28 



FALCONID^E. 



ducing beef and mutton in unlimited quantities, that there 

 are now. The produce of the fish-ponds, woods, and fields 

 was then a matter of some moment, and much depended 

 on the training of the Hawks and diligence of the falconer 

 whether the daily board should be plentifully or scantily 

 furnished. In jsecent times, even, some idea of the 

 intrinsic value of a good Hawk, may be gathered from the 



THE SPARROW-HAWK. 



fact that, in Lombardy, it was thought nothing extra- 

 ordinary for a single Sparrow-hawk to take for his master 

 from seventy to eighty Quails in a single day. In the 

 Danubian Provinces and in Hungary, the practice of 

 hunting Quails with Sparrow-hawks is stiU in vogue ; but 

 with us, the agile bird is left to pursue his prey on his 

 own account. And right well does he exercise his calling. 



