on the ice, by sliding from one mark | tion to business; it brings men togeto another great stones of 40lbs. to ther in social intercourse; it enlarges 70lbs. weight, of an hemispherical and strengthens the ties of friendform, with an iron or wooden handle ship, and enlivens the dreary hours at top. The object of the player is of winter with festivity and happito lay his stone as near the mark as possible, to guard that of his partner which had been well laid before, or to strike off that of his antagonist." ness. CURRY-COMB. An iron instrument used in the dressing of horses, consisting of several parallel ridges, indented with small teeth. To horses with fine coats the application of the curry-comb is particularly annoying; to such, a brush or wisp is far preferable. CURWEN'S BAY BARB was a present from Muly Ishmael, king of Morocco, to Lewis XIVth, and was brought into England by Mr. Curwen, who procured two Barbs (from Counts Byram and Thoulouse, two natural sons of Lewis XIV.), both of which proved excellent stallions, and are well known as Curwen's Bay Barb and the Thoulouse Barb. Curwen's Bay Barb was sire of Mixbury and Tantivy; the first was only thirteen hands two inches high, and yet not more than two horses of his day could beat him; Brocklesby, Little George, two Mixburys, full brothers to the first Mixbury; Brocklesby Betty, considered by many to be the best mare that ever was in England; her dam was called the Hobby mare, bred by Mr. Leedes; her sire was the Lister or Curling has never been universal in Scotland. But in some places where it once was, it is now no more; while in others, it is flourish ing as much as it ever did at any former period. And, in many parishes, the number of players is double of what it was half a century ago. When the nobility resided upon their estates in auld Scotia, it was one of their favourite amusements. A challenge was sent from one baron to another, to engage in a match with their respective tenants. The gentry still partake of this interesting amusement. Matches are made up in a great variety of ways. One parish challenges another to contend with them upon some pond, or lake, or river, in the neighbourhood. And when the same parishes contend more than once, the conquerors in the last contest have generally the privilege of choosing the place where they are to play next. Sometimes one part of a parish challenges another, or the mar-Stradling Turk, brought to this counried men those who are unmarried. Some districts, too, have long been distinguished for their dexterity in the art, and at present, perhaps, none more so than the upper and middle wards of Lanarkshire, and certain parts of Dumfries-shire. There are few amusements which excite more interest than the game of curling. In the severest weather, a good curler, while engaged in his favourite amusement, feels no cold. It must, therefore, be highly conducive to health; and being performed at a time when the labours of the field are at a stand, and when several mechanical employments cannot be carried on, it gives little interrup try, by the Duke of Berwick, from the siege of Buda, in 1686, in the reign of James II. Curwen's Bay Barb was sire also of Long Meg and Creeping Molly, extraordinary high formed mares; Whiteneck, Mistake, Sparkler, and Lightfoot, very good mares. He got two full sisters to Mixbury, one of which bred Partner, Little Scar, Soreheels, and the dam of Crab: the other was the dam of Quiet, Silver Eye, and Hazard. The Thoulouse Barb became afterwards the property of Sir J. Parsons, and was the sire of Bagpiper, Blacklegs, Mr. Panton's Molly, and the dam of Cinnamon. CUTTING, or Interfering. A D their legs, particularly the hinder ones. The speedy cut often arises from excess of action, but knocking the hind legs together is an infallible sign of weakness. Shoeing may remedy it a little; but a plain leather boot is most to be depended upon. Bracken observes, that, as a goose will always go like a goose,' so a horse that cuts so as to break the skin, will hardly ever leave off such ill faculty." or bushes, that is not too big for his mouth: almost all kinds of flies and caterpillars. Though dace are as often caught with a float as roach, yet they are not so properly float fish; for they are to be taken with an artificial gnat, or ant-fly, or indeed almost any other small fly in its season: but in the Thames, above Richmond, the largest are caught with a natural green dun grasshopper, and sometimes with gentles; with both which you are to fish, as with an artificial to a fly, but in angling for them it is needful to remain in concealment as much as possible. They are grega-fly. They are not to be come at till rious, but never attain to great size, seldom weighing a pound, or exceeding ten inches in length; the scales are smaller than those of the roach. The haunts of dace are gravelly, sandy, and clayey bottoms; deep holes that are shaded; water-lily leaves, and under the foam caused by an eddy: in hot weather they are to be found on the shallow, and are then best taken with an artificial fly, grasshoppers, or gentles, as hereafter directed. Dace spawn about the latter end of March, and are in season about three weeks after; they are not very good till about Michaelmas, and are best in February. Baits for dace, other than those mentioned by Walton, are the oakworm, red-worm, brandling, gilt-tail, and indeed any worm bred on trees about September, when the weeds begin to rot; but when you have found where they lie, which in a warm day is generally on the shallow, it is incredible what havock you may make. Pinch off the first joint of the grasshopper's legs, put the point of the hook in at the head, and bring it out at the tail; and in this way of fishing you will catch chub, especially if you throw under the boughs. But this can be done only in a boat, for the management of which, be provided with a staff, and a heavy stone fastened to a strong rope of four or five yards in length; fasten the rope to the head of the boat, which, whether it be a punt or a wherry, is equally fit for this purpose, and so drive down with the stream: when you come to a shal low, or other places where the fish | said hillocks, and laying a clod of are likely to lie, drop the stone, and, earth over the bottle; but if you standing in the stern, throw right would preserve them above a month, down the stream, and a little to the put them into a large runnet, which right and left: after trying about a has been first washed with water and quarter of an hour in a place, with honey on the inside, and then you the staff, push the boat about five may preserve them three months; yards down, and so throw again. but the best time to make use of Use a common fly line about ten them is when they swarm, which is yards long, with a strong single hair generally about the latter end of next the hook. July and the beginning of August. It is true, there is less certainty of catching in this way than with a float and ground bait; but to those who live near the banks of that delightful river, between Windsor and Isleworth, and who can take advantage of a still, warm, gloomy day; to such it will afford much more diversion than the ordinary inartificial method of fishing in the deeps for roach and dace. In fishing at bottom for roach and dace, use, for ground-bait, bread soaked about an hour in water, and an equal quantity of bran; knead them to a tough consistence, and make them up into balls, with a small pebble in the middle, and throw these balls in, otherwise they will draw the fish beyond the reach of your line. Fish for roach within six, and for dace within three inches near the bottom. They will bite at any fly, but especially at the stone caddis fly, or May fly, the latter end of April, and most part of May: it is an excellent bait, floating at top of the water, of which may be gathered great quantities from the reeds and sedge by the water-side, or from hawthorn bushes that grow near the bank of a shallow gravel stream, upon which they greatly delight to hang; and also at ant-flies, of which the blackest are the best, found in mole-hills, June, July, August, and September; which you may preserve for your use, by putting them alive into a glass bottle, having first put into it some of the moist earth from whence you gathered them, with some of the roots of the grass of the This sort of fish, in a warm day, rarely refuses a fly at the top of the water; but remember, when you fish under water for him, it is best to be within a hand, or sometimes more, of the ground. But if you would find dace or dare in winter, then, about All-hallow-tide, wherever you see heaths or sandy grounds ploughing up, follow the plough, and you will find a white worm with a red head, as big as the top of a man's little finger, very soft; that is nothing but the spawn of a beetle; gather these, and put them into a vessel with some of the earth from whence they were taken, and you may keep them all the winter for an excellent bait. The graining of the Mersey is thought to be of the same species as the dace. DAINTY DAVY, A bay horse, foaled 1752, bred by his grace the Duke of Cleveland, was got by Traveller (a son of Croft's Partner) out of Slighted-by-all, by Fox-cub (a son of Clumsy), grandam by Jigg, out of a mare by Makeless; Brimmer, Place's White Turk, Dodsworth, Layton's Violet Barḥ mare. Dainty Davy was the winner of fourteen 50l. plates; one of the value of 100l, at Stockton; three at Newcastle, of 801., 70l., and 601.; he also beat Ripon in a match at Stockton, four miles, 500 gs. On the establishment of the gold cup at Richmond, in 1759, Dainty Davy bore off the prize five years in succession. He received premiums not to start at Scarborough, Stockton, and Hull. Three times only did he sustain defeat. Dainty Davy was a F stallion at Raby Castle, at five guineas; but his price was afterwards advanced to ten guineas. DAISY CUTTERS. Horses which skim along the surface with a straight knee, or which go so near the ground as frequently to touch it. DAKER HEN. See CORN CRAKE. DALMATIAN, or COACH DOG. Is an animal of great beauty, being of a white colour, elegantly marked on all parts with numerous round black spots. The native country of this breed is Dalmatia, though vulgarly termed the Danish dog. He has been domesticated in Italy for many years, and is the harrier of that country. In England he is only used as an attendant upon the carriages of the gentry. DAMASCUS ARABIAN (The) first covered at Newmarket, in 1766, at one guinea; in 1767, in consequence of Signal's superior running, the first of his get that started, he was raised to five guineas, and afterwards to ten guineas. The advertisements described him "to be of the purest Arabian blood," &c. He was sire also of Flush, Mungo, Trump, Atom, Little Joe, Mufti, Pigmy, Magpie, &c. DAPING. See DIBBING. DAPPLE BLACK. Is a black horse that has spots and marks which are blacker and more shining than the rest of the skin. When bay horses have marks of a dark bay, we call them dapple bays; so of grays. DARLEY ARABIAN. Mr. Darley, a merchant settled at Aleppo, and a member of a hunting club there, procured a courser from the deserts of Arabia, which he sent to England as a present to his brother, a Yorkshire gentleman, about the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne: he is one of those few horses on the purity of whose blood we can place positive reliance. This Arabian was sire of Flying Childers, of never-dying fame; he also got Bartlett's Childers, Old Almanzor; a white-legged horse belonging to the Duke of Somerset, full brother to Almanzor, and thought to be as good, but meeting with an accident, he never ran in public; Dædalus, a very fast horse; Dart, Skipjack, Manica, Aleppo, good horses, though out of indifferent mares; Cupid, Brisk,Gander, Kitty Burdett, Smockface, Old Whimsey, &c. &c. He did not cover many mares except Mr. Darley's. An original portrait of this horse, accidentally discovered by the removal of a panel in one of the rooms of the mansion, is in the possession of H. Darley, Esq. Aldeby Hall, Yorkshire, an engraving from which has been lately published. The Darley Arabian was a bay, about fifteen hands high, with white fetlocks behind, and a blaze in his face. DASHING (among Foxhunters). When a man charges a fence (which no other word can express so fully), on the other side of which it is impossible to guess what mischief awaits him, but where his getting a fall is reduced as nearly as possible to a moral certainty.-Note to Billesdon Coplow. DEBILITY. A state of emaciation, weakness, and inertness of the animal powers. It may be either permanent or temporary. The diseases of debility in the horse are asthma, dropsy, grease, palsy, &c. The most prevalent cause, however, is the too common practice of working colts at two or three years old, by which an innumerable train of diseases is engendered and fostered, | and as reeds and grass, with bushes, and the services of the animal very are allowed to grow in wild luxuriconsiderably abridged. ance, the interior of the pond is entirely hidden from view. In length of time, by continued cultivation, the appearance becomes similar to a plantation for game in an extensive marshy waste; indeed, in most places, it is much used by hares, and occasionally by foxes. DECOCTION. By the process of boiling the medicinal properties of roots, barks, &c. are communicated to water. The most common way is to boil the ingredients till the water is half consumed; the liquor, which, properly speaking, is the decoction, being afterwards strained off. DECOY. There are very few or no objects of sporting attraction so replete with pleasing varieties, and so abounding with characteristics of extraordinary instinct, as the whole of the operations affecting this ingenious occupation. The wild scenery, the secluded situation required, the proximity of the sea or extensive range of waters, the liabilities of the season, the difficulties of access, and the distances from the residences of the neighbourhood, are all subjects of strong interest, and never fail to excite in the mind of an ardent lover of nature an enthusiastic feeling. It is fortunate when a situation is found where Nature has supplied the growth of willows and underwood of any sort; otherwise you are obliged to plant around the piece of water selected for the purpose of a decoy, which is mostly of an acre or two, to give a general effect of shelter. The slips, or pipes as they are called, are about twenty feet long, forming a designed curve, and gradually narrowing to the end. These are hooped over, and then covered with strong netting. The number of these apertures is regulated in course by the extent of the pond, always having sufficient to face the point of most winds that blow; for only those can be worked with effect which are opposite to the blast. Between each pipe, and the whole length of it, a shade of reeds, about six feet high, is erected for the purpose of concealment to the attending man, with a few small loop-holes to peep through. Round the whole a high bank is raised; The decoy birds are wild-ducks, bred on the spot, which become domesticated by the most constant and regular supply of food, and are kept within a moderate number by killing them off when the season is over. At the commencement of winter these birds begin, by an unaccountable instinct, to take their wheels of flight, leaving home at the reflux of the tide and returning about high water, rarely unaccompanied with a numerous flock of new acquaintance. These excursions are closely watched by the keeper both night and day, always being prepared to greet the return with plenty of corn. This keeps all quiet till day-light (if a night flight), when his delicate work commences, but seldom successfully without a brisk wind. When the pipe is fixed upon to work at, a small quantity of oats or hemp-seed is thrown at the mouth, which, accompanied with a pleasing whistle, induce the old birds to rush forward, and if a good number of foreigners should follow, he by degrees supplies the food more within, till the body has reached beyond the turn to exclude them from the pond. At that critical moment he runs to the front, and showing himself, with a shout, the birds fly to the end, where, cooped up in a very small space, a most ludicrous scramble and squalling take place. A helper, being ready, has then only to take them by the neck, and, being expertly educated in Jack Ketch work, twists away till even hundreds are thrown into a pit-hole purposely prepared. It scarcely ever occurs that the old birds are to be thus entrapped. Being familiar at business, they take |