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the ground jwhere game is known to lie, and suffered, if 

 an experienced one, to "wait on" till game is flushed. 

 However, tiHb ^est plan with m6st hawks, young ones espe- 

 cially, is to use a dog, and to let the hawk go when the 

 dog points, and to flush the birds as soon as the hawk 

 is at her pitch. It is not hy any means necessary that 

 the hawk should be near the birds when thay rise, provided 

 that she is watching; she will come at once with a rush 

 out of the air at great speed, and either cutting one 

 down with the first stoop, or the bird will save itself 

 by putting in, when every exertion must be made, especially 

 if the hawk be young and inexperienced, to "serve" her as 

 soon as possible by driving out the bird whild she waits 

 overhead. If this be successful she is nearly certain. to 

 kill it at the second flight. Perhaps falcons are bfest for 

 grouse and tiercels for partridges. 



Magpies afford much sport. Only tiercels should be 

 used for hunting magpies. A field is necessary — at the 

 very least 4 or 5 runners to beat the magpie out, and per- 

 haps the persence of a horseman is an advantage. Of course 

 in open flight a magpie would be almost immediately caugjit 

 by a tiercel peregrine, and there would be no sport, but 

 the magpie makes up for his want of power of wing by his 

 cunning and shiftiness; and he is, moreover, never to be 

 found except where he has shelter under his lee for sec\arity 

 from a passing peregrine. Once in a hedge of tree he is 

 perfectly safe from a wild falcon, but the case is otherwise 

 when the falconer approaches with his trained tiercel, per- 

 haps a cast of tiercels, waiting on in the air, with some 

 active runners in his field. Then driven from hedge to 

 hedge, from one kind of shelter to another, stooped at 

 every instant when he shows himself ever so little away 

 from cover by the watchful tiercels overhead, his egg- 

 stealing days are brought to an end by a fatal stroke, — 

 sometimes not before the field are pretty well exhausted 

 with running and shouting. The magpie always manoevers 

 toward some thick wood, from which it is the aim of the 

 field to cut him off. At first hawks must be flown in easy 

 country, but wheb they -understand their work well they will 

 kill magpies in ^very enclosed country, — with a smart active 

 field a magpie may even be pushed through a small wood. 

 Magpie hawking affords excellent exercise, not only for 

 those which run to serve the hawks, but for the hawks also; 

 they get a great deal of flying, and learn to htint in com- 

 pany with men, — any number of people may be present. Black- 

 birds (nay be hunted with tiercels in the same way. Woodcocks 

 afford capital sport where the country is tolerably open. 

 It will generally be found that after the hawk has made one 

 stoop at a woodcock, the cock will at first try to escape 

 by taking the air, and will show a very fine flight. When 

 beaten in the air it will try to get back to covert again, 

 but when once a hawk has out flown a woodcock he is pretty 

 sure to kill it. Hawks seem to persue woodcocks with great 

 keenness; something in the flight of a woodcock tempts 



