obstinately persisted in proceeding by the Mozambique Channel instead of stretching as usual into the Indian Ocean south of Madagascar. Every commander of a vessel, as Fielding has remarked, claims absolute dominion in his little wooden world, and in too many instances shows the dangerous consequences of absolute power. Thus miserably perished William Falconer in the thirty: seventh year of his age. His fame rests on his poem of The Shipwreck, and rests securely. In that work he did not aspire to produce a great effect by a few bold touches, or the rapid and masterly grouping of appalling or horrible circumstances. He labours in detail, bringing before us the events as they arise, and conducting us with an interest constantly increasing towards the catastrophe. Such a tremendous picture of shipwreck as that which Byron has, in wild sportiveness, thrown out in Don Juan, immeasur ably transcends the powers of Falconer, and, indeed, stands alone in its terrible sublimity; but, on the other hand, the naval poet, by the truth and reality of his descriptions, ultimately impresses the mind of the reader, if not with such vivid force, perhaps with even more enduring effect. Some of the classic invocations to the shores of Greece, and some descriptive passages, are a little tawdry, but the grand incidents of the poem are never forgotten. The personification of the ship in its last struggles is sublime as well as affecting, and the reader's anxiety and sympathy with the principal characters and the hapless crew never slumber. Nor are the technical expressions and directions a drawback to the general reader. They are explained in footnotes, and give a truth and reality to the narrative; and they do not occur in the more impassioned (R. CA..) scene... traveller will be struck with the beauty of the prospect over more heard of, having, as is supposed, foundered at sea. 'isles that crown the gean deep.' But for an English-The captain was a stranger to the navigation, and had man Colonna has yet an additional interest, as the actual spot of Falconer's Shipwreck. Pallas and Plato are forgotten in the recollection of Falconer and Campbell"Here in the dead of niglit, by Lonna's steep, The seaman's cry was heard along the deep.' After the wreck of the "Britannia" and his return to England, Falconer, in his nineteenth year, appeared as a poet. He printed at Edinburgh an elegy on Frederick, prince of Wales,-a puerile inflated performance, and afterwards contributed short pieces to the Gentleman's Magazine. Some of these descriptive and lyrical effusions possess merit. The fine naval song of The Storm ("Cease, rude Boreas"), reputed to be by George Alexander Stevens, the dramatic writer and lecturer, has been ascribed to Falconer, but apparently on no authority. It is foreign to his usual style. Had he been the author he would assuredly have claimed it. Falconer continued in the merchant service until the spring of 1762, when he gained the patronage of Edward, duke of York, by dedicating to him his poem of The Shipwreck, which appeared in May of that year, "printed for the author." The duke advised him to enter the royal navy, and before the end of summer the poet-sailor was rated as a midshipman on board the "Royal George." But as this ship was paid off at the peace of 1763, and as Falconer's period of service had been too short to enable him to obtain the commission of lieutenant, he was advised to exchange the military for the civil department of the navy, and in the course of the same year, he received an appointment as purser of the "Glory" frigate, a situation which he held until that vessel was laid up on ordinary at Chatham. In 1764 he published a new edition of The Shipwreck, corrected and enlarged, and printed, not for the author, as in the former instance, but for Andrew Millar, the publisher of Hume and Robertson, and whom Johnson called the Mæcenas of the age. About nine hundred lines were added to this new edition of the poem, including what may be termed its character-painting and elaborated description and episodes. In the same year, 1764, Falconer published a political satire, a virulent rhyming tirade against Wilkes and Churchill, entitled The Demagogue; and in 1769 appeared his Universal Marine Dictionary, an elaborate and valuable work. While engaged on this dictionary, Mr Murray, a bookseller in Fleet Street, father of Byron's munificent publisher and correspondent, wished him to join him as a partner in business. The poet declined the offer, probably because his dictionary was then near completion, and he might reasonably anticipate from its publication some favourable naval appointment. He did receive this reward; he was appointed purser of the "Aurora" frigate, which had been commissioned to carry out to India certain supervisors or superintendents of the East India Company. Besides his nomination as purser, Falconer was promised the post of private secretary to the commissioners. Before sailing he published a third edition of his Shipwreck, which had again undergone "correction," but not improvement. Mr Stanier Clarke conceived that the poet, in his agitation and joy on being appointed to the "Aurora," had neglected this edition, and left the last alterations to his friend Mallet; but Mallet had then been more than four years in his grave, and Falconer, in the "advertisement" which he prefixed to the volume, and which is dated from Somerset House, October 1, 1769, said he had been encouraged by the favourable reception the poem had met with to give it "a strict and thorough revision." The day after this announcement the poet Bailed in the "Aurora" from Spithead. The vessel arrived safely at the Cape of Good Hope, and having passed a fortnight there, left on the 27th of December. She was never FALCONET, ETienne Maurice (1716-1791), a French sculptor, was born at Paris in 1716. His parents were poor, and he was at first apprenticed to a carpenter, but some of his clay-figures, with the making of which he occu pied his leisure hours, having attracted the notice of Lemoine, that sculptor made him his pupil. While diligently prosecuting his profession he found time to study Greek and Latin, and also wrote several brochures on art, in which many names both ancient and modern of great reputation are treated in a remarkably disparaging way. His artistic productions are characterized by the same defects as his writings, for though manifesting considerable cleverness and some power of imagination, they display in many cases a false and fantastic taste, the result most probably of an excessive striving after originality. One of his most successful statues was one of Milo of Crotona, which secured his admission to the membership of the Academy of Fine Arts. Many of his works, being placed in churches, were destroyed at the time of the French Revolution. At the invitation of the empress Catherine he went to St Petersburg, where he executed a colossal statue of Peter the Great in bronze. On his return to Paris in 1788 he became director of the French Academy of Paint ing. He died 4th January 1791. Among his writings are Réflexions sur la sculpture (Par. 1768), and Observations sur la statue de Mare Aurèle (Par. 1771). The whole were collected under the title of Euvres littéraires (6 vols., Lausanne, 1781-82; 3 vols., Paris, 1787). FALCONRY, the art of employing falcons and hawks in the chase,-a sport the practice of which is usually termed hawking. Falconry was for many ages of the Old World's history one of the principal sports. Probably it may be considered as having been always as purely a sport as it is at the present day; for even in the rudest times man must have been possessed of means and appli ances for the capture of wild birds and beasts more effectual than the agency of hawks, notwithstanding the high state of efficiency to which, as we may still see, welltrained hawks may be brought. The antiquity of falconry is very great. It seems impossible to fix the exact period of its first appearance. There appears to be little doubt that it was practised in Asia at a very remote period, for which we have the concurrent testimony of various Chinese and Japanese works, some of the latter being most quaintly and yet spiritedly illustrated. It appears to have been known in China some 2000 years B.C., and the records of a King Wen Wang, who reigned over a province of that country 689 B.C., prove that the art was at that time in very high favour. In Japan it appears to have been known at least 600 years B.C., and probably at an equally early date in India, Arabia, Persia, and Syria. Sir A. H. Layard, as we learn from his work on Nineveh and Babylon, considers that in a bas-relief found by him in the ruins of Khorsabad "there appeared to be a falconer bearing a hawk on his wrist," from which it would appear to have been known there some 1700 years B.C. In all the above-mentioned countries of Asia it is practised at the present day. Little is known of the early history of falconry in Africa, but from very ancient Egyptian carvings and drawings it seems to have been known there many ages ago. It was probably also in vogue in the countries of Morocco, Oran, Algiers, Tunis, and Egypt, at the same time as in Europe. The older writers on falconry, English and Continental, often mention Barbary and Tunisian falcons. It is still practised in Africa; the present writer has visited two hawking establishments in Egypt. Perhaps the oldest records of falconry in Europe are supplied by the writings of Pliny, Aristotle, and Martial. Although their notices of the sport are slight and somewhat vague, yet they are quite sufficient to show clearly that it was practised in their days-between the years 384 B.C. and 40 A.D. It was probably introduced into England from the Continent about 860 A.D., and from that time down to the middle of the 17th century falconry was followed with an ardour that perhaps no sport in our country has ever called forth, not even our grand national sport of fox-hunting. Stringent laws and enactments, notably in the reigns of William the Conqueror, Edward III., Henry VIII., and Elizabeth, were passed from time to time in its interest. Falcons and hawks were allotted to degrees and orders of men according to rank and station, for instance, to royalty the jerfalcons, to an earl the peregrine, to a yeoman the goshawk, to a priest the sparrow-hawk, and to a knave or servant the useless kestrel. The writings of Shakespeare furnish ample testimony to the high and universal estimation in which it was held in his days. About the middle of the 17th century falconry began to decline in England, to revive somewhat at the Restoration. It never, however, completely recovered its former favour, a variety of causes operating against it, such as enclosure of waste lands, agricultural improvements, and the introduction of fire-arms into the sporting field, till it fell, as, a national sport, almost into oblivion. Yet it has never been even temporarily extinct, and it is still very successfully practised at the present day. bustards, sand grouse, storks, ibises, spoonbills, pea-fowl, jungle-fowl, kites, vultures, and gazelles are captured by trained hawks In Mongolia and Chinese Tartary, and among the nomad tribes of Central Asia, the sport still flourishes; and though some late accounts are not satisfactory either to the falconer or the naturalist, yet they leave no doubt that a species of eagle is still trained in those regions to take large game, as antelopes and wolves. Mr Atkinson, in his account of his travels in the country of the Amoor, makes particular mention of the sport, as does also Mr Shaw in his work on Yarkand; and in a letter from the Yarkand embassy, under Mr Forsyth, C.B., dated Camp near Yarkand, Nov. 27, 1873, the following passage occurs:- -"Hawking appears also to be a favourite amusement, the golden eagle taking the place of the falcon or hawk. This novel sport seemed very successful." It is questionable whether the bird here spoken of is the golden eagle. In Africa gazelles are taken, and also partridges and wildfowl. The hawks used in England at the present time are the three great northern falcons, viz., the Greenland, Iceland, and Norway falcons, the peregrine falcon, the hobby, the merlin, the goshawk, and the sparrow-hawk. In former days the saker, the lanner, and the Barbary or Tunisian falcon were also employed. (See FALCON.) field, and most suitable for general use at the present day Of the foregoing the easiest to keep, most efficient in the are the peregrine falcon and the goshawk. In all hawks, the female is larger and more powerful than the male. Hawks are divided by falconers all over the world into two great classes. The first class comprises "falcons," "long-winged hawks," or "hawks of the lure," distinguished by Eastern falconers as "dark-eyed hawks." In these the wings are pointed, the second feather in the wing is the longest, and the irides are dark-brown. Merlins must, however, be excepted; and here it would seem that the Eastern distinction is the best, for though merlins are much more falcons than they are hawks, they differ from falcons in having the third feather in the wing the longest, while they are certainly "dark-eyed hawks." The second class is that of "hawks," "short-winged hawks," or "hawks of the fist," called by Eastern falconers "yellow (or rose) eyed hawks." In these the wings are rounded, the fourth feather is the longest in the wing, and the irides are yellow, orange, or deep-orange. falconry may, with the accompanying woodcut, assist the The following glossary of the principal terms used in reader in perusing this notice of the practice of the art. Useless or obsolete terms are omitted: Bate.-A hawk is said to "bate" when she flutters off from the fist, perch, or block, whether from wildness, or for exercise, or in the attempt to chase. Bowits. --Straps of leather by which the bells are fastened to a hawk's legs. Bind.-A hawk is said to "bind" when she seizes a bird in the air and clings to it. This term is properly only applied to the seizure of large quarry, taken at a height in the air. Block. The conical piece of wood, of the form of an inverted flowerpot, used for hawks to sit upon; for a peregrine it should be about 10 to 12 inches high, 5 to 6 in diameter at top, and 8 to 9 in diameter at base. Brail.-A thong of soft leather used to secure, when desirable, the wing of a hawk. It has a slit to admit the pinion joint, and the ends are tied together. Cadge. The wooden frame on which hawks, when numerous, are carried to the field. In Europe the game or " 'quarry" at which hawks are flown consists of grouse (confined to the British Isles), blackgame, pheasants, partridges, quails, landrails, ducks, teal, woodcocks, snipes, herons, rooks, crows, gulls, magpies, jays, blackbirds, thrushes, larks, hares, and rabbits. In former days geese, cranes, kites, ravens, and bustards were also flown at. Old German werks make much mention of the use of the Iceland falcon for taking the great bustard, a flight scarcely alluded to by English writers. In Asia the list of quarry is longer, and, in addition to all the fore-Cast.-Two hawks which may be used for flying together are called going, or their Asiatic representatives, various kinds of Calling off.-Luring a hawk (see Lure) from the hand of an assistant at a distance for training or exercise is called "calling off." Carry-A hawk is said to "carry" when she flies away with the quarry on the approach of the falconer. Cadger.-The person who carries the cadge. 8 "cast." mewed." Jesses.- Strips of light but very tough leather, some 6 to 8 inches long, which always remain on a hawk's legs-one on each leg. (See cut.) Casting.-The oblong or egg-shaped ball, consisting of feathers, | Intermewed.-A hawk moulted in confinement is said to be "interbones, &c., which all hawks (and insectivorous birds) throw up after the nutritious part of their food has been digested. Cere. The naked wax-like skin above the beak. Check.-A hawk is said to fly at "check" when she flies at a bird other than the intended object of pursuit,-for instance, if a hawk slipped at a heron goes off at a rook, she flies at check. Clutching.-Taking the quarry in the feet as the short-winged hawks do. Falcons occasionally "clutch." Come to.-A hawk is said to come to when she begins to get tame 5 LENGTH & INCHES HALE, NATURAL SIZE Implements used in Falconry. 1. Hood; 2. Back view of hood, showing braces a, a, b, b: by drawing the braces b, b, the hood, now open, is closed; 3. Rufter hood; 4. Imping-needle; 5. Jess; dis the space for the hawk's leg; the point and slit a, a are brought round the leg, and passed through slit b, after which the point e and slit c, and also the whole remaining length of jess are pulled through slits a and b; c is the slit to which the upper ring of swivel is attached; 6. Hawk's leg with bell a, bewit b, jess c; 7. Jesses, swivel, and leash; 8. Portion of first wing-feather of male peregrine falcon, tiercel," half natural size lu process of imping; a, the living hawk's feather; b, piece supplied from another tiercel, with the imping needle e pushed half its length into it and ready to be pushed home into the living bird's feather. Coping.-Cutting the beak or talons or a hawk is called "coping." Crabbing-Hawks are said to "crab" when they scize one another fighting. Creance.-A long line or string. Leash.-A strong leathern thong, some 21 or 3 feet long, with a knot or button at one end. See 7 in cut.) Lure.-The instrument used for calling long-winged hawks,- a dead pigeon, or an artificial lure made of leather and feathers or wings of birds, tied to a string. Man a hawk.-To tame a hawk and accustom her to strangers. Mantle.-A hawk is said to "mantle" when she stretches out a leg and a wing simultaneously, a common action of hawks when at ease; also when she spreads out her wings and feathers to hide any quarry or food she may have seized from another hawk, or from man. In the last case it is a fault. Make hawk.-A hawk is called a "make hawk" when, as a thoroughly trained and steady hawk, she is flown with young ones to teach them their work. Mew.-A hawk is said to "mew" when she moults. The place where a hawk was kept to moult was in olden times called her "mew." Buildings where establishments of hawks were kept were called "mews "-an appellation which in many cases they have retained to this day. Pannel.-The stomach of a hawk, corresponding with the gizzard of a fowl, is called her pannel. In it the casting is formed. Passage. The line herons take over a tract of country on their way to and from the heronry when procuring food in the breeding season is called a "passage." Passage hawks.-Are hawks captured when on their passage or migration. This passage takes place twice a year, in, spring and autumn. Pelt. The dead body of any quarry the hawk has killed. Plume.-A hawk is said to "plume" a bird when she pulls off the Point.-A hawk "makes her point" when she rises in the air in a peculiar manner over the spot where quarry has saved itself from capture by dashing into a hedge, or has otherwise secreted itself. Pull through the hood.-A hawk is said to pull through the hood when she eats with it on. Put in.-A bird is said to "put in" when it saves itself from the hawk by dashing into covert or other place of security. Quarry.-The bird or beast flown at. Rake out.-A hawk is said to "rake out" when she flies, while "waiting on" (see Wait on), too far and wide from her master. Red hawk.-Hawks of the first year, in the young plumage, are called "red hawks." air. Ringing.-A bird is said to "ring" when it rises spirally in the Rufter hood.-An easy fitting hood, not, however, convenient for hooding and unhooding-used only for hawks when first captured (see 3 in cut). Seeling.-Closing the eyes by a fine thread drawn through the lid of each eye, the threads being then twisted together above the Serving a hawk.- Driving out quarry which has taken refuge, or Crop, to put away.-A hawk is said to "put away her crop" when Take the air.-A bird is said to "take the air" when it seeks to the food passes out of the crop into the stomach. Deck feathers.-The two centre tail-feathers. Eyas.-A hawk which has been brought up from the nest is an "eyas." Eyry. The nest of a hawk. Foot.-A hawk is said to "foot" well or to be a "good footer Frounce.-A disease in the mouth and throat of hawks. Hack. The state of partial liberty in which young hawks must Haggard.-A wild-caught hawk in the adult plumage. Hoodshy.-A hawk is said to be "hoodshy" when she is afraid of, Imping. The process of mending broken feathers is called "imping." (See 8 in cut.) escape by trying to rise higher than the falcon. Tiercel. The male of various falcons, particularly of the peregrine, Wait on.-A hawk is said to "wait on when she flies above her. Weathering.-Hawks are "weathered" by being placed unhooded The training of hawks affords much scope for judgment, experience, and skill on the part of the falconer, who must carefully observe the temper and disposition as weil as the 21 inches long, rough filed so as to be three-sided and taper-constitution of cach bird; and various practices are re Faping needle-A piece of tough soft iron wire from about 1 to ing from the middle to the ends. (See 4 in cut.) sorted to which cannot be here described. It is through This the appetite principally that hawks, like most wild animals, | her. If her casting is not thrown it is better for him to are tamed; but to fit them for use in the field much retiro, leaving the room quite dark, and come in again later. patience, gentleness, aud care must be used. Sloveuly She must now be taught to know tho voice, -the shout taming necessitates starving, and low condition and weak- that is used to call her in the field,—and to jump to the fist ness are the result. The aim of the falconer must bo for food, the voice being used every time she is fed. to have his hawks always keen, and the appetite when When she comes freely to the fist she must be made acthey are brought into the field should be such as would in- quainted with the lure. Kneeling down with the hawk on duce the bird in a state of nature to put forth its full his fist, and gently unhooding her, the falconer casts out a powers to obtain its food, with, as near as possible, a cor- lure, which may be either a dead pigeon or an artificial responding condition as to flesh. The following is an out- lure garnished with beefsteak tied to a string, to a distance line of the process of training hawks, beginning with the of a couple or three fect in front of her. When she jumps management of a wild-caught peregrine falcon. When first down to it, she should be suffered to eat a little on it-the taken, a rufter hood should be put on her head, and she voice being used-tho while receiving morsels from the must be furnished with jesses, swivel, leash, and bell. A falconer's hand; and before her meal is finished she must thick glove or rather gauntlet must be worn on the left be taken off to the hand, being induced to forsake the luro hand (Eastern falconers always carry a hawk on the right), for the hand by a tempting piece of meat. This treatment and she must be carried about as much as possible, late into will help to check her inclination hereafter to carry her the night, every day, being constantly stroked with a bird's quarry. This lesson is to be continued till the falcon feeds wing or feather, very lightly at first. At night she should very boldly on the lure on the ground, in the falconer's be tied to a perch in a room with the window darkened, so presence-till she will suffer him to walk round her while that no light cau enter in the morning. The perch should she is feeding. All this time she will have been held by be a padded pole placed across the room, about four and a the leash only, but in the next step a strong but light half feet from the ground, with a canvas screen underneath. creance must be made fast to the leash, and an assistant She will easily be induced to feed in most cases by draw-holding the hawk should unhood her, as the falconer, standing a piece of beefsteak over her feet, brushing her legs at the time with a wing, and now and then, as she snaps, slipping a morsel into her mouth. Care must be taken to make a peculiar sound with the lips or tongue, or to use a low whistle as she is in the act of swallowing; she will very soon learn to associate this sound with feeding, and it will be found that directly she hears it, she will gripe with her talons, and bend down to feel for food. When the falconer perceives this and other signs of her "coming to," that she no longer starts at the voice or touch, and steps quietly up from the perch when the hand is placed under her feet, it will be time to change her rufter hood for the ordinary hood. This latter should be very carefully chosen,-an easy fitting one, in which the braces draw closely aud yet easily and without jerking. An old one previously worn is to be recommended. The hawk should be taken into a very dark room,-one absolutely dark is best,-and the change should be made if possible in total darkness. After this she must be brought to feed with her hood off; at first she must be fed every day in a darkened room, a gleam of light being admitted. The first day, the hawk having seized the food, and begun to pull at it freely, the hood must be gently slipped off, and after she has eaten a moderate quantity, it must be replaced as slowly and gently as possible, and she should be allowed to finish her meal through the hood. Next day the hood may be twice removed, and so on; day by day the practice should be continued, and more light gradually admitted, until the hawk will feed freely in broad daylight, and suffer the hood to be taken off and replaced without opposition. Next she must be accustomed to see and feed in the presence of strangers and dogs, &c. A good plan is to carry her in the streets of a town at night, at first where the gaslight is not strong, and where persons passing by are few, unhooding and hooding her from time to time, but not letting her get frightened. Up to this time she should be fed on lean beefsteak with no castings, but as soon as she is tolerably tame and submits well to the hood, she must occasionally be fed with pigeons and other birds. This should be done not later than 3 or 4 P.M., and when she is placed on her perch for the night in the dark room, she must be unhooded and left so, of course being carefully tied up. The falconer should enter the room about 7 or 8 A.M. next day, admitting as little light as possible, or using a candle. He should first observe if she has thrown her casting; if so, he will at once take her to the fist giving her a bite of food, and re-hood ing at a distance of 5 to 10 yards, calls her by shouting Young hawks, on being received by the falconer before they can fly, must be put into a sheltered place, such as an outhouse or shed. The basket or hamper should be filled with straw. A hamper is best, with the lid so placed as to form a platform for the young hawks to come out upon to feed. This should be fastened to a beam or prop a few feet from the ground. The young hawks must be most plentifully fed on the best fresh food obtainable--good beefsteak and fresh-killed birds; the falconer when feeding them should use his voice as in luting. As they grow old enough they will come out, and perch about the roof of their shed, by degrees extending their flights to neighbouring buildings or trees, never failing to come at feeding time to the place where they are fed. Soon they will be continually on the wing, playing or fighting with one another, and later the falconer will observe them chasing other birds, as pigeons and rooks, which may be passing by. As soon as one fails to come for a meal, it must be at once caught with a bow net or a snare the first time it comes back, or it will be lost. It must be borne in mind that the longer hawks can be left at hack the better they are likely to be for use in the field,-those hawks being always the best which have preyed a few times for themselves before being caught. Of courso there is great risk of losing hawks when they begin to prey for themselves. When a | is sighted winging his way at a height in the air over an hawk is so caught, she is said to be "taken up" from hack. She will not require a rufter hood, but a good deal of the management described for the passage falcon will be necessary. She must be carefully tamed and broken to the hood in the same manner, and so taught to know the lure; but, as might be expected, very much less difficulty will be experienced. As soon as the eyas knows the lure sufficiently well to come to it sharp and straight from a distance, she must be taught to "wait on." This is effected by letting the hawk loose in an open place, such as a down. It will be found that she will circle round the falconer looking for the lure she has been accustomed to see,-perhaps mount a little in the air, and advantage must be taken of a favourable moment when the hawk is at a little height, her head being turned in towards the falconer, to let go a pigeon which she can easily catch. When the hawk has taken two or three pigeons in this way, and mounts immediately in expectation, in short, begins to wait on, she should see no more pigeons, but be tried at game as soon as possible. Young peregrines should be flown at grouse first in preference to partridges, not only because the season commences earlier, but because, grouse being the heavier birds, they are not so much tempted to "carry" as with partridges. The training of the great northern falcons, as well as that of merlins and hobbies, is conducted much on the above principles, but the jerfalcons will seldom wait on well, and merlins will not do it at all. The training of short-winged hawks is a simpler process. They must, like falcons, be provided with jesses, swivel, leash, and bell. In these hawks a bell is sometimes fastened to the tail. Sparrow-hawks can, however, scarcely carry a bell big enough to be of any service. The hood is seldom used for short-winged hawks,-never in the field. They must be made as tame as possible by carriage on the fist and the society of man, and taught to come to the fist freely when required-at first to jump to it in a room, and then out of doors. When the goshawk comes freely and without hesitation from short distances, she ought to be called from long distances from the hand of an assistant, but not oftener than twice in each meal, until sho will come at least 1000 yards, on each occasion being well rewarded with some food she likes very much, as a freshkilled bird, warın. When she does this freely, and endures the presence of strangers, dogs, &c., a few bagged rabbits should be given to her, and she will be ready to take the field. Some accustom the goshawk to the use of the lure, for the purpose of taking her if she will not come to the fist in the field when she has taken stand in a tree after being baulked of her quarry, but it ought not to be necessary to use it. Falcons or long-winged hawks are either "flown out of the hood," ie., unhooded and slipped when the quarry is in sight, or they are made to "wait on" till game is flushed. Herons and rooks are always taken by the former method. Passage hawks are generally employed for flying at these birds, though we have known some good eyases quite equal to the work. For heron-hawking a well-stocked heronry is in the first place necessary. Next an open country which can be ridden over-over which herons are in the constant habit of passing to and from their heronry on their fishing excursions, or making their "passage." A heron found at his feeding place at a brook or pond affords no sport whatever. If there be little water any peregrine falcon that will go straight at him will seize him Boon after he rises. It is sometimes advisable to fly a young falcon at a heron so found, but it should not be repeated. If there be much water the heron will neither show sport nor be captured. It is quite a different affair when he open tract of country free from water. Though he has no chance whatever of competing with a falcon in straight. forward flight, the heron has large concave wings, a very light body proportionately, and air-cells in his bones, and can rise with astonishing rapidity, more perpendicularly, or, in other words, in smaller rings, than the falcon can, with very little effort. As soon as he sees the approach of the falcon, which he usually does almost directly she is cast off, he makes play for the upper regions. Then the falcon commences to climb too to get above him, but in a very different style. She makes very large circles or rings, travelling at a high rate of speed, due to her strength and weight and power of flying, till she rises above the heron. Then she makes her attack by stooping with great force at the quarry, sometimes falling so far below it as the blow is evaded that she cannot spring up to the proper pitch for the next stoop, and has to make another ring to regain her lost command over the heron, which is ever rising, and so on, the "field" meanwhile galloping down wind in the direction the flight is taking till she seizes the heron aloft, "binds" to him, and both come down together. Absurd stories have been told and pictures drawn of the heron receiving the falcon on its beak in the air. It is, however, well known to all practical falconers that the heron has no power or inclination to fight with a falcon in the air; so long as he is flying he seeks safety solely from his wings. When on the ground, however, should the falcon be deficient in skill or strength, or have been mutilated by the coping of her beak and talons, as was sometimes formerly done in Holland with a view to saving the heron's life, the heron may use his dagger-like bill with dangerous effect, though it is very rare for a falcon to be injured. It is never safe to fly the goshawk at a heron of any description. Short-winged hawks do not immediately kill their quarry as falcons do, nor do they seem to know where the life lies, and seldom shift their hold once taken even to defend themselves; and they are therefore easily stabbed by a herɔn. Rooks are flown in the same manner as herons, but the flight is generally inferior. Although rooks ily very well, they seek shelter in trees as soon as possible. For game-hawking eyases are generally used, though undoubtedly passage or wild-caught hawks are to be preferred. The best game hawks we have seen have been passage hawks, but there are difficulties attending the use of them. It may perhaps be fairly said that it is easy to make all passage hawks "wait on" in grand style, but until they have got over a season or two they are very liable to be lost. Among the advan tages attending the use of eyases are the following:-they are easier to obtain and to train and keep; they also moult far better and quicker than passage hawks, while it lost in the field, they will often go home by themselves, or remain about the spot where they were liberated. Experience, and, we must add, some good fortune also, are requisite to make eyases good for waiting on for game. Slight mistakes on the part of the falconer, false points from dogs, or bad luck in-serving, will cause a young hawk to acquire bad habits, such as sitting down on the ground, taking stand in a tree, raking out wide, skimming the ground, or lazily flying about at no height. A good game hawk in proper flying order goes up at once to a good pitch in the airthe higher she flies the better-and follows her master from field to field, always ready for a stoop when the quarry is sprung. Hawks that have been successfully broken and judiciously worked become wonderfully clever, and soon learn to regulate their flight by the movements of their master. Eyases were not held in esteem by the old falconers, and it is evident from their writings that these hawks have been very much better understood and man |