Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/131

* COCK-FIGHTING. 101 COCKLE. The 'Warliorso' strain is gciu'rally admiltccl to rank the higliest, though 'Eslin lied t^uills' and 'Gordons' run them close. The 'W'arhorses' are the product of a cross between brown and black birds imported from Ireland, and called 'Irish Gilders,' and some dark-gray Irish birds. The resulting birds soon after their introduction fought all through tlic South, defeating the then fashionable 'Shawlneeks,' "llaltiniore Topknots,' and 'Doniiniques.' The l)reed is still maintained ir. its integrity, and its reputation lias spread from the. Southern States to jNle.xico. The cocks are mostly gray, and they are ])referred to the red ones; the hens are nearly all jet-black. The game-coek needs neither education nor experience to teach him to fight, and his capacity for giving and taking punishment till dead has passed into a proverb. The principal quali- ties to be desired are ( 1 ) cutting, i.e. the ability to hit with their heels, about every time they rise, and to rise every time their opponents do; (2) hard hitting — the blows of the heels driven home by the force of the wings ai>plied to them as the cocks rise; (3) rapidity of fighting. Cocks may be good cutters which are not hard hitters, but disable or kill their an- tagonists without apparently heavy blows. Others are what are called wing- fighters, from making a great noise and shuffling with their v.ings, but scarcely using their legs at all; these are practicallj' worthless. A good breed is not the only prerequisite to vic- tory; the birds must be judiciously strengthened and hardened by a course of diet and physical training to stand the great exertion necessary. This period used to extend over six weeks, but modern methods have reduced it to ten days, during which time they are restricted to a prescribed diet, and exercised in running and sparring. Then they are 'cut out,' i.e. have their wings trimmed to spread diagonally, the tail cvit about one-third of the distance from the end. and the liackle and feathers about the rump shortened. 12 they fight with 'short heels' the gaft's or spurs are I'A inches long; if with 'long heels' 2^4 inches long; these gaffs or spurs are of steel, though some- of the old aristocrats had them made of silver. The birds are matched by weight; those within two ounces of each other's v/eight are matches. The fights are conducted according to the local rules of the district, which vary considerably, although the variations are all modifications of the old Knglish rules. Dis- tinct sets of rules govern the United States and Canada ; another set, England ; yet others, France and Belgium. When the jiairs have been matched they are taken to the ring, examined and certified, and turned down to figiit, on the ground (matted or carpeted or otherwise as the ease may be). After that the setters-to are not to touch them, unless they either hang in the mat, or on each nther. or on the edge of the pit, until thej' leave off fighting as long as a person can count a pre- scribed number aloud. Then the setters-to take up the eoeks, carry them into the middle of the pit, deliver them on their legs, beak to beak. After each cessation of the combat, they are set to again in the same manner, and continue the fight until one cock refuses or is unable to fight, or is killed. Iiarge sums used to be staked, as much as $5000 a m.atch and $'25,000 a main having been laid by the Earl of Derby in 1830. Ilis birds are a famous breed to the present day. The Welsh main (now discontinued) was the most sanguinary form of lighting; as many as sixteen cocks would be matched ; then the eight victors, then the four survivors, then the final two, until but a single cock remained alive. During the latter half of the nineteenth cen- tury the sport of cock-fighting was made illegal throughout (Ireat liritain. In Ap.ierica it is similarly prohibited in nearly all the States of the Union, either expressly or b}- laws for the ])revention of cruelty to animals. In some States, where it is not forbidden by the statutes of the State, it is in some instances made illegal by local laws. For early history, consult: Markham, The ricasiircs of Prbices, or Goodxien's Rerreattoiis (London, 1014); Fairfax, Coinplrtr Kiiortsiiuiit, (London, 1704); Blain, Uunil l^iiorls (London, 1S.53). COCK LANE GHOST, The. A supposed ghost, whose manifestations occurred in 1702 in Cock liane, London, in connection with a young girl named Parsons and her parents. Investiga- tion disclosed a conspiracy against a former resident, ilr. Kent, whose wife had died, and who was supposed to be accused by her ghost of murder. Parsons and his wife w'ere punished. Among the investigators Avas Dr. Johnson, wlio described the mysterious occurrences in the OciillriiKin's .Uiir/rizbie, and who, because of his connection with the matter, was made the object of attack in Churchill's poem, "The Ghost." Consult Lang, Cock Lime aiid Common (SVnse (Loudon, 1S1I4). COCKLE, kok'l (Fr. co,,uilIe, shell, from Gk. K07xj'X")i', konchylion, dim. of Kojxi^Vt kon- chylf, from k6vx>/, Icottchc, shell, Lat. concha, Skt. mnkha, shell), Lychnis. A genus of plants of the natural order Caryophyllacea'. The common cockle or corn-cockle (Lychnis githago) is a frequent weed among crops of grain, a native of Europe or the west of Asia, but now to be found in almost all parts of the world. For illustration, see Plate of Cr. bekry. It is an annual plant, clothed with long, white, appressed hair; three feet high, branched, with large, solitary, terminal reddish-purple fiowers. The root, stem, leaves, and seed were formerly used in medicine ; the seed is still sometimes sold in Germany under the name of 'black cumin' ( Schwartz-kiimmel ) . The corn- cockle is a very troublesome weed in some parts of Great Britain vind the United States. The seed can hardly be screened from wheat, and in some localities millers reduce the grade of grain on account of the presence of cockle. Sowing clean seed is about the only means of combating it, aside from pulling the plants from the field. COCKLE. A globose marine bivalved niol- lusk. especially of the family Cardiidae, often called 'heart-cockle' because, viewed endwise, the outline of the shell is like that of the ace of hearts. Cockles are usually gregarious, and vast numbers are found half-buried on sandy and muddy banks. The common European cockle (Cardium edule) is a valuable shell-fish, ex- tensively sold in Great Britain; other species are less commonly eaten elsewhere. The num- ber of known species is great; they are most numerous within the tropics, and particularly in the Indian Ocean, where some have shells verv