Dogs of this breed are determined enemies of all | generally attendant on packs of foxhounds, in order species of vermin, foxes, weasels, rats, badgers, &c., to assist in unearthing the fox. and will attack them on all occasions; and as this The terrier is a teachable scholar in all sorts of dog will follow them into their subterraneous re- tricks, either mischievous or amusing: the blind treats, or carths (as they are called by sportsmen), mendicant finds it a powerful auxiliary; by his cato drive them out, he has derived his name from the nine attendant he is led safely from place to place, Latin word which signifies earth. It is a fierce, guided by the string which passes from his hand to bold, and hardy dog, and will attack even the badger the dog's neck; and as if the animal knew the without hesitation, although by no means a match wants, wishes, and design, of his master, and enterfor that powerful animal singly; yet some very ed into a full feeling as to the means of their mutual strong, well-trained dogs, have been known to over-support, he will endeavour to excite the attention of come even a badger. passers-by, sitting upright, and holding in his mouth. Some terriers are smooth-haired; others are rough with unweariable assiduity, a box, or some such or wiry-haired; they are short-legged, not famous contrivance, and bringing the donations of the charfor speed, strongly bristled about the muzzle; it is-itable to his master with unimpeachable integrity.

The following anecdote, is related of the singular attachment and remembrance of the Russian Ter

rier :

"Some years ago, the captain of a Russian vessel lying in Dublin harbour, used to frequent the Roscius Tavern, in Downes-street, accompanied by a dog of the terrier kind, which he had brought over with him.

"Being unexpectedly compelled to sail, the dog was left behind; and having diligently explored all the quays, even to the Pigeon-house, he returned to the Roscius, where he met Mr. Cornellys, the veteran comick actor, who received him with much humanity, and supplied his wants.

"Although very infirm, and nearly blind from age, and we perhaps may add, grief, the creature still made occasional visits to the quays, the decks, and Ringsend, and was a well-known passenger in the ferry-boats that used to ply at the latter place be"fore the erection of the wooden bridges.

"The boatmen, being acquainted with his story, admitted him free; and it was truly affecting to behold his eager inquiries (as we may almost admit the term) after his beloved master!

prominency of the eyebrows, which gives to the eyes a sunken appearance. The female is, in almost every instance, one third larger than the male.

In the present very unsatisfactory state of the divisions in this genus, we need only state that the eagles form a large section of the genus falcon, and include not only the largest species which belong to it, but the most powerful and courageous of the birds of prey. They have a very strong beak, which is of considerable length, straight at its base, and bent only towards the point. The legs are strong and covered with feathers, even to the ends of the toes, which are armed with powerful and very crooked claws.

The

We shall confine the remainder of our statement to the Great Eagle, under which term we shall consider that there are included the following, which by different naturalists have been set down as distinct species: the common eagle, the royal eagle, the golden eagle, the ring-tailed eagle, the white-tailed eagle, and the black eagle. Recent naturalists are disposed to consider that all these terms apply to the same bird under different circumstances. male is about three feet long, and the female three "In this affectionate search he carefully exam- feet and a half, the outstretched wings generally ined all those places where it is supposed his mas-measuring between seven and eight feet; but these ter had occasionally stopped; and it is no less re- dimensions are sometimes exceeded. The female is markable than true, that he appeared to distinguish not only larger, but in a state of freedom, appears to the foreign vessels-always going on board and possess more courage and subtlety than the male. minutely inspecting them, particularly those from In a clear sky, the great eagle soars to a vast height, the Baltick, from Russia, Norway, Denmark, or but flies lower in cloudy weather. He rarely quits Sweden, while he uniformly passed by our own, or the mountain to descend into the plains; and whenthose from Britain. ever this does happen, it is generally in the winter season, as will appear from an examination of the dates at which eagles have been shot or captured in the plain country. His immense muscular power enables him to contend with the most violent winds Ramond relates that, when he had reached the summit of Mount Perdu, the most elevated point of the Pyrenees, he saw no living creature but an eagle, which passed above him flying with inconceivable rapidity in direct opposition to a furious wind from the southwest. The flight of the great eagle is so high that the bird often ceases to be discernable by the human eye; but even at this distance its cry, which has been compared to the barking of a small dog, can still be heard; and such is the amazing acuteness of its own sight that, when too high in the air to be visible to man, it can mark out a hare or even a smaller animal that may be upon the ground, and darts down upon it with an unerring aim.

"The gratitude of the canine species is so frequently recorded, that we should not mention this amiable trait, as conspicuous in our present subject, did we not think that it deserves particular notice.

"Sensible of the obligation he owed Mr. Cornellys, he never met him but what he offered his paw for a friendly shake, and if it was not accepted, would neither eat nor drink, fearful that his benefactor might be displeased with him.

"When he went to the Roscius, and did not see Mr. Cornellys, he used to proceed to the Shakspeare in Cope-street, where he would await his coming; and at both those houses he used to be a frequent visiter. He was allowed by the best judges to be of a most valuable breed, and to have been a remarkably fine dog in the early part of his life.

"The poor fellow at length died without ever having the satisfaction of finding his lost and deeplyregretted master."

THE EAGLE.

This bird, with its bold glance, proud air, elevated flight, and strength of limb, combined so many of the qualities which are commonly esteemed noble, that he was called by the ancients the "Celestial The Falcon genus of birds forms a very exten- Bird ;" and, in their mythology, was the messenger sive division of the diurnal birds of prey. Upwards of Jupiter and the bearer of his thunderbolts. Its of a hundred and fifty alleged species have been figure in gold or silver upon the end of a spear, was described; but of these many are very little known, the military ensign of the Romans and Persians. and not a few of them are mere varieties resulting Modern potentates have followed the example; and from age, sex, or climate. Few of the species as- in heraldry, the figure of the eagle has been adopted sume the adult plumage until three or four years of as the emblem of power. age; and this circumstance alone has occasioned The great eagle, although nowhere a common many mistakes which cannot be corrected until the bird, is very extensively diffused over the world, law which regulates the chance of plumage in every being found in the mountainous regions of Europe. instance has been ascertained. They are chiefly in various parts of Asia, and in Africa, (at least in distinguished from the vulture tribe by having the the Atlas chain, for the species which have been neck and head covered with feathers, and by the met with by travellers generally in that continen

have not been well defined); it is also found in North | as much distinguished by his beauty as by a silver America, where, however, it is even more than ordinarily rare. It likewise appears in the mountains of Great Britain and Ireland, but not so commonly as supposed, because the ospray is often mistaken for it by common observers. It is of importance that when an eagle happens to be shot it should be examined by some neighbouring naturalist in order to determine the species.

ring which he carries in one of his talons. It was originally domesticated with an English gamecock, which has at last served him for food. It is not known whether the death of the gamecock was produced by his own fierceness-by some movement of anger-or merely by the hunger of the eagle The following is the history of the eagle since he lost his liberty. He was taken in the forest of FonEagles cannot be tamed without great difficulty. tainbleau, in a trap set for foxes, the spring of which European falconers stigmatized them as "ignoble" broke his claw. His cure was tedious, and attended because they could not train them to assist in field- by a painful operation, which was borne by the sports like the hawks, or "noble falcons." The eagle with a patience not often exceeded in man Tartars, however, have been able to effect this; they During the operation his head only was at liberty, take the eagles young, and train them to assist in the and of this he did not avail himself to oppose the chase of hares, foxes, antelopes, and even wolves. dressing of the wound, from which several splinters Perhaps, however, the bird thus employed, which were taken, nor did he attempt to disturb the appatravellers call an eagle, is only a species of hawk, ratus which the fractures required. Swathed in a like the cherkh, which is similarly employed in Persia. napkin, and laid on one side, he has passed the A pamphlet was, some years ago, published by Pro- entire night upon straw without the least motion. fessor Reisner of Germany, with the object of show-The next day, when all the bandages were unwraping that eagles might be employed to direct balloons. He states the number of birds which would be necessary, according to the dimensions of the machine, and gives directions for the mode in which they should be harnessed, trained, and guided.

The following account of the eagle which was in the Garden of Plants, at Paris, in 1807, was copied from the French journals of the time into the "Annual Register" for that year, and may be suitably introduced in this place. "There has been for some time in the Garden of Plants, an eagle, which her majesty the Emperess sent thither, and which is

ped, he lodged himself upon a screen, where he remained twelve entire hours without once resting on his unsound foot. During all this time he made no attempt to escape, though the windows were open. Yet he rejected all nourishment until the thirteenth day of his captivity, when he tried his appetite upon a rabbit which had been given him. He seized i with his uninjured claw, and killed it with a stroke of his beak between the head and the first vertebra of the neck. After having devoured it, he resumed his usual place upon the screen, from whence he stirred no more until the twenty-first day after his

CHYMISTRY.

CARBON.

Under the general name of carbon are included, common charcoal, lampblack, ivory-black, anthracite, or hard coal, bituminous, or soft coal, plumbago, or black lead, diamond, and some others.

When wood is heated in open air to a certain degree, it takes fire and burns; its carbon, uniting with the oxygen of the air, forms carbonick acid, while its hydrogen unites with oxygen and forms water; when the combustion has ceased, we find nothing remaining but a small quantity of earthy matter, called the ashes. But when wood is heated to redness in closed vessels, a large quantity of vapours is driven off, and a black, porous, brittle substance remains, called charcoal.

accident. Then he began to try the wounded limb; and without in the least deranging the ligature by which it was bound, he has regained the use of it by moderate and reasonable exercise. This interesting creature has passed three months in the room of the servant who attended to him. As soon as the fire was lighted he came up to it, and suffered himself to be caressed; at bedtime he mounted his screen, as close as possible to the attendant's bed, but removed to the opposite extremity as soon as the lamp went out. Confidence in his own powers appeared to exempt him from any kind of distrust. It is impossible to show more resignation, more courage, and one might almost be tempted to say, more reason, than was exhibited by this eagle during the long continuance of his illness. He experiences no weakness from the accident which deprived him of his liberty." The female lays two, and sometimes, but rarely, three eggs annually, on which she sits for thirty Charcoal from its extensive uses in the arts, and days. The nest, which is called an "eyry," is for domestick purposes, must necessarily be prepared usually placed in the hollow or fissure of some high by some cheap process; accordingly, the wood from and abrupt rock, and is constructed with sticks of which it is to be prepared is cut of the proper length five or six feet in length, interlaced with pliant twigs, and arranged in conical piles, which are covered by and covered with layers of rushes, heath, or moss. a thin stratum of earth, but leaving a few small openIt has no hollow, like the nest of most other birds, ings at the sides and one at the top, where the coalbut is properly a raised platform. Unless when ac- pit, as it is called, is lighted, and the slow combuscidentally destroyed, it is supposed to suffice, with tion continues for about two weeks. There is suffioccasional repairs, for the same couple during the cient air admitted to allow combustion to go on to whole period of their lives. Sometimes the platform-such an extent as to drive off all the volatile matters, nest is thrown across, between the edge of the rock but not sufficient to consume much of the carbon. and any suitable trees that happen to be near it. A When the smoke ceases to issue from the openings nest of this sort is thus described by Willughby :- the process is completed, and after being allowed to "In the year of our Lord 1668, in the woodlands cool sufficiently, the coal is raked out and put up near the river Derwent, in the Peak of Derbyshire, for the market. was found an eagle's nest made of great sticks, resting on one end on the edge on a rock, the other on two birch-trees; upon which was a layer of rushes, and over them a layer of heath, and upon the heath rushes again, upon which lay a young one and an addle egg; and by them a lamb, a hare, and three heath-poults. The nest was about two yards square, and had no hollow in it."

Much charcoal is used for making gunpowder, and must be pure. For this purpose the wood is put into cast iron cylinders, which are closed from the air, except a small opening for the escape of vapours, and then heated to redness until no more vapours escape, when the cylinders are allowed to cool, and the charcoal is removed for use.

Properties of Charcoal. As thus prepared, charIt is commonly said that the mother eagle fre- coal is a brittle and tasteless substance, of an odour quently destroys the most voracious of her brood. rather agreeable when newly prepared, but inodorThere does not, however, appear to be the least evi-ous when it has been kept awhile. It is a poor condence for the truth of this assertion. It is true, that ductor of heat, and on that account frequently used scarcely ever more than two eaglets, and frequently to cover ice in the summer; it is a good conductor but one, are found in the nest; but, until we have of electricity, hence it is frequently used to imbed better evidence on the subject, we should, in justice, lightning-rods where they enter the ground. attribute this rather to the infecundity of the eggs than to the barbarity of the mother. It is more certain that the parents will not allow their offspring to live in idleness longer than necessary; for as soon as they can fly they are driven from the eyry and left to shift for themselves. It is also observed that eagles are never disturbed by others of their kind in the continued occupation of the spot which they have fixed upon for their eyry. These circumstances are finely alluded to by Thomson in his " Spring."

"High from the summit of a craggy cliff,
Hung o'er the deep, such as amazing frowns
On utmost Kilda's shore, whose lonely race
Resign the setting sun to Indian worlds,
The royal eagle draws his vigorous young.
Strong pounced, and ardent with paternal fire.
Now fit to raise a kingdom of their own,
He drives them from his fort, the tow'ring seat,
For ages, of his empire; which in peace,
Unstain'd he holds, while many a league to sea
He wings his course, and preys in distant isles."

Charcoal is remarkable for its power of absorbing different gases, and giving them off again when heated. It will absorb ninety times its bulk of ammonia, and about forty times its bulk of the exhilarating gas.

It has the property of removing odours, taste, and colours, especially animal and vegetable colours.

Thus, the most filthy water of the gutter, as wel as meat that has become offensive from too long keeping, are rendered perfectly sweet by the contact of newly prepared charcoal. Ivory-black is generally recommended in the books for this purpose in preference to any other, but lampblack, when heated for a long time in close vessels, is equally as good, if not better.

Vegetable colours are quickly removed from liquids, by mixing with them pulverized charcoal. Heat to redness some ivory-black, and let it cool, keeping it in a close vessel, and then pour it into

about twice its bulk of common vinegar, stir it thoroughly, and after letting it stand a few moments, pour the whole upon a paper filter supported on a glass funnel: the liquid will pass through colourless, into the glass below.

In consequence of the cleansing properties of charcoal, it forms one of the best dentifrices, but it is necessary that it be kept from the air. For this purpose, animal charcoal is preferable to any other. Water casks which are used at sea, are charred on the inside, for the purpose of preserving the sweetness of the water; but the antiseptick or preserving power of the charcoal is soon lost, and it has been proposed by Professor Torrey to substitute for the charring of the casks, small bags of charcoal, which are to be suspended in the liquid until they have lost their antiseptick property, when their places can be supplied by fresh ones.

Plumbago, more generally called black lead, is an abundant natural product, forming in some instances whole mountains. The purest kinds of this are carbon, generally containing from one to five per cent. of iron. It is extensively used in the manufacCharcoal is one of the most indestructible sub-ture of pencil leads and for burnishing stoves and stances in nature. The ancients were aware of this other articles of iron. property.