ACCIDENTS AND MALADIES 235 



of an incipient malady. Tiie falconer should always observe 

 the colour of every hawk's mutes. If she is kept for any long 

 time at a stretch upon a screen-perch under which the sawdust 

 or sand is so thickly strewn as to absorb them altogether, a 

 piece of paper must be placed occasionally under the perch, 

 which will enable him to make the necessary inspection. And 

 at the first appearance of anything wrong the proper remedy 

 should be applied. The mutes of a hawk in good health should 

 be of an almost uniform bright white colour, and of the con- 

 sistency of the whiting with which a lawn-tennis ground is 

 usually marked out. If there are specks of black in them there 

 is no cause for alarm, but these should not be abundant or 

 large in size. If any other colour is to be seen there is some- 

 thing amiss ; and if the mutes are either watery or too thick the 

 hawk is not in proper health. The sooner these symptoms are 

 detected and the right steps taken the easier will be the cure ; 

 and in most cases a diet of freshly-killed birds given in moderation 

 twice a day will set matters right without any resort to strong 

 measures. If, however, the discoloration is great, and appears 

 suddenly, a dose should be at once given before the sufferer 

 loses her appetite and becomes unable to retain food or any- 

 thing else in her crop. 



Castings are easily found under the perch or round the 

 block, though when hawks are tied very near to one another on 

 the same screen-perch it is sometimes difficult enough to know 

 which of them has thrown a casting which is picked up between 

 her and her neighbour. The appearance of them should always 

 be noticed before they are thrown away. They should be more 

 or less egg-shaped and compact, with no great amount of oily 

 matter adhering to the outside. The colour should be rather 

 darker than that of the feathers, fur, wool, or whatever else has 

 been taken to form the casting ; and if it is not so, it is a sign 

 that the crop is foul. A hawk in good health should also cast 

 within a reasonable time after the casting has been swallowed ; 

 and otherwise you may suspect that the gorge is clogged. A 

 hawk which has been fed late even in a summer evening should 

 throw up her casting before eight at latest on the following 

 morning. When a hawk is slow at casting, she should be 

 carried a bit, and will then often cast on the fist, or immediately 

 upon being put off it on to the block. A wild merlin will often 

 eat the whole of a small bird between 8 and 9 a.m., put it over 

 by about 2 p.m., cast, and then begin to look out for the 

 evening meal. 



