the care of a hawk’s feathers is a very important and elementary part of the falconer’s duties. if he is naturally clumsy or careless, and yet hopes to do any good in this vocation, he must be continually on his guard against a mishap. experience and persistent watchfulness will cure him of these defects, or at least deprive them of any very bad effects. but an innate adroitness is certainly much to be desired in any youth whom it is intended to train up as a falconer. the most important of a hawk’s feathers are exactly those which are most easily broken. a single vigorous flap of the wing against any hard obstacle within reach of them may very likely knock off the end of one or two of the long flight feathers, or at least fracture the shaft where it is quite thin, so that the end below the injury has to be taken off and the feather mended. great care must therefore be taken in carrying a hawk that no such hard substance is ever so near to her that by a sudden movement she can strike it with either wing. narrow doorways should be avoided entirely, or never entered unless the hawk is hooded and quite quiet on the fist. when walking through a gateway or near an iron railing, stile, post, carriage, or branch of a tree, give it a wide berth. when mounting a horse with a hawk on the hand, get up on the wrong, i.e. the off, side—unless, of course, you carry your hawk habitually on the right hand, like the indian falconers. never wear a hat with a hard brim. it is impossible for you to be sure that at some unexpected moment a hawk, hooded or unhooded, will not by a sudden movement just touch the edge with a wing feather.

the wing feathers of the short-winged hawks are more yielding and elastic than the straighter ones of the long-winged, and will stand a greater strain. worst of all are merlins, whose principal feathers are almost brittle, especially when the ? 226 ? hawk is at all poor in condition. as for the tail feathers, although they are of less importance to a hawk’s flying, they require almost more care than those of the wing. in this particular, short-winged hawks, with their very long trains, are more liable to injury than the others. a very common occasion of damaging a tail feather arises while a hawk is being broken to the hood. as the attempt is made to push the hood on and over the head, the patient flinches and draws back the upper part of her body, forcing the tail strongly against the wrist of the operator, if this is in the way. those feathers upon which the strain bears hardest are very apt to give way; and even if the awkward falconer has succeeded in getting the hood on, he finds to his chagrin that he has done so at the expense of a damaged hawk. it is of course for this reason that i have advised the tying up of the tail whilst hooding lessons are being given. in actual flights there are certain risks of injury to tail feathers, although if they are all in perfect condition these risks are less than might be supposed. the struggle which occurs on the ground between the hawk and a robust quarry which is bigger than herself severely tries these feathers, as the former is obliged to make use of them to steady herself and resist the efforts of the desperate victim to upset her or drag her along the ground. the fight between a merlin and a partridge or pigeon is of comparatively short duration, as the little hawk, having her foot tightly clenched round the neck of her captive, is sure of its death within a minute or so. but a sparrow-hawk battling with a full-grown partridge has a tough job before her, and is sometimes forced backwards on to her expanded tail, so that it may give way at any weak spot, if there is one. a goshawk which has bound to a full-grown hare, or even a big buck rabbit, has even a hotter time of it.

in double flights, when both hawks have fastened on to the same quarry, and are dragging at it in the hope of obtaining sole possession, there is also danger to the tails. i must admit that i know of no case in which mischief has been done, but it is impossible to watch such a struggle, while hastening up to interfere, without seeing that it may be fatal to some of the feathers so roughly used. the arrival of the falconer on such occasions, in the r?le of mediator, must be welcome to both hawks; and he should at once catch hold of the quarry by one wing, and, holding it tight down, proceed to the work of separating the hawks. when the quarry is a large bird, he will offer to the hawk which seems to have the least firm hold a substitute ? 227 ? for the real quarry, and get her to devote her attention to it until the arrival of the second man, when both hawks can be taken up. if both hawks and quarry are small, the first falconer to come up may catch hold of the pelt and lift it up, hawks and all, from the ground against which the tails are being pressed and bent. once on the fist, the danger is past; and one or other of the combatants may be handed over, with a tiring to replace the contested victim, to the next man who comes up. when double flights are the order of the day, every man who is likely to be up at the death should wear a glove and carry a spare leash, as well as a morsel of tiring for use in a possible emergency. he should also, if mounted, carry a weight and tethering rein at the side of his saddle, so that he may dismount at any time quickly and run in to the struggling hawks.

when a feather is bent, without any actual breakage of the shaft, it will come straight if dipped in very hot water, but may not improbably remain weak for some time at the place where the bend was. very often such a bent feather will come straight when the hawk bathes; but it is just as well to apply the hot-water remedy at once, and if it does not return to its proper position, there will be little doubt that the shaft is damaged. whenever this is the case, the broken part should be cut neatly off and the feather imped. when the breakage is not near the end, and consequently in a very thin part of the shaft, the piece removed can be put on again by imping. but if it is the tip which has gone, as is only too often the case with beginners, the owner must make up his mind either to keep and fly his hawk in that damaged condition, incurring the jibes or pity of facetious or sympathetic friends, or to undertake the rather delicate operation required for grafting a fresh feather on the remnant of the old one. possibly the novice may be within reach of a professional falconer, or an experienced amateur, who will come to his rescue, and perform this troublesome job. if so, he should certainly attend while it is being accomplished, and carefully note the manner in which the professor sets about it. if not, he must attempt it himself, and do the best he can by the aid of his own ingenuity, and perhaps of the following directions:—

hood the hawk, and have an operating-table ready, on which you have placed a tolerably stout but soft cushion. get an assistant to take firm hold of the patient with both hands round the body, over which may be previously thrown a silk handkerchief to preserve the feathers. the assistant should place his hands over the hawk’s body with the palms downwards ? 228 ? and the thumbs joined, the tips of his fingers being towards the hawk’s tail, and the wrists over her hood. lowering them quickly and gently, and bringing the outer parts of the hands towards one another, he will get a firm grip round the upper part of the wings and the thickest part of the body, and will hold the hawk down firmly, but without unduly squeezing her, upon the cushion, her feet being pressed down underneath the body. the falconer will thus be free to operate more boldly upon the feather to which he proposes to direct his attention. the latter must have provided himself beforehand with a very sharp penknife, a small saucer of vinegar or strong brine, an imping-needle of the proper size, and a feather of the proper sort. the imping-needle should be of iron or steel, filed down lengthwise to a triangular shape and pointed at the ends. it should be in the middle about two-thirds as thick as the feather at the place of breakage. the new feather with which the damaged hawk is to be adorned must exactly match the one which it is to replace; that is to say, it must have occupied the same place in the same wing, or the same side of the tail, in a hawk of the same kind as the one now under treatment. before commencing operations, the imping-needle to be used should be immersed in the bath of vinegar or salt water. with the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, take hold of the damaged feather just above the place of breakage, and separate it carefully from the adjacent feathers. then with the right hand pass the blade of the penknife obliquely upwards along the web of the feather on its thinner side till the edge touches the shaft just above the place of breakage. as soon as it has done this, turn the blade so that the flat of it, instead of being inclined obliquely upwards with the edge pointing towards the stouter part of the feather, is directed downwards in a plane with the web on the broad side of the feather. having got it into this position, make a clean cut right through the shaft so that the portion of it below the blade falls off. the next thing is to measure off on the loose new feather as much of the end as will, when fitted on to the other where it has been cut through, add to it the exact length which it originally had. the shaft of the new feather must then be cut through at exactly the same angle or inclination as the other.

now take an ordinary needle, and stick its point a little way into the pith of that part of the old feather which has not been cut off, and afterwards into the pith of the piece of new feather which is to be grafted on, taking care that the needle goes in straight ? 229 ? down the middle of the pith. into the small apertures thus made, the imping-needle will be more easily passed in the proper direction than if there had been no such preliminary boring. it remains only to effect the junction of the new and old feather. before attempting this, dip the shaft of the new piece into the vinegar, and also moisten the end of the old feather just above the place where it has been cut. then taking the imping-needle, push one half of it into the pith of the new piece of feather, and the other half into that of the old. by this means the two will necessarily become one and the same feather. be sure, as you push the two together, that their flat surfaces are level with one another, and not inclined at different angles. when the new end is pushed home up to the old amputated shaft, it will fit on to it, and the web on both sides will meet and form a uniform surface. then release the hawk and replace her, still hooded, on the screen-perch, where she must be left quite quiet. it is a good plan to do the imping in the evening, so that very soon afterwards the hawk will naturally be ready to go to sleep; and if the hood is to be left on, her last meal should, of course, have been without castings. if not, the room where her perch is should be darkened. she is less likely, when in the dark or hooded, to meddle with the mended feather; and when it has been left alone for twelve hours, the needle will have begun to rust in the pith of it, and thus be firmly stuck fast at both ends.

when skilfully and neatly performed, the operation of imping not only replaces effectually the part of a feather which has become useless, but repairs the mischief so thoroughly that no trace whatever remains of any injury having ever been done to it. i have known feathers so imped that the eye could not discern the place of juncture, and it was difficult even to discover it by passing the thumb-nail down the shaft of the imped feather. the tenacity of the rusted iron keeps the needle immovably in its place; and an imped feather, if it afterwards breaks at all, will break more readily in any part of it than near the place where the juncture has been made. of course the smaller the hawk the more difficult is the operation. merlins are particularly troublesome, owing to their vivacity and the smallness of their feathers. it is, however, quite possible for an experienced imper to mend up one of these tiny hawks, even without an assistant to help him in holding her down.

the falconer should keep by him, in a box or drawer where they are safe from moths, a few feathers in readiness for imping the kind of hawks which he flies. when he is in the habit of ? 230 ? moulting them he will be able to supply his needs by saving up the long feathers dropped in the moult. these should be so stowed away that it is possible to identify the year in which they were dropped; for it is not advisable to use a very old feather, as it may be brittle, and crack in pieces round the needle. a spare tail feather or two of any of the hawks which are most commonly trained may often be begged from a brother-falconer. but when a ger, saker, or one of the rarer falcons needs imping, it may be necessary to purchase a whole skin, which will entail some trouble and expense. it should be noted that there is one exception to the rule that a feather from any one kind of hawk must not be used for one of another kind. this is when the broken feather is to be imped merely for the purpose of the moult. whenever hawks are moulting, the new feathers, as they come down, must be protected on each side by others of at least equal length to those of the natural plumage. but unless the hawk is being flown while she moults, it is immaterial whether the new feather matches the others in shape or colour. if it is long enough, and of about equal breadth, it will serve the required purpose. but every hawk before going into moult should be well set up in feathers of one kind or other, which are of a proper length and sufficient strength. a new feather, while growing down, needs more protection than any other.

if a feather is broken so high up that the shaft at the place of fracture is hollow, there are at least two ways in which it may be mended. the simplest is to slit the shaft on its under side, and then, cutting off the base of the new feather which is intended to be used, push the latter in bodily to the hollow of the old shaft. when it is far enough in, pass a small needle with strong waxed thread right through both quills, starting from below, and, winding the two ends of the thread round the quills in opposite directions, tie tightly together underneath the feather. when the feather is big enough there may be two such lashings of thread, one a little lower down than the other. a second plan, which is known as plugging, consists in first stuffing up the hollow quill, of the injured feather, above where it has been cut through, with a chunk of some feather which is not hollow, but has a solid pith. the plug thus inserted is firmly fixed in by means of some glutinous compound. when it has had time to become immovably settled in its place the imping can be done with an imping-needle in the ordinary way, the new piece of feather having been plugged also in a similar way, ? 231 ? if necessary. if a feather should have been pulled out, base and all, it is advisable to put some solid grease into the place, to keep it from closing up and preventing the new feather from growing down.

when only the tip of a wing feather is gone it would of course be only for the sake of appearances that it would be imped. considering that wild hawks, and some trained ones also, kill quarry while they are moulting, and have four or more of their biggest feathers wanting, or only half-grown, at the same time, it would be a bad hawk which could not fly passably because she was short of an inch square of the sail area she ought to spread. occasionally, as for instance when you have not long to wait before the moult will begin, you may leave a hawk unimped though she is very ragged. but the worst of allowing any feather to remain with its end off is that the next feathers to it, especially in the tail, are pretty sure to go too. the strain which the tail has to bear is such as it can just resist by the collective strength of all the feathers together; but when one is unable to take its full share of the resistance, the others are unequal to the pressure, and give way. what difference in a hawk’s flying power does the loss of a whole feather or half a feather imply? it is, of course, quite impossible to say. but arguing from the analogy of pigeons, the tails of which are sometimes removed in order to increase their speed, it would seem that in mere straight-forward flying the tail is of very small assistance. i once had an eyess jack-merlin sent to me from the nest in a deplorable condition. the tail was clogged at the end with dirt, and so many of the tail feathers were bent and broken that he was at once christened “tagrag”; and while he was at hack was regarded as unworthy of much attention. by the time he was ready to enter, his tail, which it had not been thought worth while to mend, was reduced to about half its proper length, more than an inch having been knocked off every one of the feathers. this hawk developed later on into the fastest hawk i ever saw. when he was out on his own account, as he was once for seven days together, he could be distinguished from a wild merlin less by the stumpy tail than by the headlong speed with which he flew, even when not in pursuit of anything. when engaged in a double flight he would put in about three stoops to two of the other hawk; and these were not only more quickly made, but were longer, straighter, and more telling. this hawk was an exceptionally good one. he was the brother (though senior by a year) of queen and jubilee, which ? 232 ? between them killed 200 larks, in single flights, in one season. he was therefore no doubt naturally a very fast hawk; but i mention him in order to show how little difference, in his case, was made in his flying power by the loss of nearly half a tail. i have also flown merlins at the lure, when in course of being broken to the hood, with their tails tied up, and noticed how admirably they stoop and throw up, without apparently being incommoded by the temporary inability to spread out their tails.

much more serious and alarming than the breakage of a feather is the fracture of a bone. when the hawk is a favourite, a cure is often attempted, and occasionally with success. i have known a peregrine to be shot at and brought down with a broken wing, and to recover without any treatment at all; but this was no doubt a very exceptional case. usually any grave damage to the wing, whether by way of a sprain or a fracture, is incurable. the bones of the leg are more get-at-able, more easily set, and subjected, when set, to less strain than those of the wing. splints and bandages should be applied (though it is very difficult to adjust a bandage to the wing) under the direction and advice, if possible, of some person who has a good practical knowledge of surgery. the hawk, after being operated upon, should be placed in a sock as described in chapter v., and fed by the hand with strips of washed meat or light food without castings. before the sock is put on it must be ascertained that the injured limb has been placed in the natural position; and every precaution must be taken that the patient is left undisturbed, so that it is impossible, or at least unlikely, that she should displace the setting which has been attempted.

hawks are sometimes troubled with a weakness in the outer joint of the wing, causing the outer part of it, where the primaries are, to droop. the affection is more or less pronounced in different cases, sometimes being so severe that the wing seems to hang down powerless, as if merely hooked on loosely at the joint, and at other times merely to be a little out of place and to be carried slightly lower than the other. occasionally the weakness is so great that the hawk cannot fly, while at other times, after perhaps wobbling a little when thrown off, the hawk, once fairly on the wing, seems to fly almost or quite as well as if there was nothing the matter. generally a hawk which is so affected keeps hitching up the bad wing, as it were, into its proper place, only to find it droop again in a few minutes into its old position. the old writers, who were well ? 233 ? acquainted with the symptoms, say that the injury is one which must have arisen from a blow received by the hawk; but i have known it come on suddenly at a time when the sufferer could hardly have come by such an accident without its being observed. the following is a prescription given by turbervile for curing the malady:—“master cassian (a greek falconer of rhodes) sayeth that yee must take sage, myntes, and pelamountaine, and boyle them all togyther in a new earthen pot full of good wyne, and when they bee well sodden, take the potte and set it uppon hotte imbers as close stopped as maye bee. then make a rounde hole of the bygnesse of an apple in the clothe that your potte is stopped withal for the steam to issue out at. which done, take your hawke upon your fiste and holde out hir hurte wing handsomely a great whyle over the hole, that it may take the fume whiche steameth up out of the potte. afterwarde lette hir be well dryed by keeping hir warme by the fire, for if she should catche sodaine cold upon it, it would becomme woorse than it was before. use her thus twyce a daye for three or foure dayes togyther, and shee shall bee recovered.”

the beak and nares of a hawk should be kept clean, and a good falconer will, after she has finished her meal, wipe off any remnants of food or blood which may remain attached to the upper mandible. unless this is done—sometimes, indeed, in spite of its being done—the nostrils and upper parts of the cere, where the feathers begin, may become infested with acari, or mites, which, unless destroyed, will eat into the horn and the flesh and cause great annoyance, if not actual sores and inflamed ulcers. hawks which are in low condition are particularly subject to this pest; but at all times a sharp look-out should be kept, so as to detect the presence of the minute parasites, which may be seen running about somewhere near the nostrils. fortunately it is easy to get rid of them. a solution of tobacco soaked in water should be made, and mixed with brandy or some strong spirit, and then applied with a small brush to the parts visited by the parasites. after a few applications they will be found to have disappeared.

hawks will often get corns on their feet if allowed to stand constantly on hard blocks or perches. it is strange enough that there should be found any falconers who have so little thought for the comfort of their charges that they will use such resting-places. the screen-perch, at all events, which is kept permanently indoors, should have a padding of some kind—cloth, baize, or soft leather—underneath the canvas or sacking upon ? 234 ? which the hawk has to stand. one of the cruellest of all the cruel things done in zoological gardens is the neglect to pad the miserable perches provided for the birds of prey, which are usually in consequence seen to have their feet adorned plentifully with corns and deformities. what with bad food, bad resting-places, and defective bathing accommodation, these poor captives are usually types of what the falconer should wish that his hawks may not become.

of actual illnesses trained hawks undoubtedly have their full share. the old books devote many lengthy chapters to the description of these disorders, and of the remedies recommended for them. how far the elaborate concoctions prescribed by medi?val quacks and used, as it is to be presumed, by their very credulous customers, were efficacious in curing the evils for which they were prescribed, it is not easy to say. for in modern times we do not put much faith in nostrums of any such kind. but as the ancients certainly killed with their hawks several species of quarry which we hardly attempt in these days, it may not unreasonably be supposed that some of their medicines were at least useful in stimulating the energies of their patients, and inspiring them with a sort of artificial courage such as the asiatic falconers still impart by the use of sal ammoniac and other powerful drugs. it is, i think, more than probable that the hobby, which has not for a long time past been successfully trained, was brought by physicking into such condition that she would fly keenly and well, and deserved the praises which some of the old writers lavish upon her. in the palmy days of falconry it was not only when a hawk was actually ill that physic was given. if she did not acquit herself in the field with all the credit expected by her trainer, he dosed her almost as a matter of course. remedies of a more or less fanciful kind were supposed to exist for almost every failing which hawk-flesh is heir to; and the medicine-cupboard of a falconer who professed to know anything about physicking his charges must have contained as many herbs, spices, powders, decoctions, and tinctures as would stock a small druggist’s shop. as far as i know, no modern falconer has had the patience or temerity to test the value of these multifarious pills and potions.

the state of health of a hawk may be ascertained by various signs, more or less infallible. mutes, castings, and the general demeanour furnish the most obvious symptoms; but the books, which bestow a vast amount of attention upon the two former, are much too silent as to the latter and more subtle indication ? 235 ? of an incipient malady. the falconer should always observe the colour of every hawk’s mutes. if she is kept for any long time at a stretch upon a screen-perch under which the sawdust or sand is so thickly strewn as to absorb them altogether, a piece of paper must be placed occasionally under the perch, which will enable him to make the necessary inspection. and at the first appearance of anything wrong the proper remedy should be applied. the mutes of a hawk in good health should be of an almost uniform bright white colour, and of the consistency of the whiting with which a lawn-tennis ground is usually marked out. if there are specks of black in them there is no cause for alarm, but these should not be abundant or large in size. if any other colour is to be seen there is something amiss; and if the mutes are either watery or too thick the hawk is not in proper health. the sooner these symptoms are detected and the right steps taken the easier will be the cure; and in most cases a diet of freshly-killed birds given in moderation twice a day will set matters right without any resort to strong measures. if, however, the discoloration is great, and appears suddenly, a dose should be at once given before the sufferer loses her appetite and becomes unable to retain food or anything else in her crop.

castings are easily found under the perch or round the block, though when hawks are tied very near to one another on the same screen-perch it is sometimes difficult enough to know which of them has thrown a casting which is picked up between her and her neighbour. the appearance of them should always be noticed before they are thrown away. they should be more or less egg-shaped and compact, with no great amount of oily matter adhering to the outside. the colour should be rather darker than that of the feathers, fur, wool, or whatever else has been taken to form the casting; and if it is not so, it is a sign that the crop is foul. a hawk in good health should also cast within a reasonable time after the casting has been swallowed; and otherwise you may suspect that the gorge is clogged. a hawk which has been fed late even in a summer evening should throw up her casting before eight at latest on the following morning. when a hawk is slow at casting, she should be carried a bit, and will then often cast on the fist, or immediately upon being put off it on to the block. a wild merlin will often eat the whole of a small bird between 8 and 9 a.m., put it over by about 2 p.m., cast, and then begin to look out for the evening meal.

? 236 ?

a trained hawk may cast well and have fairly good mutes, and yet be all the better for a small dose. if she has a dull eye and stands stolidly on her block without taking notice of passing birds; if she eats without zest, or flies without animation; if, when standing on the fist, she takes a weak grip with her feet, or puffs out her feathers without cause, or folds her wings loosely together, she may indeed be healthy enough to get a doctor’s certificate, but she is not in the sort of fettle to do herself justice in the field. in such case do not, like some falconers who ought to know better, begin calling the hawk names, and neglect her, while bestowing extra attention upon one which exhibits more aptitude. remember that in the wild state there is no such thing as a bad hawk. all find their living, even in the worst weather, and find it although continually plagued and thwarted by the knowledge that if they go within gunshot of a man they will probably be murdered. cannot a trained hawk, well housed and regularly fed, and freed from the constant fear of gun and trap, be made as fast and as clever even as the worst of her wild brethren? falconers must be a long way behind the professors of other arts and crafts if they cannot make their trained pets at least nearly as good as the wild and untrained. there is perhaps more delight in flying a hawk which is never out of sorts and always naturally ready to do her best. but it is more creditable to the trainer, and a greater test of his skill, if he can impart excellence where he found little sign of it, and in short make a bad hawk fly well. the indian native falconers—from whom, by the way, we have a lot to learn—habitually fly some of their favourite hawks, such as the saker, under the stimulus of strong drugs; and there can be no doubt that many hawks of all species are bettered by frequent dosing, just as a chinaman by opium, and certain literary celebrities by absinthe. in some cases these doses supply more or less effectually the lack of exercise from which a trained hawk suffers, and in other cases possibly they act as an antidote to the feeling of annoyance and discontent arising from captivity and confinement.

as to the particular remedy to be applied when a bird is thus out of sorts without being absolutely ill, i fear the reader must be referred to one of the old text-books, and not alarmed by quotations at length from their well-garnished pages. the mischief proceeds, of course, either from excessive cold or excessive heat in the system, which will require consequently either heating or cooling medicine. for the former purpose, ? 237 ? spices and peppers will be preferred, with fatty substances, such as oil or bacon; while for the latter, purgatives may be used, and meat washed in the juice of certain vegetable products, such as endive, cucumber, or melon. if the malady is so strong as to amount to fever, the hawk’s feet may be bathed with water distilled from lettuce, plantain, or nightshade, or the juice of henbane. if, however, the earliest symptoms are noted, it will generally serve all purposes to give hot feeds, i.e. birds just killed, in the case of cold, and washed meat in the case of too great heat. those who are not content to wait for such symptoms, but prefer a prophylactic treatment, may perhaps be satisfied with the following prescription: “if you intend to keepe and maintayne your falcons and all other hawkes in health, take germander, pelamountayne, basill, grimel-sede, and broome flowers, of each of them halfe an ownce; of isop, of saxifrage, of polipodic, and of horse-mintes, of each of them a quarter of an ownce; of nutmegges, a quarter of an ownce; of cucubes, borage, mummy, mogemort, sage, of the four kinds of mirobolans, indorum, kabulorum, beliricorum, and embelicorum, of each of them halfe an ownce; of saffron, an ownce; and of aloes cicotrine, the fifth part of an ownce. all these things confect to a powder, and at every eygth day, or at every twelfth day, give your hawkes (the big ones, that is) the quantitie of a beane of it with their meate. and if they will not take it so, put it in a henne’s gutte, tied at both ends, or else after some other meanes, so as ye cause them to receive it downe; and lette them stand emptie one houre after.” a more simple preventive medicine is aloes cicotrine alone, given every eighteen days as an emetic, just after the hawk has cast, and followed in two hours’ time by a warm meal.

coming now to specific maladies, the commonest and not the least dangerous of the complaints to which trained hawks are subject is the “croaks” or “kecks,” an affection of the throat akin to what is called bronchitis in the human patient. its existence is betrayed by a wheezing or hoarseness, noticeable as the hawk breathes. in slight cases the sound is scarcely audible, and only very occasionally; but when the attack is a bad one, the breath is impeded, and the invalid appears to be suffering from a sort of asthma. these severe attacks sometimes come on suddenly in bad weather, and generally prove fatal; but the milder attacks, if attended to in time, may often be mastered and vanish permanently. the cause is usually the same as that which would ? 238 ? in men induce a cold in the head or throat,—a chill caused by sudden changes of temperature, excessive cold, or, most frequently of all, excessive damp. the remedy is to put the sufferer in a warm and dry place, and to give the most palatable and nourishing food in moderate quantities at reasonably short intervals, with a peppercorn or mustard-seed now and then. freshly-killed birds are the best diet; but if sheep’s heart or butcher’s meat is given, it should be first warmed a little. the hawk should not be left out of doors after midday, or in a place exposed to the wind. strangely enough, gers, whose habitat is in more northern latitudes than any other hawks, are the most susceptible of all to this malady; and special care should be taken, therefore, that they are not allowed to be in damp or draughty places.

cramp is a terrible disorder, also caused by damp or cold. it is specially apt to attack the short-winged hawks, and is, i believe, always fatal. eyess sparrow-hawks taken too early from the nest are pretty sure to develop it when there is no maternal wing to cover them at night. possibly by keeping them in an artificial nest in a warm place the mischief might be averted; but the slightest chill seems to bring it on, and when once it takes hold of the feet and legs it appears to paralyse and permanently disable them. beginning with a mere stiffness in the joints, it increases in malignity until the sufferer loses the use of one or more limbs, and then often paralyses the muscles of the back. when the very first symptoms of anything like stiffness appear in a goshawk or sparrow-hawk, no matter of what age, she should be taken at once into quite a warm place, and the affected limb fomented with hot water and embrocations. unless these remedies speedily give relief the most humane thing to do is to put the hawk out of her misery at once. in this matter not only is prevention better than cure, it is the only means known of combating the dreaded disease.

ague, or a low fever nearly resembling it, attacks hawks much in the same way as human beings. there are shivering fits and alternations of hot and cold, which may be discovered by feeling the body with the hand. the cause is often exposure to cold after becoming heated by flying or standing in the sun, or confinement in a draughty or cold place. the sufferer droops her wings, and looks miserable generally. she should be put in a sheltered place, rather warm than cold, and fed often, sparingly, on the best light food that is to be had. when the hot or cold fit is on she should be left as quiet as ? 239 ? possible, but when it goes off she should be carried, and even flown a little, if she will; and she should by no means be left alone in any dismal place without company. when her attention is occupied she will have less inclination to mope or give way to the malady, and is much more likely to improve. if the affection is obstinate and the hot fits frequent, about two scruples of rhubarb may be given (for a falcon) in a casting of cotton wool, followed after two or three hours by a moderate meal of something freshly killed and light. if, however, the shivering fits predominate, or the hawk has become low in condition and has a poor appetite, the dose must be administered with caution and in moderation, and the patient should be coaxed and induced to take as much as she will, up to half a crop, of some heating food, such as freshly-killed sparrows, which are best of all, pigeons, or, in case of a goshawk, young rats; and if at a subsequent meal a sheep’s heart is given (which such hawks can very easily pick at) it may be washed in wine in which has been boiled sage, mint, cinnamon, cloves, or some such aromatic herb. in all cases the invalid must be petted and made much of until she has regained her robust health and appetite.

apoplexy is no doubt the disorder most commonly fatal to trained hawks of the short-winged varieties. it was called by the ancients the falling evil, and it has carried off quite suddenly many a first-rate goshawk almost without any warning at all. and it is probably more to be feared in these days when the use of washed meat has been so generally abandoned. the cause of this effusion of blood on the brain is over-fulness of body or an accumulation of internal fat; and in order to guard against it care should be taken to avoid overfeeding a hawk with strong, heating, or fattening viands. merlins are also very subject to apoplexy when short of exercise, and peregrines are by no means exempt from it. when any hawk is fat or full-blooded, any exposure to a hot sun, or any violent or unaccustomed exercise, or bating off and hanging head downwards, may cause a determination of blood to the brain; and death will follow without the chance of even attempting a cure. it is well, therefore, especially when any hawk is not taking daily exercise, and plenty of it, not only to avoid overfeeding, but also from time to time to give a purge and an emetic. one of the simplest prescriptions is lard or butter, well washed, and then steeped in rose-water, and given with a little powdered sugar.

apostume of the head is called by turbervile a “monstrous accident,” and a “very grievous evil,” and said by him to be ? 240 ? infectious. “it is discerned by ye swelling of ye hawke’s eyes, by the moysture which sundrie tymes issueth and distilleth from the eares, and often eake by evyll savoure and smell of the apostume.” the invalid is inert, and cares little for her food, and will not pull at her tirings. the remedies he recommends are exceptionally commonplace. first, butter, well washed in rose-water, with honey of roses and powdered sugar. then afterwards, for the relief of her poor head, rue, 4 grains; aloes epatie, 2 drams; saffron, 1 scruple, to be finely powdered and made into a pill with honey of roses. if the ear is stopped up, clear it with lint on a silver bodkin or needle, and, having infused warm oil of sweet almonds, stop it with another piece of lint. which failing of success, he gives directions for cauterising, for which the original, or some surgeon, should be consulted.

another sort of swelling in the head which affects the nares as well as the eyes, and is nothing else but a catarrh, may, it seems, often be cured by a pill made of agaric, 2 scruples; cinnamon, 1; liquorice, 1, powdered and mixed with honey of roses. the sufferer should be made to sneeze by giving her—not snuff, as one might expect, but pepper, cloves, and mustard-seed, powdered, and blown into the nares through a quill, or rubbed on to the nares and palate. after these, or indeed any doses have been administered, it is well to carry the hawk on the fist till they have taken effect.

for suffusion of the eye a purge of aloes or agaric is recommended, and local treatment by blowing the powder of aloes and sugar-candy into the eye.

frounce is a malady which will pronounce itself sometimes without much apparent cause. the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat is inflamed, and the tongue swelled and coated with a brownish white matter. this coating should be scraped off with a quill or silver knife, and the mouth dressed with burnt alum and vinegar, or a weak solution of nitrate of silver. the dressing may be done with a piece of lint on a small stick. another lotion is made by taking the leaves of woodbine, with sage, honey, and alum, and seething them till the leaves are quite soft, and straining the decoction through a cloth.

inflammation of the crop may be the result of bad food or neglect to give proper castings. the first signs of it will be in the castings themselves, which may be discoloured or misshapen, and sometimes charged with undigested food. in aggravated cases the mutes may be reddish, and the hawk may often throw up her food, and be unable to keep anything down. a ? 241 ? purge and an emetic should be given before this stage is reached; and great care must be taken not to overload the crop, or to give anything which will nauseate the hawk. if the malady has been neglected, it becomes dangerous and very difficult to cure. the hawk wastes away, and it may be a long time before you are able to restore her strength—if you pull her through at all.

pantas is an old name given to a malady of the liver, when it becomes hot and dried up. the hawk is costive, and opens her beak often, as if gasping for more air. the mutes are blackish, thick, and scanty. amongst numerous remedies in vogue are olive oil, oil of sweet almonds, and sugar-candy, with butter or lard, washed in rose-water. of course no heating food should be given, such as sparrows, rats, or old pigeons. powdered cloves and cubebes may be given in a casting every three or four days. the liver is almost as apt to get out of order in trained hawks as it is in untrained men. green mutes, as well as black ones, betray the mischief, and warn the falconer. a purgative, such as those last mentioned, will be the first remedy; but it must be followed by great care in the subsequent feeding. a more fanciful remedy consists of snails steeped in asses' milk, and used as a washing for sheep’s heart, which is soaked in it.

megrim, or palsy, is denoted by a shaking of the hawk’s head. pepper, aloes, and cloves may be given, with a little washed lard.

when a hawk is troubled with worms she is fidgety, and has startings and twitchings of the body, and falls away in condition. mustard-seed, aloes, and agaric are prescribed, and cayenne pepper may be given with her food. filanders are a sort of worm more difficult to suspect, and more difficult to get rid of. one remedy is garlic, long steeped in oil; and if this fails, iron filings, with oil of bitter almonds, may be tried.

hawks, if kept clean and frequently encouraged to bathe, are not much troubled with parasites. young merlins from the nest are often infected with a flying tick, which does them no particular harm, and usually disappears when the little hawks begin to bathe. the way to get rid of them is to paint the body with a decoction of tobacco mixed with brandy. this is also the remedy for lice, which peregrines will sometimes get from a rook which they have killed. the same wash is to be applied to the nares and forehead of a hawk when troubled with mites. these very minute insects—otherwise called acarus or formica—sometimes ? 242 ? establish themselves in and near the nostrils, and may be seen running about rapidly over the beak. they cause great annoyance, and if not put an end to will eat into the horn of the beak, and cause inflammation and other serious mischief. they dislike, however, the tobacco wash, and cannot keep their ground against it.

corns and swelled feet are the result almost invariably of standing on hard and unpadded blocks or perches. they are, of course, both painful and also highly detrimental to the efficiency of a hawk, whose feet as a weapon of attack are only second in importance to her wings. the corn must be cut out, or the inflamed swelling lanced, and the foot must be bathed with some lotion, such as white of egg, vinegar, and rose-water, or with tincture of iodine. a very well-padded perch must be used afterwards, and a fortifying lotion frequently applied. inflammation is sometimes set up by the prick of a thorn, when a hawk has trod upon a bramble, or grasped it when making a grab at a quarry which has put into a hedge. the worst form of corn is called “pin,” and is pointed like a nail. lancing and lotions may cure it; but it is an obstinate complaint, often incurable; and the various unguents prescribed by ancient authors seem none of them to have been used with any great success.

when a claw or talon is broken by any accident, the falconer is advised to apply to it a plaster made of the gallbladder of a fowl, and to fit a sort of collar round the hawk’s neck to act as a guard, so that she cannot touch the place with her beak. the same thing may be done when a hawk has a wound or sore on the foot, and keeps picking at it, a practice not uncommon with merlins, which will actually eat away their own feet.

the blain is a watery vesicle in the second joint of the wing. it should be lanced, and the hawk kept quiet until the wing is strong again.

for a “snurt,” or cold in the head, bert recommends the root of wild primrose dried in an oven and powdered. the powder is to be blown into the nares of the hawk. or the leaves of the wild primrose may be distilled, and the nares bathed with the juice.

craye is a stoppage in the “tewel,” or lower bowel. it is said that the meat should be washed in distilled haws, or a decoction of primprivet, or drawn through milk warm from the cow.

rye is a swelling in the head, which is said to be produced ? 243 ? by keeping the hawk without hot meat, and is cured in the way which may be conjectured.

prynne is a malady of the eyes, for which it is recommended to bathe them with the juice of daisy leaves, or a decoction of powdered egg-shell, yolk of hard-boiled egg, and a quarter as much rock alum.

for a bruise bert advises clarified honey, boiled with half as much stone pitch.

some old writers declare that a hawk’s appetite may be improved by steeping her meat in claret and the yolk of an egg; that when she is slow at casting, or in digesting her food, she should have a mustard-seed made up with honey into a pill. in such cases she should certainly have plenty of tirings; and fresh water should be kept within her reach, so that she may sip it at any time if so inclined. sweet things are good for a goshawk, which is something of a sweet-tooth. a good scouring for a sparrow-hawk is pounded sugar-candy and butter mixed with beef. sugar-candy and olive oil are both good purgatives for getting rid of the internal fat or grease. for giving a tone to the stomach, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger are beneficial. and the most celebrated of all ingredients for compounding hawk medicines is “mummy.” one very distinguished modern falconer, having read in the ancient books endless references to this medicament, wrote to another equally distinguished authority to ask, “what is mummy?” the answer, which is too good not to be repeated here, was, “mummy is mummy.” that is perhaps as much as the greatest egyptologist can say!