NOTICES OF NKW BOOKS. B7 



Reminiscences of a Falconer. By Major Charles Hawkins 

 FiSHEE. John C. Nimmo. 



This is the account of an old sport genially described by one 

 of its devoted followers, and if we cannot all go " a hawking," we 

 shall still find much sound ornithological information in the 

 volume. It has become almost a proverb that Hawk does not 

 eat Hawk, but Major Fisher gives us instances of a trained 

 Falcon striking dead and " coolly eating a Sparrow-Hawk," and 

 of another trained Falcon most pertinaciously chasing a Merlin. 

 We also read in reference to the nidification of Books that it is 

 believed by many falconers and game-keepers, " and specially 

 by that observant class of men, the shepherds on the Wiltshire 

 downs, that Rooks are not adult and do not breed, and are not 

 allowed by the others to make a nest until they are fully two 

 years old or upwards." We were also not aware that Hawks that 

 have been well entered to game may be lost for a time and be 

 none the worse for it. " Indeed, they may be improved by a 

 temporary restoration to freedom, and forget nothing of what 

 they have learnt." 



The author charms us with his sincere love of the sport and 

 its Falcons. After one exciting and successful chase of a Wood- 

 cock, the Hawk was not disturbed from her well-earned quarrj\ 

 The whiskey was served out, " and we drank her health all round. 

 Then we, too, set to work at our lunch, and when this very tame 

 pet Hawk had nearly done hers, I went up to her and took her 

 up, and having replaced the swivel in her jesses, and the leash 

 in her swivel, and cleaned her feet and wiped her beak and kissed 

 her, I fastened her to a stone in a lonely burn close by, and 

 witnessed her bathe and dry herself in the sun, preening her 

 feathers to her and our entire satisfaction." 



This should be a sport for our recently annexed South African 

 territories. The Transvaal veld is an unequalled area for the 

 pursuit, birds of prey are plentiful, and the right sort can be 

 easily obtained and afterwards trained. Coursers, Plovers, Sand- 

 Grouse, and Francolins would provide good quarry, and we 

 suggest falconry and this book as its introduction to those 

 sportsmen who will gladly welcome a change of occupation to 

 that which has now so long been dominant in that region. 



The illustrations, chiefly portraits, are excellent. It may 

 perhaps interest the subject of the frontispiece to know that he 



