THE BLUE HARE— POACHING— HAWKING 107 



their master. But it requires a very courageous and 

 powerful hawk to hold so muscular a quarry as a full- 

 grown hare, and the instances of goshawks that could 

 do so regularly are few and far between. None, perhaps, 

 have been better at the work than one that was trained 

 in 1 89 1 by Sir Henry Boynton, of Burton Agnes, 

 w^hich time after time captured, in the open, stout old 

 Yorkshire Wold hares. Some of the flights lasted for 

 half a mile, as the hawk, baffled time after time in 

 making good her grip, would renew the chase almost 

 as a falcon throws herself up after her stoop. But the 

 capture of the hare wdth a trained bird of prey, though 

 a very fascinating and exciting form of sport, must be 

 looked upon as exceptional. 



The Bonelli eagle has lately been trained with 

 success by M. Barrachin, a French falconer. In his 

 case the eagle was chiefly used for taking rabbits, but 

 there is little doubt that it could be as well trained to 

 take hares, and on open downs this quarry would well 

 display its sweeping powers of flight, and be worth 

 following up. The attempt is worth making by EngHsh 

 falconers who have ground suitable for the sport, 

 and if it succeeded a new feature would be added to 

 falconry in this country. 



The only instance of hare-hawking in modern 

 times being regularly followed was that of the sport 



