EYESSES 257 



retire as quickly as he can. If the young hawks learn to asso- 

 ciate his presence with a supply of food, they will at once begin 

 to scream at the sight of a human being, and, if this habit is 

 contracted, it will never be lost, and the' hawks will become a 

 positive nuisance to their owner. The method of rearing 

 hawks which was adopted by Peter Ballantyne, one of the most 

 successful of Scotch falconers, -was to place them in an open 

 loft or old pigeon-house, along the front of which was nailed a 

 wide board or shelf at such a height that a man standing 

 underneath it could just reach up high enough to place food 

 on the shelf. On this board the young hawks spent most of 

 their time in fine weather, their food being placed before them 

 twice or three times a day without their catching sight of a 

 living creature near enough to alarm them. Gradually they 

 extended their flight to the roof of the house and the adjoining 

 trees, and soon were on the wing and taking long trips into the 

 adjoining country, regularly returning when hungry to the 

 board, where they never failed to find their food at regular 

 intervals. This was an excellent method of rearing nestlings, 

 and its principle should be followed as nearly as possible. 

 Where the hawks are reared in an ordinary loft, the window 

 should be set open as the hawks get stronger, and they should 

 be allowed gradually to come out. care being taken to set their 

 food, when they have done so, on a large board called the 

 hack-board, in a conspicuous place just outside the loft : for, 

 when once in the open air, they will not re-enter the house. 



In some places the contiguity of a village or some other 

 circumstance renders it undesirable to let the hawks out until 

 they are strong enough on the wing to extend their first flight 

 to the tops of high trees well out of harm's way. In the first 

 Ihort flights of the very young birds they are, of course, very 

 liable to be knocked over by a stone from some mischievous 

 boy, or picked up and injured by some ignorant but well- 

 meaning person. In such a case as this the hawks must be 

 reared in a good large loft or loose box until they are quite 

 strong on the wing. They must then be taken out and tied 



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