Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/462

 458 CKANE dusky, and yellow toward the base ; the head small, neck very long, body rather slender, tibia bare to a large extent ; the bare parts on the top and sides of the head carmine, with American Crane (Grus Americanu). small black hairs ; feet black ; plumage pure white except the primaries and their coverts, which are brownish black. The length to the end of the tail is 54 inches, and to the end of the claws 65 ; extent of wings 92, bill 5, tar- sus about 11 inches. Young birds are of bluish gray color, with the feathers tipped and mar- gined with yellowish brown, and the abdomen grayish blue; in this state the bird was de- scribed as G. Canadensis. This species, called whooping crane from the loud noise it makes, is by some considered specifically distinct from the true G. Canadensis (Temm.), to which the name of sand-hill crane has been given. The cranes are found in the western and southern Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina). states from the middle of October until about the middle of April, when they retire to the north. They are very shy, and difficult to ap- proach from the acuteness of their sight and hearing; when wounded, they should be ap- proached with caution, to avoid the blows of their sharp and powerful bills. They roost either on the ground or on high trees, accord- ing to circumstances. The nests are made among the high grass, of coarse materials, flat, about 18 inches in diameter, but little elevated above the surface ; the eggs are two in num- ber, bluish white, and are sat upon by both birds. They become gentle in captivity, feed- ing on vegetable substances. The genus scops embraces the Numidian crane (S. virgo, Linn.), ash-colored, with a black neck, and two white tufts of elongated slender feathers covering the ear ; this is often kept in captivity, and is quite gentle. The genus Balearica, peculiar to Af- rica and the islands of the Mediterranean, has the bill shorter than the head, thick and strong; the cheeks are naked, and the base of the bill and the throat beneath are wattled. The crowned crane (B.pavonina, Linn.) is a slender, graceful bird, about 4 ft. high, ash-colored, with a black belly, white wings, and fulvous rump ; the naked cheeks are bright rose color, and the hind head is crowned with a tuft of yellow feathers or hairs, resembling the flower stems of broom corn, which may be extended at pleasure ; it is often kept in captivity for its beauty and docility; its voice is remarkably shrill. In its wild state it feeds on fish. CRANE, a machine for raising heavy weights, and moving them short distances. In its sim- plest form it consists of an upright post with a horizontal beam called a jib, framed in or near its top, and braced by a stick called a stay, which is framed in the post and the jib. It is held upright, with freedom to turn round, by a pin in each end of the post, one working upon a solid support below, and the other in a beam above ; or the upper support may be in a collar encircling the post and secured to a stationary object, as a wall or another post. A pulley is set in or suspended from the further extremity of the jib, by which the weight is taken up, the fall of the tackle passing around the drum of a winch attached to the lower end of the post. Such cranes are employed in founderies and upon piers, where large blocks of stone or other heavy materials are shipped or unshipped, and are set upon some barges to be always, at hand for moving their heavy freight. Their construction is, however, generally a modifica- tion of the simple form described. The hori- zontal jib has often a narrow rail upon its top, upon which a flanged wheel traverses, sup- porting the pulley. This admits of the weight being brought nearer to the post, so that it may be placed upon any part of the circular area included in the sweep of the jib. Cranes are often made with the jib set at an inclina- tion of 45 or thereabouts, and stepped at its lower end in a framework of iron, which car- ries also the winch, and may be turned around the post which it encircles. In these the foot of the post is set strongly in mason work, and no support is required to steady it at top. The