Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/66

54 an old man (and, by metaphor, an old bird), and Coille, the name of Tetrao urogallus, the largest of the grouse family (Tetraonidce), and a species which was formerly indigenous to Scotland and Ireland. The word is fre quently spelt otherwise, as Capercalze, Capercailzie (the z, a letter unknown in Gaelic, being pronounced like y), and Capercaillie, and the English name of Wood-Grouse or Cock-of-the-wood has been often applied to the same bird. The earliest notice of it as an inhabitant of North Britain seems to be by Hector Boethius, whose works were published in 1526, and it can then be traced through various Scottish writers, to whom however it was evidently but little known, for about 200 years, or may be more, and by one of them only, Bishop Lesly in 1578, was a definite habitat assigned to it : &quot; In Rossia quoque Louguhabria [Lochaber], atque aliis montanis locis (De Ongine Moribus de rebus gestis Scotorum. Roma? : ed. 1675, p. 24). Pennant, during one of his tours in Scotland, found that it was then (1769) still to be met with in Glen Moriston and in the Chisholm s country, whence he saw a cock-bird. We may infer that it became extinct about that time, since Mr Gray (Birds of the West of Scotland, p. 229) quotes the Rev. John Grant as writing in 1794 : &quot; The last seen in Scotland was in the woods of Strathglass about thirty-two years ago.&quot; Of its existence in Ireland we have scarcely more details. If we may credit the Favones sylvestres of Giraldus Cambrensis with being of this species, it was once abundant there, and Willughby (1678) was told that it was known in that kingdom as the &quot; Cock-of-the-wood.&quot; A. few other writers mention it by the same name, and Rutty, in 1772, says (Nat. Hist. Dublin, i. p. 302) that &quot; one was seen in the county of Leitrim about the 3 ear 1710, but they have entirely disap peared of late, by reason of the destruction of our woods.&quot; Pennant also states that about 1760 a few were to be found about Thomastown in Tipperary, but no later evidence is forthcoming, and thus it would seem that the species wns exterminated at nearly the same period both in Ireland and Scotland. When the practice of planting was introduced, the restoration of this fine bird to both countries was attempted. In Ireland the trial, of which some particulars are given by Thompson (Birds of Ireland, ii. p. 32), was made at Glengariff, but it seems to have utterly failed, whereas in Scotland, where it was begun at Taymouth, it finally succeeded, and the species is now not only firmly established, but is increasing in numbers and range. The late Mr Lloyd, author of several excellent works on the wild sports and natural history of Scandinavia, supplied the stock from Sweden, but it must be always borne in mind that the original British race was wholly extinct, and no remains of it are known to exist in any museum. This species is widely, though intermittently, distributed on the continent of Europe, from Lapland to the northern parts of Spain, Italy, and Greece, but is always restricted to pine-forests, which alone afford it food in winter. Its bones have been found in the kitchen-middens of Denmark, proving that country to have once been clothed with woods of that kind. More lately its remains .have been recog nized from the caves of Aquitaine. Its eastern or southern limits in Asia cannot be precisely given, but it certainly inhabits the forests of a great part of Siberia. On the Stannovoi Mountains, however, it is replaced by a distinct though nearly allied species, the T. vrogalloides of Dr von Middendorff which is smaller with a slenderer bill but longer tail. The Cock-of-the-wood is remarkable for his large size and glossy-black plumage. He is polygamous, and in spring mounts to the topmost bough of a tall tree, whence he challenges all comers by extraordinary sounds and gestures ; while the hens, which are much smaller and mottled in colour, timidly abide below the result of the frequent duels, patiently submitting themselves to the victor. While this is going on it is the practice in many countries, though generally in defiance of the law, for the so-called sportsman stealthily to draw nigh, and with well-aimed rifle to murder the principal performer in the scene. The hen makes an artless nest on the ground, and lays therein from seven to nine or even more eggs. The young are able to fly soon after they are hatched, and towards the end of summer and beginning of autumn, from feeding on the fruit and leaves of the bilberries and other similar plants, which form the undercovert of the forests, get into excellent condition and become good eating. With the first heavy falls of snow they betake themselves to the trees, and then, feeding on the pine-leaves, their flesh speedily acquires so strong a flavour of turpentine as to be distaste ful to most palates. The usual method of pursuing this species on the Continent is by encouraging a trained dog to range the forest and spring the birds, which then perch on the trees ; while he is baying at the foot theii attention is so much attracted by him that they permit the near approach of his master, who thus obtains a more or less easy shot. A considerable number, however, are also snared. Hybrids are very frequently produced between the Capercally and the Black Grouse (T. tetrix), and the offspring has been described by some authors under the name of T. medius, as though a distinct species.  CAPERNAUM ([ Greek ], that is, probably, the village of Nachum), an ancient city of Palestine, on the western shore of the Lake of Gennesareth, on the borders of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. It was, more than any other place, the residence of Jesus after He commenced His mission, and thus became the scene of many of His most important miracles ; but the infidelity of the inhabi tants brought down upon them the heavy denunciation : &quot; And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell.&quot; The site of the city is a matter of much dispute, one party, headed by Dr Robinson, maintaining an identification with Khan Minyeh, and another, represented by Wilson, Ritter, and Thomson, supporting the claims of Tell Hum. Khan Minyeh is situated in a &quot; fertile plain formed by the retreat of the mountains about the middle of the western shore.&quot; The ruins, according to J. L. Porter, extend over a space of several acres ; and in the neighbourhood is a water-source, Ain et-Tin, &quot; the fountain of the fig-tree,&quot; which may corre spond with the fountain of Capernaum mentioned by Josephus. Tell Hum lies about three miles north of Khan Minyeh, and its ruins, covering an area of &quot; half a mile long by a quarter wide,&quot; prove it to have been the site of no small town. The satisfactory decision of the ques tion can only be arrived at by more elaborate researches.  CAPERS, the unexpanded flower-buds of Capparis spinosa, prepared with vinegar for use as a pickle, which is much esteemed. The caper plant is a trailing shrub, be longing to the Mediterranean region, resembling in habit the common bramble, and having handsome flowers of a pinkish white, with four petals, and numerous long tassel- like stamens. The leaves are simple and ovate, with spiny stipules. The plant is cultivated in Sicily and the South of France ; and in commerce, capers are valued according to the period at which the buds are gathered and preserved. The finest are the young tender buds called &quot; nonpareil,&quot; after which, gradually increasing in size and lessening in value, come &quot; superfine,&quot; &quot; fine,&quot; &quot; capucin,&quot; and &quot; capot.&quot; They possess valuable stimulant, acrid, and anti-scorbutic 