Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/87

* JACKDAW OF RHEIMS. the ring. He afterwards became a very upright bird, and on his death was canonized by tl^ name of Jim Crow. The legend is in verse, and shows the author's singular facility in metrical arrangement. It has been made into a "comic cantata' with very effective music by George Fox. JACKET (OF. jaguette, jaquet, diminutive of jaque, Sp. jaco. It. giaco, Eng. jack, cheap coat of mail). A long cylinder of steel surrounding the tube of a gun for about half its length from the breech end and projecting slightly beyond the latter. See Obdxaxce; Guxs, Naval. JACK FROST. The personification of frost or cold in nursery tales. JACK HORNER. An old and familiar Eng- lish nursery rhyme. Various explanations of its origin have been given. It is said that the Abbot of Glastonbury sent to Henrj- VIII., or to the commissioners, when the estates of the monasteries were seized, the title deeds to certain manors, and for safety inclosed them in a pasty, which was intrusted to a messenger. The latter opened the crust and extracted the deeds of the manor of Wells, and the abbot was punished for having withheld them. The rhyme is said by Halliwell to be derived from ".Jack and his Step- dame." an older production. JACKING. A form of hunting and fishing formerly much resorted to, but now generally regarded as unsportsmanlike. The method of jacking deer is to wait until the animal comes down to the water's edge to drink, when the himter noiselessly approaches it in a small boat or canoe, which has a bright jack lantern fitted to the bow. The device not only fascinates the deer, but holds its attention long enough to enable the hunter to take a deliberate aim, in which he is greatly aided by the reflection of the light on the animal's eyes. A similar device is sometimes used in fishing at night. See Deeb- Stj^lking : HVNTIXC. JACK-IN-THE-GREEN. The name of one of the principal characters in the May day festiv- ities in England. The part is usually taken by a boy. whose costume is profusely adorned with wreaths of flowers or greens. Sometimes called ■lack-a-fireen. Consult Strutt. Sports and Pas- times of the English People, ed. by Hone (Lon- don, 1830), and often revised since then. See May. JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT, India x TtRXip (ArisfFma triphiilJxni). An American perennial herb of the natural order Aracese, common in moist, shad}' woods. It has a rather large, flattish corm or tuber noted for its acridity and often used in domestic medicine ; usually two leaves of three leaflets each: and a clul)-shaped spadix covered by a green or purple spathe which falls away in early summer and exposes the con- spicuoiis red berries at maturity. When planted In cool, moist, rich soil the plant succeeds well in gardens. JACK KETCH. A former familiar title for the hangman in England, dating from the time of .John Ketch (died 1686), public executioner during the reign of James II. The name is also said to be a corruption of -Jacquett's. from the name of the lord of the manor of Tyburn. In France the headsman is euphemistically stvled M. de Paris. 71 JACK SNIPE. JACK 0' LANTERN. See Ignis Fatuus. JACK PUDDING. The English equivalent of the German Hanwurst. JACK RABBIT. See Hake. JACK ROBINSON. A name occurring in the phrase •Before you can say Jack Robinson,' with the meaning of 'instantly.' The origin of the phrase is unknown. It has been referred to a humorous song by Hudson, a London tobac- conist; to a .Jack Robin.son distinguished by the briefness of his visits to his neighbors and his hasty departures; and by Halliwell to an old play, in which it is cited under the form "as easie ... as tys to saye Jacke! rohys on." JACK SALMON. The wall-eyed pike. See Pike-Peecu. JACK SNIPE. (1) A sportsman's name in America for the 'pectoral' sandpiper ( Tringa maculata) of the books, also called 'meadow- snipe' and 'grass-snipe.' It is 81,1; to 9 inches long; the wing 5 to 5% inches. Its color is yellowish brown, striped with blackish above; the scapulars have chestnut edgings ; belly and chin white; throat and breast ashy, shaded and sharply streaked; rump blackish ; bill and feet greenish. It is migratory in the United States, winters to the southward, and as a rule breed.s only in subarctic Canada and Alaska, where it is very numerous in summer west of the Mac- kenzie, growing rare toward the east. It is very JACK-I.-THJi-PULPIT. abundant, however, in Labrador in summer. Its course of migration seems to be mainly eastward of the Cordillera and plains, for it is never numerous west of Manitoba. It is different from most sandpipers in its snipe-like behavior; that is, it does not go much in flocks, but appears upon the marshes singly or in pairs. (2) The 'jack snipe' or 'half snipe' (Gallinagn gallinula) of Great Britain is a true snipe (q.v.) about half the size of the common typical species of Europe. It is rather infrequent in England, and is noted for lying so close as almost to be trodden upon before rising.