662 
MR. T. J. MANN ON HAWKS. 
previous entering, and on one occasion I kept a Merlin through two 
moults, and lost her in the third. I always give away my Merlins 
at the end of the season or let them fly, they being useless as 
intermewed Hawks. 
A flight with them is very interesting. The Lark rings 
upwards, and the Merlins, for they are flown in casts, follow 
quickly, taking wider rings to get above their quarry. I well 
remember a grand flight in this county at a strong Lark on a lovely 
September day, a light south-west wind, a deep blue sky, with here 
and there a few fleecy clouds drifting slowly along. The Lark went 
up at a great pace and also the Merlins, until at last the trio were 
lost to the view of the best sight of the party. In a few moments 
two blacks spots were seen rapidly descending, the larger proved to 
be the better Merlin hound to the Lark, the lesser the other Merlin 
closely following the quarry and its companion in flight to the 
earth. I would strongly advise any would-be Falconer to commence 
with the Merlin. 
Goshawk and Sparrow Hawk. 
I now come to the Hawks, known -to the Falconers as the 
“short-winged,” or those flown from the hoU or fi-d, which are 
represented by the Gos and Sparrow Hawks, the latter being 
generally hacked in a room, though sometimes at large. Any one 
living in an enclosed country may have delightful sport with 
a cast of Goshawks, but they cannot be flown at the same 
time or they will crah. The male will take Pheasants well, also 
Rabbits and Waterhens; and Captain Salvin mentions an instance 
of a male Gos, the property of a Mr. Birch of Wretham, Norfolk, 
which could take old Partridges. The female will take Hares, 
Rabbits, Pheasants (if well placed), Waterheus, and Squirrels. My 
own Gos, “ Shadow of Heath,” a female, has taken Hares, but 
I consider it unwise to fly at them, for when the Gos is firmly 
bound on the neck of the quarry, the frequent and powerful kicks 
of the Hare are apt to seriously injure the wings of the Hawk. 
Captain Salvin, to whom I have already referred, has a female Gos 
called “ Agrippa,” and with her he has taken four hares in one day. 
Rabbit hawking is venj good sport, and they are no doubt the best 
quarry for old “ Shadow of Heath.” To convey to your mind the 
reason why the Gos was kept in so many country houses in the 
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, I will give you the total amount 
