THE GOSHAWK 153 



twenty times in ten minutes, you may call it an improvement 

 to-day if she bates off only ten times in the same space of time. 

 So when she has walked even two inches for her food, it is an 

 improvement when she will walk four or five. Step by step 

 you must coax her to do more for you, rewarding her the 

 moment she has given way. And all the time you must be 

 making friends with her. Stroking with the stick or a feather 

 is always to be recommended. But you must be able also to 

 stroke her with your hand as you like without any remonstrance 

 or fear on her part. It is a troublesome job, do what you will, 

 the manning of a short-winged hawk. But the harder you 

 work, and the more patience you can exhibit, the better and 

 quicker you will succeed. It is best to be content at first if very 

 slow progress is made. In the later stages, if you make no 

 mistake, there will be days of much quicker improvement, such 

 as may even sometimes surprise your too desponding mind. 

 Thus though it may be days before you can get her to exchange 

 her walk to the fist for a jump, yet this feat once accomplished, 

 you may have quite a short time to wait before she flies to you 

 the length of the room. On the other hand, a hawk which has 

 come well to you indoors will perhaps not come a foot, or even 

 look at you, when first called off in the open air. Of course for 

 all the early out-door lessons the hawk will be secured by a 

 creance. It is well even to be a little extra-cautious in dis- 

 pensing with this safeguard, for if a goshawk when only half 

 trained does once make off, it is rather a chance if you ever 

 come up with her again. 



In time your goshawk will be manned, and at least partly 

 reclaimed. She will look gladly on you when you come 

 near, and jump or fly to you on small encouragement for a small 

 reward. If you tease her with a morsel of meat, she will perhaps 

 make that quaint crowing sound which sounds like a mild pro- 

 test against your hard-heartedness. When you hold out your 

 fist temptingly with a nice piece of food in it, she will fly fifty 

 yards to you at once. If now you have carried her sufficiently 

 throughout the process of reclaiming, she will not need much 

 to bring her into " yarak " ; that is, into a state of eagerness for 

 killing quarry. A small dose of purgative medicine may be 

 given, and after twelve hours' fast, a small feed of very good 

 food, without any castings, and on the next day she may be 

 entered. 



Female goshawks are now usually trained chiefly for hares 

 or rabbits. Males should always be tried first at partridges or 

 pheasants ; and if they are not good enough for such quarry, 



