatched. Wood pigeons are excellent eating, except when they feed on turnips and rape. They are useful in coverts that are made preserves for pheasants, by immediately taking alarm if any person enters them after they have roosted, and quitting the trees upon which they had settled for the night, they fly about in great commotion. The gamekeepers know how to profit by this sort of intelligence in their search after intruders.—_Daniel._

RING OUSEL, (_Turdus Torquatus_, LINN.; _Le Merle à Plastron Blanc_,
BUFF.) _s._

This bird very much resembles the blackbird; its general colour is of a dull black or dusky hue; each feather is margined with a greyish ash colour; the bill is dusky; corners of the mouth and inside yellow; eyes hazel; its breast is distinguished by a crescent of pure white, which almost surrounds the neck, and from which it derives its name; its legs are of a dusky brown. The female differs in having the crescent on the breast much less conspicuous, and in some birds wholly wanting, which has occasioned some authors to consider it as a different species under the name of the rock ouzel.

Ring ousels are found in various parts of this kingdom, chiefly in the wilder and more mountainous districts of the country. Their habits are similar to those of the blackbird; the female builds her nest in the same manner, and in similar situations, and lays four or five eggs of the same colour; they feed on insects and berries of various kinds, are fond of grapes, and Buffon observes during the season of vintage are generally fat, and at that time are esteemed delicious eating. The same author says that in France they are migratory. In some parts of this kingdom they have been observed to change places, particularly in Hampshire, where they are known generally to stay not more than a fortnight at one time.

* * * * *

On the 13th of April, I went to the sheep-down, where the ring-ousels have been observed to make their appearance at spring and fall, in their way perhaps to the north or south; and was much pleased to see three birds about the usual spot. We shot a cock and a hen; they were plump and in high condition. The hen had but very small rudiments of eggs within her, which proves they are late breeders; whereas those species of the thrush kind that remain with us the whole year, have fledged young before that time. In their crops was nothing very distinguishable, but somewhat that seemed like blades of vegetables nearly digested. In autumn they feed on haws and yew-berries, and in the spring on ivy-berries. I dressed one of these birds, and found it juicy and well-flavoured. It is remarkable that they make but a few days’ stay in their spring visit, but rest near a fortnight at Michaelmas. These birds, from the observations of three springs and two autumns, are most punctual in their return; and exhibit a new migration unnoticed by the writers, who supposed they never were to be seen in any of the southern counties.—_Bewick_—_White’s Selborne._

RINGSTREAKED, _a._ Circularly streaked.

RINGTAIL, _s._ A kind of kite.

RINSE, _v._ To wash, to cleanse by washing. In case of canine bite,
to instantly wash the wound in water, is the very simplest and
most effective preventative.

RIPPLING, _s._ A moving roughness on the surface of a running water.

RIVER, _s._ A land-current of water larger than a brook.

The rivers in England amount to three hundred and twenty-five, though others enlarge their number to four hundred and fifty.

_Shooting Wildfowl on a River, &c._—For killing common wild ducks that frequent a river, you have only to go a little before sunset; place yourself against any dark bush or bank, and there wait patiently, and out of sight, till they come down and fly round you, which they will generally do several times before they drop into the stream or marshes.

As wild ducks most frequently betake themselves to the springs and rivers about dusk, you have no occasion to wait for them longer than just the last hour, or half, before dark; but if they have been much disturbed or shot at, they will not always fly sufficiently early to be seen, though you may plainly hear the shrill and somewhat melancholy sound of their wings. If, however, the twilight is followed by a full moon, these birds will often withhold coming to the river till the moon has completely risen, in which case you might have to wait till an hour or two after dusk; but then the sport is considerably better, and will last much longer, with the additional advantage of your having continued good light for shooting.

Wild ducks generally come to the same place, unless they have been shot at, or there should be a change of wind and weather.

It often happens that wild ducks, dunbirds, and other fowl, come down at night to large rivers, ponds, or lakes, which are so deeply surrounded by floating reeds, that no one can approach the water; and the birds, aware of this, do not lower their flight till they come near them. So far from this defying the shooter, it is one of the finest opportunities that can be afforded for death and destruction. Let him sit in a small punt or canoe, fore and aft among the rushes, where towards dusk he will be so completely hid, that he may either shoot at birds flying within pistol shot, or wait for a good chance on the water; from whence (his boat being hid on each side, and foreshortened to the only point of view) he will be pretty sure to escape the observation of the birds.—_Hawker._

RIVET, _s._ A fastening pin clinched at both ends.

RIVULET, _s._ A small river, a brook, a streamlet.

ROACH, _s._ A fish peculiar to fresh water.

Roach is a handsome fish either in, or fresh out of the water; it inhabits many of our deep, still rivers; affecting, like the others of this genus, quiet waters; it is gregarious, keeping in large shoals; it has a small head, a leather mouth, which is round, and also small, with the teeth in the throat; large eyes, the circle of which resembles gold colour, and the iris red; the roach is deep, but thin, and the back elevated; the scales are large, and easily fall off; the fins are in general red, particularly whilst in perfection; as they may also be known to be by the smoothness of the scales, which, when out of season, feel like the rough side of an oyster-shell: the side-line bends much on the middle, towards the belly, and the tail is a little forked. It is so silly a fish, that it has acquired the name of the water sheep.

Many ways are recommended to catch this fish by angling, when in deep waters, near piles of bridges, flood-gates, &c.: in hot weather, a May or ant-fly is to be sunk by a little lead, within a few inches of the hook, near the sides of these posts or piles; this is to be pulled up very leisurely; a roach will generally attend the fly to the surface, there gaze on it for a moment, and then take it.

Stern fishing, is by fixing a boat (for without, roach of any size are hardly to be caught,) to the stern of a vessel returned from a voyage, whose bottom is foul, and furnished with insects, which the fish greedily devour. The line should not exceed four feet, the float be within a foot of its top, and the rod very short; the bait to be three or four gentles, and dropt close to the ship’s sides, not allowing the bait to swim more than eight or nine feet; begin at the first of the ebb-tide, and for two hours the roach will bite freely.—_Daniel._

ROAD, _s._ Large way, public path; ground where ships may anchor.

ROADSTER, _s._ A hackney, a horse kept for the road.

The hackney, more than any other variety of horse, adds to our health and comfort; we ride him for amusement, and he transports us long distances on our personal avocations. On some only of these occasions speed is desirable; but on all safety is indispensable; and next to that, is the ease with which his motions are performed. These requisites remove the hackney still further than the hunter from that form which best suits the purposes of the racer. In the hackney, therefore, we scrutinise his fore quarters with the same attention that we pay to the hinder parts of the racer; for, as to the purposes of the latter, the fore parts are subordinate to the hinder, so in the hackney, speed being infinitely less important than either ease or safety, and particularly the latter, it is essential that his fore parts be so formed as to ensure these properties. And here it may not be irrelevant to inquire, on what does the safety of action mainly depend? Is it on any particular care of the animal himself in his progression? or does it necessarily arise out of certain peculiarities in his formation, dependent on such an elevation of his feet as will ensure his not stumbling by any erroneous placing of them? The close observer, I think, will answer, that both are concerned: many horses go safely, and yet by no means elevate their legs high; but such are attentive to their steps; and when they see stones or other risings in their path, carefully avoid them. In my early practice I was called on to examine a horse intended for the French court, at the stables of that veteran dealer Choppin. I objected to the horse that he went close to the ground, which even his owner could not deny: but he still argued, that, although he appeared to go near the ground, yet that he was particularly safe in all his paces; and, as a lure to the purchase, would have offered a bet, that on the roughest ground he would not make one trip. As the animal in all other respects was desirable, ground purposely stony in the extreme was chosen, over which he was tried; and it was singular to remark, that in every pace he accommodated the elevation of his feet exactly to the elevations of surface they were to pass over; but it was with a kind of frightful nicety to the observer. On the same ground, many high actioned horses, from inattention to the matters on it, might have tripped by meeting any unusual rising; or, by placing one of the feet on a rolling stone, might have fallen altogether. But it is not hence meant to argue, that the most careful hackney, which does not naturally elevate his feet, is a desirable one. Horses, it is true, are in a great degree crepuscular, and see in a very moderate light. But would such a horse be safe to ride at a brisk trot along an uneven road in a dark night? Or even in a long day, might not fatigue bring his feet down without his usual caution?

The fore-hand of the hackney, therefore, should be elevated, and his shoulder by all means must be oblique; so that he may not only lift up his feet, but also ride pleasantly and lightly in hand, as it is termed by horsemen. To which latter valuable quality it is also essential that he have a neck of just proportions, and that his head be particularly well placed on it, so as to afford him room for flexing himself to the action of the bridle, which, in the hands of a good rider, will sometimes constrain him to throw himself on his haunches, and at others to carry himself forward for more speedy progression. The remainder of the fore limbs ought to present a perfectly vertical line to the pastern, which should have such length and obliquity, and such only, as shall bring the toe directly under the point of the shoulder. The body should be circular, neither long nor very short; his saddle-placing good, his flank on a plane nearly with the rest of his carcass, his loins wide, and his croup gently curved only, to allow of a graceful setting on of the tail. From hence downwards, the principles already laid down when treating on the exterior formation generally, will apply; particularising only, that for this variety of horse a good foot ought never to be dispensed with. Height is not so essential in the hackney as in the hunter; it need never to exceed fifteen hands two inches: in most cases it may, with more propriety, range between fourteen hands three inches, and fifteen hands one inch. Altogether, his frame should be compact, without being in the least clumsy; and with this form, the more breeding he shows, short of full blood, the better.—_Blaine._

ROAN, _a._ Bay or sorrel, with grey or white spots interspersed.

The roans, of every variety of colour and form, are composed of white mixed with bay, or red, or black. In some it seems to be a natural mixture of the colours; in others it appears as if one colour was powdered or sprinkled over another. They are pretty horses for ladies or light carriages, and many of them easy in their paces, but they do not usually display much blood, nor are they celebrated for endurance. If they should have white fore legs, with white hoofs, they are too often tender-footed, or become so with even a little hard work.—_The Horse._

ROAR, _v._ To cry as a lion or other wild beast; to cry in distress;
to sound as the wind or sea; to make a loud noise.

ROARING, _s._ A disease in horses.

The causes of roaring, which I shall here use as a type of the whole, are remote and proximate. The remote causes are mostly inflammation, acute or chronic, in the tracheal tube itself. Occasionally it is brought on by the effects of inflammation on other parts, as of the salivary glands in strangles, or of those abscesses which not unfrequently occur in violent catarrh in the vicinage of the pharynx. Structural alteration in the lungs, as hepatisation, has occasioned it (_Percivall’s Lectures_, vol. ii. p. 256). Obstructions accidentally formed by exostoses, cicatrisations, &c., or extraneous substances lodged in the cavities leading to the trachea, may any of them occasion it. Barriere notices a case of roaring dependent on the lodgment of a piece of riband within one of the nasal fossæ; and Godine another, brought on by a displaced molar tooth. The proximate cause might, with propriety, include these accidental obstructions, but they are mainly to be looked for in an extravasation, partial or extensive, of coagulable lymph; which, becoming organised, forms a permanent obstruction. When it is extensively spread over the larynx, it produces wheezing; when it constringes the rimaglottis, a whistling sound is the consequence, and is often heard in our own respirations under catarrh, or in the ordinary respirations of some asthmatic persons. Whoever has handled the throats of many old horses, must have observed the hardened state of the larynx, which almost resisted all attempts to what is termed ‘cough them.’ This ossification of the laryngeal cartilages is not an uncommon cause; and a similar state in the cartilages of the trachea is productive of it also. A very common case also of roaring is a band of lymph stretched across the tracheal tube; at others, an internal ring of the same matter simply diminishes its diameter. The obstruction is sometimes so considerable as to excite piping or roaring on the slightest exertion; in general cases, however, roaring is only exerted when forcible inspirations and expirations are made; for it is, I believe, equally produced by the one as by the other. Mechanical obstructions to free respiration may eventually be productive of roaring: the custom of tightly reining in our carriage-horses, there is reason to think, produces it often; and Mr. Sewell is of opinion, that the practice of using tight throat-lashes, or neck-straps, may lead to it. In furtherance of which opinion, it may be recollected, that horsemen have a very general supposition that crib-biting ends in roaring, in thick wind, or in broken wind: may not the tight collar-strap also here tend to the former of these affections? The custom of ‘coughing’ horses, and so frequently as it is practised in fairs, may be readily supposed as a cause. A horse passes from fair to fair, having his unfortunate throat brutally pinched thirty or forty times each day. Is it to be wondered at if inflammation take place, and adhesive deposit follow?

The treatment must be regulated by circumstances, but the principal indication is to remove the remote causes in the early stages, and to obviate the effects in the latter. If active inflammation be going on, bleed and blister; and if tumefaction of the neighbouring parts have occasioned it, attempt their reduction. Elevate the head as much as may be. Mr. Sewell recommends a seton in the neighbourhood of the obstruction when known; and in desperate cases he observes, that tracheotomy has been performed with considerable advantage; but the extreme difficulty of detecting the exact situation of the obstruction, will prevent its being generally adverted to.—_Blaine._

ROCK-DOE, _s._ A species of deer.

ROCK PIGEON, _s._ (_Columba livia_, BRISSON.)

Ornithologists seem to differ in opinion concerning the rock and stock pigeon; though it appears almost impossible to conceive them a distinct species. In those described under such names there seems to be so much similitude, except what may be expected from a species half reclaimed, and frequently returning to their natural wild habits again, that we cannot but consider them as one and the same species.

The rock dove is considered to be the origin of our tame pigeons, as it is said to possess the white on the lower part of the back, in which part the stock dove is described to be ash-coloured, and that this last is rather larger. But these variations we have observed in pigeons killed in their native haunts amongst the rocks on our coasts; and our dove-cote pigeons frequently have no white on the back. It is therefore probable many of our common species, after having been bred in a pigeon-house contiguous to such rocky situations, return to their natural habits, and there produce some variation in colour.