The Little Book of British Quadrupeds

Part 1

THE KYLOE OX. ]

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THE LITTLE BOOK OF BRITISH QUADRUPEDS

BY W. MAY.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Part 2

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.

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.

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.

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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