IMPLEMENTS 247 



Once we saw some capital leashes cut out of lion's skin, but this 

 leather is not often found in the tanyard. White horse-skin 

 is very tough and very good for hawks that are prone to gnaw 

 and tear their jesses, but it is apt to grow very hard with wear 

 and requires constant greasing and attention, and nothing is 

 better for leashes than ' porpoise ' hide or the leather of the 

 white whale. In India a leather is used that is very light and 

 good, and also soft : it is usually dyed some bright colour on 

 one side and appears to be goatskin. Swivels should be made 

 of brass in all cases ; iron or steel rust with bathing and then do 

 not act well. In old days 'varvels' or rings of brass, silver, or 

 even gold (often engraved with the owner's name) were attached 



Fig. 6. — Leash Fig. y.-SwiveV 



to. the jesses, and the leash run through them. But this more 

 clumsy arrangement has for a long time been superseded by the 

 swivel. 



Bells should be very good ones or they are not worth 

 putting on to a hawk. By far the best and most durable are 

 the Indian bells, of which the shape is peculiar (see fig. 8, p. 248). 

 They are easily procured through any friends who may have 

 taken up falconry in India, and they are largely made in 

 Lahore. Of rough manufacture and cheap in price, they are 

 perfect for the purpose for which they are intended and few 

 falconers use any others. They are light, of good tone in 

 general, and marvellously durable. We have used some for 

 many years, even until a hole was worn through the metal of 

 the bell by the clapper within it, and yet the tone was unim- 

 paired. Many attempts have been made to get these bells 



