44 ART AND PRACTICE OF HAWKING 



must be so made as to turn quite freely on the pivot. To 

 attach them to the jesses, nothing more is required than to press 

 the side with the thumb-nail, making the spring yield, and then 

 hook the curved end through the slit in both jesses, after which 

 the spring is released, and the jesses remain encircled by the 

 metal. Only, if the spring is stiff or does not work properly, 

 there will be disasters. The unhooking process is of course 

 even more easily and quickly effected. 



The leash can now be attached to the swivel. And leashes, 

 again, may be of two kinds. The orthodox leash for peregrines 

 and big hawks is a strip of tough leather, about half an inch 

 wide, and a yard long, provided with a stout button at one end, 

 which is made in the following way : — In cutting the leash, three 

 inches or so at one end are cut rather broader than the rest of 

 the strip. This broad end is then rolled up tightly by doubling 

 it over and over upon itself After the broad part has been 

 rolled up, a hole is punched right through the roll, and the 

 other end of the leash, which is tapered to a point, is pushed 

 through and pulled tight. A sort of square button will thus 

 be formed at the thick end of the leash (Fig. 8) ; and if the thin 

 end of it is passed through the outer ring of the swivel — that 

 ring to which the jesses are not attached — it will run right 

 through until the ring encounters the button, which is too big to 

 get past. The whole length of the leash is then available for 

 the purpose of tying up the hawk to her block, or to a peg in 

 the ground. 



There is a right and a wrong way about even so simple a 

 matter as tying up a hawk. Blocks and pegs ought always to be 

 provided with a ring or staple, round which to tie the leash ; 

 and it should be tied in what is called a falconer's knot, which 

 can easily be negotiated with one hand. To begin with, pass 

 the thin end of the leash through the ring. Then make a loop 

 in the part which has gone through the ring, and pass the loop 

 round that part of the leash which has not gone through the 

 ring. Pull tight, and the leash will assume an appearance 

 resembling that shown in Fig. 9. Next pass the end (A) 

 through the loop (B), and again pull tight. It will be im- 

 possible for any strain upon the leash at C to undo the knot. 

 And when it is desired to undo it, the end (A) can easily 

 be picked out with the fingers through the tightened loop 

 (B), and a simple pull upon A will then undo the whole 

 fastening. 



For attaching hawks to the screen-perch, a sort of double 

 falconer's knot is required for fastening the two ends of the 



