332 FALCONRY 



any other position, however tempting it may be to do so when 

 she is well placed. As soon as she comes readily to the fist 

 the distance may be increased very rapidly, till she will come as 

 far as she can see her master in enclosed country ; in fact, if 

 hungry she probably will not allow him to go a hundred yards 

 from her. Goshawks, for all their wild savage nature, when so 

 thoroughly tamed are very affectionate birds, and learn to know 

 their trainer very well. They should be used to a short cry or 

 call when they are coming to the fist, and it will often bring 

 them up when in a wood or covert where their owner cannot 

 see them. 



They can now be entered at the quarry they are to fly ; 

 females are generally used for rabbit hawking, and this is on 

 the whole the best purpose to which goshawks can be put in 

 England. A few live rabbits must be obtained, and having 

 carried the hawk for an hour or two, and when she is sharp 

 set, a rabbit must be offered her. She will almost certainly 

 take it, when it should be instantly killed by the thrust of a 

 knife, and the hawk well fed on it. The next day she will be 

 ready to fly a bagged rabbit in a good place, and then may try 

 a wild one. Should she fail to take it, it will be wise to give 

 her an easy bagman, feed her on it, and make a fresh essay 

 next day. 



Rabbits lying out in old pasture give the best and most 

 dashing flights, especially where there are a few bushes, &c. for 

 them to dodge in. Great sport may be had in summer even- 

 ings, when the rabbits feed a long distance out from the covert, 

 by creeping between them and the wood, when one or more 

 will be seen to squat, and may be taken in detail and 

 captured, each one so noiselessly as not to alarm the others. 

 In fact, a good goshawk in full training is very deadly indeed. 

 The number killed by her need only be limited by the time her 

 master spends on her, and the more she has flown the more 

 trustworthy she will be. In 1877 we killed 112 rabbits in two 

 months with one goshawk, never using her more than three 

 days a week. During this period ten was the greatest number 



