The sun., 1904-11-13

little round bells which are attached by
small leathers, called 'bewits, round the
hGwks ankles.
The jesses arc fastened in an ingenious
way to the swivel OF iron or brass, which
In its turn can be connected easily with
the leash by which the hawk = oonhnsd
case may be. As 4 or hoods, they must be +,
seen to be properly understood, HoodinE
Is one Of the fine arts-impoesible to man
with clumsy or akward fingers: The tight
fitting cap is fastened at the back OF tns
or pulled to with one hand and the .oper.
ator's teeth; and q well trained hawk viii
stand to the hood. quite patiently while
II Is deftly slipped over her head and made
fast.
Even when our eyas Is .msnned'
so as to put up oontentedly with
the presence OF men and dogs.- made 20
the hood and well broken TO the hr.
does not follow that she will On her nrss
of IT, soeteoss to wa auals 60 "a
example. But, of course, with wild caught
hawks, who have already preyed for them-
selves this difficulty Is not, not 20 y h1ssL re 20
health. and in fairly good condition. she
will not be fast enou gh TO come up with
her intended prey. And this, leads TO the
consideration Of the vitality imporfans
pTODlem O1 now 70 Suct u tIuh hpVAs
To insure health, 'castings' must bs
given, consisting OF wool, feathers OF some
indigestible matter, which she win, by
a natural process. throw up out OF her throat
when the digestible part Of her last meal
and courage she must be plentifully fed.
And yet in order that she may be keen In
the cause. she must on no account he over
fed or fed at the wrong time II by any mis-
chance, or by a mistake made in her diet
gb. ahp,,lI Ia, p,tf pf anrfa she must hR
physicked with the drugs prescribed In the
books And IL feather has been broken
by any accident, or by crabbng--or night
ing-with another hawk. 1t must be cum
the injured stump by the device OF imp
In many cases there will be some trouble
in curing the hawk-sfully trained in all
bolt with quarry which shs has captured
and Is intending to eat up. The worst
offenden in this respect are merlins: and
the difficulty is the greater because these
little hawks are usually flown at quarry
which they can easily carry of il they have
a mind to do so. Much patience and good
temper and the greatest care in not arousing
the hawks suspicion are required before
falconer can make In without hesitation
to the hawk on her hard-earned T earn. bo,esy,; 5;,t
and Its captor on his fist,
Most hawks are fond OF bathing, and
all Of them should be allowed an opp0r-
tunity Of doing so when they like The
ing the most ill-tempered and cantanker-
Gus OF all birds which come under the
falooner's hands. BLS, II the truth were
known, a great deal OF this ill-temper -is
due to the unskllfuiness OF the uaineI
Eyas sparrow-hawks are. It is true, almost
always uresome and stupid. But haggards,
and all those which have been caught wild,
II they are cunningly and quickly reclaimed,
will almost always prove as obed1ent ana
willing servants as man can wish to have
There are many tests by which 1t can be
ascertained whether hawks are In good
health and fettle or not But the very look
Of their eyes and their attitude, even when
standing still, AFFORD signs which can hardly
be mistaken. Merlins. no doubt, are the
most lively Of all hawks and most readily
betray by their outward appearances the
condition OF body and mind in which they
happen to be. But in the case oil these, AZ
and fair amount Of exercise will generally
suffice to keep them in proper condition.
With the short winged species-that i.
with goshawks and sparrowhawks-it is q
different matter. Only by assiduos per,
in that happy state which is called by fal-
coners "yarak." A fine hawk when In
yarak shows in every line OF her form,
as she stands on the bowperch her heroe
and hungry eageness i9r the tS;a Gnase ne-
tion OF suppressed excitement and keen
energy she has been carried on the fist for
hours together. Her feathers have been
stroked by the man who thus carried her,
and her attention has been kept alive by
constant change OF scene and by the society
Of all sorts Of living and moving objects.
The short winged hawks when In fun
yarak will astonish even their best friends
by the ardor and vigor with which they
will engage in the pursuit Of all kinds Of
suitable quarry. They are almost indefat-
igable In the field and will fly tine after
time for hours together without the least
abatement OF rest and persistency. Thus
female goshawk has been Known TO ny and
A sparrowh awk. male or female. win ksep up
the chase after an old blacltbird while he 10
routed time after time by the attendant
beaters out OF the hedges or bushes into
good hours hard work On the part Of the
strike it's victim down IN tho open ground.
As the blackbird for the sperTowhGwk.: X:
70 the ma spie for the PereGtne es esrosi
in which the hswk--or rather the TIVE
hawks flown toeether-must be enerCt-
ically assisted By the men below. But
while the sparrowhawk. in the intervals
xhsn sa oS the Suspyg g,f has t,.ps hand or on
convenient bough OF some ntighboring
tree the tieroels wait on in the air, circline
| about and Watching with eager eyee the
eff orts OF their human allies to dislodse
| the fu gitive. -.
All the hawks catch their quarry by
means Of that dash through the air which
| In known as q .stoop.s But wberees the
| eHoTt Of the short winSed hawk 10 made from
! a comparatively low ELEVATION and consiste
often nors OF 0 sort Of .sp,1t' than q
headlonG descent, the rush OF . falcon
| from aloft is an exhibition of the fastest
| movement which nature givcs u u the
anirnal world. The speed Of . peregrhe
| in migration II believed often b az
ceed a mile q minute. But the speed Of
| such a hawk, or OF gerfaloon, q The end
| Of aIong et oop must b many times greater
| than this Either Of the se kinds Of falcons,
when flown at grouse, are thrown on With
| the intention that they shall mount to their
| spitoh often q quarter Of q mile hSh--
| and thence, when the birds are fu111st'
come down, almost like thmderoolt, on