eyesses, or young hawks taken from the nest, should not be taken until the latest possible day. if the captor can defer the moment until they are able to fly a little, so much the better. he may then possibly snare them by some means or another. but this is an exceedingly difficult job, as the newly-fledged hawk is for a considerable time fed by her parents, and does not prey for herself. consequently, she will not come to any live lure or baited trap, and, being very distrustful of men, cannot easily even be approached. thus it is rarely that even an experienced falconer can lay hands on a wild hawk after it has once left the eyrie. the next best thing to be done is to catch the eyesses when they are branchers, that is to say, when they are able to run and jump about on the branches of a tree, though not yet able to rise on the wing from the ground. in short, the longer they can be left in the natural nursery under the care of their natural guardians, the better they are likely to turn out, not only in their bodily condition, but in temper and disposition. very often, however, the young birds will come to their trainer when there is a good deal of the white down of their infancy still clothing their unwieldy bodies, and only partially replaced by the brown feathers of their first plumage. at any rate the flight feathers of the wing will not be nearly down to their full length. the outer ones will still have some inches to grow; and those of the tail will be short soft things, with flabby shafts, and not much shape or strength.

it is for many reasons desirable that the trainer should go personally to the place where the eyrie is, and either himself assist in taking the young birds, or at least be ready to receive them within a few hours, and give them their first feed. unfortunately, most hawk-dealers and many gamekeepers have a ? 56 ? rooted objection to this plan, and prefer to muddle about with the hawks themselves, not sending them off to the purchaser until they have already unwittingly done them more or less injury, in one way or another. they either are, or pretend to be, unable to understand or to believe that an eyess delivered immediately into the trainer’s hand is worth at least 25 per cent. more to him than one which has been messed about by unskilled hands, and racketed about in a train for several hours. this stupid prejudice of the captors and vendors is often productive of the deplorable blemish called hunger-streaks, which weakens every important feather in the hawk’s body, and to some extent checks and stunts her whole bodily growth and energy, just at the time when it is most desirable that they should be steadily maintained and developed. a hunger-streak is caused whenever a young hawk has been allowed to grow unreasonably hungry. the result is that that part of the whole web and shaft of each feather which is growing out of the body at the time is deformed through want of proper nourishment, and bears on it ever afterwards a cross line like a blight, so that the feather looks as if a sharp razor had been passed lightly across it. as the feather grows down this line comes down with it, and may be seen in all its hideousness, after the hawk is summed, if any big feather is examined carefully. a fast of more than fifteen hours—in the daytime—will generally cause a slight hunger-streak; but the night hours do not count for much; so that hawks which have to travel far before getting into the trainer’s hands should be taken late in the day and started at once, so that they may be met as soon as they arrive on the following day.

if the falconer cannot attend personally at the capture of the eyesses, he should at least send to the captor a suitable hamper in which to pack and send them. this should be roomy and round in shape, having its sides and top lined inside with sacking, matting, or other soft material. in the bottom of it a good thick layer of straw should be lightly strewed, for the hawks to rest upon; and the lining should fit well enough to exclude almost all light. even with all these precautions there is some risk of breaking feathers, and still more of bending them and deforming them with dirt. on railways the guards may generally be cajoled into taking special care that the hamper is not turned upside down or banged about. but i have more than once known of valuable hawks arriving dead from a short sea voyage—killed by the evident ill-treatment to which the padded hamper has been subjected on the way.

? 57 ?

once arrived at the trainer’s quarters, the hamper should be opened in a darkened room, with doors and windows closed, in which has been got ready another straw-lined hamper, this time of an oblong or square shape. each hawk in her turn will be gently taken out of the soiled travelling hamper, of which the lid can be shut down between the times of removing the several inmates. unless these are very young, a rufter-hood can be slipped on the head of each one, and the jesses and bell at once attached to her. if they have come far, a few morsels of food may be given even before the new-comer has been deposited in the second hamper. but, if too young to be able to move about much, they can all be transferred directly to the new quarters, and the lids left open. in every case the operation of feeding should be at once undertaken. and a much more troublesome thing this operation is than the unlearned may suppose. in the first place, there must be in readiness a good store of fresh, tender beef or sheep’s heart, cut into small strips and slightly warmed. and of this the new-comers must by some means or other be induced to swallow at least a small quantity. if care has been taken from the very first not to alarm them, they may possibly take the morsels of meat quietly and naturally, when offered to them gently on the end of a small stick. if so, an important point will have been gained. but it is much more likely that at the sight of their new and awful-looking foster-parent—when a subdued light has been let into the room—they will draw back their heads, open their mouths, and hiss indignantly. still, if the meat is very slowly and quietly obtruded towards the open mouths, there is always a good chance that one of them, bolder than the rest, will strike at it, half in anger, and half with the idea that it may be good to eat. and, if such a youngster should happen at the first shot to catch hold of the piece she aims at, she is quite likely to swallow it, in which case the rest of your task becomes easy. if things do not go quite so smoothly, and a hawk which has seized the meat flips it scornfully away, there is no need to give up the attempt. she may do this a dozen times, and at the thirteenth time of asking may swallow the food and begin feeding readily. or, whilst pupil number one is thus making a fool of the teacher, number two may take heart and come up to the attack, with a more practical result. even at the expense of much time and patience, it is worth while to get the youngsters to conform from the first, and take their rations willingly and amicably. as soon as one has done this the others will follow suit, some ? 58 ? quickly and others grudgingly. if all such efforts fail, or if the hawks, being nearly grown up, bate and begin to dash about, you must, of course, use rougher measures. to starve them is worst of all. there is no harm, if all modes of persuasion fail, in “stuffing” a young hawk. let her be held firmly, and as she opens her mouth in defiance at the meat offered, let the falconer push it inside her beak, and then, if she will not swallow it, push it down with the small stick into her throat. i have known an eyess hobby which had to be “stuffed” with all her meals for eight days! and afterwards she became a fine hawk and a very strong flier.

when all the hawks have taken a half-crop or so, they should be left in peace in the darkened room for two hours at least. it is a good thing, by the way, to put on each of them different-coloured jesses, so that from the first they may be easily known apart. brown, yellow, white, orange, and black are perhaps the best colours—not red, or pink, or green. notes may also be made from the first in a hawk-book or falconer’s diary. as, for instance, “june 10—eyess peregrines arrived; no. 1: small falcon; fed readily, and had nearly a full crop; seems strong and active; outer wing feather about half down; brown jesses and hack bell. no. 2: big tiercel or small falcon (uncertain); fed with difficulty; half a crop; seems timid and rather dull; black jesses.” of course, if the hawks are to be turned out as soon as they can fly, no slits will be made in the outer end of the jesses. another thing which may very probably have to be done is to clean the hawk’s tail-feathers, and possibly the tips of the wings, if soiled during the journey. this is done with warm water, soap, and an old toothbrush. if the dirt is allowed to get hard on the feathers it will be almost impossible to get it off without fraying the web. the feet of each hawk should also be well washed and brushed with soap and warm water; and it is always as well to do the same with the nares, or else brush them and the beak with a brush dipped in a solution of tobacco. a fresh feed should be given at intervals of not more than five hours between sunrise and sunset, i.e. three at least in the day. in fact, young nestlings can hardly be fed too often or too much, when they seem ready to eat. but the food should not often be as heavy as beef. young pigeons, young chickens, bullock’s heart, and rabbits may be given to the big hawks; small birds—fresh-killed always—and sheep’s heart to the small ones. old pigeons are rather too heating, and old fowls are too tough. whenever butcher’s meat is given, it should be slightly warmed first, but not dipped in water. the hawks must be kept quite dry, and in a ? 59 ? moderately warm but airy place, away from all draughts. very young sparrow-hawks must be kept in a specially warm and well-sheltered place, or they are pretty sure to develop a fatal attack of cramp. whenever it may be necessary to move a young hawk or meddle with her, the room should be made as nearly dark as possible.

after a few feeds, administered quietly and patiently, the young hawks will begin to lose their distrust of their new surroundings; and first one and then the others will begin to take their meat eagerly, stretching their necks out, and perhaps pushing their way towards the feeder’s hand. when this is the case they may be indulged with a few tit-bits on the fist or on the lure. if the lure is used, the pieces of meat should be merely laid upon it, so that at first the hawk may pick them off quite easily; and by degrees they may be made to walk towards it from their artificial nest along a causeway roughly constructed for that purpose. if it is preferred to get them to feed on the fist, as it probably will in the case of short-winged hawks, they must first be made to pick pieces off the gloved hand. then hold in the gloved fist, between the outer part of the thumb and the end of the forefinger, a very tender piece of meat or wing of a small bird. as the hawk takes hold of it, and finds that it cannot be taken up without a pull, she will, at once or after a while, give a tug at it, and afterwards probably put out a foot and seize the glove, using her foot as a leverage, just as an oarsman uses his stretcher. a little encouragement will make this easy for her; and by a little management it can be so arranged that she gets both feet upon the fist. thus by degrees she will be induced to stand on the back of the hand, and in that position tear up her food. the next step is to raise her slowly up on the fist, while busy at her meal. in like manner, when pulling at the lure, she may be lifted bodily on it, and thence shifted adroitly on to the fist, while the garnished part of the lure is still kept under her.

with a little luck this stage of the young bird’s education may have been reached at almost the same time when the feathers are nearly down and they are ready to fly. in such case the sooner they are turned out to hack the better. when they have grown so accustomed to feeding on the lure or on hand that they will run to it as soon as they see it, they may be let loose in the hack field, with a man to watch them, having a lure with him to entice them if they stray away. most of the popular books dealing with hawking complacently assume that here no difficulty arises. unfortunately for the beginner, such ? 60 ? difficulties will occur, even in the best-regulated establishments. for instance, the hawks may begin to fly the very day after they arrive, and before they will feed willingly. what is to be done in such a case? well, each hawk must be made to the lure or the fist before she is turned out. she may be brailed and kept in a spare room, with or without her sisters and brothers. or she may have slits cut in her jesses, and be attached by a leash to a block, for all the world like a trained hawk, and thence enticed by degrees to run to the lure for her food, until she is keen for it. she should at least know what the lure means before being let entirely loose. but it is generally sufficient that one of a lot which came from the same nest should be made to the lure. the rest, when turned out, will find their way, when hungry, after her to the feeding-place. some special caution should be observed with hobbies. i know of two which would come to the lure in an outhouse, but only reluctantly. they were turned out one morning to hack in a quiet place, and, though they had never flown more than a yard high before, went up into tall fir-trees. and there they remained, staring at the well-garnished lures which were laid out underneath, declining to go down, taking short flights from tree to tree, and cruising about in the air. this state of affairs continued for about three days, after which it was discovered that the two youngsters—who had never been seen to chase anything, far less to kill it—had become wild hawks! some falconers habitually carry their eyesses, break them to the hood, and partially reclaim them, before turning them out to hack. but the more natural and promising system is never to confine them at all until they are taken up at the end of the period of hack. the youngster, when thus treated, has become, by the time she has to be put in training, as like a wild hawk as a tame one can be. and, as the haggard is better than the red passager, and the passager than the soar-hawk, so by analogy it may be assumed as a rule that the hack hawk which has never been handled is superior to the eyess which has. sir john sebright’s plan of putting out the young hawks in a hamper hung against a tree-trunk, with the lid of the hamper turned down as a platform by day, and fastened up at night, will answer with orderly, well-behaved hawks. but it will be wise to keep a close watch upon the artificial nest, in case of a hawk jumping off when it can run but cannot fly. it might stray for ever so far, and hide in bushes, or be devoured by a cat or fox.

we suppose now that the eyesses are at hack. even yet their outer wing feathers will not be fully down; and the sails, ? 61 ? even of those which will ultimately be the longest winged, appear rounded at the ends, like those of a sparrow-hawk. but they will very soon learn to fly quite well, with a rather gliding movement, the tips of the feathers bending upwards as they strike the air. they will not go far from the spot where they are turned out. what sort of place should this be that is chosen for the hack ground? that depends upon the facilities which the trainer enjoys for selecting a country. none perhaps is better than a large park, with fir-trees in it, or an open moor with a few stone walls. if the falconer is nervous about turning out a whole nestful at once, he may tether one of the most backward at a block in the middle of the hack field, with a “tiring” to amuse her, and place some garnished lures on the ground near to her, to which the liberated hawks may come when they like. there should also be spare blocks put out in the field, upon which the hack hawks may jump if they like after feeding. of course, if the weather is very wet, the commencement of hack should be deferred till it is more settled, and the hawks brailed and let loose in an empty room or loft. if they have been “manned” pretty well before they are turned out, and will allow themselves to be taken up when feeding on the lure, they may be taken in under shelter the first night or two. but if it is fairly warm and fine they will be better left out. they will generally at or soon after sunset go up into pretty tall trees to roost. if they stay too long on a block or a gate or post, it is as well to drive or take them off, and see that they are perched up somewhere aloft, out of harm’s way. by the bye, hawks, as a rule, should be turned loose in the early part of the day, after a light feed, so that they may be sure to get hungry again by the middle of the day. jubilee, the best hack hawk i ever had, when he was let loose at 7 a.m., having never before flown two yards, spread his wings, and at the first start flew softly but steadily away across a small river, and, rising easily, took perch 300 yards off on the top branches of an elm 70 feet high. he afterwards flitted about from one high tree to another within a range of 500 yards, and only at midday came down to his sister, who was eating her luncheon at a block in the hack field. he spent that night in a tall elm, not far off, and did not go more than half a mile from the hack field until he was taken up nearly a fortnight later.

if the falconer can hack his own hawks, so much the better. he will learn during the process much about their individual characters and aptitudes. often he will name them in accordance with their peculiarities or the adventures which each may ? 62 ? meet with. it is, however, generally possible for him to get his hawks hacked by some other person, or to purchase fully-hacked hawks after they have been taken up. the worst of it is that unless you know a good deal about the deputy hawk-master, you have no guarantee that the month’s hack which they are supposed to have had is real or imaginary.

on the first or second day of hack the falconer should make up his mind whether he will hack his hawks to the lure, to the fist, or to the board. for short-winged hawks the fist or the board is preferable. for gers, peregrines, and hobbies, the board or the lure. for merlins, the lure and the fist, combined in such proportions as seems to be most suitable; generally more of the lure than of the fist. each of the systems has its merits, and each its defects.

if the board is chosen, it must be substituted at once for the lure which was used on the first day. it consists of a plank or log of wood, the lower side of which rests on the ground, while to the top side is attached the food for the expected guests. one ration should be provided for each hawk out—at intervals of two feet or so all along the board. it is very important that the meat should be so attached that it cannot be pulled off and carried away, but must be, strictly speaking, consumed on the premises. when the feast consists of rabbits’ legs, fowls’ wings, or the like, it can be firmly tied by the bone. but, when meat is given, much care and ingenuity is required to make it fast. perhaps the best plan is to tie the piece tightly by the two opposite corners. if it is possible for a hawk to bolt with a substantial piece, she is quite likely to do so. and, having done so once, she will try to do it again, especially if she happens to be a shy hawk, and afraid of her stronger sisters who are beside her at the board.

it must be confessed that hawks at hack exhibit a good deal of perversity in their dealings with the hack board. theoretically, each of them ought to come down punctually at meal-time, and take her place at the al fresco table, where she can eat up in peace and quiet the portion set out for her, without interference by or with her neighbours. but, as a matter of fact, i regret to say that, instead of adopting this rational and orderly course, hack hawks are often no better behaved than an american traveller at a roadside feeding-place, or a dowager at a ball-supper. as soon as the first comer has settled down to that part of the board to which chance or choice has brought her, the next comer will make straight for the same spot, taking no notice whatever of the dainty morsels with which the rest of the board is bedecked. thereupon, of course, squabblings and bickerings, and probably ? 63 ? a scuffle, in which the weaker or less greedy of the rival gluttons is driven off. sometimes there will be three hungry young ladies at the same piece, and a sort of battle ensues. fortunately the quarrel does not end in blows, nor in broken feathers, unless the edges of the board have carelessly been left square and sharp at the upper edges. the disadvantages of the board-school system, as it may be called, are thus considerable. it leads to rivalries and jealousies, and sometimes to free fights, among the school-children. these are not birds which, in the words of dr. watts, “in their little nests agree.” moreover, one bad habit at least is very likely to be learnt. it is impossible always to fix on the rations to the board so that they cannot be pulled off until finished. suppose, now, that a tiercel, having eaten half his ration, finds that the remainder has come loose. and suppose that one of his sisters, having made a joint meal farther down the board with another falcon, happens to want some more. she may turn a covetous eye towards the tiercel’s portion. upon which exit the latter, food in hand, closely followed by his big sister, who gives him a hot time of it, chasing him about the hack field, and probably catching him. then follows a tooth-and-nail encounter, in which the male, or unworthier sex, as it is with hawks, gets the worst of it. few things can be more conducive than this to the tiresome vice of carrying. it is for this reason that, in the case of merlins, which are especially addicted to this fault, i do not much believe in the board system. on the other hand, it has its advocates and its advantages. hawks which are so hacked soon become much wilder than when treated in another way. and wildness, at this period of a hawk’s life, is a thing to be desired. board-school hawks, when taken up, are found to more nearly resemble a wild-caught bird. they seldom or never scream. they have none of the namby-pamby, molly-coddle habits of the fist-fed or lure-fed eyess. they do not hang about round the trainer, or follow him like spaniels. on the contrary, they often will not come down to the board unless he retires to a respectful distance. they are unapproachable by any louts or strollers who may come in sight, and, being shy, take wing very readily, and generally get more flying, and at a better pace.

if the lure system is chosen, the trainer goes to the hack field at feeding-times with as many lures as there are hawks at hack. each lure must be so heavy that the hawk cannot move it at all, and the food must be attached so that it cannot be pulled off while uneaten. to the first hawk which comes up the first lure will be thrown out; to the second comer another; ? 64 ? and so on till the last is served. fighting will occur, no doubt, as it is impossible to prevent two hawks from coming down to one lure. but, then, the master of the ceremonies is at hand to separate the combatants, and keep each to her own lure, whereas at the board they have to just fight it out.

it is much the same thing with the fist-feeding system. but this can hardly be attempted with success when many big hawks are at hack together. as the trainer comes to the hack field, the hack hawks will come up, taking perch on his hand, his head, his shoulder, or wherever they can find a place. two or three may generally be accommodated on the left forearm and fist. from his meat-box or feeding-pouch the trainer will take out with his right hand the prepared mouthfuls of food, and distribute them impartially among the hungry claimants. but if there is more than one hawk out, it will be found almost necessary, and certainly convenient, to use lures as well. after a few morsels have been distributed, these lures can be thrown down for all the hawks except one, which may finish her meal on the fist. one day one hawk may thus be retained, and another day another may take her turn, so that all keep up their habit of feeding freely there. sparrow-hawks which are to be hacked on this system may be coped a little before they are turned out, for they have a way of digging in their claws to any soft place. but a goshawk can only be hacked to the fist if she or he is the only one out. the spectacle of a falconer (or ostringer, to use the correct word) with a goshawk’s claws firmly fixed in his head or shoulder would be a rare subject for a serio-comic portrait!

meal-times for the hack hawks should be pretty punctually observed. otherwise the hawks will become irregular in their habits, and the falconer will be compelled rather to dance attendance on them than they on him. the food may be left out on the board for an hour each time, and then removed, before it has become fly-blown or soaked with rain or frizzled in the sun. 6 to 7 a.m., noon to 1, and 6 to 7 p.m., are very good hours. and each time when the board is garnished and the food in readiness, the trainer may blow a whistle, or ring a bell, or sound a gong, to give notice from afar. at each meal there must be “calling over”; and if there is any absentee a mark must be recorded against his or her name.

a bath or two must be set out in the hack field. from about 9 to 11 a.m. it should be kept pretty full of clean fresh water; but it should be removed or emptied before noon. most hawks are very capricious about bathing; and hobbies, which want it most, will seldom bathe at all. the others should be accustomed ? 65 ? to bathe early in the day, so that when they are old they will not depart from this godly habit. plenty of blocks should stand around, on which the bathed hawks may stand to sun and air themselves.

the longer the period of hack can be safely protracted the better for the hack hawk and her trainer. all the while she is learning to fly. during the latter part she is also learning to chase and to stoop. here it is that the danger comes in. for in that ardour of youthful chase what kills may come! at first the random shots made from tall tree-tops at passing swallows will be wide enough of the mark. even the young missel-thrushes or wood-pigeons which have frequented the hack ground will make light of the clumsy efforts made to cut them down; and the house-pigeons from the nearest dovecot will treat with supreme contempt the well-meaning but awkward stoops made at them. but every day finds the young hawks more expert, as well as stronger on the wing. the long feathers are now all down. the shafts harden, and no longer bend perceptibly as the wing-tips strike the air. presently the flights at wild birds are no longer mere child’s play. the fugitives have to exert themselves to save their skins. very likely the young hunters of the air are not at first altogether in earnest. secure of their food at the hack board or lure or fist, and trusting to it for their subsistence, they are merely “having a lark” with the intruders on what has begun to be their domain. but it is increasingly difficult to know how much of their endeavours is play and how much real business. be sure, however, that when any stoop, whether playful or not, proves successful, and the unfortunate victim is in the pursuer’s clutch, there will be no more play; and on some lonely patch of ground not fifty miles from the hack field there will be left a litter of feathers, the mortal remains of the first quarry killed by hawks of the year.

let me here quote from my hawk diary: “12 noon; out to hack field, and follow a blackbird down butt’s orchard hedge. nearing the corner, blackbird (young cock) takes across the orchard. drop him, winged, as he goes over the front hedge; and he falls in the hack field. jubilee [eyess male merlin] is on a block in the middle of it, 90 yards off. it is his third day out. as the blackbird falls, he starts, and, stooping at it as it runs, takes it, kills it, and begins to plume it like a wild hawk before i get up.” pretty sharp work this for a little hawk that had never used his wings till the day before yesterday. but this capture of a winged bird was not counted as a ? 66 ? “kill”; and jubilee was left out for a good eight days more, and might probably have been left a few longer. hack hawks know no sentimental scruples about taking their prey on the ground. here is another extract from a hawk diary: “6.30 a.m., out and fed hack hawks on lure. ‘she’ not visible. at 7 saw her on wire fence, half-way across park. as i got near with lure she started, and, flying low over the ground away from me, turned suddenly, and dropped on some bird in the grass. was pluming it, when heifers came right up to her. then lifted, and carried into the lower belt. quarry looked like a missel-thrush.” the same day “she” was taken up. it is a risky thing to leave hawks out after they have once begun serious and successful chasing. yet it is a thousand pities to take them up too soon, just when they are improving most rapidly. peregrines may be left out, with heavy hack-bells, for four weeks or occasionally more. merlins seldom more than three weeks. if the hack place and its neighbourhood are very open, and the wild birds about are few, there is less danger, and less need for hurry. but when the trees and bushes are well stocked with wood-pigeons, thrushes, and small birds, beware.

it is now that the advantage will be seen of putting distinctive jesses on the hawks. the trainer must watch the board carefully. he may not be able to get within 80 yards of it. but from his hiding-place, be it far or near, he must tell over the number of his charges every morning, noon, and evening, so as to see that all have been down. a field-glass may be necessary to identify each visitant. brown-jess may come down at 6 a.m., take a light breakfast, and be off. white-jess may not appear till 12; and even then no signs of black-jess. the case begins to look serious. but at 12.50 at last a hawk comes down. is this the truant? or is it brown-jess again, with her luncheon appetite come on? the glass will tell you quickly if the colour of the jesses worn corresponds to the one name or the other. but if both hawks wore the same coloured jesses, you could not say. if the last comer is black-jess—only delayed till so late by mere want of appetite—she may be left out, perhaps for some days longer. and the extra days’ exercise will undoubtedly make her a faster and stronger hawk. but if you cannot tell one hawk from another, it will be impossible for you to know when one has missed two successive meals or not. if black-jess absents herself all day until the evening repast, the inference is strong that in the morning she killed something for herself. if she keeps away for a whole day, that conclusion becomes almost a certainty. she must be taken up when the ? 67 ? first chance occurs. here, however, arises a fresh difficulty. if it is a tiercel who so absents himself—especially a small tiercel—the presumption that he has killed for himself is pretty well conclusive. but what if it is a falcon? her brother may have chased and killed; and the sister—a slow hawk who could not catch anything for herself—may have seen the flight, or seen the tiercel pluming his dead quarry, and then come up, and by her superior strength driven him off, and pirated the spoil. you, wrongly inferring that it was she who killed the quarry, will take her up the next day, quite prematurely, and leave the real captor, who is much more worthy of bonds and imprisonment, to remain in dangerous liberty. the same doubt may arise when the absentee is an extra strong and extra greedy bird of either sex. that she or he has breakfasted or dined out is, of course, equally clear. but was it the captive of her own wings and talons that she devoured, or that of a weaker, but cleverer, hawk? these are questions impossible to answer, unless some person has actually seen what occurred. the safest plan, though not the most magnanimous, when such evidence cannot be got, is, when one hawk has clearly been killing, to take the whole lot up.

hack hawks are as various in their habits at hack as they are at all other times. some are lazy, some active, some both by fits and starts. one will be playful, and find a childish delight in chasing butterflies or falling leaves. others, surly and ill-tempered, ready on slight provocation to make vicious stoops at their brethren or sisters. some will sit for hours sullenly on a post; others will fly long distances for their own amusement, and soar aloft to a good height. these are the most promising. the falconer, if he keeps his eyes open, will have learnt before hack is over pretty well the relative speeds and particular dispositions of his wards. rarely are these early indications falsified in after-life. but a backward hawk is not necessarily a bad hawk. during quite the last days of hack a hawk which had seemed rather dull and slow will sometimes wake up, and put on pace in an astonishing way, until from being a member of the awkward squad she comes to rival the leaders of the whole school in activity and speed. but a sulky and moping hawk seldom turns out first-rate.

speed is the great desideratum in a hawk. it is like the “big battalions” in an army; like a good eye to a cricketer. when people complain about bad-tempered hawks, it is often the trainer who is to blame. but in the matter of speed, as shown at hack time, the trainer is hardly, if at all, responsible. ? 68 ? bad temper is a nuisance, no doubt, and a difficulty. but want of speed is worse. it is incurably destructive of good sport. and here, speaking of the relative speeds of hawks at hack, i will ask leave to relate two anecdotes. queen, a powerful and speedy, but not very brilliant flier, went off with a rabbit’s head, pursued by her sister and two brothers. winding about along the side of a long hedge, now one side and now the other, she evaded all their stoops, and, after reaching the end of the hedge, where there were some elms and oaks, dodged rapidly in and out among them, loaded as she was, throwing out all the pursuers, and finally conveying her booty to a safe corner, where she discussed it all by herself in peace.

on his eleventh day of hack, jubilee, the male merlin already referred to, was sitting with his two sisters and one brother in the branches of a fallen tree in the hack field, under which i was seated, garnishing the lures for their delectation a little later on. suddenly the little hawk started at his best pace right down the field. i supposed that he was after some blackbird in the far hedge. but before reaching it he turned, and began mounting as he came back towards me. i looked round, and for the first time saw that a wild kestrel had come over into the field, and was dodging the stoops made at him by the remaining merlins. now this kestrel was one of a brood which had been flying at hack under their parents’ care in a neighbouring field. they were already strong on the wing before the merlins were turned out; and i had been rather fearing, when i discovered their near presence, that they might do the young merlins a bad turn. no encounter had, however, as yet occurred between the two families. the kestrel had at first little difficulty in eluding the stoops of the three merlins, who seemed not much in earnest. but when jubilee came over, at some height in the air, there was a different tale to tell. with his first stoop he made the wild hawk cry out; at the second he almost feathered him, and made him shuffle off to the orchard near at hand, where, swirling round the tree-trunks, he threw out his assailant, and made off to a tall elm. here, no doubt, he fancied he was safe, especially as the other hawks, on jubilee’s appearance, tailed off. but not a bit of it. throwing himself well up above the elm, the little jack dashed down at the enemy in the tree, dislodged him, and with a back-handed stoop drove him down to the ground, hunted him all across a meadow, grazing him at every shot he made, and lost him in a big orchard farther on. the pace of the wild hawk was very poor in comparison with that of this half-tame lure-hacked merlin. ? 69 ? it seemed as if the latter could have given him ten yards in a hundred. in straight-ahead flying, in mounting, and in throwing up, the kestrel was completely outpaced. yet before now trained merlins, as i have heard tell, have been outflown and chased by a wild kestrel. i should not like, and do not ever expect, to own such a trained merlin.

the day comes—all too soon—when the falconer dares to keep the hack hawks out no longer. the decree goes out for one to be taken up. if this one has been hacked to the fist the proceeding is simple enough. as she stands complacently breakfasting on the fist, the jesses are grasped in the fingers of the left hand. a couple of snips with a sharp pair of strong nail-scissors make a slit in the two jesses. and through these a spring swivel is deftly slipped. attached to the swivel is a leash, the end of which is wound round the little finger, while the button of it is grasped in the palm of the left hand. as the hawk proceeds with her meal she is taken quietly to a darkened room, where a rufter hood is slipped on her head. five minutes' carrying, and she is placed on a mound of turf, food and all, while the leash, unwound from the little finger, is fastened to a peg strongly planted in the ground. if the hawk has been hacked to the lure or to the board, the process is a little more complicated, but presents no real difficulty. a bow-net must then be used. this instrument is more fully described in the next chapter. it consists of a hoop of metal on which a light net is stitched. the ends are fixed down; and the hoop is so set that a pull on a long string will bring the rim up and over any object which may be near it on the near side. the object, of course, in this case will be the lure, or the piece of food with which the hack board is garnished. when the hawk is feeding, the string is pulled. the net swings over, encompassing both meat and hawk. up runs the falconer, to secure the captive, who is made fast, hooded, and taken home.

even if a hawk has begun to prey for herself, she can still often be captured with a live lure, that is, a live bird attached to a light cord. once find the hawk, and let the live lure fly, and she is pretty sure to take it. then she may be snared in one of the ways described in the chapter on lost hawks.

a hack hawk, once taken up, is treated in very much the same way as a wild-caught hawk. the process of reclamation begins at once. and this process will be found described at length in the succeeding chapter.