HAWKWEEP. .^7 



assistance of these birds of prey in procuring 

 food for themselves, and that it was a practice of 

 great antiquity there can be no doubt; for, al- 

 though it does not appear to have been practised 

 by the early Greeks or Romans, on account of 

 the first devoting themselves to the arts of agri- 

 culture, and the latter to that of war, yet their 

 authors mention it as the custom of other coun- 

 tries. Pliny tells us, in his Natural Histor}% 

 that in a part of Thrace beyond Amphipolis the 

 inhabitants used hawks to catch birds, and this 

 appears to have been more a practice of neces- 

 sity than amusement. He mentioiis that the men 

 beat the woods, bushes, and reeds to spring the 

 game, when the hawks flew over them, and beat 

 them to the ground, so that they were easily 

 taken by the hand. And that the hawks were 

 properly trained in those days, we learn from his 

 stating, that, during the season for hawking, these 

 birds would give the falconers signs, by their 

 manner of cry and flying together, that there 

 was good game abroad, and thus draw them to 

 the field. 



Falconry seems to have continued in high re- 

 pute in England till about the time of the Usur- 

 pation, after which it gradually dechned ; but so 

 late as the reign of James the First it was pur- 

 sued with such ardour, that Sir James Monsoii 



