254 ART AND PRACTICE OF HAWKING 



dosed successfully, and dieted with lucky precision, may sur- 

 prise you by getting fit quite quickly, whereas an eyess which 

 you expected to bring into fettle in a few days may prove more 

 restive than she did when taken up from hack. There is luck 

 as well as skill in the treatment of each hawk. But carrying is 

 the sine qua non ; and the more a man carries his hawk the 

 better chance he has of observing how his treatment works, and 

 whether it should be modified in one way or another. The best 

 hawks, when well moulted, will often become even better the 

 next year ; and there is no reason why a moderate or even a 

 poor hawk should not improve. Newly-moulted hawks should 

 not be brailed, nor allowed to be bareheaded in any place where 

 they are likely to bate. And of course great care will be taken 

 for some little time that they are not left in a damp or draughty 

 place or in the rain. 



