[ 
868 CORN-BASKET. 
behind the horses, or any other convenient place ; 
but it should have a communication from the 
granary by a spout or wide square pipe; it re- 
quires to be strong, and to have good hinges; and, 
when of a high and narrow form, it should be so 
constructed as to let part of its front fold down 
when the supply of corn within falls low. Occa- 
sional or periodical supplies of corn for the corn- 
bin should be measured in the granary, and 
|| shovelled through the communicating spout ; and 
the quantities or meals for the horses should be 
regularly measured with a vessel kept constantly 
in the bin. 
| CORN-BAND. See Banps. 
CORN-BARROW. See Barrow. 
CORN-BASKET. A basket of close and beau- 
tiful wicker-work, used instead of wechts in the 
barns of some districts of England. See the 
article Barn-MANAGEMENT. 
CORN-BOX. A contrivance for affording sheep 
an occasional feeding with grain, in aid or modi- 
fication of general feeding with turnips. The 
common corn-box is a very simple wooden struc- 
|| ture; it has a hollow bottom to contain the corn, 
| | and a roofed cover to protect it from the weather ; 
| and it is open on one side, and only on one side, 
to permit free access to the sheep. But a more 
| elaborate corn-box is in use, mounted on low 
wheels to allow it to be easily moved from place 
to place, and so constructed as to keep the corn 
constantly covered except when sheep are in the 
act of feeding upon it. The box itself is mounted 
on a frame, and has the same general character 
as a hay-rack; the lower part of the frame is pro- 
vided with two hinged platforms, which commu- 
nicate with the lids of the box by means of upright 
rods so attached as to act like levers; the lids of 
the box are opened by these connecting rods 
when the platforms are trodden upon, and closed 
when the platforms cease to be under pressure ; 
and hence a sheep, by placing its feet upon a 
platform, opens a lid and has access to the corn, 
and yet, on going away, does not leave any part 
of the remaining corn in a state of exposure to 
|| the weather. A simple and obvious interior con- 
trivance lets the lever-acting platforms command 
the corn; and a small hinged lid in the higher 
part of one of the hinged sides, allows fresh sup- 
plies of corn to be poured into the box. 
CORN-BRUISER. See Bruistna Grain. 
CORN-BUSHEL. See Busuen. 
CORN-CHEST. See Corn-Bry. 
CORN-COCKLE,—botanically Lychnis Githago, 
but formerly Agrostemma Githago. An annual, 
purple-flowered weed, of the carnation order. It 
infests the corn-fields of Britain, particularly 
| fields of wheat, and makes a prominent figure 
|| among the weeds of agriculture. Its stem is 
|| woody and about 3 or 4 feet high; its flowers 
are somewhat showy and appear in June and 
July; and its seeds are rough, globular, black in 
the exterior, and white in the interior. This 
plant is sometimes the chief weed in wheat fields ; 
{} he! 
CORN-CRAKE. 
and its seeds find their way into many samples 
of good grain, and considerably deteriorate their 
value with corn-dealers and bakers; yet they 
have such a colour in a ground condition as to 
be undistinguishable from wheat flower, and are 
quite innocuous. Corn-cockle ought to be hand- 
weeded when in flower, or when the grain crop 
which it infests is about 20 or 24 inches high.— 
A foreign, white-flowered variety, called Nicean, 
was introduced to Britain from Italy toward the 
close of last century, and ranks among the coarse, 
hardy, ornamental annuals. 
CORN-CRAKE.—scientifically Crex pratensis. 
An extensively diffused Huropean bird, of the 
rail family. Frequent synonymous names for it 
in England are land-rail, corn-drake, and daker- 
hen; and a not uncommon, though stupid mis- 
take confounds it with the water-rail,—Radlus 
aguaticus. Its length is 9 or 93 inches; its bill 
is strong, thick, greyish brown, one inch long, 
and shaped exactly like that of the water-hen ; 
its eyes are hazel-coloured; the feathers of its 
upper parts are rufous brown, with a dash of 
black down the middle of each; the feathers of | 
its under parts are similar to the others, but 
paler, and not spotted; the quills and the coverts 
of the wings are lightish chestnut; the fore-part 
of the neck and breast, and a streak over each eye, 
are of a pale ash-colour; the belly is yellowish 
white; the sidesandthighsare faintly marked with 
rusty-coloured streaks; the tail is short and of a 
deep bay; and the legs are greenish brown. This 
bird occurs over all continental Europe, and in 
most districts of the three kingdoms; but it is 
exceedingly abundant in some places, and very 
scarce or almost wholly unknown in others. It 
abounds in Holland, in most of Ireland, in the 
Isle of Anglesea, and in the county of Caithness; 
and it occurs more or less in every part of Eng- 
land and in most parts of Scotland, but is abun- 
dant in few and decidedly scarce in several. It 
begins to be heard in Britain about the middle 
of May; it continues its peculiar cry—which is 
the call of the male to the female—during all the 
breeding season; and it migrates, before winter, 
to other lands in search of worms, slugs, insects, 
and certain seeds which combinedly constitute 
its proper food. It frequents meadows, corn- 
fields, and all grounds of other kinds which are 
covered with high and dense herbage; and it 
sends out from the thickest parts of them, an 
arresting, monotonous cry, so peculiarly its own 
as to be ever remembered by any person who 
has once heard it. The sound of the cry is a 
sharp crek-crek-crek, and resembles the noise 
made by forcibly stripping the teeth of a large 
comb with a stick. But the bird, though often 
heard, cannot be easily seen; for it dexterously 
baffles search, swiftly escapes pursuit, slyly re- 
fuses to take wing, and so cunningly and career- 
ingly glides among the grass as to tantalize alike 
the school-boy and the sportsman. It breeds on 
the ground, and makes its nest of dry moss or 
——— 
