452 PEREGRINE 



sufficient guide to a novice to enable him to train and 

 fly his hawks to the best advantage, and to maintain 

 them in health. 



Of all hawks the peregrine is the most valuable to 

 the falconer. For this reason I have selected it as the 

 first on the list, and will endeavour to explain how 

 easily it is trained. 



It is docile, swift, courageous, and hardier than the 

 generality of hawks. It is, perhaps, more widely dis- 

 tributed than the other hawks, doubtless by reason of 

 its power and swift flight, which enables it to overtake 

 the fastest-flying vermin, and rid many a man of dis- 

 eased grouse. I am glad to say that this noble speci- 

 men of the hawk tribe is to be found in many places in 

 England and Ireland, as well as in most of the Scotch 

 forests, and there is but little difficulty in obtaining as 

 many as are required. The former persecution of 

 such a valuable bird has now almost entirely ceased, 

 save on a few isolated moors where the keepers still 

 harry it through ignorance of the benefits derivabh- 

 from encouraging its breed, for the amount of hoodie 

 and royston crows which it destroys very fully com- 

 pensates for the few grouse, other than those which are 

 diseased, which may fall a prey to it. 



On moors where the falcon has become extinct, 

 through the senseless extermination of such birds which 

 formerly prevailed, the grouse have become unduly 

 wild. 



Anyone who may be desirous of obtaining falcons 

 can now generally succeed in procuring them by adver- 

 tising in the northern papers, such as the Northern 

 Chronicle, Inverness Chronicle, Scotsman, etc. Keepers 

 are only too glad to preserve them, for many of them 



