OBSERVATIONS UPON HAWKING. 



417 



and water-lilies, might harbour many pairs. Yet it is only at 

 migration time that we hear anything of the Spotted Crake ; and 

 as Mr. Harting, in a recent letter to me, writes : — " The reason we 

 so seldom see this bird is that it seeks safety in running instead 

 of flying (unless suddenly found in the open), and its running 

 powers are superior to those of the Moorhen." 



A COMMENTARY ON SIR JOHN SEBRIGHT'S 

 OBSERVATIONS UPON HAWKING. 



By the Editoe. 



Amongst the scarcer English treatises on Falconry may be 

 included ' Observations upon Hawking, by Sir John Saunders 

 Sebright, Bart., M.P., describing the mode of breaking and 

 managing the several kinds of Hawks used in Falconry. London : 

 printed for J. Harding, 32, St. James's Street. 1826.' 



This thin octavo volume of only 64 pages possesses the merit 

 of having been written from the personal experience of the 

 author, who had the further advantage of getting his MS. 

 revised by his friend John Dowson Downes, of Old Gunton Hall, 

 who was one of the leading falconers of his day, and who, in 

 conjunction with Col. Wilson, of Didlington (afterwards Lord 

 Berners), Col. Thornton, of Thornville Royal, and George, Earl 

 of Orford, did much to encourage and maintain this time- 

 honoured sport in England during the first quarter of the 

 present century. 



Through the courtesy of Messrs. Jarrold & Sons, the well- 

 known booksellers of Norwich, I have lately had the pleasure of 

 inspecting the original MS. of Sir John Sebright's work, and a 

 careful examination of it and comparison with the printed 

 volume has resulted in the following notes, which it is thought 

 are of sufficient interest to warrant their publication. The MS. 

 is contained in three white copy-books without covers, written 

 on one side only (the left), each book having about twenty-two 

 such pages, which are numbered. It appears to have been 

 fairly copied out by an amanuensis, submitted to Mr. John 

 Dawson Downes, of Old Gunton Hall, who made notes and 

 suggestions on the right-hand pages, and was then corrected by 



ZOOLOGIST, — NOV. 1890. 2 I 



