Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/487

Q_U A Q.U A [459 perhaps more patients, than any nation in Europe ; while there is a constant fluiStuation of quack-me- dicines ; which, in the revolving wheel of tirhe, appear and disap- pear like meteors, so that none of these nostrums has hitherto stood the test of ages. But, alas ! it cannot be denied, that in the pre- sent artilicial state of society, when the three learned professions are in a manner degraded into trades ; when intrigue, dissimulation, fa- mily interest, and attachment to pary, are the principal requisites to preferment and the acquisition of public fame (or rather notoriety), that in such a state of things, quacks, and quack - medicines, should escape with impunity. — See also Nostrum and Physician. QUAII,, the Common-, or Te- trco coturnix, L. a bird of passage, frequenting various parts of I'iu- rope, and appearing in Britain in the spring, whence some of these wild-fowl depart in autumn, while others remove from one county to another, and shelter themselves among weeds near the sea-side. — In general, those which remain, frequent corn-lieids, and are some- times found in meadows. Quails resemble ti;e part.ndge in shape, though they are not half of its size : they coastrutt no nest, but a few dry leaves or stalks scraped together, or sometimes a small ca- vity in the ground seres for their habitadon. Here, the female de- posits six or seven, and, according to FuNKE, from fifteen to twenty, whitish eggs, marked ith irregu- Jar rust-coloured spots ; and pro- duce.s but one brood in the year. The quail is a cleanly bird, never resorting to dirty or wet places ; its food is similar to that of partridges. Numbers of the former are taken by means of a net and the call, from the month of April till Au- gust : the proper times for this sport, are, at sun-rising, at nine o'clock in the morning, at three in the afternoon, and at sun-set j be- cause these are the natural periods, of their calling. The notes of the cock and hen-quail are very diffe- rent; and it is remarkable, that the. proportion of males, much exceeds that of female birds in this species. The flesh of quails is considered a great dainty, being more juicy and tender than that of partridges : hiU, as quails feed on the seeds of darnel, hellebore, and other poi- sonous plants, the eating of such birds has sometimes been attended with injurious ed^"ci:ts. — An absurd pracllce prevails in Italy and Ciiiua, where quails are trained for Jig lit- ing, in a manner similar to that of cocks in England. QUAKING-GRASS, or Briza, L, a genus of plants, consisting of seven species, three of which are indigenous ; and the princijial of these is the media. Common Quak- ing-grass, Middle Quake - grass. Cow -quakes, or Ladies - hair : it grows m fields and pastures, and flowers in the nKinth of May or June. — This species is eatcu by cows, sheep, and goats. It makes tolerably good hay ; and, as it thrives on poor, wet lands, where other grasses will not vegetate, it deserves to be cultivated in marshy situations; though its stalk seldom exceeds twelve inches in height. QcARANTiNE. See Lazakf.tto. QUARTER-EVIL, a disorder which chiefly adetfs calves, and othe^- young cattle : in Stafford- shire, it is termed the irons; in Leicestershire, Hack-legs ; and in Shropshire, it is called stiicken. This malady generally corq- m^nccs