Part 1
[Illustration:
THE KYLOE OX. ]
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THE LITTLE BOOK OF BRITISH QUADRUPEDS
BY W. MAY.
[Illustration]
LONDON: C. TILT, FLEET STREET.
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C. WHITTINGHAM, TOOKS COURT,
CHANCERY LANE.
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CONTENTS.
Page The Kyloe Ox 7 The Horse 8 The Race Horse 12 The Cart Horse 16 The Mule 20 The Ass 24 The Bull 28 The Cow 32 The Ram 36 The Sheep 40 The Goat 44 The Stag 48 The Fallow Deer 52 The Roebuck 56 The Boar 60 The Sow 64 The Domestic Cat 68 The Wild Cat 72 The Weasel 76 The Martin 80 The Ferret 84 The Polecat 88 The Badger 92 The Fox 96 The Wolf 100 The Shepherd’s Dog 104 The Bulldog 108 The Newfoundland dog 112 The Greyhound 116 The Foxhound 120 The Harrier 124 The Pointer 128 The Spaniel 132 The Terrier 136 The Hare 140 The Rabbit 144 The Squirrel 148 The Dormouse 152 The Rat 156 The Water Rat 160 The Mouse 164 The Mole 168 The Hedgehog 172 The Bat 176 The Guinea Pig 180 The Otter 184 The Ichneumon 188
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THE KYLOE OX.
This most useful animal is a native of Scotland, and is said to have derived its name from having crossed the kyles, or ferries, which abound in the Highlands.
[Illustration]
The Kyloe Ox is of a black colour, and has a very thick hide, and a great deal of hair. Its horns are large and long. Its flesh is the finest kind of beef: and there is scarcely a single part of the Ox that cannot be made use of. The hide is made into leather, the gristles are made into glue, the horns into knife-handles, drinking-cups, &c. and the bones are a substitute for ivory.
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THE HORSE.
This noble animal is found in almost every part of the world. In Arabia and Africa are wild horses, which wander about in herds; and in South America many thousands are seen in one drove.
The horse is used for riding, and is then guided by the rein. He is used for drawing carriages, carts, and waggons, for ploughing, and also for war. Hunting seems to be enjoyed as much by the horse as by his rider: and in the race he shows great eagerness to be the foremost.
[Illustration:
THE HORSE. ]
When kindly used, the horse is very fond both of his feeder and of his rider. He has a very good memory. A gentleman once rode a young horse thirty miles from his home to see his friend. The horse had never been in that part of the country before, and the road was hard to find: after asking the way of many persons whom he met, the gentleman at last got to his friend’s house. Two years afterwards he had again to go the same journey, and it became quite dark, long before he could get to the place. “Well,” said he, “here I am, far from any house, and I know not an inch of the road, and I can hardly see my horse’s head. I have heard much of the memory of the horse; it is my only hope now, go on;” so saying, he threw the reins on his horse’s neck, and in half an hour he was safe at his friend’s gate.
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THE RACE HORSE.
The horse is found in high perfection in Arabia. To the people of that country they are as dear as their own children; and by constantly living in the same tent with their owner and his family, they become very familiar and gentle. They are not used to the spur, but the least touch with the foot sets them in motion. They form the principal riches of many of the Arab tribes, who use them both for plunder and for the chase.
[Illustration:
THE RACE HORSE. ]
Of one of these people a touching story is told. The whole stock of a poor Arabian of the desert was a mare, and he consented to sell her to a French merchant for a very large sum of money. At length with only a miserable rag to cover his body he brought his noble courser to the house of the buyer. Having dismounted, he looked first at the gold and then at the mare, and heaving a deep sigh, he exclaimed, “To whom is it that I am going to give thee up? To Frenchmen, who will tie thee close, who will beat thee, who will render thee miserable! Return with me my beauty! my jewel! and rejoice the hearts of my children!” Having said this he sprang on her back, and was out of sight in a moment. Still, for a continuance of great exertion, the English Race Horse is said to be superior to the Arabian, and for fleetness, he will yield to none. A Race Horse will go at the rate of a mile in less than two minutes.
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THE CART HORSE.
[Illustration:
THE CART HORSE. ]
Till of late years, Pack-Horses were employed in the northern parts of England, to carry goods and parcels. In their journeys over barren moors, they strictly observed the line of order and regularity they were first taught to keep. The leading horse, always chosen for his steadiness and sagacity, being furnished with bells, gave notice to the rest, which followed the sound, though sometimes at a distance. Some years ago, one of them who had been long used to follow his leader, was from accident or fatigue, put into an inferior rank; when, as if sensible of his disgrace, he by the greatest exertion recovered his usual station, but on arriving at the inn-yard, he dropped down dead!
These horses are not now seen; the old English Road Horse is strong and active, and capable of enduring great hardship; and though the form of the common Cart Horse is heavy, and his motion slow, he is extremely useful, and is employed in a great many ways. In London there have been instances of a single horse drawing, for a short space, so great a weight as three tons.
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THE MULE.
[Illustration:
THE MULE. ]
The common Mule sometimes lives to the age of thirty years. It is very useful in carrying burdens, particularly in very mountainous places, where horses are not so sure-footed. People of the first quality in Spain are drawn by Mules. Their going down the mountains of the Alps is very wonderful. They place their fore feet as if they were stopping themselves; they then put their hinder feet together, but a little forward, as if they were about to lie down. In this way, having taken a look over the road, they slide down with great swiftness. In the mean time, all the rider has to do is, to keep himself fast on the saddle without checking the rein; for the least motion is sufficient to disorder the equal balance of the animal, in which case both would certainly be dashed to pieces. In their swiftest motion, when they seem to have lost all government of themselves, they follow exactly the different windings of the road, as if they had settled in their minds which way they were to go.
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THE ASS.
The Ass has to endure the hardest labour, and is contented with the coarsest food. The statement that Asses are stubborn animals is not true, it arises from ill usage, and not from any defect in their temper.
[Illustration:
THE ASS. ]
An old man, who a few years ago sold vegetables in London, used in his employment an Ass, which conveyed his baskets from door to door. He frequently gave the poor creature a handful of hay, or a piece of coarse bread, or some greens, by way of refreshment and reward. The old man had no need of any stick for the animal, indeed he seldom had to lift up his hand to drive it on. This kind treatment being one day observed, he was asked whether his beast was not apt to be stubborn. “Ah! master (he replied), it is of no use to be cruel; and as for stubbornness I cannot complain, for he is ready to do any thing, and to go any where. I bred him myself. He is sometimes skittish and playful, and once ran away from me; there were then more than fifty people after him, attempting in vain to stop him, yet after all he turned back of his own accord, and never stopped till he ran his head kindly into my bosom.”
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THE BULL.
The Bull equals the horse in size, though he is not quite so high; his form is more bulky, and he is stronger made about the neck and head.
[Illustration:
THE BULL. ]
Bull-baiting is a very cruel sport; this mode of killing Bulls is derived from one kind of ancient hunting, very like the Spanish bull-fights of the present day. On notice being given that a wild Bull would be slain on a certain day, the inhabitants of the neighbourhood assembled, sometimes to the number of a hundred horsemen, and four or five hundred foot, all armed with guns or other weapons. Those on foot stood upon the walls or got into trees, while the horsemen rode off a Bull from the rest of the herd, until he stood at bay, when they dismounted and fired. At some of these huntings twenty or thirty shots have been fired before the animal was killed. This dangerous sport is now but little practised. There is scarcely any part of the Ox that is not of some use to mankind. Boxes, combs, knife-handles, and drinking vessels, are made of the horns. Glue is made of the sinews, gristles, and the finer pieces of cuttings and parings of the hides, boiled in water till they become jelly-like, and the parts sufficiently dissolved, and then dried. The bone is a cheap substitute, in many instances, for ivory. And the thinnest of the calves-skins are made into vellum.
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THE COW.
[Illustration:
THE COW. ]
The Cow is the most important animal of the farmer’s stock. Being equally capable of enduring heat and cold. It is an inhabitant of the frozen, as well as of the most scorching climates. There are a great variety of kinds; and they are all of a very humble and gentle disposition. The climate and pastures of Great Britain are well adapted to the nature of this animal; and we are indebted to the variety and abundance of our wholesome vegetables, for the number and excellence of our cattle, which range over our hills, and enliven our plains—a source of wealth and boast to this happy country. Not having the upper fore-teeth, the Cow prefers the high and rich grass in pastures, to the short and more delicate herbage generally selected by the horse. For this reason, where the grass is rather high and flourishing in our pastures than large and full, the Cow thrives well; and there is no part of Europe in which this animal grows larger, gives more milk, or fattens sooner. The quantity of milk given by Cows is various; some give only about six quarts in a day, whilst others give from fifteen to twenty.
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THE RAM.
[Illustration:
THE RAM. ]
Sheep are very useful animals: they are quiet and harmless. They tremble at the voice of the shepherd, or at the barking of his dog; but, on the great hills where they run about at liberty, away from the shepherd, they shew more courage. Sometimes a Ram or Wether will boldly attack a single dog, and often come off victorious; but when the danger is more alarming, they collect the strength of the whole flock. On such occasions they draw up in a complete body, placing the female and the young in the middle, while the males take the foremost ranks, keeping close by each other. Thus an armed front is formed on all sides that cannot easily be attacked without danger of destruction to the dog. In this manner they wait with firmness the approach of the enemy, nor does their courage fail them in the moment of attack: for, when the dog advances within a few yards of the line, the Rams dart upon him with such force as to lay him dead at their feet, unless he save himself in time by flight.
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THE SHEEP.
[Illustration:
THE SHEEP. ]
Sheep supply us both with food and clothing: and the wool alone affords, in some countries, an amazing source of industry and wealth. They are harmless animals, and, in general, very shy and timid. The Sheep in the high mountains of Wales are very wild, and do not collect into large flocks, but graze in parties of from eight to a dozen. One is always placed at a distance from the rest, to give notice of the approach of danger. When he observes a stranger advancing, he allows him to approach as near, perhaps, as eighty or a hundred yards, but keeps a watchful eye upon his motions; if the stranger shows a design of coming closer, he alarms the rest of the flock by a loud hiss or whistle, twice or thrice repeated, when the whole party instantly scour away with great speed, to the most inaccessible parts of the mountains. No country produces finer Sheep than Great Britain. Of these the Sheep that are bred in Lincolnshire and the northern parts, are the largest and bear the most wool. In other parts of England they are generally smaller; and in the mountainous parts of Wales and Scotland they are very small.
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THE GOAT.
[Illustration:
THE GOAT. ]
Although very shy and timid in a wild state, goats are easily trained as domestic animals, being very sensible of kind treatment. The disposition of this creature is, however, extremely unsettled, as is shewn by the irregularity of all his actions. He walks, stops short, runs, leaps, approaches or retires, shews and conceals himself, or flies off, as if induced by mere whim, and without any other cause than what arises from the strange vivacity of his temper. Goats love to feed on the tops of hills, and prefer the very elevated and rugged parts of mountains, finding sufficient food in the most heathy and barren grounds. They are so active as to leap with ease and the utmost security, among the most dreadful precipices; and even when two of them are yoked together, they will, as it were by mutual consent, take the most hazardous leaps together, and exert their efforts in such a united manner as generally to get through the danger unhurt. In mountainous countries they are of great service to mankind; the flesh of the old ones being salted as winter provision, and the milk being used in many places for making cheese. These animals require but little care and attention, and easily provide for themselves proper and sufficient food.
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THE STAG.
This is the most beautiful animal of the Deer kind. The elegance of his form, the lightness of his motions, the flexibility of his limbs, his bold branching horns, which are yearly renewed, his grandeur, strength and swiftness, give him a decided rank over every other inhabitant of the forest. The age of the Stag is known by its horns: he begins to shed them about the end of February or the beginning of March: each year they become larger.
[Illustration:
THE STAG. ]
The usual colour of the Stag, in England, is red; in other countries it is commonly brown or yellow. His eye is extremely beautiful, soft and sparkling: his hearing is quick; and his sense of smell very strong. When listening, he raises his head, erects his ears, and seems attentive to every noise, which he can hear at a great distance. When he approaches a thicket, he stops to look round him on all sides; if he perceives nothing to alarm him, he moves slowly forward; but on the least appearance of danger, he flies off with the rapidity of the wind. He appears to listen with great delight to the sound of the shepherd’s pipe, which is sometimes made use of to ensnare him to his destruction.
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THE FALLOW DEER.
These animals live together in herds, which sometimes divide into two parties, and maintain obstinate battles for the possession of a favourite part of the park: each one having its leader, which is always the oldest and strongest of the flock. They attack in regular order of battle; they fight with courage, and mutually defend each other.
[Illustration:
THE FALLOW DEER. ]
The chief difference between the Stag and the Fallow deer, seems to be in the size and form of their horns; the latter are much smaller than those of the former. The Fallow deer is easily tamed, feeds on a variety of things which the stag refuses, and preserves its condition nearly the same throughout the year, although its flesh, called venison, is considered much finer at particular seasons. We have in England two varieties of the Fallow deer, which are said to be of foreign origin: the beautiful spotted kind were brought from Bengal in India. These animals, with some variation, are found in almost every country of Europe. Those of Spain are as large as stags, but darker; their necks are also more slender; and their tails, which are longer than those of ours, are black above, and white beneath.
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THE ROEBUCK.
The form of the Roebuck is elegant, and its motions light and easy. It bounds seemingly without much effort, and runs with great swiftness. When hunted, it tries to evade its pursuers by the most curious methods: it often returns upon its former steps, till, by various windings, it entirely misleads the hounds. This cunning animal then, by a sudden spring, bounds to one side; and, lying close down upon its belly, lets the hounds pass by, without offering to stir.
[Illustration:
THE ROEBUCK. ]
The Roe was at one time common in many parts of England and Wales; but at present it is to be found only in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the smallest of all the Deer kind, being only three feet four inches long, and rather more than two feet in height: the horns are from eight to nine inches long, upright, round, and divided into three branches; the body is covered with long hair. When the female has young, and they are in danger, she hides them in a thicket; and, to preserve them, offers herself to be chased. Numbers of fawns are taken alive from their dams by the peasants, and many are worried by dogs, foxes, and other enemies; so that the beautiful Roe is becoming daily more scarce.
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THE COMMON BOAR.
The Boar is naturally stupid, inactive, and drowsy. It is very restless at a change of the weather: and during high winds it runs about with great violence, screaming loudly at the same time. It is thought to foresee the approach of bad weather. Before a storm comes on it may be seen carrying straw to its sty, for the purpose of making itself a bed.
[Illustration:
THE BOAR. ]
The form of the Boar is very clumsy. Its neck is strong, its snout is long and hard, and made for turning up the earth for roots of various kinds, of which it is very fond. It has likewise a quick sense of smelling. The flesh of the Hog is of great use, and makes an elegant, as well as almost a constant article for the table. It takes salt better than any other kind of meat, and can be kept longer. It is of great importance in ships’ stores, as it forms the principal food during long voyages.
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THE SOW.
[Illustration:
THE SOW. ]
The Sow is, generally speaking, a harmless and inoffensive creature. Its food consists of a variety of things that would otherwise be wasted; the refuse of the field, the garden, the barn, or the kitchen, afford them a very good meal. These animals select with great sagacity and niceness the plants they prefer, and are never poisoned like some others by mistaking one plant for another. Selfish, obstinate, and greedy as many think them, no animal, it is said, has greater feeling for those of its own kind. They have been known to gather round a dog that teased them, and kill him on the spot. If a male and female are put in a sty together when young, the female will not eat her food for some time if her companion is removed from her.
Many things shew that they are not quite so stupid as some are inclined to believe. We have had exhibitions of their ingenuity, which have attracted great attention and astonishment. And it is stated as a remarkable fact, that a gamekeeper actually broke in a New Forest Sow to find game nearly as well as a pointer.
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THE TAME CAT.
The Tame Cat may be found in almost all countries, and it differs but little from the wild cat except in the brightness of its colours. It is very useful in our houses in catching the rats and mice.
[Illustration:
THE TAME CAT. ]
Of all animals when young, there is none more prettily playful and amusing than the Kitten, and little children are mostly very fond of them; but it generally changes its disposition as it grows older. From being naturally ravenous, it learns in time to disguise its appetite, and to seize the favourable moment for plunder. Sly and artful, it has learned to conceal its intentions till it can put them in force: and whenever the opportunity occurs, it directly seizes upon whatever it finds, flies off with it, and remains at a distance till it thinks its offence is forgotten. Instances of the fidelity of Cats, however, are not so rare as some would have us imagine. A French traveller had an Angora Cat, a native of Egypt, which kept by his side in his solitary moments; she often interrupted him in his meditations by affectionate caresses, and in his absence sought and called for him with great inquietude.
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THE WILD CAT.
[Illustration:
THE WILD CAT. ]
The hair of the Wild Cat is soft and fine, and of a pale yellow colour, mixed with grey; a dusky-coloured line runs along the back, from its head to its tail; the tail is thick, and marked with bars of black and white. It is larger and stronger than the tame Cat, and its fur much longer. It inhabits the most hilly and woody parts of this island, lives in trees, and hunts for birds and small animals, such as rabbits, hares, rats, mice, moles, &c.; and it is also very destructive among poultry. The Cat seems to possess something like an additional sense, by means of its whiskers. These whiskers consist not only of long hairs on the upper lips, but also of four or five others standing up from each eyebrow, and also two or three on each cheek; all of which, when the animal erects them, make, with their extremities, so many points in the compass of a circle as to be at least equal in extent to their own bodies. With this assistance, it is supposed it can at once discover whether any hole or space is large enough to admit the body, which to those living in a wild state is of the greatest consequence; and to the domestic Cat of great service.
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THE WEASEL.