HAWKS IN THE FIELD 193 



generally be agreed upon for informing the cadge man from a 

 distance when he is to go forward with his burden and in what 

 direction. If the party is to include any people who have never 

 been out hawking before, they should be warned as to running 

 or riding in, and requested to stand still whenever a rook or 

 other quarry makes towards them as a shelter from the stoop. 

 The falconer himself should carry a spare leash and hood or 

 two, some string which can be unwound quickly without kink- 

 ing, and a supply of small coins wherewith to reward farm- 

 labourers or other rustics who, in case of a lost hawk, may give 

 useful information. He should also have a field-block or two, 

 or at least some pegs for pegging down a hawk by her leash, 

 and a certain provision of food for feeding up hawks which may 

 have failed to kill anything, or which are not to be allowed to 

 regale themselves upon the quarry which they may take. 



If the place where the hawks are to be flown is close at 

 hand, and there are not more hawks to be taken out than there 

 are men to carry them, a cadge may sometimes be dispensed 

 with altogether, and the light blocks which have been described 

 as field-blocks can be brought instead, taking care that there are 

 enough of them for each hawk (except the one which is for the 

 time being about to be flown) to be supplied with one when it 

 is desired to put her down. In some cases the hawk or hawks 

 may even be taken out bareheaded, as for instance when three 

 merlins are carried by three men, each of whom knows how to 

 manage his part of the day's business. But in most cases where 

 more than two hawks have to be flown, it will be found best to 

 hood up all except the one which is first to be thrown off. For 

 a hawk which is bareheaded on the fist or on a field-block will 

 bate very much if she sees a flight is going on in which she cannot 

 take part. Moreover, the man who is carrying an unhooded 

 hawk cannot follow a flight freely in which another hawk is 

 engaged, and, after assisting at the start, finds himself obliged 

 to see hawk and quarry sail away out of sight, while compelled 

 to stand almost still, rendering no service even as a marker, 

 and left in the lurch, with a toilsome walk or ride before him, 

 which very possibly he may not accomplish before another 

 flight starts, in which he will have even less part or lot. 



In every kind of hawking the marshalling of the field is a 

 most important matter ; so much so that success or failure some- 

 times depends upon the manner in which the quarry has been 

 walked up or approached. For instance, in the pursuit of rooks, 

 gulls, and larks, the chances of a kill are comparatively remote 



13 



