————— 
CURLEW. 
which they are to be planted. “I have ob- 
served,” says Mr. Crichton, “wherever the seed- 
_ stock is carefully pitted, and not exposed to the 
air, in the spring the crop has seldom any curl; 
but where the seed-stock is put into barns and 
outhouses for months together, such crop seldom 
escapes turning out in a great measure curled; 
and if but few curl the first year, if they are 
planted again, it is more than probable the half 
of them will curl next season.” “ Generally,” 
says another writer, “at the root end of the po- 
tato, or what some call the waxy end, almost 
close by the feeding-string, there is an eye, which, 
| cut by itself, mostly produces a curl, unless it 
has another eye in the cut or set, which other 
eye generally springs first, and stops the former 
from growing; except in the foresaid cut, I re- 
| commend only one eye. By attention to this, this 
season I could show a whole break, and scarcely 
a curl in the whole break; they were early po- 
_ tatoes, which are more given to curl than the 
_ late sorts.’—Memoirs of the Caledonian Horticul- 
| tural Society—The Gardener’s Gazette— Quarterly 
| Journal of Agriculture, Nos. 17, 38, and 42.— 
| Stephens’ Book of the Farm. 
CURLEW. A genus of birds belonging to the 
order Gralle, or waders, and family Limicole, 
whose most remarkable characteristic is, that the 
bill is wholly or partially covered by a soft, sen- 
| sitive skin, which enables them to obtain their 
food from the mud with facility, though unable 
to discover it by sight. The genus is character- 
ized by a very long, slender, almost cylindrical, 
compressed and arcuated bill, having the upper 
mandible longer than the lower, furrowed for 
three-fourths of its length, and dilated and 
rounded towards the tip. The nostrils are situ- 
ated in the furrow, at the base, and are lateral, 
longitudinal, and oblong. The tongue is very 
short and acute. The feet are rather long, slen- 
der, and four-toed; the tarsus is one half longer 
than the middle toe. The fore-toes are connect- 
ed, at the base, by a short membrane, to the 
first joint. The nails are compressed, curved, 
acute, and the cutting edge of the middle one is 
entire. The first primary is the longest; the 
tail, which is somewhat rounded, consists of 12 
feathers. The plumage of the curlew is generally 
dull, being greyish-brown, rusty-white, and black- 
ish, in both sexes, which are similar in size. The 
young bird also differs very little from the pa- 
rents, except that the bill is much shorter and 
straighter. Their favourite resorts are marshy 
and muddy places, in the vicinity of water, over 
which they run with great quickness. They feed 
on various worms, small fishes, insects and mol- 
luscous animals, and are very shy, wary, and 
vigilant of the approach of man. They are mo- 
nogamous, and pass most of their time separate 
fromthe rest of their species. Their nests are 
built on tufts or tussocks in the marshes, and, 
during incubation, both parents assiduously de- 
vote themselves to their charge. 
CURRYING. 
usually four, being much larger at one end than 
the other, or pyriform in shape. The young, as 
soon as hatched, leave the nest to seek their own 
subsistence. At the period of migration, the 
curlews unite to form large flocks, and their 
flight is high, rapid, and protracted. They utter 
a loud, whistling note, easily recognised when 
once heard, but not easy to be characterized by 
description. 
CURRANTS. Red currants and black cur- 
rants are the fruit of well-known shrubs, which 
are cultivated in gardens, and which also grow 
wild, in woods or thickets, in various parts of 
Kurope and America. The utility of all these 
fruits in domestic economy has long been estab- 
lished. The juice of the red species, if boiled 
with an equal weight of loaf-sugar, forms an 
agreeable substance, called currant jelly, which 
is much employed in sauces and for other culinary 
purposes, and also in the cure of sore throats and 
colds. The French frequently mix it with sugar 
and water, and thus form an agreeable beverage. 
The juice of currants is a valuable remedy in ob- 
structions of the bowels; and, in febrile com- 
plaints, it is useful, on account of its readily 
quenching thirst, and for its cooling effect on the 
stomach. This juice, fermented with a proper 
quantity of sugar, becomes a palatable wine, 
which is much improved by keeping, and which, 
with care, may be kept for twenty years. The 
inner bark of all the species, boiled with water, 
is a popular remedy in jaundice, and, by some 
medical men, has been administered in dropsical 
complaints. White and flesh-coloured currants 
have, in every respect, the same qualities as the 
red species. The berries of the black currant are 
larger than those of the red, and, in some parts 
of Siberia, are even said to attain the size of a 
hazel-nut. They are occasionally made into 
wine, jelly, or syrup. The two latter are fre- 
quently employed in the cure of sore throats. 
The leaves are fragrant, and have been recom- 
mended for their medicinal virtues. An infusion 
of them in the manner of tea is very grateful, 
and, by many persons, is preferred to tea. The 
tender leaves tinge common spirits so as to re- 
semble brandy; and an infusion of the young 
roots is useful in fevers of the eruptive kind. 
The dried currants of the shops do not belong to 
this family, but are a small kind of grape. 
CURRY-COMB. A small, hand instrument, 
made of iron, full of small teeth, and used for 
erooming horses. 
CURRYING. The art of dressing cow-hides, 
calves’-skins, seal-skins, &c., principally for shoes ; 
and this is done either upon the flesh or the 
grain. In dressing leather for shoes upon the 
flesh, the first operation is soaking the leather in 
water until it is thoroughly wet; then the flesh 
side is shaved on a beam about seven or eight 
inches broad, with a knife of a peculiar construc- 
tion, to a proper substance, according to the cus- 
The eggs are | tom of the country and the uses to which it is to 
qi | 
