HAWKS IN THE FIELD 205 



your rebellious hawk in the same way as if she had flown from 

 the fist, and, if you are wise, you do not give her a big crop. In 

 the case of merlins there is another plan : you may fly another 

 hawk while the first is sulking or fooling away her time on her 

 self-selected perch. The latter will indubitably join in when 

 you throw off the hawk on your fist, and you will have a double 

 flight, after which, if it ends in a kill, you will be able to take 

 up both hawks easily enough. 



In theory, after every unsuccessful flight the hawk ought to 

 observe certain fixed rules of conduct. Peregrines and almost 

 all other long-winged hawks ought first to throw up over the 

 place where the quarry has put in, and then wait on a while 

 for the falconer to come up. Short-winged hawks, and often 

 lanners, should take perch as near as they conveniently can to 

 the quarry's place of refuge ; and merlins will get still nearer, 

 very often waiting on the ground within a few feet of the 

 hidden lark. From these various situations they ought, if in 

 proper order, to be ready to come whenever the falconer 

 wishes — to the fist if they are short-winged, to the lure if long- 

 winged. It is also, alas ! possible that they may have failed 

 through being outflown — beaten fairly in the air. Directly the 

 falconer sees, by the spreading of the hawk's wings, that this 

 sad event has occurred, he will begin to swing his lure, and in 

 such case my lady ought — and generally will — at once rally to 

 headquarters. The young falconer should endeavour from the 

 first to keep his charges in such condition that they will always 

 come to the lure. If, at the same time, they are keen enough 

 to do this and high-fed enough to do themselves justice in a 

 hard flight, they may be called really well trained. Here lies 

 the real difficulty of hawking — to strike the balance justly 

 between too servile obedience and too disdainful independence. 

 Every day, and with every hawk, whether eyess or passager, 

 the falconer is confronted with it, only in the case of passagers 

 it is naturally more obvious. Wild-caught hawks are only 

 brought by degrees, and with a good deal of trouble, to really 

 like the dead lure, whereas to most eyesses their first notion of 

 working for their living is connected with the slight trouble of 

 flying either to the lure or to the hack board. Yet of the two 

 it is much more essentially necessary that the passage hawk 

 should come down quickly after failing in a flight, for if she 

 does not, she will hang about for a more or less limited time 

 near the spot where she lost her intended prey. And every 

 additional minute that she stays out alone, especially if out of 



