GRE] THE FIELD BOOK. colour, tinged with red, lightest on the times upon rivers, but seldom goes out to This species of the grebe is an inhabitant of both Europe and' America. Black chin grebe.-This bird is described as being larger than the last. Chin black; forepart of the neck ferruginous; hinder part mixed with dusky; belly cinereous and silver intermixed. Inhabits Tiree, one of the He The little grebe is a true aquatic, for it seldom quits the water, nor ventures beyond the sedgy margins of the lake where it has taken up its abode. It is a most excellent diver, and can remain a long time under water, in pursuit of its prey, or to shun danger. brides.-Latham. It is found in almost every lake, and some GREEDY, a. Ravenous, voracious, hungry; eager. GREEN, a. Having a colour formed by compounding blue and yellow; flourishing, fresh; new, fresh, as a green wound; unripe, immature young. GREEN, 8. One of the seven original colours; a grassy plain. To dye green.-Boil your staff to a very lightest, which will green in a very few miYou will destroy the greens if they rich yellow, in turmeric, lift it, and add near nutes. a teaspoonful of best madder; boil it for five take too much of the blue: you must attend minutes, and draw what you want for the first them closely till you finish. These are the shade; add a teaspoonful and a half of mad- richest of all greens, and fast colours. The der, and boil for the same length of time, and lightest of them, or the next, are used for the for as many shades as you want; follow the green rail and September-green fox. If you same plan to four or five shades; wash them want your greens finer, put less madder, and well in water, then in urine, as in the other re- do not boil so long; you must here be guided cipes. Wring them and green them, one by by your eye.-Old Recipe. one, in the greening-vat; beginning with the GREEN, v. To make green, GREENFINCH, 8. A small bird. GREENSHANKED GODWIT, or GREENLEGGED HORSEMAN, (Scolopax glottis, LINN; La Barge variee, BUFF.) 8. The greenshank is of a slender and elegant snape, and its weight small in proportion to its length and dimensions, being only about six ounces; although it measures from the tip cfits beak to the end of its tail fourteen inches, The bill is about and to the toes twenty, and from tip to tip of the wings twenty-five. two inches and a half long, straight and slender: the upper mandible black; the under reddish at its base. The upper parts of its middle one, as far as the first joint. plumage are pale brownish ash colour; but each feather is marked down the shaft with glossy bronze brown; the under parts, and rump, are of a pure white: a whitish streak passes over each eye; the quill feathers are dusky, plain on the outer webs; but the inner ones are speckled with white spots: the tail is white, crossed with dark waved bars: the legs are long, bare about two inches above the knees, and of a dark-green colour: the outer-toe is connected by a membrane to the GREGARIOUS, a. Going in flocks or GREYHOUND, 8. A tall fleet dog that chases by sight. Of this species the varieties are numerous, and are generally named after the countries to which they originally belong. This species is not numerous in England, but they appear in small flocks in the winter season, on the sea-shore and the adjacent marshes, their summer residence is in the northern regions of Russia, Siberia, &c., where they are said to be in great plenty; they are also to be met with in various parts of both Asia and America. Their flesh, like all the rest of this genus, are well-flavoured, and esteemed good eating.-Bewick. herds. and Mr. Pennant was of opinion that the French matin and the Albian dog were also varieties of the same. The Irish greyhound.-(Canis Graus Hi-, to be only a variety of the Irish greyhound; bernicus, RAY.)-This is one of the largest of the canine race, with an air at once beautiful, striking, and majestic. He has been known to grow to the extraordinary height of four feet, although the general standard is about three feet. In shape, the Irish greyhound somewhat resembles the common greyhound, only that he is much larger, and more muscular in his formation; clumsy in all his different parts, and is quite unserviceable for hunting either the stag, fox, or hare. His chief use, in former times, was in clearing the country of wolves and wild boars, for which his great size and strength peculiarly adapted him. The colour of the Irish greyhound is a pale cinnamon or fawn. His aspect is mild, and his disposition gentle and peaceable. It is said he is greatly an overmatch for either the mastiff or bull dog; and when he fights, he generally seizes his antagonist by the back, and shakes him to death, which his great strength enables him to do with ease. M. Buffon supposes the great Danish dog The Irish greyhound is now rarely to be met with even in his own country. Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq., one of the vice-presidents of the Linnean Society, took the measurement of one of the Marquis of Sligo's dogs, which was as follows:-"From the point of the nose to the tip of the tail, sixty one inches; tail, seventeen and a half inches long; from the tip of the nose to the back part of the skull, ten inches; from the back part of the skull to the beginning of the tail, thirty-three inches; from the toe to the top of the fore-shoulder, twenty-eight inches and a half; length of the leg sixteen inches; from the top of the hind toes to the hind shoulders, thirteen inches; from the point of the nose to the eye, four inches and a half; the ears, six inches long; round the widest part of the belly, (about three inches from the forelegs,) thirty-five inches; twenty-siz inches round the hinder part, close to the hind legs; the hair short and smooth; the, sometimes to be met with quite black. I saw colour of some brown and white, of others black and white. They seemed good-tempered animals, but, from the accounts Mr. Lambert received, it is obvious that they must have degenerated, particularly in point of size. Dr. Goldsmith says he has seen a dozen of these dogs, and assures us the largest was about four feet high, and as tall as a calf of a year old. Scottish Highland Greyhound or Wolf Dog, (Canis Caledonius.)-This is a large and powerful dog, nearly equal in size to the Irish greyhound, His general aspect is commanding and fierce; his head is long, and muzzle rather sharp; his ears pendulous, but not long, his eyes large, keen, and penetrating, haif concealed among the long, stiff, bristly hair with which his face is covered; his body is very strong and muscular, deepchested, tapering towards the loins, and his back slightly arched; his hind-quarters are furnished with large prominent muscles; and his legs are long, strongboned, and straight, -a combination of qualities which gives him that speed and long duration in the chase for which he is so eminently distinguished. His hair is shaggy and wiry, of a reddish colour, mixed with white: his tail is rough, which he carries somewhat in the manner of a staghound, but not quite so erect. some powerful animals of this description in the north of Ireland, in possession of the small farmer and peasants of the mountainous districts. They are said to be the only dogs which are capable of catching the hares which inhabit those mountain ranges, the common greyhound wanting strength for such a laborious chase. These dogs in Ireland are almost universally dark iron grey, with very strong grizzly hair, and are much superior in many respects to any I have seen in Scotland. I remark a peculiarity in those Irish hounds, which was that of having very small but extremely brilliant and penetrating hazelcoloured eyes; their teeth were also very strong and long. We are informed by Topsel, that the dog was used for tracing thieves in Scotland, and also on the borders of England, and that he had an excellent sense of smelling. Even at the present day he has the sense in a more acute state than the common greyhound; and it is probable that in early times he was still more distinguished by an active power of scent. The Italian Greyhound, (Canis Graius Italianus.)-Is about half the size of the common greyhound, and is perfectly similar in form. His shape is exquisitely beautiful, and he has a most delicate appearance. The general colour of this handsome dog is a pale This is the dog formerly used by the high-mouse brown, sable, or white. The skin is land chieftains of Scotland in their grand hunting parties, and is in all probability the same noble dog used in the time of Ossian. The Scotch Highland greyhound will either hunt in packs or singly. The Russian Greyhound,—(Canis Graius Borealis.) This is a large and powerful dog, nearly equal in strength to the Irish greyhound, which he also resembles in shape; his hair is long and bushy, and his tail forms a spiral curl, but which in the chase stands nearly straight behind him. The colour of the Russian greyhound is generally of a dark umber brown, but sometimes black: his coat is rough and shaggy. When the Russian greyhound loses sight of the hare, he runs by the scent. Indeed, when parties go out a coursing, this dog even endeavours to find game. He is a very powerful animal, and is frequently used either in small packs, or with other dogs, to hunt the wild boar, deer, or wolf, the latter of which a good hound will kill single-handed. But it is the deer principally that he hunts.When used in coursing, he is slipped in the same manner as is practised in this coutnry. The Scotch Greyhound, (Canis Graius Scotius.)-This dog, in point of form, is similar in all respects to the common greyhound, differing only in its being of a larger size, and the hair being wiry, in place of that beautiful sleekness which distinguishes the coat of the other. Their colour for the most part is of a reddish brown or sandy hue, although thev are very sleek, and the hair extremely fine and short. He does not thrive well in Great Britain, the climate being too cold for his delicate constitution. The Italian greyhound is too small to have sufficient speed for taking a hare, and is in consequence never employed in the chase, his principal use being an attendant on the great. In Italy, men of rank are frequently seen either walking or riding followed by several of these dogs. Turkish Greyhound, (Canis Egyptius, LINN.)-This is a diminutive variety of the greyhound, probably reduced to its smallest size from the influence of climate. It is little more than half the bulk of the Italian greyhound, and like the same animal, both in this country and Italy, is an attendant on people of rank, and usually kept as a pet. The Turkish greyhound is quite naked, with only a few scattered hairs on its tail. The colour of the skin is leaden or black, and has all the appearance of leather. His ears are long and erect. This dog is said to possess great attachment to his master.We have heard of one which belonged to a pacha who was beheaded, that laid itself down on the body of his murdered master and expired. It is said that the greyhound of Great Britain, when taken to Turkey, quickly degenerates, and becomes a poor spiritiess animal, without the least desire for sporting. This is not peculiar to the greyhound, but extends to all dogs brought from temperate climates. Sonnini. who travelled through the Ottoman empire, mentions that he endeavoured, by every means in his power, to ascertain whether this singular dog was really a native of Turkey, but that he had sought in vain for it in that country. He further remarks, that it is not in the temperate climate of Turkey that dogs lose their hair, nor even under the burning sun of Egypt. * GRIG, S. A small eel. GRIMALKIN, s. A cat. The breeding of the greyhound is recommended to be from the well tried and best bitches, as an indifferent dog was supposed from such a cross, to get better whelps than if the excellence was inverted, and the bitch but tolerable; the surest way to have the whelps excellent, is to have sire and dam good, and not to exceed four years old; if any inequality in their age, it is recommended to be on the bitch's side, provided the dog be young.-Brown. GRIN, v. To set the teeth together, and withdraw the lips; to fix the teeth as in anguish. GRIPE, v. To hold with the fingers closed; to catch eagerly; to seize; to clutch. GRISTLE, S. A cartilage. GRISTLY, a. Cartilaginous. GRIT, 8. The coarse part of meal; oats husked, or coarsely ground; sand; rough hard particles; a kind of fish. GRIZZLE, 8. A mixture of white and black; grey. GRIZZLED, S. Interspersed with grey. GROAT, 8. A piece valued at fourpence; groats, oats that have the hulls taken off. GROGGINESS, s. A disease incident to horses. in the foot, where the flexor tendon runs over the navicular bone. It seems oftenest to be a want of power in the ligaments of the joirts generally, produced by frequent and severe sprains, or by ill-judged and cruel exertion; and, in the majority of cases, admits of no remedy; especially as dissection often discovers ulceration within the joints, and of the membrane which lines the cartilage, and even of the cartilage itself, which it was impossible to reach or to remove. The peculiar knuckling over of the fetlock joint. and tottering of the whole of the foreleg, known by the name of grogginess, and which is so often seen in old and over-worked horses, is seldom an affection of either the fetlock or the pastern-joints simply, although these have their full share in the mischief that has been produced by tasking the poor animal beyond its strength. Sometimes it is difficult to fix on any particular joint; at others, it seems to be traced to a joint deep GROOM, 8. A servant that takes care of the stable. GROOVE, 8. A deep cavern or hollow;, a channel or hollow cut with a tool. GROSS, a. Thick, corpulent; inelegant; coarse, rough, opposite to delicate. GROUND-BAIT, 8. A bait made of barley or malt boiled, thrown into the place where fish are to be collected. GROUNDLING, s. A fish which keeps at the bottom of the water. GROUSE, 8. A kind of fowl, a heathcock. The Wood Grouse, Cock of the Wood, or, ed with small transverse lines of black and Capercalzie. (Tetrao urogallus, LINN; Le grey, as are also the back and wings, but more grand Coq de Bruyere, BUFF.)-This bird is irregularly; the breast is black, richly glos as large as the turkey, is about two feet nine sed with green on the upper part, and mixed inches in length, and weighs from twelve to with a few white feathers on the belly and fifteen pounds. The bill is very strong, con- thighs; the sides are marked like the neck vex, and of a horn colour; over each eye there the tail consists of eighteen feathers, which is a naked skin, of a bright red colour; the are black, those on the sides are marked with eyes are bazel; the nostrils are small, and a few white spots; the legs are very stout, almost hid under a covering of short feathers, and covered with brown feathers; the toes which extend under the throat, and are there are furnished on each side with a strong pec. much longer than the rest, and of a black tinated membrane. The female is considercolour; the head and neck aree legantly mark-ably less than the male, and differs from hiar greatly in her colours; her throat is red; the transverse bars on the head, neck, and back, are red and black; the breast is of a pale orange colour; belly barred with orange and black, the top of each feather white; the back and wings are mottled with reddish brown and black; the scapulars tipped with white; the tail is of a deep rust colour, barred with black, and tipped with white. cessity of leaving them in search of food. The young follow the hen as soon as they are hatched, sometimes with part of the shell attached to them. The Black Grouse, Black Game: or Black Cock.-(Tetrao Tetrix, LINN; Le Coq de Bruyere a queue fourchue, BUFF.)-This bird, though not larger than the common hen, weighs nearly four pounds: its length is about one foot ten inches, breadth two feet nine. The bill is black, the eyes dark blue; below each eye there is a spot of dirty white colour, and above a larger one, of a bright scarlet, which extends almost to the top of the head; the general colour of the plumage is a deep black, richly glossed with blue on the neck and rump; the lesser wing coverts are dusky brown; the greater are white, which extends to the ridge of the wing, forming a spot of that colour on the shoulder when the wing is closed, the quills are brown, the lower parts and tips of the secondaries are white, forming a bar of white across the wing; there is likewise a spot of white on the bastard wing; the feathers of the tail are almost square at the ends, and, when spread out, form a curve on each side; the under tail coverts are of a pure white; the legs and thighs are of a dark brown colour, mottled with white; the toes are toothed on the edges like those of former species. In some of our specimens the nostrils were thickly covered with feathers, whilst in others they were quite bare, probably owing to the different ages of the birds. This beautiful kind is found chiefly in high mountainous regions, and is very rare in Great Britain. Mr. Pennant mentions one, as an uncommon instance, which was shot near Inverness. It was formerly met with in Ireland, but is now supposed to be extinct there. In Russia, Sweden, and other northern countries, it is very common; it lives in the forests of pine with which those countries abound, and feeds on the cones of fir trees, which, at some seasons, give an unpleasant flavour to its flesh, so as to render it unfit for the table; it likewise eats various kinds of plants and berries, particularly the juniper. Early in the spring the season for pairing commences; during this period the cock places himself on an eminence, where he displays a variety of pleasing attitudes; the feathers on his head stand erect, his neck swells, bis tail is displayed, aud his wings trail almost on the ground; his eyes sparkle, and the scarlet patch on each side of his head, assumes a deeper dye; at the same time he utters bis well-known cry, which has been compared to the sound produced by the whetting of a scythe; it may be heard at a con- These birds, like the former, are found siderable distance, and never fails to draw chiefly in the high situations in the northern round him his faithful mates. The female parts of our island; they are common in Ruslays from eight to sixteen eggs, which are sia, Siberia, and other northern countries: white, spotted with yellow, and larger than they feed on various kinds of berries and other those of the common hen: for this purpose she fruits, the produce of wild and mountainous chooses some secret spot, where she can sit places: in summer they frequently come down in security she covers her eggs carefully from their lofty situations for the sake of feedover with leaves, when she is under the ne-ing on corn. They do not pair, but on the |