TRAINING 2610 



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she should be tried by daylight on the following day, and, ifg; 



she has been carefully handled, no doubt she will feed well 



enough on hand in a short time in the open air, with strange;^ 

 •people about her. She should now be carried as much as^ 

 ipossible among strange dogs, children, &c., and her idle^" 

 jmoments may be spent bareheaded on a block in some place"^ 

 Tvhere she will see many strangers of all sorts, and in this way'v o- 

 'she will tame herself in a few days, and will eagerly jump XoSz^ 

 ■Jhe fist for the even ing meal, which she has become accustomed^** 



to take there. (The next step in her training is to break her > - 



y ^^-^ — " — ' . ^fl &. 



3to the hood, and this is a most important one, for to be shy of§? 

 sthe hood is one of the most serious vices with which a hawk-r • 

 jcan be cursed. It is hardly too much to say that there is no fejj- 

 (^fault that a hawk can possess which may not be induced byMpi- 

 2a dislike to the hood in the first instance. It lies with the^c 

 "falconer himself whether his hawk shall be perfect in this>« 

 arespect, and there is no greater test of the skill and patience^ 

 -of the trainer than the way in which his hawks stand to the^^ ■ 

 Jhood. Not on his own fist. Re may be an exceedingly skilful a.^ 

 • hooder, and his hawks may know him perfectly, and let him^*/? 

 Jhood them easily enough; but a well-broken hawk shouldy-? 

 ostand well to the hood on the hand of any and every man who'o^ 

 ^knows how to use his hood with ordinary skill. To do this^ 

 ; jyell requires much practice and some dexterity : it is hardly -^r 

 possible to describe the process on paper. It should be done '^ 2 

 i^rmly, quickly and gently ; no shots or dabs taken at the'^i 

 "Jiawk's head, nor should the middle finger of the hand which 5 I 

 holds the hood by the plume be used to thrust the hawk's"^ 

 ihead into the hood ; but it must be gently placed on her head^^-J 

 land a quicL^o^inent made of the hand on which she perches, 

 [so as to cantiier forward, as it were, and let her hood herself. 

 Any person who aspires to become a successful trainer of 

 hawks must practise this branch of his art under good tuition, 

 and should he master it he may be assured that the rest of 

 the business will give him no great trouble. 



But suppose the young eyess to feed well on the hand, to 



