FALCONRY 295 



and generally become real enthusiasts, up to 

 the end of their days ; but it is idle to dream 

 of a " revival of falconry " such as should 

 restore this pastime to its ancient position 

 of the premier sport enjoyed by the leaders of 

 Europe. 



The general practice of shooting and the 

 improvement in fowling-pieces was the first blow 

 to the more precarious method of providing game 

 for household consumption by the means of 

 trained hawks. Then the enclosure of most of 

 the cultivated lands of England so reduced the 

 area of open land available for hawking, that it 

 became practically banished to the Downs, where 

 the country is on the chalk formation. In other 

 districts the sport died out perforce. 



The best Downs remaining for the purpose of 

 the sport are those Wiltshire Downs ranging 

 from Lavington to Salisbury, and from Marl- 

 borough to the valley of the Wylye. 



But these, alas ! have been ruined for sport 

 or beauty by the necessities of the military 

 authorities, when seeking for fresh training 

 grounds for troops, to which all else had to give 

 way. When first an immense slice of Salisbury 

 Plain was purchased, a large standing camp was 

 established at Bulford, near Amesbury. This 

 camp has grown and grown until, on what was 



