IX PRAISE OF HAWKING 5 



train hawks by personal experiment, and begin de 

 novo to discover the secrets of a decadent art. 

 During the past twenty years the practice of 

 hawking in this country has received a great check 

 by the deaths of several notable falconers who, for 



A MERLIN. 



the greater part of their lives, did much to encour- 

 age the old sport and uphold its traditions. Such 

 names as those of Freeman, Salvin, Brodrick, 

 Willimot, Fisher, and the late Lord Lilford, are 

 " household words " with the present generation of 

 falconers, and only those who, like the writer, had 

 the privilege of knowing them all, can fully realise 



