Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/499

JACIIMANN JACKDAW 4S1 JACII1I tYV Ednard Karl Emannel, a German naval officer, born in Dantzic, March 2, 1822. He rose from the most inferior station to be one of the directors in 1857-'9 of the newly established Prussian admiralty, and command- er of an expedition to China in 1802. In March, 1864, he defeated the Danes at Jas- mund on the island of Rugen. In 1867 he became chief of the ministry of marine, and in 1868 vice admiral, and contributed greatly to the organization and efficiency of the ser- vice. During the Franco-German war (1870- '71) he was commander-in-chief of the Baltic fleet; and on Dec. 31, 1871, he was placed at the head of the imperial navy. JACK, a N. W. county of Texas, intersected by the W. fork of Trinity river ; area, 870 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 694, of whom 72 were colored. It lies chiefly in the " cross timbers," and has great diversity of surface and soil. Stock raising is the chief industry, though there is some excellent farming land. The chief productions in 1870 were 6,750 bushels of Indian corn, 3,620 of oats, and 176 tons of hay. The value of live stock was $15,925. Capital, Jacksboro. JACKAL, a species of wild dog, living in troops in the warmer parts of Asia and Africa, gener- ally placed in the genus canis of authors, but raised to a genus of its own (saealius) by Hamilton Smith. These animals live under great varieties of climate, in the moist jungles of Asia; the dry deserts of northern Africa, in forest and plain, and wherever the warmth is sufficient ; like other dogs, they are voracious, feeding with avidity even on decomposing mat- ter, and in this way, with the hytena and vul- ture, are of considerable advantage to man in hot climates. They are generally harmless, but make night hideous by their dismal bowlings ; they dwell in burrows which they excavate themselves, and in caves ; they are said to dis- inter dead bodies, and occasionally when pressed by hunger to attack man. Though exceedingly timid, they are easily tamed, and rarely snarl at the hand which caresses them ; this character gives great probability to the opinion that the jackal has mingled its blood in many of the races of our domestic dog, though perhaps not to the assertion of Pallas that it is the chief original of this useful animal. The organiza- tion of the jackal does not differ from that of the dog, and the habits of digging, living and hunting in troops, and feeding on carcasses are the same in both in the wild state ; the former, at least in some of the species, possesses a dis- agreeable odor from which the latter is free. The pupil of the eye is round, as in the diurnal canines; the nostrils open on the end of the muzzle ; the ears are pointed, with a tubercle on the external edge ; the tongue is very soft, and the upper lip and sides of face provided with bristly whiskers ; the feet are four-toed, with a rudiment of a fifth on the anterior on the inner side, and the nails are short and thick; the dentition, habits, movements, and instincts are those of the dog ; the hair is thick, the tail being nearly as bushy as that of a fox. The jackal is often seen in attendance on the lion, and has been supposed to run down animals for him, contented with a small share for itself ; but it follows for the sake of the Common Jackal (Cams aureus). pickings and stealings in the train of the lion, who perhaps is often led to his prey by the bowlings of a troop of jackals hunting for themselves. The common jackal or jungle koola of India (eanii aureus, Linn.) is of the size of a small dog, reddish gray above, darkest on the back, and lighter beneath; the tail is bushy and dark at the end. It inhabits the warmer parts of S. Asia, N. Africa, and S. E. Europe. The African jackal or dieb ( C. antkue, F. Cuv.) is of a yellowish gray above, lighter beneath ; the tail yellow, with a longitudinal black line at the base, and some black hairs at the tip. It is found in Egypt, Nubia, Senegal, and other parts of Africa. The average height of the jackal is about 15 in., the length of the body 14 in., and of the tail about 10 in. The above species have been known to breed to- gether, producing five young after a gestation of about 60 days ; and they will also intermix with domesticated dogs ; in fact, the agency of the jackal in the production of the southern dogs can no more be doubted than that of the wolf in the case of the northern, and the cross- ings of these jackal dogs and wolf dogs, either by accident or design, would explain satisfac- torily a great number of our domestic varieties. (See DOG.) JACKDAW, a European conirostral bird of the crow family, and genus corcus (C. monedula, Linn.). The form is more compact and grace- ful than that of any other British corvine bird ; of about the size of the domestic pigeon, with large head, short neck, ovate body, and mod- erate wings, tail, and feet ; the bill is shorter than the head, stout and conical, slightly arch- ed, and sharp-edged ; the gape almost straight;