290 THE NEW FORES? 



In 1890 we had an extraordinarily good lot 

 of hawks, and they killed in March and April no 

 less than 257 head of rooks, &c., out of 293 

 flights. Among these hawks was a rare old 

 falcon called Elsa, flying at rooks then for the 

 fifth season in succession, and killing them as 

 well as ever. But she had also spent the four 

 previous autumns in Scotland, flying at grouse 

 and killing them in the grandest style in fact, 

 in two of her four seasons, she made the highest 

 score of all the team. Yet after each spring she 

 would, having well moulted, come out again in 

 August, as a rook hawk, and make year after 

 year either the best, or nearly the best, score of 

 all the lot. It is very unusual to get a hawk 

 that will thus excel in two entirely different forms 

 of sport year after year, and for so many seasons, 

 and when such a jewel is discovered there is no 

 end to the amount of sport that can be got out 

 of her. Elsa went on flying grouse into her 

 sixth season, and then was lost at Langwell, the 

 scene of many of her triumphs. It is to be 

 hoped that she got clear away, and next spring 

 found herself a mate and bred young eyases of 

 her own quality. 



Her mantle to some extent fell upon Ursula, 

 a falcon caught in Elsa's last year with us, and 

 she was just as good as her predecessor, though 



