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fednefc ; and the female has fometimes a confutable caft of green ; the rump is white, whence the bird has its name of
the white-tail ; tho' this is fometimes not the cafe, the rump being of the fame colour with the reft of the back. The belly is whitilh, with a glow of red ; the breaft and throat are redder than the belly : And in the male birds the belly is 'fometimes yellowifh. There is on each fide of the head a long white line running above the eyes, and under them a ihortcr of black, which laft is warning alfo in the female. The wing-feathers are black, except their extremities, which are edged, with a rcddifb brown, with a caft ofwhitifh; the tail is very beautifully variegated with black and white. Its beak is black, Mender, and (trait. Its mouth black within, and opening very wide. It feeds on beetles, and other infects, and builds in the deferted burrows of rabbits, &c. They are extremely plentiful in Suitex, and fome other counties of England , t after harveft-timc, when they are extremely fat, and very much eftecmed at table. Ray's Ornithol. p. 168. WHEEL {Cycl.)—W heel- Animal, a name given by the .writers on micrufcopical difcoveries, to a fpecies of minute animalcule, which appears in a furt of (heath or cafe, the end of which it fallens to the roots of water-plants, or. whatever elfe is in its way. See Tab. of MicrofcCpical Objects, Oafs' i. This little creature has two iteming Wheels, with a great many teeth or notches coming from its head, and turning round, as it were, upon an axis. .'This little creature, on the leaft touch, draws in its Wheel into its body, and its body into the (heath ; but as fuon as all is quiet, it throws them out, and works them again.
' In order to find thefe animalcules, ehoofe fuch roots of duck- weed as are long, and proceed from ftrong old plants, for the young roots feldom afford any ; they fhould not be covered with that rough matter which is frequently found about them, nor any way tending to decay,' as they will often be.- In the water found remaining in the leaden pipes, or gutters, on the tops of "houfes, there are alfo found great numbers of thefe Wheel- Animals. Thefc are of a different fpecies from 'the former ; and when the water dries away they contract their bodies into a globular or oval figure, and are then of a "reddifti eolour,"and remain mixed with the dirt, growing to- gether into a lump as hard as clay. .This, whenever it is put 'in water,' in half an hour's time difcovers the animals living again, and as brifk as ever; and they have been found to be 'Jiving in this manner, after the matter had been kept dry "twenty months. \
'itfhoidd fecni. from this,, that as the water dries, up, their pores "become (hut in the' manner of thofe of fuch animals as remain "torpid for the winter ; and that when they find water come .on .again from fain,' they then unfold themfelves, and live and feecl as long as it lafts. Baker's Microfco'pe, p.. 91. WHEELER, amongbrick-makers. Seethe article Brick. WHEEZING, a name given by our farriers to a diitemperature in horfes, in which they draw their breath with difficulty and noife.
'The generality of people make this and purfinefs, in horfes, the fame diftemper ; but the more judicious always diftinguifh it, as wholly different from that. .Purfinefs proceeds always .from, a fluffing or oppreffion of the lungs; but this Wheezing "is'only owing to the narrownefs of the paflages between the tones and griftles of the nofe.
"The horks that are moft of all afflicted with this diftemper, do not want wind $ for notwithstanding that they wheeze ex- "ceffi'vely when they are excrcifed, yet all the time their flanks ,^re not moved, but keep in the fame condition that they were ^while the creature flood (till. The dealers call thefe fort of horfes blowers, and though there is no real harm in the thing, 'it is a difagreeabl'e quality, and few people will ehoofe them, that bave much fervicefor them.
'There are fome horfes that have a natural defect in their 'breathing, which makes it at all ' times attended with fome difficulty, .but n.ot with the Wheezing before-mentioned ; thefe ^are called thick-winded horfes.
-People who are careful in the buying horfes, will purchafe nei- ther. of thefe kinds; but there is this caution to be obferved in regard to this defect, that it often feems to be in horfes where ,'it really is not. When a horfe has been kept a long time in "the (table without exercife, he will at the fiift riding be out of 'breath, and fetch it in a difficult and painful manner, though he be neither a blower nor thick-winded ; but all this will go off with a little exercife.
There are fome temporary Wheezers and blowers among horfes : thefe at times rattle, and make a great noife through their nofes' in. taking breath; but the complaint goes off and returns. This is only occafioned by a great quantity of phlegm, for their flanks- do not redouble with it at the worft of timcc, nor have they any cough with it ; fo that there is no danger pf their being purfy. WHELPS. Nothing is more eflential- tQ the having a good '■pack of hounds, than a' proper care of the Whelps, and of the parents from which they are to be bred.
The bitches, in particular, ftiould.be carefully chofen, and "flibuld be fuch as are the ftrongeft and belt proportioned ; they mult alfo. have large ribs and flanks.
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The beftfeafon for the coupling of hounds is in January, Fe- bruary, or March, for then they will litter in a good time of the year, that is, in fpring ; fo that they will be fit to enter in due courfe, without lofs of time, or of the feafon ; for if bitches litter in winter, it is very difficult to bring up the Whelps, die cold killing them if there is not great care taken of them.
The dogs that line the bitches muft not be above five years old; fur if they are older than this, the young ones will be ,dull and heavy. Care (houid be taken to have a proper dog ready the firit time of the bitches going proud ; for it is af- firmed by many, who fay they have experience for it, that whatever kind of dog lines a bitch the rirft time, there will be one puppy at leaft in all her fucceeding litters that will have fome refcmblance of him.
The firft litter of puppies that a bitch brings, are never efteem- cd fo good as the fecond or third. When a bitch has been lined, and grows big with Whelps, fhe is not to be fuffered to hunt among the pack, nor to take any other violent exercife ; for that would endanger her cafting her 'Whelps ; fhe (he u Id be kept up, and fed well, and a good place fhould be pro-
' vided for her to litter in.
Asfoon as (he has littered, thofe which are intended to be kept fhould be fclected out, and the reft immediately drowned. There is great difficulty in choofing the beit at this early time ;
. but the general opinion gives it for thofe which are the light-
. eft, that they will be the fwifteft and belt as they grow up. Others take all the Whelps away, and having determined what number they will keep, they fettle the choice on thofe which
I the bitch carries back firft to the place- where fhe littered > but all this feems very uncertain.
The Whelps mutt have good fiefhftrawto lie in, and it muft be often changed. They are to be kept in a place where nei- ther the rain nor fun-fliine can be troublefome to them, and once a week it will be proper to anoint them all over with a
. little nut-oil, with fome faffron infufed in it. This will pre-
, vent the flies from annoying them fo much as they otherwife would, and will kill worms of all kinds. When they are fifteen days old, it is the cuftom to worm them, and a week after one joint of their (tern fhould be twitted off. As foon as they can fee, they fhould have milk given them to lap, and at two months old they muft be weaned, keeping them wholly from
■ the bitch. They muft at this time be well kept, but not too
' high fed : And it is proper to put fome cummin feed into their food, to keep the wind out of their bellies. Many let the Whelps of their hounds fuck three months, and then fend them away to villages to be bred up till they are ten months old, cautioning thofe people who have the care of them, not to let them eat carrion, nor frequent warrens. Rye bread is a very common food for young hounds, and is particularly recommended by many, but wrongly, for it foon paffe's through them, and gives them very little nouril'hment. When they are fed conftantly with this, in the time of their growing up, they always become narrow backed ; and this is
, a great fault in this fort of dog, a broad back being one of the greateft recommendations in a hound. Wheat bread is greatly preferable on all accounts for the food of the young hound, giving him ftrength and firmnefs.
At ten months old they are to be taken home, and put into the company of the others, to live as they do : and after a few weeks keeping company with the reft, they are to be coupled, and to go out to hunt. Five or fix days practice will, at this time, do a great deal toward the inftructing them ; and, if they are apt to run aftray, or to open unfeafonably, they muft be made to feel the fmart of the whip : This, and the example of the reft, will foon learn them to run and open in a proper and regular manner.
Whelps, in a (hip, the feamens term for thofe brackets which are fet up on the capftan, clofe under the bars ; they give the fweep to it ; and are fo contrived, that the cable, winding about them, may not furge fo. much as it might otherwife do, if the body of the capftan were quite round and fmooth.
WHERN, in natural hiftory, a name given by fome of our miners to a kind of (tone found in ftrata; but of the hardnefs and finenefs of flint. It is called alfo chert and nicomia,
WHEWER, anameufed in fome parts of England for the common wigeon. See the article Penelope.
WHEY [Cycl.) — In many diforders of the human body, when the ftomach will not bear milk; or when it is not proper, for other reafons, Whey may be given with great fuccefs. We have adiflertation of Fred. Hoffman on this fubject. De fahberrima fen lactis virtute. Oper. Tom. 6. p. 9, This author recommends a particular kind of ferum or Whey, made by evaporating milk to a drynefs, and mixing the refiduuji with water. See the article Milk.
There are various methods of making Whey vulgarly known. That with oranges is very agreeable, and much recommended by Dr. Cheyne in his Nat: Meth. of curing Difcafes.
AIw/iWhey, Serum Alumimjum, a Whey made with alum. Two drams of alum to one pint of cow's milk boiled. See Lond. Difp. It is a good aftiingent.
1 , . WHIN-
