220 THE SWAN AND HER CREW. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



Hawking. 



THE training of the hawks was a source of great amusement to 

 the boys. They obtained Stonehenge's British Rural Sports 

 irom Sir Richard Carleton's library, and studied the article on 

 hawking. They found a sparrow-hawk was called a short- 

 winged hawk, because its wings do not reach so far as the end 

 of its tail, while a kestrel is a long-winged hawk, its wings 

 reaching as far as the end of its tail. As a general rule, long- 

 winged hawks are much better than short-winged ones for 

 hawking purposes, but the sparrow-hawk is braver and better 

 than the kestrel. Their hawks being from the nest, and not 

 caught by a trap, were ey asses. Before they could fly they were 

 branchers, and being reared at liberty they were hack-hawks. 

 The training of a hawk is called its reclaiming, Fig. 3 a and b, 

 when it sleeps it jouks, its prey is its quarry, when it strikes 

 it is said to bind. When it soars and then descends upon 

 its quarry it swoops, when it flies straight after it it rakes. It 

 is sent off by a whistle, and brought back by a lure. 



These are only a few of the technical terms peculiar to 

 hawking. 



The hood, Fig. i and 2, which one sees so conspicuously on 

 the heads of hawks in pictures of the sport in the olden 

 time is not necessary in the case of the short-winged hawks, 

 and the great object was to make the hawks as tame as 

 possible. This the boys accomplished by continually handling 

 them and being with them, especially at feeding-time. Around 

 each foot of the bird they tied a soft strap of leather to corre- 

 spond to a. jesse, Fig. 4 a b. To these were attached some little 

 bells ee, which they took off some children's toys. The jesses 

 had also a loop b, to which was fastened when required a leash, 

 Fig. 5, or long cord, which prevented the birds from flying 



