58 HOW I BECAME£ A FALCONER. 
records of a young falconer’s practice, and may amuse young 
falconers now. , 
These for instance:—‘1852. Feb. 19. Pearl’s (a female merlin) 
first flight in Northamptonshire. Very cold N.W. wind. Turned 
her pigeon several times, but it was ultimately blown away from her. 
She came back well to the lure.” “Feb. 23. Pearl made a beautiful 
flight after a powerful pigeon, from the stone bridge in Boughton 
Park. She flew in earnest for half a mile, and quite out of sight. 
The pigeon beat her, going down wind. She made a brilliant stoop 
to the lure of several hundred yards, over some high trees.’’ 
“Feb. 26. Pearl killed ber pigeon after a flight of a few hundred 
yards. Drove it into a ditch, and strangled it.’ Then came a few 
unsuccessful flights. And then—‘ March 6. Pearl drove her pigeon 
into the water, after striking it down. The pigeon was picked up 
under the bank, from whence it dared not move.” Unsuccessful 
flights again. Then—‘“ March 18. An excellent flight. Pearl followed 
very close, and the birds went quite out of sight, taking over 
Dainty’s Fields for Weekly Hall Wood. I could not keep them in 
view by running. Pearl evidently killed; she was repeatedly 
striking the pigeon when I last saw her. After an hour’s waiting 
she came back to me to Dainty’s Field, from whence she started. 
Her jesses and talons were covered with wet blood. I hunted for 
the pigeon afterwards, but could not find it; probably killed in the 
wood.” “TI flew Pearl almost every day since the last account 
was written, at pigeons or to the lure, but latterly at larks. She 
chased these birds into the sky till she was often ‘all but lost to 
view, always coming back beautifully to hand, though I kept her 
high fed, as the moulting time had almost commenced.” “On this 
day—April 23—I lost her!” 
There; perhaps that will do! The last entry is disagreeable to 
me even now. 
One year my young merlins roosted on the trees of a small clump 
