8zo THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



elers, and other varieties or species of eagle are employed. Owls 

 are sometimes trained, but are good only for hunting at night. 



Every Turcoman has at least one of these trained birds, of 

 breed and size corresponding with his fortune. They may be 

 seen sitting on their perches in the rear of the bazaars and in the 

 meanest shops, where they are made as much of as any other do- 

 mestic animal. Whenever their owner goes out for any long dis- 

 tance over the plains, he takes his bird on his wrist or on the horn 

 of his saddle, and if any game crosses his track launches the fal- 

 con out against it, as surely as a European or American would 

 shoot at it. The falcon, let loose, flies till it is directly over the 

 game, and then pounces down upon it in a dizzy fall which re- 

 quires to be directed with the most exact precision, for, with his 

 wings folded, he descends in the perpendicular line, by the sheer 

 force of his weight, and may strike the game or not. If he fails, 

 the hunter draws him in and holds him ready to be sprung at the 

 next victim. 



Birds intended to be used in falconry are taken from the nests 

 when very young and trained from the beginning. They are 

 easily found, for, there being no trees in the steppes, they are 

 obliged to nest on the ground or in bushes. Adult birds can also 

 be captured and made useful, and this is done among the Arabs 

 as it formerly was in Europe. One of the methods of catch- 

 ing them is ingenious and curious. Pebbles as large as the bird 

 can swallow without great inconvenience are dipped in blood, 

 which is allowed to curdle on their surface, and are put in places 

 which the hawks frequent. The birds swallow them greedily till 

 they are so weighted down that they can not fly away. The 

 hunters then come up and take them by hand. 



As the purpose of central Asian falconry is different from that 

 which was sought in European falconry in the middle ages, dif- 

 ferent qualities are prized in the birds. Originally, indeed, the 

 purpose was the same in both regions namely, to capture game 

 which could not be reached with the imperfect arms in use. But 

 falconry became a fine art in Europe, and the skill acquired in 

 cultivating it caused it to be kept in practice long after firearms 

 became common. It was practiced as a matter of pastime and a 

 method of showing off accomplishments ; and there was an aes- 

 thetic pleasure in watching the lofty flight of the birds and the 

 precision and swiftness with which they would light upon their 

 prey. Those birds were valued highest which, when they missed 

 their mark, would spread their wings before they reached the 

 ground, and soar up again, trying to recover by the speed of 

 their flight the advance which the game made in the interval, and 

 then dash down again and again until they succeeded or the game 

 got out of their reach. On the other hand, those birds which flew 



