288 FALCONRY 



There is also great knack in getting her to pull at the meat 

 without being frightened. Adrian Mollen boasts, not without 

 reason, that he can get a quarter of a crop more into any 

 hawk after any other man has done his best with her. It is 

 very important that hawks shall be well fed ; they will lose 

 their wild condition quite fast enough from the change of food, 

 the numerous shocks to their nervous system, and the loss of 

 exercise ; but if they are allowed to get down too low they will 

 never recover their power or their courage. If all goes well, 

 however, in a few days the hawk will feed well and boldly 

 through the rufter hood, will allow herself to be handled, and 

 will feel more at home on the fist. The rufter hood should 

 now be removed by candle-light, and the hawk induced to feed 

 bare-headed. A hood of ordinary make can also be placed 

 on her, and she can be frequently hooded and unhooded and 

 broken carefully to the hood in the same way as eyesses are 

 treated. When she sits quiet and bare-headed by candle-light, 

 the same lesson may be repeated by daylight, and ere its close 

 the hawk will jump to the hand for her food at first a short 

 distance only, afterwards the full length of the leash and will 

 do so promptly and briskly as soon as the meat is shown her. 

 All this takes a good deal of time and patience, but anything 

 like hurry is to be avoided, or the hawk will probably go back 

 rapidly as soon as she is taken out into the open air. So long 

 as a little progress, be it ever so little, is made every day, the 

 falconer should be content, and not endeavour to hurry his 

 more backward, shy tempered birds in order to keep pace with 

 one or two good-tempered ones that ' never look behind them,' 

 and almost train themselves. 



As soon as the hawk will feed fearlessly on the hand bare- 

 headed she should be entered to the lure : this at the first 

 outset must, in the case of wild-caught hawks, consist of a 

 live pigeon. The moment the hawk seizes it the falconer 

 should twist its neck, so as to kill it instantaneously and pain- 

 lessly, and the hawk should be allowed to break into and eat it 

 while still warm. 



