EYESSES AND HACK HAWKS 03 



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 ; 



