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from their writings that these hawks have been very much 

 better iinderstood and managed in the 19th century than in 

 the middle ages. It is probable that the old falconers 

 procured their passage and wild- caught hawks with such 

 facility, having at the, same time more scope for their use 

 in the days when qT;iarry was more ab-undant, and when there 

 was more waste land than we have now, that theu did not 

 need to trouble themselves about eyases. .We here quote a 

 few lines from one of the best of the old writers, which 

 may be taken as giving a, fair account of the estimation 

 in which eyases were generally held, and from which it is 

 evident that the old falconers did not vuiderstand flying 

 hawks at hack, Simon , Lathan^ writing in 1633, says of 

 eyases:- 



"They will be very easily brought to familiaritie 

 with the man, not in the house only, but also abroad, 

 hooded or unhooded; nay, many of them will be more 

 gentle and quiet when tinhooded than when hooded, 

 for if, a man do but stirre or speake in their hear- 

 ing, they will crie and bate as though they did 

 desire to see the man. Likewise Rome of them being 

 unhooded, when they, see the man will cowre and crie, <? 

 shewing thereby their exceeding fondness, and fawn- 

 ing love tbwards him..... 



"These kind of, hawks be all (for the most part) 

 taken out of the nest while verie young, even in 

 the down©, from whence they are put into a close 

 house, whereas they be alwaies fed and familiarly 

 brought up by the man, untlll they be al?le to file, 

 when as the s\jmmer approaching verie suddenly 

 they are continued and brought up in the same, 

 the weather being alwaies warm and temperate; 

 thus they are still Inured to. familiaritie with 

 man, not knowing from whence besides to fetch 

 their relief or sustenance. When summer is ended 

 they bee commonly put up into a house again, or 

 else^put in a warm place, for they cannot endure 

 a cofid wind to blow upon them,.... But leaving to 

 speak of these kind of scratching hawks that I 

 never did love should come too near my fingers, 

 and to return to the f aire conditioned haggard 

 faulcon " 



The author here describes with accuracy the condition 

 of unhacked eyases, which no modern falconer would trouble 

 himself to keep. Many of our falconers of this century 

 have had eyases which have killed grouse, ducks, and other 

 quari*y in a style almost equalling that of passage hawks. 

 Rooks have also been most successfully flown, and some 

 herons on passage have been taken by eyases. No sport is 

 to be had at game without hawks that wait on well. Moors, 

 downs, open country where the hedges are low and weak, are 

 best suited for game hawking. Pointers or setters may be 

 used to find the game, or a hawk may be let go on coming to 



