86 Cocking.-Racing.-Natural History of the Quall. The nick of feven is feven to two, frequently laid ten to three. To play the prudent game, a man fhould be fo perfectly mafter of thefe odds, as to have them always in his mind, to enable main, and twenty byes; if home and home forty one mains, and twenty byes. To begin this year, (though late.) Magazine, him to bet and hedge; for by To the Editors of the Sporting taking the odds, a ready calculator often fecures himself, and even ftands a part of the bet to a GENTLEMEN, S the following information. and he has five pounds depending on the main, by taking fix pounds to three, he must either win two pounds or one pound; and, on the contrary, if he does not like his chance, by laying the odds against himself, he muft fave in proportion to the bet he has made. To the Editors of the Sporting matched his bay colt by Slope, THE gentlemen of Pembroke dam by Marike, grand dam by Syphon, 1 yr old, carrying 7ft. 4lb. against Major Robert Collings's (of Hunworth, in the county of Durham) bay colt, by Delpini, dam by Marfke, out of Ferret, by a brother to Sylvio, carrying alfo 7ft. when turned of three years of age; to be run on the first day of the races at Stockton upon Tees, in the year 1796, a two-mile heat, for 50gs. h. ft. to be declared on the 12th of May in that year, p. p. QUAIL. to fhire not being able to get any The NATURAL HISTORY of the competitor in Wales, or the counties adjoining, come forward boldly to affert they are notHE quail, in point of magafraid to attack all England, and will readily article with any refpectable perfon or perfons for ten guineas a battle, and five hundred the main, for the term of five years, to meet half way, or home and home. If half way, to fhew fixty-one cocks in the nitude, is much inferior the partridge, not exceeding half the fize of that bird. The feathers of the head are black, edged with rufty brown; the breaft is of a pale yellowish red, fpotted with black; the feathers on the back are marked with lines of pale Account of the Dog Eaters at Cafalnucvo. pale yellow, and the legs are of a palifh hue. 87 when their way lies over land, to These birds are much lefs prolific than the partridge, feldom laying more than fix or feven whitish eggs, marked with irregular ruft-coloured fpots. Quailfighting was a favourite amufement among the Athenians: they abstained from the flesh of this bird, deeming it unwholefome, from à fuppofition that it fed upon the white hellebore; but they reared great numbers of them, that they might enjoy the pleasure of feeing them fight: they even faked large fums of money, as we do with cocks, on the fuccefs of the combat. Fa-greatly varies: ten or twelve fhion, however, has brought a different fpecies have been enubout a change with refpect to merated. this well-known bird; its valour is no longer regarded, but its flesh is confidered as a very great delicacy. The quail is known to be a and yet, if The common quail is only known in France and England; but in South America there are crefted quails, and in different parts of the world their plumage ACCOUNT of the DOG EATERS at of our Mifcel confider its heavy manner of fly-Many are replete with ac ing, and its dearth of plumage, with refpect to its corpulence, it feems matter of furprife that a bird, fo apparently unqualified for migration, fhould take fuch extenfive journeys as they do. "When we failed from Rhodes to Alexandria," fays Bellonius, "about autumn, many quails, flying from the north to the fouth, were taken in our fhip; and failing, at fpring-time, the contrary way, from the fouth to the north, I obferved them on their return, when many of them were taken in the fame manner." This account is confirmed by many others; who affure us that they choose a north wind for thefe adventures; the fouth wind being very unfavourable, as it retards their flight by moistening their plumage: in these journies they fly two by two, continuing, counts of the utility and fidelity In his travels in the two Sicilies. by 88 Natural Hiftory of the Grous. by caftration or particular food, to fatten and sweeten the dainty before they brought it to the fhambles. I have fince procured fome information upon the fub the populace nick-name thefe fhamble horfes Caprio ferrato, a fhod-deer. ject, from impartial perfons, and The NATURAL HISTORY of the GROUS. HERE are about feventeen fpecies of this genus of birds, including the foreign and domeftic; all of which are diftinguishable from other birds of the find that the people of this neighbourhood are looked upon by the reft of the kingdom as dog-eaters; and it is certain that, both at Lecce and Cafalnuovo, many of the lower fort relish a flice of a well-fed cur." The following extract of a let-poultry order, by a naked fcarlet ter from Sir W. Hamilton will, doubtless, be confidered as a confirmation of this fact: At Cafalnuovo we had a confirmation of what you mention concerning the inhabitants of that village eating dog's-flesh; for one of our guards had a dog with him, which was immediately ftolen; and when I miffed and enquired for the dog the next day, the guard told me that thofe curfed dog-eaters had got him. At Gallipo I was affured that there was no doubt of the fact." Extract of a Letter from Sir W. Hamilton, 1789. Both at Lecce and Cafalnuovo tanners kidnap dogs, and tan their hides into an imitation of Turkey leather, with which they fupply the gentlemen of the neighbouring cities, who are nice in their flippers. This demand for falfe morocco occafions the flaughter of many dogs, and probably the cuftom of eating their flesh began among the needy tanners: hunger and experience have taught their countrymen to confider the discovery as a very beneficial one. At Bari and Francavilla, horfe-flefh is faid to be publicly fold in the market; and the tail left on to fhew the wretched purchafers what beaft the meat belonged to. The wits among fkin above each eye: in other refpects they much refemble our domeftic fowl. They are not, at prefent, fo numerous in Europe as we have reason to suppose they were fome centuries ago. Piny forefts, and barren heaths, are their natural retreats; and fince cultivation has increafed in these countries, they are only to be found in fuch extenfive wastes as the moors of Westmoreland, and the almoft inacceffible mountains in the moft northern parts of Britain. The firft of this genus, in order as well as confequence, is the wood grous, or cock of the wood: it approaches to the fize of a turkey, and frequently weighs about fourteen pounds; the female, however, is much smaller. The head and neck are ash-colour, croffed with black lines; the body and wings chefnut-brown, and the breaft of a gloffy blackish green; the legs, which are strong, are covered with brown feathers. The plumage of the female differs from that of the male, in being red about the throat, and having the head, neck and breast croffed with red and black bars; the belly barred with orange and black, with the tips of the feathers white: the tips of the shoulders are also white. When The Natural History of the Grous. of the wood chiefly attaches himfelf to the oak and pine-tree; feeding on the cones of the latter, and choofing a habitation among the thick boughs of the former. He alfo feeds upon ant-eggs, which feems a great delicacy to all birds of the poultry kind: cranberries too, are frequently found in his crop. The female lays about fix or feven eggs, which are white marked with yellow, and of the fize of a common hen's egg: fhe generally lays them in a dry place on moffy ground; and when, during the time of incubation, fhe is obliged to leave her eggs in quest of food, fhe covers them up fo artfully with mofs or dry leaves, that it is extremely difficult to discover them. 89 When in the foreft, the cock | Europe, and in most of the moors in the north of England: its name is very applicable to it, the whole of its body being black; but it has another remarkable characteristic, which is, that it has a forked tail. It is about twenty-four inches in length, and rather larger than a common fowl. Their contests are fo furious, that in Courland, Livonia, &c. it is a common method of taking them, to affemble them together, by imitating the crowing of a black cock, and by having a figure prepared to imitate that animal in all its motions. The grous being collected in vaft numbers from all quarters, enter at first into a kind of sportive combat, which shortly terminates in a real and bloody conteft at this time, the combatants are fo intent upon each other's deftruction, that they become an eafy prey to their purfuers, and may eafily be knocked down with a tick. There is a variety of this fpecies with a plain tail. The red grous or moor-cock have the fame haunts as the black This bird is fmaller than the preceding fpecies, its length not exceeding fifteen inches and a half. The throat and back are reddish, with a black spot in each feather: the breaft and belly As foon as the young ones are hatched, they run they run with great agility after the mother, though fome of them are not perfectly difengaged from the fhell. They foon come to perfection, and are very hardy their food lies every where before them, whence it might be imagined that they in-grous, and are tolerably plentiful. crease in great abundance; but this is not the cafe; their numbers are thinned by rapacious birds and beafts of every kind, and ftill more by their own fallacious contefts. They fight each other like game cocks; and are fo in-are of a brownish colour, inattentive to their own fafety, that clining to purple, and the legs two or three of them are fome- are covered with foft whitish times killed at a fhot. It feems feathers. probable that in these contests, the victorious bird takes poffeffion of the female feraglio, as it is certain thay have no faithful attachments. This fpecies is now feldom found, even in the high lands of Scotland. The black grous or black cock, is a much more common bird. It is found in many parts of Vol. IV. No. XX. The hazel grous appears to be of the fame fpecies with the former, but fmaller. It is a native of Germany. The pim-tailed grous has a narrow forked tail, and is of the fame fpecies with our red grous. It is about the fize of a partridge, and is an inhabitant of France, Spain, Barbary, &c. M The 90 Sufferings of Lieutenant George Spearing, in a Coal Pit. The Ptarmigan grous is about fifteen inches in length, and has a black bill; the plumage is of a pale afh-colour, elegantly mottled with dufky fpots. It is found in all the northern parts Europe, and in the highlands of Scotland, the Orkneys, &c. The foreign birds of this genus differ occafionally in the plumage from the preceding, but they have all the fame manners. There is a fpecies in North America, cal led the ruffled grous, diftinguifhed by a large ruff on the back part of the neck, which can be raifed or deprefied at pleafure: its head is alfo ornamented with creft. up; and the large end of it left a cavity that, I fuppofe, might contain a quart. This the water gradually drained into, but fo very flowly, that it was a confiderable time before I could dip a nut-fhell full at a time; which I emptied into the palm of my hand, and fo drank it. The water now began to increase pretty faft, fo that I was glad to enlarge my refervoir, infomuch that, on the 4 or 5th day, I had a fufficient fupply; and this water was certainly the prefervation of my life. At the bottom of the pit there were great quantities of reptiles, fuch as frogs, toads, large black fnails, or flugs, &c. Thefe ANARRATIVE of the SUFFERINGS noxious creatures would frequentof Lieutenant GEORGE SPEAR-ly crawl about me, and often get ING, who lived SEVEN NIGHTS into my refervoir; nevertheless, a COAL PIT, without any I thought it was the sweetest Suftenance except fome Rain water I had ever tafted: and at this distance of time the membrance of it is fo fweet, that, were it now poffible to obtain any Water. (Concluded from page 8: ) I am fure re I I fuffered much of from hunger. After two or it with avidity. I have frequentthree days that appetite ceafed;ly taken both frogs and toads out but my thirst was intolerable; and, of my neck, where, I fuppofe, though it almoft conftantly rain- they took fhelter, while I flept. ed, yet I could not till the third The toads I always destroyed, or fourth day preferve a drop of but the frogs I carefully preit, as the earth at the bottom of ferved, as I did not know but I the pit fucked it up as fast as it might be under the neceffity of ran down. In this diftrefs I eating them, which I fhould not fucked my cloaths; but from them have fcrupled to have done had I I could extract but little moisture.been very hungry, The fhock I received in the fall, Saturday, the 16th, there fell together with the dislocation of but little rain, and I had the one of my ribs, kept me, I imagine,fatisfaction to hear the voices of in a continual fever; I cannot otherwife account for my fuffering fo much more from thirst than I did from hunger. At last I difcovered the thigh-bone of a bull (which, I afterwards heard, had fallen into the pit about eighteen years before me), almoft covered with the earth, I dug it Im fome boys in the wood. mediately I called out with all my might, but it was all in vain, though I afterwards learned that they actually heard ine; but, being prepoffeffed with an idle ftory of a wild man being in the wood, they ran away affrighted. Sunday the 7th, was my birth day, |