The mallard, or wild-drake, weighs from thirty-six to forty ounces, and measures twenty-three inches in length, and thirty-five in breadth: the bill is of a yellowish-green colour, not very flat, about an inch broad, and two and a half long, from the corners of the mouth to the tip of the nail: the head and upper-half of the neck, are of a glossy, deep, changeable, green, terminated in the middle of the neck by a white collar, with which it is nearly encircled: the lower part of the neck, breast, and shoulders, are of a deep vinous chestnut: the covering scapular feathers are of a kind of silvery white; those underneath, rufous; and both are prettily crossed with small waved threads of brown: wing-coverts ash; quills brown; and between these intervenes the beauty-spot (common in the duck tribe) which crosses the closed wing in a transverse, oblique, direction; it is of a rich, glossy, purple, with violet or green reflections, and bordered by a double streak of black and white. The belly is of a pale grey, delicately pencilled and crossed with numberless narrow-waved, dusky lines, which, on the sides and long feathers that reach over the thighs, are more strongly and distinctly marked: the upper and under tail-coverts, lower part of the back, and rump, are black; the latter glossed with green: the four middle tail-feathers are also black, with purple reflections, and, like those of the domestic drake, are stiffly curled upwards; the rest are sharp pointed, and fade off to the exterior sides, from a brown to a dull white; legs, toes, and webs red.
The plumage of the female is very different from that of the male, and partakes of none of his beauties, except the spot on the wings. All the other parts are plain brown, marked with black. She makes her nest, lays from ten to sixteen greenish-white eggs, and rears her young generally in the most sequestered mosses or bogs, far from the haunts of man, and hidden from his sight among reeds and rushes. To her young helpless unfledged family (and they are nearly three months before they can fly), she is a fond, attentive, and watchful parent, carrying or leading them from one pool to another, as her fears or inclinations direct her; and she is known in this country to use the same wily stratagems to mislead the sportsman and his dog, as those before noticed respecting the partridge.
Like the rest of the duck tribes, the mallards, in prodigious numbers, quit the north at the end of autumn, and, migrating southward, arrive at the beginning of winter in large flocks, and spread themselves over all the loughs and marshy wastes in the British isles. They pair in the spring, when the greatest part of them again retire northward to breed; but many straggling pairs stay with us: they, as well as preceding colonists of their tribes, remain to rear their young, who become natives, and continue with us throughout the year.—Bewick.
Malleable, a. Capable of being spread by beating.
Malmsey, s. A sort of grape; a kind of wine.
Malt, s. Grain steeped in water and fermented, then dried on a kiln.
Malt is very serviceable to horses that are recovering from fever: it is useful, also, when the system is weakened by large abscesses which discharge copiously, and in almost every case depending on debility.
It appears to be easy of digestion, and very nutritious, though not so stimulating as oats. Green malt has been recommended for improving the condition of horses, and giving them a smooth, glossy coat. Infusion of malt is sometimes given with advantage to sick horses; but they generally require to be drenched with it, which is a great inconvenience.—White.
Malt, v. To make malt.
Mammalia, s. The first class of animals in the system of Linnæus.