ninus. 85 



he flies upon it, he is permitted to take a large morsel of the 

 lood which is tied to it. The next day tlie lure is shown liim 

 •It a greater distance, till he conies at last to i\y to it at the ut- 

 most length of his string. He is then to be shown the game it- 

 self alive, but disabled or tame, which he is designed to pursue 

 After having seized this several times with his string, he is then 

 left CTitirely at liberty, and carried into the field for the purpose 

 of pursuing that which is wild. At that he Hies with avidity ; 

 and when he has seized it, or killed it, he is brought back by 

 the voice and the lure. 



By this method of instruction, a hawk may be taught to fly at 

 any game whatsoever ; but falconers have chiefly confined their 

 pursuit only to such animals as yield them profit by the capture, 

 or pleasure in the pursuit. The hare, the partridge, and the 

 quail, repay the trouble of taking them ; but the most delightful 

 sport is the falcon's pursuit of the heron, the kite, or the wood- 

 lark. Instead of flying directly forward, as some other birds do, 

 these, when they see themselves threatened by the approach of 

 the hawk, immediately take to the skies. They fly almost per- 

 pendicularly upward, while their ardent pursuer keeps pace with 

 their flight, and tries to rise above them. Thus both diminish 

 by degrees from the gazing spectator below, till they are quite 

 lost in the clouds; but they are soon seen descending, struggling 

 together, and using every efl'ort on both sides ; the one of rapa- 

 cious insult, the other of desperate defence. The unequal com- 

 bat is soon at an end ; the falcon comes off victorious, and the 

 other killed or disabled, is made a prey either to the bird or the 

 sportsman. 



As for other birds they are not so much pursued, as they ge- 

 nerally fly straight forward, by which the sportsman loses sight 

 of the chase, and what is still worse, runs a chance of losing his 

 falcon also. The pursuit of the lark, by a couple of merlins, is 

 considered to him only who regards the sagacity of the chase 

 as one of the most delightful spectacles this exercise can afl^ord. 

 The amusement is to see one of the merlins climbing to get the 

 ascendant of the lark, while the other lying low for the best ad- 

 vantage, waits the success of its companion's efforts ; thus while 

 the one stoops to strike its prey, the other seizes it at its coming 

 down. 



Such are the natural and acquired habits of these birds, which 



iU. H 



