CHAPTER XIII 



Home Life 



PROBABLY the commonest fault in young falconers of 

 the modern school is that of keeping too many hawks. 

 Almost every writer on the subject has warned them over and 

 over again against this rage for being " over-hawked " ; and yet 

 it is still the cause of endless failures, disappointments, and 

 disasters. " Don't you know, if I lose one I like to have 

 another to fall back upon." Such is the excuse, and a very 

 bad one it is. If a beginner can manage to keep one hawk of 

 any kind in flying order he may consider himself exceptionally 

 clever ; and the sole charge of a cast of hawks is quite as much 

 as any amateur ought to undertake, unless he is blessed with a 

 great deal more leisure time than is usually the case. An 

 experienced professional falconer, with a boy to help him, and 

 with nothing else to occupy his time, may manage an establish- 

 ment of three short-winged hawks, or about five long-winged, 

 or one of the former and three of the latter, short-winged 

 hawks, when in flying condition, requiring about twice as much 

 attention as their nobler cousins. But if it is desired to keep 

 up a larger establishment, there should be, counting in the head 

 falconer, one man, or at least one boy, to every two hawks. 



A falconer who attends properly to his charges will find 

 that they monopolise a very large portion of every day — at any- 

 rate, from the time when the eyesses arrive, in early summer, to 

 the end of the rook-hawking season in spring. His duties may 

 be divided into those which we may call normal or permanent, 

 and which relate to the hawks which are already in flying 

 order, and only require to be flown and kept in working 

 condition, and exceptional or special duties, such as the hacking 

 of eyesses, and the manning and reclaiming of hawks which 

 are newly caught, newly taken up, or newly removed from 

 the moulting-place. Thus, as in other professions, there are 



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