AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
189 
tunnel from without. The room should never be entered, 
but the feed thrown to them through a hole in the door or 
window. 
These birds never have recourse to water, except for 
drink, and but little of this will suffice, as they will satiate 
their thirst in preference, from the drops of rain and dew, 
which adhere to the leaves and grass; but every sports- 
man has noticed, during August, September, and Oc- 
tober, the number of wallowing places in the earth, in 
stubble fields and small bush land, especially on the south 
side of hills, and this habit continues always until severe 
frosty weather. When any animal is taken from its 
native state, and placed in captivity, many things should 
be taken into consideration, so that confinement may 
not affect its health; and, as the partridge uses exercise 
mostly on foot, is fond of the sun, and cannot live with- 
out sand and gravel, it proves the necessity of conforming 
as much as possible to its habits in these respects. 
Should many more seasons be experienced like those of 
1829, 30 and 31, the preservation of the partridge will 
be an object of primary consequence with the sportsman; 
and when it is considered that this bird is a great source 
of his enjoyments, and all of his preparation subsidiary to 
it, is it not a matter of moment, that the cause should be 
preserved, if he wishes to experience its effects? I. 
POISONOUS FISH. 
Clupea Thryssa, or 
Conger Muraena, “ 
Coracinus Fuscus, “ 
Corophosna Splendens, “ 
Cyprinus Barbus, “ 
Opah, “ 
Ostracion Glabellum, “ 
Perea Major, “ 
Perea Marina, “ 
Scomber Thynnus, “ 
Tetrodon Scleratus, “ 
Yellow-billed Sprat. 
Conger Eel. 
Grey Snapper. 
Dolphin. 
Barbel, (of Europe.) 
King Fish. 
Smooth Bottle Fish. 
Barracuta. 
Rock Fish. 
Bonetta. 
Tunny. 
The cancer msenas, or common crab, and the cancer 
gammarius, or lobster, are the principal varieties in the 
insect tribe employed as food, and capable of exercising 
deliterious effects. The mytilus edulis, or muscle, is, per- 
haps, the only edible species of vermes, or worms. The 
ill effects sometimes attributed to the muscle of Europe, 
are generally supposed to be occasioned, when a small tuft 
of moss, attached to the body of the worm, is swallowed 
through carelessness; and the symptoms produced, may 
rather be referred to those of oppression, in consequence 
of the indigestible nature of the substance, than to any 
poisonous qualities it possesses; there are, however, some 
B B b 
muscles, particularly in the East and West Indies, that, 
in common with some other marine animals, exercise an 
unfavourable influence upon the animal economy, produce 
the same symptoms, and terminate in the same result as 
the most poisonous oi che fish tribe. 
This list, then, comprises the common varieties of poi- 
sonous animals, but many could probably be added to the 
number: the exact nature of their qualities is but little un- 
derstood; whether they reside in the whole carcase, or in 
some particular part of it, are introduced into the animal in the 
form of food, or are constantly retained, are occasioned by the 
spawning season, by any peculiar habits of the animal, or 
by its sickness; and whether they depend upon the idio- 
syncrasy of the individual eating them for their operation, 
are all circumstances of remark, and of uncertainty in de- 
termination. 
Fish and muscles of the most poisonous description ap- 
pear to the eye as healthy and agreeable as the most whole- 
some varieties: chemistry will not lend any assistance in 
discovering their noxious properties, and out of a number 
of persons who may occasionally have eaten of the same 
dish, a few are found violently, some slightly, and others 
not at all affected. The process of carefully cleaning and 
salting, appears to abate the danger of eating some of the 
varieties above mentioned; but even this precaution will 
not always ensure escape: it is then certain, that whatever 
poisonous qualities exist, they are greatly increased or 
diminished by the peculiar condition of the system gene- 
rally, and of the digestive organs in particular, of those 
who partake of them. Crabs and lobsters, especially, will 
affect some persons at one time, and prove innocuous at 
another, even in the same season, and under similar cir- 
cumstances in every respect. The immediate symptoms 
of disorder occasioned are, great nausea, constriction of 
the throat, thirst, a sense of suffocation, and a burning 
heat on the whole surface of the body; to these succeed 
diarrhoea, cold sweats, faintness, and spasmodic affections 
of the muscles; efflorescence of the skin, and sometimes a 
miliary eruption; in the worst cases the eyes become in- 
flamed; the wrist, ancle, and knee joints, are visited with 
acute pains; tenesmus and stranguary ensue; and the suf- 
ferer is almost beyond the power of art: these symptoms, 
of course, apply to the worst cases; to such as are record- 
ed in the annals of West Indian practice, in general the 
milder symptoms alone prevail, and are under the control 
of medicine. When death ensues, it would appear to be 
occasioned by an absorption of the poison through the cir- 
culation, and how actively it exerts itself through that me- 
dium is apparent from the symptoms occasioned; an ex- 
amination of the body after death displays the stomach 
and intestines in an inflamed state, with occasional patches 
