PARTRIDGE HAWKING. 2,19 



here it should be noted that it is all-important not to disappoint 

 the hawk in her first flight. To avoid this it is a good plan not 

 to unhood her and put her upon the wing until a covey has been 

 found and marked down. The hawk may then be flown, and the 

 falconer, walking towards the spot where the birds have " put in," 

 will be careful not to flush them until he sees that the hawk is 

 well-placed and with her head towards them, so that she may see 

 them the moment they rise. By this plan he will ensure the best 

 chance of success ; for if a hawk kills the first time she is flown, it 

 will be the making of her. Another piece of advice we would 

 give is, never to run up to a hawk the moment she has killed, but 

 give her time to plume the quarry and break into it, approaching 

 her quietly, and, when near enough, kneeling down with a bit of 

 meat or a partridge wing in the glove, and holding it under her. 

 She will at once seize it, and, stepping on to the glove, may be 

 lifted up gently by aid of the jesses, which must then be firmly 

 held, lest she should attempt to fly. The mischief of " making 

 in " too quickly to a hawk is that it alarms her, and causes her 

 either to carry off the bird she has killed to a distance, or to fly 

 away without it and give some trouble before she is retaken. The 

 fault of " carrying," thus induced by want of care on the part of 

 the falconer, is one that by all means should be guarded against 

 from the beginning. 



On taking a hawk up from the quarry she should have a 

 mouthful or two given her by way of reward, and it is not a bad 

 plan to pull off the head of the partridge — or grouse, as the case 

 maybe — and, crushing it to pieces, aflow her to eat the brain and 

 such tit-bits as she can get off it. The hood being then replaced, 

 she is ready to rest a while before essaying another flight. 



K k 



