VIRTUE AND VICE 273 



notice. Sometimes a hawk will keep bating off in a tiresome 

 way. This is when she is strong and well, but short of exercise, 

 and perhaps a bit feverish. The remedy is simply to hood her 

 up. It is far less annoyance to her to stand hooded than to 

 fatigue or worry herself by constant tugging and straining at 

 her jesses. But, as a matter of fact, for hawks to stand hooded 

 for any reasonable time is no annoyance to them at all, after 

 they have worn the hood a few times. If it were, we should 

 find that they suffered from it in health, strength, temper, or 

 somehow, which is not known to be the case. Merlins, 

 however, and male sparrow-hawks should be left unhooded 

 more than other hawks. And they must not be expected to 

 fly, like peregrines, immediately the hood is removed. The 

 same cause will induce hawks sometimes to pick and pull at 

 their jesses or at the covering of the perch, or even at the glove. 

 The remedy is to smear the jesses or perch or glove with aloes 

 or some bitter preparation, which is distasteful to them, but will 

 do no harm if they like to go on picking, but rather good. 



It has been said (p. 32) that goshawks and sparrow-hawks 

 cannot be flown in casts {i.e. two of them together). This is on 

 account of the great probability that they will fight or " crab." 

 There is also, in the case of long-winged hawks, some danger 

 that the like trouble may arise, especially if one or both of the 

 individuals thrown off has a bad temper of her own. Accord- 

 ingly, it is often well that each hawk intended to be used for 

 double flights should be first flown single a few times, until she 

 has become keen after her quarry, so that she may be too intent 

 upon the pursuit of it to quarrel with her colleague, when flown 

 double. But eyesses which have been well hacked and well 

 reclaimed are seldom addicted to this vice, which is still more 

 rare in passagers. As to the difficulties attending double flights 

 with merlins, see the remarks made at page 141 ; and as to 

 entering a young hawk with the assistance of an older one as 

 "make-hawk," see pages 113, 142. 



Some hawks, especially the wild-caught, will not bathe, but 

 after tasting the water in the bath, and perhaps making as if 

 they would go in, hesitate for a long time, and at last jump back 

 to their block. Some will not even " bowse," or sip the water. 

 This is vexatious, for bathing undoubtedly improves the feathers 

 besides merely cleaning them, and keeps the hawks free from 

 parasites and from small attacks of feverishness. It also cleans 

 their feet, and makes them more hardy and robust. The best 

 plan in such cases is to sec that the bath-water is never too 

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