THE LURE 461 



falcon, and also soft enough to avoid the feet of the 

 latter being injured when striking at it. A piece of 

 iron or heavy wood of about i^ lb. in weight is 

 covered with a thick layer of tow. Over this two 

 pieces of strong leather in the shape of a heart are 

 firmly stitched together, the extreme width of the 

 leather at its upper portion being from four to five 

 inches. To this two sets of strings are attached, by 

 which the meat or wings of birds (the latter being the 

 more attractive) are fastened. A strong swivel is 

 fixed on to the upper part, and to this a strong leathern 

 strap is attached ; the latter may be furnished with a 

 tassel at its end. The lure is then swung round the 

 head of the falconer, or thrown to a distance, as may 

 be desired. I always make use of a lure of the above 

 description, as also a long piece of cord with wings tied 

 to it, so that when I desire to train a bird which is not 

 in good wind, I can constantly make it repeat its 

 stoops, by snatching away the lure after it falls on the 

 ground before the stooping falcon has seized or struck 

 it. The above is a good plan where a hawk is mount- 

 ing badly, and it will get so vexed at missing its quarry, 

 that if it is a good bird and worth training it will 

 mount higher, until it gets its reward on so doing by 

 being allowed to have a ' crop-fall.' 



The higher the peregrine rises the more valuable it 

 is for hawking purposes, as it thereby commands a 

 more extensive sweep of ground. I have at times lost 

 such hawks by reason of their circling too high and 

 inside the clouds. This is termed 'taking to the 

 soar'; but if a live pigeon with 'jess' on is let go, the 

 falcon will sometimes come into sight, when the pigeon 

 may be pulled up again and the lure made use of, 



