>^ 



lo RECREATIONS OF A NATURALIST 



jesses,^ and then without it ; thirdly, to enter the 

 hawk to the particular quarry for which it is 

 intended; and lastly, to fly the bird fasting and 

 reward it for killing, or for coming back to the lure 

 if the quarry should escape. 



Here it may be well to add a few remarks 



upon the charge of cruelty which is sometimes 



brought against falconers by those who have no 



acquaintance with the details of the sport. "It is 



surely very cruel," they say, " to let a poor bird be 



torn in pieces by a ferocious hawk." The answer 



is, the poor bird is not torn in pieces, and the 



hawk is not ferocious, but as gentle and docile as 



any well-behaved dog that obeys its owner's wishes. 



It merely exercises its natural instinct by killing 



prey to appease its hunger, and kills it, moreover, 



in a very merciful manner. Having struck down 



with its talons the bird it pursues, it seizes it on 



the ground with both feet, and while holding it 



securely, grasps the neck with its beak, jerks it up 



j suddenly with a sharp twist, and thus severs the 



: spinal cord. The bird is, therefore, killed much 



I more mercifully and speedily than often happens 



1 when a Pheasant or Partridge has been brought 



I down with a charge of shot, and as a game bird 



killed by a hawk is always put in the game 



bag for future consumption by the owner or 



his friends, it is a mistake to suppose that it 



is torn in pieces by the hawk. Having seen 



scores of Grouse and Partridges taken by trained 



1 The light leather straps that are fastened one to each leg, 

 the ends beins' attached to a swivel. 



