342 FALCONRY 



hard, and protect them from cold draughts and damp. If 

 fed high without work, they will probably have fits ; but if 

 worked too hard without condition to bear it, they will be sure 

 to do so. They are best kept on the bow-perch, and indoors 

 on the screen. They must be flown with very short jesses of 

 rather stiff leather, for ordinary jesses are very apt to become 

 entangled in hedges, &c., and when on the perch a short leash 

 or strap, four inches long, should connect the ordinary leash 

 with the swivel, so as to give them room to jump on the perch 

 without recoiling on to their long tails, which are ever apt to 

 suffer in confinement. 



In conclusion, sparrow-hawks are the very best of all hawks 

 for the beginner who lives in an enclosed country to try his 

 hand at ; they cost nothing to procure, and, if failure be the 

 result, the loss is not great. If the beginner has the patience 

 and perseverance to master the peculiar temperament he has 

 to deal with, he may be sure that his further efforts in the art 

 of falconry will be made infinitely easier to him by this 

 experience ; and, if he succeeds in training a good hawk, he 

 may have a considerable amount of sport with her, as the 

 preceding records will show. 



