ah A Summary of Falconry. 



$: xv. 



Of mewing of Hawfe- 



FAlcons may be flown with till St. Georges day 5 then they muft be fet down : And 

 befuretofearchthemforLice, and if they have any pepper them well. Scowr 

 them alfo before you caft them into the Mew. 



There are two forts of Mewing : 1. At the Jiockor ftone. 2. Loofe, or atlargc. 



1. For the Stock* the place fhouldbe a ground-room, far from all noife or concourfe 

 of people. Place therein ( upon Trefl'els two or three foot high ) a Table, for 

 length according to the number of your Falcons, and five or fix foot broad, with 

 little thin boards of four fingers high nailed along the fides and ends. Fill the Table 

 with great fand, that hath fmall pebble ftones in it, and in the middle place fome great 

 free-ftones, a cubit high, made taper-wife, but plain and fmoorh above. Then take 

 a Cord of the bignefs of a large Bow-ftring, put it through a ring, and bind it about 

 the ftone,in fuch fort that the ring or fwivel may go round the ftone without any let : 

 And thereunto tie the Leafeof the Falcon. If you mew more Hawks than one, you 

 muft fet your ftones at that diftance, that when they bate they may not reach one an- 

 other, for crabbing. The great ftones for their coolnefs the Hawks will delight to fit 

 on : The little gravel-ftones are for them to fwallow. The fand is of ufe, that when 

 they bate they mar not their feathers, and for the better cleanfing their mewts : The 

 Cord and Ring, that when the Hawks bate this way or that way they may never tan- 

 gle, the Ring ftill following them. All day let your Falcons ftand hooded upon the 

 ftone, only when they would feed you muft take them on the Fift. At night off with 

 their Hoods. To avoid and remedy all ill accidents and inconveniences it were well 

 that the Falconer had his bed in the Mew. 



2. If you would mew at large you can mew but one in a room, unlefs it be fo big 

 that you may divide it into feveral partitions. Twelve foot fquareisfcope enough for 

 one Falcon, with two Windows a foot and an half broad apiece, each fitted with its 

 fhut, one toward the North, for cool air, the other toward theEaft, for the heat and 

 comfort of the Sun. If your Hawk be a great bater your Mew were beft bea ground- 

 room, which if it be, you muft cover the floor with grols fand four fingers thick, and 

 thereupon fet a ftone as afbrefaid. Befides,you muft make her two handfbm Pearches, 

 near each Window one, that fitting on the one (he may have the comfort of the Sun, 

 on the other the benefit of the frefh air. 



Every Week, or at leaft every Fortnight, fet her a Bafbn of water, that your 

 Hawk may bathe if fhedefireit, and if the doth, then take it away the night fol- 

 lowing. 



Your Mew muft alfb have a Portal with a little hole below, to convey in the de- 

 vice whereon their meat is ferved, called among Falconers the Hac^. And that muft 

 be made on this faihion. Take a piece of thick board, a foot and half long, and a 

 foot broad or thereabout, under the which faften two little Trefiels, three or four 

 fingers high. Let them be faft pinned or nailed to. Then bore two holes on each 

 fide thereof, and through each of thefe put a fhort Cord of the bignefs a Bow- 

 ftring, with the ends downward, and knots faft knit on them under the button of the 

 board, fo ftreight that you cannot raife the Cord above the board above a fingers 

 breadth or thereabouts. And when you would giv4 your Hawks meat, take a little 

 ftick fomewhat longer than the Hac^ and as big as your finger, but let it be of ftrong 

 wood, as Crab-tree, Holly, or fuch like, and upon that ftick bind your Hawks meat, 

 and put the ends of the ftick under the cords upon the Hac\^ and fo convey it into 

 the Mew to your Hawfe, that the Hawk may not trufs or drag away her meat into the 

 Mew,but,and as foon as fhe hath fed and gorged her felf, take it away again. It is good 

 to keep one fet hour of feeding your Hawk, for fo fhe will mew fboner and better. 



This Author prefers mewing at the ftock or grate before mewing at large. His 

 reafbn is, becaufe in that kind of mewing we take our Hawks on the Fift every day, 

 and fo may fee in what ftate they be 5 and if they fall into any ficknefs or infirmity, 

 may givethem proper medicines, which cannot be done when you mew at large. Be- 

 fides, if we happen upon Hawks that have preyed for themfelyes, it will be needful 

 to bear them often in the cool air in the morning till mid July or thereabout, yea, and 

 to call them to the Lure, and to ride abroad with them fometimes an hour or two. 



Mr. Latham 



