THE HERON 



no less than thirty-nine trout. Nicholas Cox, in his 

 Gentleman'' s Recreation^ published in Charles H.'s 

 reign, mentions a "hern that had been shot at a 

 pond" which had "seventeen carps at once in his 

 belly." And the same curious writer avows that 

 herons kept tame would eat "about fifty fish in a 

 day, one day with another. And again," says Master 

 Cox, "one hern that haunts a pond, in a twelve- 

 moneth's time shall destroy a thousand store-carps ; 

 and when Gentlemen sue these ponds, they think their 

 neighbours have robbed them, not in the least con- 

 sidering an Hern is able to devour them in half a 

 year's time, if he put in half as many more." After 

 which the author proceeds to give very precise in- 

 structions for the ensnaring and slaying of this un- 

 conscionable pond robber. 



Still, with all his faults, English landowners and 

 fishermen have a pardonable fondness for this pic- 

 turesque bird ; he is a link with the wild past which 

 we can ill afford to spare, and so for the most part 

 "Jack Hern" is allowed to go on his way unmolested, 

 and to ply his angling career as and where he pleases. 



Heron hawking, one of the choicest sports of our 

 ancestors, is, unfortuiiately, now nearly a lost pastime. 

 The well-known Loo Hawking Club, in Holland, how- 

 ever, so lately as about the middle of the last century, 

 were in the habit of assembling at Loo each year for 

 about six weeks, for the purpose of enjoying this 

 excellent recreation. Peregrines and gerfalcons were 

 employed, and capital sport was obtained. Mr. J. E. 

 Harting, the well-known authority on falconry, has 

 been at the trouble of dipping into the archives of the 

 club. From his extracts it would seem that between 

 1840 and 1852 more than 1,500 herons were taken with 

 hawks. The best years were 1841 and 1852. In the 

 E 49 



