248 ART AND PRACTICE OF HAWKING 



weight or spring, to minimise the chance of its being inad- 

 vertently left open. 



Goshawks should never be moulted in company, and the 

 bigger falcons only when known to be good-tempered, and that 

 with a companion of the same sex. Tiercels, unless especially 

 cantankerous, may moult in the same room, and the same 

 thing may be said of female sparrow-hawks. All the other 

 small hawks may moult in company with others of the same 

 sex. In fact, in the case of merlins and kestrels there is no 

 harm in associating the two sexes, provided all occupants of 

 the club-room are kept, as they should be, constantly provided 

 with plenty of food. I am, however, disposed to think that 

 when merlins are loose together a good deal of chevying about 

 takes place, which is apt to be dangerous to the growing 

 feathers when the moult is nearly over. 



The moulting-room should never be cold, and still less 

 damp. In very wet and chilly weather artificial heat may be 

 used in moderation. For instance, there may be a small fire in 

 the room underneath, or the flue of a lighted fire may pass up 

 one of the sides of the room itself. The window also should by 

 all means face the south rather than the north. The moult is 

 quicker and better when a hawk is kept warm, whereas any- 

 thing like a chill may check, or at least retard, it seriously. 

 Yet there is, of course, a difference between warmth and 

 stuffiness. Of the two evils, however, I am inclined to believe, 

 with the ancients, that over-ventilation is worse than over- 

 closeness — if, at least, you are anxious to get quickly through 

 with the moult. 



The food for a moulting hawk should be nutritious without 

 being too heavy. It should be good and very plentiful. In 

 fact, the bird should be able to eat whenever she has a fancy to, 

 and to eat as much as she will. Accordingly, each time that 

 rations are served out they should be ample to last until the 

 next supply will be forthcoming. In quality the viands may 

 be rich and high-flavoured, if the hawk can stomach them. 

 John Barr moulted a falcon in an exceedingly short space of 

 time by supplying her constantly with the heads, necks, and 

 pinions of fat ducks, keeping her mostly under a small tented 

 shelter, upon the outside of which a summer sun beat down 

 with almost ferocious force. He declared that the feathers, 

 nourished by the fat contained in these succulent meals, came 

 down broader and stronger, as well as faster, than he had ever 

 known in other instances. Thus a " grene goose " was anciently 



