THE EDINBURGH 



JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



AND OF 



THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



JULY, 1836. 



ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE — THE DOGS. 



Fig. 1. The Bloodhound.- — There was, in early times, a popular belief that this 

 Dog had the instinct to pursue murderers, and, if once put on their scent, that he 

 could trace them with unerring certainty. This exaggeration proceeded from his 

 being able to tract fugitives, to follow them through the most secret coverts, and to 

 seize them when found. There is an old law in Scotland, enacting that any person 

 denying a Bloodhound entrance into a house, while in the act of searching for felons, 

 should be treated as an accessory. 



The Bloodhound is a large and beautifully-formed Dog ; he possesses great strength, 

 and his sense of smell is exquisite. In proof of this, the Hon. Robert Boyle relates 

 the following anecdote : — " A person of quality, to make trial whether a young Blood- 

 bound was well instructed, desired one of his servants to walk to a town, four miles 

 off, and then to a market-town three miles from thence. The Dog, without seeing 

 the man he was to p\irsue, followed him by the scent to the above-mentioned places, 

 notwithstanding the multitude of market people that went along the same road, and 

 of travellers that had occasion to cross it; and when the Bloodhound came to the 

 cross-market town, he passed through the streets without taking notice of any of the 

 people there, and ceased not till he had gone to the house where the man he sought 

 rested himself, and there he found him in an upper room, to the wonder of those who 

 had accompanied him in the pursuit." 



The fame of the EngUsh Bloodhound has been deservedly transmitted to posterity 

 by a monument in Bafso-relievo, which is said to remain at present in the chimney- 

 piece of the grand hall at the Castle of Montargis, in France. The sculpture, which 

 represents a dog fighting with a champion, is illustrated in a very well known narra- 

 tive. 



Fig. 2. The Staghound is the largest and most powerful Dog now in general 

 *ise in Britain for the pleasures of the chase, being employed, as its name implies, for 

 Stag-himting. It is a mixture of the Bloodhound, old EngUsh Southern-hound, and 

 the Foxhound. 



Fig. 3. The Foxhound.- — No country in Europe can boast of Foxhounds equal 

 in swiftness, strength, and agility, to those of Britain, where the utmost attention is 

 paid to their breeding, education, and food. The climate also seems congenial to 

 their nature, for, when taken to France or Spain, and other southern countries of 

 Europe, they quickly degenerate, and lose all the admirablo qualities they possess in 

 this country. In the words of the Poet of the Chase — 



" In thee alone, fair land of liberty, 



Is bred the perfect hound, in scent and speed 

 As yet unrivall'd; while in other climes 

 Their virtue fails, — a weak degenerate race." 



It is a trait in our national character to be excessively attached to hunting, and in 

 no country is the same strict attention paid to the breeding and comfort of hoimds as 

 in Britain. The kennel of the Duke of Richmond at Goodwood cost L. 19,000 j and 

 a thousand guineas have been paid for a pack of hounds. 



Fig. 4. The Harrier— This Dog is much smaller than the Foxhound, and is 

 now universally used in Britain for Hare-hunting. It is possessed of great eagerness 

 and perseverance, allowing the Hare but little time to breathe or double; and the 

 keenest sportsmen frequently find it no easy matter to keep up with a good pack of 

 Harriers. 



Fig. 6. The Beagle — This is the smallest of all those Dogs of the Chase which 

 pursue then- prey by the scent alone. Its sense of smell is equal to any of those hunt- 

 ing Dogs comprised under the general denomination of Hoimd. It is a very earner 

 Dog, but its diminutive size renders it incapable of takiug the Hare by means of 

 speed, and it succeeds in running down its prey by perseverance alone. 



Fig. 6. The English Terrier is a handsome and sprightly Doo-, usually black 

 above, with tan-coloured throat, breast, abdomen, and legs. This Dog, though but 

 small, is very resolute,. and a determined enemy to all kinds of game and vermin, in 

 the pursuit of which it evinces an extraordinary and untaught alacrity. Some of the 

 EngUsh Terriers will even draw a Badger from its hole. This Dog varies consider- 

 ably in size and strength, and is to be met with from ten to eighteen inches in 

 height. 



Fig. 7. The Scotch Terrier. — There are several sub-varieties of this Dog in 

 Scotland. Some persons consider that variety with strong and rather long bristly 

 14 * 



hair and pricked ears to be the model of a real Scotch Terrier, but we beUeve the 

 form in the plate has greater claims to that title. It is taken from a fine painting of 

 a Terrier well known for his excellent qualities, and once the property of the late 

 Duke of Buccleuch. The most esteemed breed are always of a sandy brown, varying 

 in intensity. 



Fig. 8. The Isle-of-Skye Terrier — This differs from the last in the hair 

 being fully longer, the tail being more viUous, the ears being larger and semi-pendu- 

 lous, the body larger, the legs much shorter, and invariably crooked in front. The 

 most esteemed breed is usually of the same colour as the common Scotch Terrier, 

 although there are exceptions to this rule, and varieties in the colour often appear. 

 Thorough-bred ones may be gray or even black, and recently we have seen a very 

 beautiful and characteristic specimen, the property of Sir John Naesmith of Posso, 

 which was of a pure white. The Isle-of-Skye Terrier is excellent for destroying 

 vermin, to which he is an implacable enemy. 



DESCaiPTION OF THE PLATE — THE WARBLEilS. 



The "Warblers are very numerous, and are widely diffused in their Geographical 

 range. They feed chiefly on Insects and their larva?, and subsist occasionally ou 

 fruits. They are migratory in all countries where they are found, passing to the 

 warmer regions during winter, in quest of insect food, and returning to more norths 

 ern latitudes as the summer advances, for the purpose of incubation. The colours 

 of the plumage, in most of the species, consist of strong and decided contrasts of 

 green, yellow, and black. Nearly the whole species of this extensive genus are 

 Songsters. All those figured on the plate arc the size of life. 



Fig. 1. The Palm Warbler (Si/hia Pahnarum), This lively bird is an inhabi- 

 tant of St Domingo, and other West India islands, extending its mi"-rations to South 

 Carolina and Philadelphia, in the United States. Its food consists of insects, fruits, 

 and small seeds. It builds its nest on the very top of some lofty palm tree, from 

 which it takes the name of " the Palmist," Its song is limited to five or six notes, 

 and is full, soft, and mellow, although consisting of little variety. There is no dif- 

 ference in the form or hues of the male and female, but the winter plumage is more 

 dull than the summer garb. 



Fig. 2. The Blue- Mountain Warbler (S. tigrina). This species inhabits the lofty 

 American range of alpine scenery, whose name it bears, seldom descending from the 

 airy heights and gloomy silence of those dreary fastnesses. It is four inches and 

 three quarters in length, and its song is merely a feeble screech, three or four times 

 repeated. Its food consists chiefly of insects. It is not yet known whether there be 

 any difference of colour between the male and female. 



Fig. 3. The Hemlock Warbler (S. parus) was discovered by Wilson in the 

 Great Pine Swamp of Pennsylvania, It is an active and lively bird, cUmbing and 

 hanging among the twigs like a Titmouse. Its song consists of a few sweet notes, 

 which it never utters while in motion, always singing while in a quiescent state. In 

 pursuit of insects, its usual habit is to commence at the foot of a tree, and hunt, 

 with much spirit and vigour, every branch as it ascends. 



Fig. 4. The Autumnal Warbler (5. AuUtmnalls) visits Pennsylvania in the month 

 of October, and gleans its food principally from such insects as inhabit the willow 

 trees ; dxu-ing which time, the male birds warble out some low, but sweet notes. 

 The size of the bird is four inches and three quarters. 



Fig. 5. The Black-throated Green Warbler (5. Arvens) is a very transient 

 visitor of the United States, passing through Pennsylvania, in the end of April and 

 beginning of Way, on its way to the north to breed. It is seldom to be met with, 

 after the 10th of May. It frequents the high branches and tops of trees, in search 

 of the larvEB of insects that prey on the opening buds. Its song consists only of a few 

 chirruping notes, and its habits are active and lively. 



Fig. 6 and 7. The Maryland Yellow-throat Warbler (5. Marylandica)^ male 

 and female. This species inhabits the whole United States from Maine to Florida 

 and Louisiana, and abounds in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, frequent- 

 ing the low swampy thickets, and feeding on insects and their larva;, which are to be 

 met vrith among briars, brambles, and alder bushes. It sometimes also visits the 

 cultivated fields of rye, wheat, and barley, ridding the stalks of insects, that mif^ht 

 otherwise lay waste the fields. Its song is simple, consisting of the repetition of a 

 twitter, resembling iwitititee. 



Fig. 8. The Kentucky Warbler (5. Formosa) inhabits the country in the United 

 States whose name it bears, and is also to be met with between Nashville and New 

 Orleans, frequentmg the soUtary and gloomy morasses of those countries, twittering 



