CHAPTER IX 

 Lark-Hawking - *.«.W\iieJl 



THE merlin, the lady's hawk, has always been the hawk 

 par excellence for larks. Hobbies, no doubt, have taken 

 them in the old days, though they were used more often for 

 " daring " them by waiting on above, which so terrified the larks 

 that they could be picked up by hand. They take them now 

 constantly in the wild state. But when reclaimed, they have for 

 many years past proved complete failures in the hands of our 

 modern amateurs. The late Lord Lilford made several attempts 

 to get work out of them, but with hardly any success. Mr. 

 George Symonds obtained a large number when he was in Italy, 

 but out of the whole lot could only get one to fly wild quarry. 

 The writer has twice attempted to train a male hobby for larks, 

 and on the second occasion enjoyed the advantage of valuable 

 assistance and advice from Colonel Sanford, who was at the same 

 time training a brother of the same bird. Great pains were taken 

 with both of these hawks, which were in perfect plumage and 

 condition, and had been well hacked by no less able a falconer 

 than Mr. Newall. They were well broken to the lure, and 

 thought nothing of waiting on for a quarter of an hour or more 

 at a vast height. Yet it was found impossible to induce either 

 of them to make any serious attempts at a flight. I started 

 mine on one occasion at least twenty times at various small 

 birds, sometimes putting them up underneath the hawk as he 

 was waiting on, and at other times throwing him from the fist 

 at them. These were skylarks, woodlarks, pipits, and other 

 small frequenters of the turnip-fields. When they were put up 

 under the hobby, he seldom took the smallest notice. When 

 thrown off at one, he would generally make a show of pursuing, 

 but give up before he had gone fifty yards. One lark put in 

 in front of him to a small heap of hurdles. But instead of 

 being " surcharged with fear," and allowing himself to be picked 

 up, he seemed to have as much contempt for his pursuer as the 



