FURNITURE AND FITTINGS 49 



the back (A, A) are pulled apart, and the back of the hood 

 is thus drawn tight, so that it is impossible to remove it. The 

 shorter and stouter ends are pulled when it is desired to slacken 

 the fastening, so that the hood can be taken off by lifting 

 the plume forwards. Usually each of these operations is 

 performed with the aid of the right hand and the teeth. As 

 the hawk stands on the falconer's left fist with her tail out- 

 wards over his knuckles, he takes hold with his right finger 

 and thumb of the brace which is on the hawk's left side, 

 and then catches hold with his front teeth of the brace which 

 is on the hawk's right side. A sharp pull brings the ends 

 apart, and the hood is braced up or slackened, as the case 

 may be. Before any hood is ever put on, the falconer should 

 remember to look inside it to see that no dust or dirt or 

 stray feathers or anything else has found its way in, and it 

 is as well to blow a puff of air into it to clear it of any particle 

 of dust. 



The rufter-hood is made of much softer leather, with no 

 plume, and a simpler fastening. It is used for newly-caught 

 hawks, and hardly need be described in detail, as before the 

 beginner has occasion for it he will have learnt more about 

 hoods than can be taught in any book. Indian hoods are 

 also made of softer leather, with a different and smaller 

 plume. They are fastened by braces which run round the 

 lower side, passing in and out of the leather and working 

 by friction. 



This completes the list of ordinary hawk's furniture. But 

 there are a few other appliances with which the beginner 

 must become familiar before he can undertake to train, or even 

 to keep, a hawk. 



A brail (Fig. 28) is a sort of manacle for an unmanageable 

 hawk, which keeps on bating and fidgeting with her wings. It 

 consists of a narrow strip of fine soft leather, having a slit 

 two or three inches long down the middle. Into this slit 

 is inserted the pinion joint of the hawk's closed wing. The 

 upper end of the brail will then of course extend upwards over 

 her back, and the lower will hang downwards by her side. 

 Now take the upper end and pass it down under the under 

 part of her wing between it and her ribs. Pass the lower end 

 in the contrary direction upwards under the under side of the 

 same wing. The two ends will now be pointing in the opposite 

 direction to that first described. Next bring them together 

 on the outside of the wing, and tie in a plain bow-knot, making 

 the bows very short and passing the single ends through them. 



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