and Tunyce Of the Merlyn THere is a kynde of Falcon that is called a Merlyn These Merlyns are very much like the Haggart falcon in plume in seare of the foote in beake and talons So as there seemeth to be no oddes or difference at al betwixt them saue onely in the bignesse for she hath like demeanure like plume and very like conditions to the Falcon and in hir kind is of like courage there-must be kept as choycely and as daintily as the Falcon. Assuredly diuers of these Merlyns become passing good hawkes and verie skilfull their propertie by nature is to kyll Thrusshes Larkes and Partridges They flee with greater fiercenesse and more hotely than any other hawke of praye They are of greater pleasure and full of courage but a mā must make greater care and take good heede to them for they are such busie and vnruly things with their beaks as diuers times they eate of their owne feete and talons verie vnnaturally so as they dye of it And this is the reason and true cause that sildome or neuer shall you see a mewed or entermewed Merlyn For that in the mewe they do spoyle themselues as I haue before declared My Italyan Author hath these words both of the shape and in commendation of the Merlyn The Merlyn is sayth he of the shape of a Falcon lesse than the Sparowhawke more nimble and wight of wing than any other hawke she doth kyll all such game and pray as the Sparowhawke doth vse to slay specially small byrds namely Larks Sparowes and such like all which she doth pursue with exceeding crueltie and courage She is reported to be a hawke of the fiste and not of the lure albeit a man may if he will make hir to the lure also She is a verie ventrous hawke and hardie by this we may coniecture it For though she be little bigger than a Piegon yet notwithstanding she will hazard hir selfe to flee the Partridge the Quayle and such other like foules more large than hir selfe and wil pursue them in so cruell maner as sundry times she followeth them euen to the villages townes whether the silly birdes do flee for ayde and rescue from their naturall foe the hawke The Merlin is the only hawke of al others in whom as mine Author affirmeth there is no difference betwixt the male and female but yet by experience we finde it otherwise for the female is the larger bird of the two and more big than the other in sight Some are of opinion that Lydos Hierax in greeke and Leuis accipiter in Latin is our Merlyn of whome we speake and that those birdes of praye whome Aristotle termeth Leues to our iudgement shuld be the Merlyns bicause they are the lesse hawkes of all others that are to be founde Of the Hobbye OF all birdes of praye that belong to the Falconers vse I know none lesse than the Hobbye vnlesse it be the Merlyn The Hobbye is a hawke of the lure and not of the fist also she is of the number of those hawkes that are hye fleeing and towre hawkes as the Falcon the Laner and the Sacre be If a man be disposed to describe the Hobbye he can not do better nor deale more artificially than to matche hir for shape with the Sacre For in good fayth there is but small difference or inequalitie betwixt them saue that the Sacre is farre the huger byrde The propertie of the Hobbie in all countries and regions where they are eyreed or otherwise brought is to soare and flee vpon the hountesmen and Falconers and so to follow them verie watchfully to the ende that when they spring or put vp any smal byrdes she may sloupe from hir winges and seaze on them as on hir pray And this is so ordinary a hawke and the practise that I speake of so generall as there is not the simplest bowre or peasant but doth know it I can make no fitter nor more apte comparison than to resemble the frye and small fish of the sea being had in chase by the huger sort of fish desirous to deuour them to the small foules and birds of the ayre pursued by the Hobbye For as sone as the silly fishe that is chased by the Delphin and such like do perceiue their safetie to be nothing in the Element of water where by God and nature they are alotted to liue eftsone haue they their recourse to the ayre to saue them selues chosing rather to lye at the mercie of the rauening sea foules soaring vpon the water than to yeelde them selues in pray to their naturall aduersaries the fish Euen so the Hobbies perceiuing the huntesmen or Falconers in the field so hunt the poore Leueret or flee the Partridge do forthwith accompanie them soring vpon them in hope to encounter some one smal bird or other whom the hounds or spanels shal by fortune put vp and spring by ranging the field Then the Larkes and such like small foules whose nature is not to braunch or take the tree but altogither to liue vpon the groūd finding themselues pursued by the hounds and spanels to begile thē are enforst to trust to their wings and to take the ayre being there finding thēselues molested by the Falconers Hobbies do make their choyce and election to become a pray rather to the dogs or seeke mercy among the horse legges and so to be surprised aliue than to affie in the curtesie of the cruell Hobbies and to be taken in their cruell talons where they are most assured to dye the death The Hobby is so nimble and wight of wing that she dares encounter the Crowe and to giue souse for souse and blowe for blowe with him in the ayre This is a naturall and speciall tricke that she dothe vse espying the Falconers in the field she doth followe them and attende on them but it is but for a certaine space as though in verie deede she had hyr lymites and boundes prescribed hir and appoynted howe farre she shoulde flee For as sone as she leaueth them she presently scoureth along the syde of some groue or highe woode where she dothe ordinarily vse to pearch and take the stande The Hobbye hath a blew beake but the seare of hir beake and legges is yellowe The crynet or little blacke feathers vnder hyr eyes be verie blacke so as moste commonly they continue and proceede from the beake to the temples or eare burres and in like manner is there an other blacke streake that descendeth to eyther side of hir gorge As touching the top of the heade it is betwixt blacke and yellowe but hath two whyte seames vpon the necke The plumes vnder the gorge and about the browes are reddishe without spot or droppe The plumes vnder the bellie or as I may best terme them the breast feathers are broune for the most parte and yet poudered with whyte spottes as Ermynes All the backe the trayne and the wyngs are blacke aloft she hath no great scales
well manned by the space of thirty or fortie dayes then maye you flee the fielde with hir and if you perceiue that she haue good desire to flee let hir flee and if she kil any thing giue hir a good gorge therevpon but if she kill nothing then feede hir with the legge or the wing of an Henne or a Pullet washed in cleane running water keeping hir still vppon the fiste as is before sayde and the next day flee with hir agayne and if she kill any thing giue hir hir rewarde and keepe hir in this order vntill she be perfectly entred and quarred but then you must haue discretion for sometimes by thys order you may bring hir lowe in suche sorte that she shoulde not easely be recouered to make hir flight strongly Yet Martine sayth the contrary but if an Hawke be very harde and stubborne to hir keeper in hir flight then let hir be well spowted agayne with luke warme water and so set abroade all night in the open ayre In the morning let hir be set eyther in the Sunne or before the fyre where when shee hathe well proyned hir you maye goe flee with hir and if she kill and flee well then keepe hir in thys order and tune for else she maye take sundrie euill toyes And thys precepte serueth as well for them that desire to haue good Hawkes for the fielde as otherwise and if you woulde haue your Hawkes loue theyr pray take Cynamon and Sugercandie of each a lyke quantitie and make thereof a powder and when youre Hawke hathe kylled anye thyng and that you come to reward hir sprinkle some of that powder vpon the parte wherewith you rewarde hir and it shall make hir loue that kynde of pray the better euer afterwardes How a man should vse an Eyasse Hawke IF you haue Eyasse Hawkes you shall feede them moste with Pultrie Beefe or Gotes fleshe and thys is done to keepe them from ill toyes and when they be well lewred and trayned then beare them vppon the fiste hooded and ordred in all poyntes according to the rule prescribed before in the fyrste Chapiter and after xxx or xl dayes past bring them to the flighte and the first seconde and thirde flight you maye bee fonde ouer them abating your fauor afterwardes by little and little vntill they bee brought in perfect tune spowting them oftentimes with wine and water For as Martine sayeth some Eyasse Hawkes wyll not muche bathe them Neuerthelesse you ought therein also to vse discretion for by often bathing or spowting you maye bring youre Hawke very lowe in suche sort that shee shoulde haue more neede of a good gorge than of bathing or spowting and especiallye suche Hawkes as are fierce of nature and wyll not often bathe of themselues A consideration of the diuersitie of Hawkes natures according to Martine THere are some sortes of Falcons whyche haue thys diuersitie of nature that some of thē well flye well beyng high and full of fleshe and some other flee best when they are kept lowe Wherefore a Falconer should haue especiall consideration therevnto for Falcons are fitte for all flightes as is before sayde but the blanke Falcons are of one nature and the blewe Falcons of another and the Falcon of the reddish plume hathe also hir properties diuers from the rest Neuerthelesse to speake as I haue founde of all other Hawkes the blancke Falcon is beste And bothe by reason and experience I fynde that shee would be kepte higher and in better plight than other Hawkes for you shall see the blancke Falcon keeping a lyke hand vppon hir and other Falcons proue higher and in better plight when shee is fleeyng than any other Hawke And the reason is bycause shee is very gentle and with more ease manned than any other kynde of Falcon and loueth hir keeper better so that thereby shee keepeth hirselfe higher and in better plighte than suche Hawkes as bate muche and are frowarde of condition ∵ Howe to seele a Sparowhauke and to make hir fleing according to Guillam Tardif A Sparowhawke newly taken should be thus vsed take a needle thredded with vntwisted threde and casting your Hawke take hir by the beake and put the needle through hir eye lidde not right againste the sight of the eye but somewhat nearer to the beake bicause she may see backewardes And you muste take good heede that you hurt not the webbe whiche is vnder the eyelydde or on the inside thereof Then put your needle also through that other eyelydde drawing the endes of the thredde togither tye them ouer the beake not with a streight knotte but cut off the thredes endes neare to the knotte and twiste them togither in suche sorte that the eyeliddes may be raysed so vpwardes that the hawke maye not see at all and when the threade shall waxe loose or vntyed then the hawke may see somewhat backwardes whiche is the cause that the thredde is put nearer to the beake For a Sparowhawke should see somwhat backewards and a Falcon forwards The reason is that if the Sparowhawke shold see forewardes she would beate of hir feathers or breake them when she bateth vpon the fiste seeing the company of men or suche like she would bate to muche But to trimme your Sparowhawke in hir rightes shee must haue Iesses of lether the whiche muste haue knottes at the ende and they shoulde be halfe a foote long or thereabout at the leaste a shaftmete betwene the hose of the Iesse and the knotte at the ende whereby you tye the hawke She should also haue twoo good belles whereby she may be the better hearde For commonly when a Sparowhawke taketh any praye she will carry it into some thicke bushe to feede thereon in suche sorte that she cannot lightly be eyther hearde or seene and whiles she plumeth it the plumage doeth oftentimes couer bothe hir eyes or one of them then to take awaye the saide plumage she straineth with one of hir feete and therby hir belles discouer hir Therefore if shee had but one bell she might happen to scratte with that foote whiche lacketh the bell and so shoulde not be hearde The Sparowhawkes which are wonted to be hooded and whiche will gently brooke it are muche better than they which will not be hooded For they bate lesse and are with more ease borne in the rayne or any euill weather For beeing hooded the Falconer may hyde and couer them with his cloke which he cannot do to the other Furthermore they shall be able to flee better and more strongly that are good weather hawkes for they shall be lesse brused than a hawke whiche is not hooded whiche will weary hir selfe with bating withall a man may the better flee with thē at aduantage bicause they bate not but onely when you woulde haue them to flee whereby they haue the greater courage and also a man may beare them in all places without bating or beating themselues out of breath Hovve a man shoulde manne a
pleasure When shee hath bathed and is weathered agayne throwe hir a liue Pigeon and let hir kill it and take as much of the bloud of it as shee lysteth but let hir not eate past one of the legges at that tyme Afterwarde set hir downe on some high thing with water by hir and beware of giuing hir any great gorge Then for foure or fiue dayes togyther giue hir fiue or sixe cloues of Maces lapped vp in a hennes skinne and that will recouer hir Of the disease that is called the priuie and hidden euill in a Hawke for vvhich vve haue no speciall terme SOmetymes Hawkes perishe for want of knowledge of some secrete disease that happeneth to them and therefore I will tell you how you shall know it The Hawke that hath that disease is alwayes greedie to feede insomuch that when ye haue giuen hir a great gorge in the morning shee will haue indewed it out of hande and if ye giue hir another at Noone shee will put it ouer by and by and if yee giue hir the thirde at night shee will dispatch that quickly also and the more shee feedeth the more greedie and nippie shee is This disease commeth of this that when your Hawke is verie poore and lowe in state and you desirous to set hir vp quickly thinking to bring hir in good plight with great gorges you feed hir with Pigeons and other fleshe which she cannot indew by reason of hir pouertie weaknesse for want of heate in the liuer the heate whereof is the cause of all kindly digestiō indewing Also you may know this disease by hir often muting which is waterish thin besides she doth slise further thā she is wot to do by reason of spedy induing hir meat Maister Mallopin in his booke of the Prince sayeth that for remedie of this disease yee muste stiepe a sheepes heart cutte in small peeces all one night in Asses milke or Goates milke and the next day giue your hawke a quarter of it in the morning for hir beaching as much at noone and the rest at night forcing hir to receyue as much of the milke as ye can and continue it fiue or six dayes togither till yee see hir mute kindely Then feede hir reasonably with good meate stieped in Oyle of sweete Almondes continuing it for three or foure dayes space twice a day And as ye find your Hawke to mend so increase hir meales by little and little till shee bee in as good plight as she was before alwayes continuing the sayde Mylke for some are of opinion that milke is good for all diseases of a Hawke Master Amé Cassian saith that to remedie this disease yee must take a Tortoys of the land and not a water Tortoys and stiepe the fleshe of it in womans milke Asses milke or Goates milke and giue your Hawke a quantitie of it for a beaching three or foure tymes and a little more at hir feeding tymes sixe or seuen dayes togither Afterwarde feede hir with sheepes heartes stieped in Womans milke by little and little at once till shee bee recouered and let hir not stande in a dampishe or moyste place but in warme places in the Winter and in coole places in Sommer and alwayes hooded Of the disease and weaknesse in the reynes WHen your Hawke cannot iumpe the length of hir lynes and Criance to your fist or from your fist vp to the perch nor bate with hir wings Ye may well thinke that she hath the disease of the reynes Therefore maister Cassian willeth you to chop a Hares skinne haire and all in verie small and fine peeces and to mingle it with Cattes fleshe and to feede your Hawke with it seuen or eight dayes togither and if shee indew it shee shall recouer of hir disease Of Havvkes that haue the ague or feuer TO knowe whither your Hawke haue the Ague Marke whether hir feete bee more swollen than they were woont to bee or no if they bee then hath shee the Ague To remedie this mischiefe Michelin sayeth you muste mingle Arsenicke and Capons greace togyther well sprinckled with Vineger whereof you must make a little Ball whiche you muste cause your Hawke to take by casting hir and vse it in such wise as she may keepe it and it will ridde the Ague Of the Havvke that voydeth vvormes IF a Hawke voyde Wormes by maister Martins aduice yee muste make this Medicine following Take of the fine fylings of yron and strewe it vpon your Hawkes meate which if you doe well must bee Porke and feede hir so three or foure dayes wyth that kynde of flesh so seasoned and it will cure hir Of the Teynte in a Hawkes feather and hovve many kindes of it there be HItherto ye haue read of the inwarde diseases of Hawkes Nowe I will tell you of the outwarde accidentes and first will speake of the Teynte whiche the Frenche Falconers call Taigne the Italians Zignuole and Tarmae whereof there are three sortes The first is when theyr principalles or long feathers beginne to droppe off by meanes whereof many Hawkes are marred and cast awaye without knowledge howe to helpe it Maister Amé Cassian sayeth that this commeth sometymes of the Lyuer and of the excessiue heate of the bodye by meanes whereof small pymples ryse vppon theyr wings or on their traynes whiche afterwarde cause theyr feathers to droppe off and when they are gone the holes where they stoode doe cloze agayne wherethrough the Hawke doeth perishe if shee bee not remedyed This disease is contagious and one of them will take it of an other and therefore yee muste not let the Hawke that is affected with it stande neare a Hawke that is sounde neyther must you touche or feede a sounde Hawke on the Gloue whereon a sicke Hawke hath beende fedde And yee shall knowe that shee hath that disease by hir often picking with hir beake vppon hir principall feathers of hir wings and trayne and by theyr dropping awaye Therefore cast your Hawke and let hir bee well perused and yee shall fynde the sayde disease For remedie whereof Maister Martin and Maister Cassian say you must cast your Hawke and when you haue sound the small pimple whence the feather dropt first you muste get a little sticke of Firre whiche is by nature gummie and fatte make a little pegge of it not sharpe at the foreende nor thruste it in with violence but softly as you may And if ye can get none of that Woodde then take a grayne of Barlye and cutte of the forepoynt of it and annoynt it with a little Triacle or Oyle Olife and conuey it into the hole so as it may sticke a little out and the hole not cloze togyther and stoppe agayne Then with a small Launce or Penknife you muste slitte the pimple and let out the redde water which you shall finde there After this take Aloes Cicotrine in powder and put it into the gall of an Oxe coyled in a dishe and with those two mingled
of hir pownces and crooked Talons which do bend like vnto a syth or sickle which in Latine is called Falx But wherehence soeuer the name is deriued this is moste assured that of all other birds of pray the Falcon is most excellent and the very prince of all other Hawkes both for hir goodnesse of wing and great hardinesse and courage Of the Falcon gentle and hir propertie THe Falcon Gentle by nature doth loue to flee the Hearon euery way and is a very good Hearoner as well from hir wings at the downe come as from the fiste and aforehead and will flee all other kindes of greater fowles as those which are tearmed birdes of Paradise fowles more large than the Hearon Moreouer she is good to flee the shoueler a fowle like the Hearon but somewhat lesse the wilde Goose and such other like fowles and therefore is excellente at the Riuer or Brooke If you take the Falcon gentle an eyesse you maye boldly flee the Crane with hir but if she be not an eyesse she wil neuer be so hardie as to venture on the Crane And therfore being an eyesse and neuer seing nor knowing any other lesse fowle than the Crane If you cast hir off to the Crane she foorthwith thinketh it to be a fowle fitte for hir and by meane thereof fleeth the Crane very well and becommeth a very good Crane fleer for Hawkes commonly proue eyther cowards or hardie after that they are first quarred An Obseruation IF a man doe well he shoulde neuer take the Falcons out of the eyrie till time they be full summed and hard penned or if he do happily committe that errour he should not man hir but presentlie cause hir to be conueyed and placed in an eyrie that most doth resemble the eyrie of a Hawke if he maye conueniently come by any such and ther breede hir and feede hir with good fleash such as is the fleash of Pullets Chickens Pigeons such like for otherwise hir wings will not grow to any perfection and hir legges and other partes woulde quickly be broken and waxe crooked and hir traine feathers and for the most part all hir long feathers and flagges be ful of taints The good shape of a Falcon. THat you may the better make choyce of your Falcon and know a good Falcon from a refuse I will describe you the perfecte shape of a right good Falcon suche a one as is very like to be good though many times we see that in proofe the most likely things to shew to the eye become in proofe the worste and of least regard The shape of a good Falcon therefore is first to haue wyde nares high and large eyeliddes a greate blacke eye a rounde head somewhat full on the toppe a shorte thicke beake blewe as azure a reasonable highe necke barbe feathers vnder the clappe of the beake a good large breaste rounde fleshy strong harde and stiffe bended And that is the true cause why the Falcon doth greatlye affye in hir breaste and striketh with it and gageth it moste at hir encounter And by meane she is very strong armed shee vseth the more freely also to stryke a fowle with hir pownces and talons Moreouer she muste be broade shouldered shee muste haue slender sayles full sides long and greate thighes she must be strong and short armed large footed with the seare of the foote softe and all one for hewe with the seare of the beake and nares blacke pownces long wings and crossing the trayne whiche trayne ought to be short and apte to bende and bowe to euery side For in the trayne of a hauke doth consist a greate helpe when she flyeth And therefore as well as for beautie if a trayne feather or couert feather be broken or brused we do couet to ympe them agayne or set them to right bicause it may be the lesse hinderaunce to the hawke in hir flighte You muste note that those verye Falcons that are of one kinde and sort haue very greate difference and oddes betwixt them and are called by diuers names according to the tyme that a man beginneth to deale with them doth vndertake them according to the places where they haunte and according to the countries whence they come They are diuided into Mewed hawkes Rammage hawkes Sore hawkes and Eyesses into large hawkes meane hawkes and slender hawkes all whiche are of diuers and seuerall plumes and mayles according to the diuersitie of the regions Also they are of diuers prices according to the goodnesse and estimation of them Agayne some are blacke Falcons some russet Falcons some other blancke Falcons some of whiche are riuer Hawkes to slaye the fowle at the brooke and other some fielde hawkes to flye the lande and there to kill the Fesant Partridge and such like fowles Thus you see howe diuers and many they be according to their outwarde accidentes yet in nature all Falcons Therefore bicause I am to treate of euery kinde seuerall I will not longer holde you in this place with description of the Falcon Gentle but hereafter when I write in another place of the diseases cures and the manning of these hawkes I will as neare I may let passe nothing that shall belong in any respect vnto the Falcō but that in one place or other you shall finde it Of the names of a Falcon according to hirage and taking THe firste name and terme that they bestowe on a Falcon is an Eyesse and this name dothe laste as long as she is in the eyrie for that she is taken from the eyrie Those Falcons are tedious and do vse to crye very muche in their feeding they are troublesome and paynfull to bee entred but beyng once well entred and quarred they leaue a greate parte of that vice and do proue very good to the Heaton and to the ryuer and all other kindes of fowle They are hardy and naturally full of good mettall 2 The seconde name is a ramage Falcon and so she is called when she hath departed and left the eyrie that name doth laste and she is called a ramage hawke May Iune Iulie and August These Falcons are harde to be māned by reason of the heate and for that they can ill brooke hunger or to stand emptie panneld but who so can vse them with pacience and iudgemente shall finde them passing good for that they are without faulte 3 Thirdlie they are called sore Hawkes from the ende of August to the laste of September October and Nouember Those hawkes are of good disposition they will doe verye well and are in their prime and full pryde for beawtie and goodnesse Neuerthelesse those firste plumes that they haue when they forsake the eyrie those doe they keepe one whole yeare before they cast or mew them and that kind of feather is called the Sore feather According to the diuersitie of these tearmes and times these Hawkes do become better and better to be manned and kept 4 The fourth speach and tearme
be not afrayde thereof nor of hir keeper when hee handleth hir In nine nightes hee shoulde not suffer hir to iouke at all nor to come on any perche but shoulde keepe hir continually so long vpon his fist And when he will call hir let him obserue this order Set the Falcon vpon the perche and vnhoode hir then shewe hir your fiste with some meate in it and call hir so long till she come to it And when she commeth feede hir and rewarde hir as pleasauntly as you can But if she come not giue hir nothing at all vntill she be verye sharpe set And this order must you keepe with your Hawke seuen or eight dayes togither When you would lure hir giue hir vnto some other man to holde and call hir with a lure well garnished with meate on both sydes as you called hir to your fist After you haue vsed that maner of calling sixe dayes or thereaboutes cause hir to be helde further from you and cast the lure about your heade and throwing it out vpon the grounde a little from you And if she come to it roundly then feede hir and rewarde hir bountifully And whyles your hawke is vpon the lewre go aboute hir fayre and softly lewring and crying wó hó hó as Falconers vse And when you haue thus done by the space of certaine dayes take your lewre garnished as before sayde and euery day call hir to you as farre as shee may well heare and perceyue you and let hir be loose from all hir furniture that is without either loynes or cryaunce and if she come so farre off to you then feed and rewarde hir well and stoppe hir in hir feeding oftentymes for that will make hir come the better but take heede that you hurt hir not in so doing You shall also sometymes call hir on horsebacke And when you haue vsed hir thus a moneth or vntill she come well and roundly and that shee be familiar with the man without any straungenesse or coynesse then may you stop the lewre vpon hir and make hir flee vpon you But before you do so it shall be meete to bathe hir least when she is at libertie she rangle to seeke water and so you might leese your Hawke and euery seuen or eight dayes your Hawke should be set to the water for the nature of them so requireth When you haue thus manned reclaymed and lewred your Falcon go out with hir into the fieldes and whistle hir of your fyst standing still to see what she will do and whether she will rake out or not But if she flee rounde vpon you as a good Hawke shoulde flee then let hir flee a turne or two whiche done throwe hir out the lewre and let hir foote a henne or a pullet and kill it and feede hir well therevppon Vnhoode hir often as you beare hir and cease not so to do vntill she haue endewed and mewted sufficiently When your Falcon is thus made manned go abrode with hir euery morning when the weather is fayre and calme and chuse a place for hir to flee in where there is some narrow brooke or plashe of water And when you cast hir off go into the winde so farre that the fowle may not descrie you And when she is cast off and beginneth to recouer hir gate make you then towardes the brooke where the fowle lie alwayes wyling and making your Hawke to leane in vpon you And when you perceiue that she is at a reasonable pitche then hir heade being in lay out the fowle and lande it if you can and if you cannot take downe your Hawke and let hir kil some traine as thus Take with you a Ducke and slip one of hir wing feathers and hauing thrust it through hir nares throw it out vnto your Hawke and cast it as high as you can right vnderneath your Hawke that she may the better knowe your hande and you And remember that you neuer flee a yong Hawke without some quicke thing caryed into the field with you that if she faile at first to kill the wilde fowle you may yet make hir kil that traine which you bring with you And this you shall doe for a certaine time vntill your Hawke be well entred and quarreyed and that she knowe a quarreyor sufficiently Some other Falcons there be of a contrarie nature which will require great skill to finde their properties And the same being knowne you may keepe them high or poore according to their conditions So shal you do more good with them than if you haue no respect to the diuersitie of their nature for then you should commit great errours and seldome make good Hawkes You may traine Hawkes in this wise First you shall feede your Hawke well vpon a fowle of the same kinde that you woulde traine hir withall or haue hir flee to And you shall doe so vntill you haue acquainted your Hawke with that kinde of fowle the which you may do in this sort Take that fowle that you will make the trayne of and set it on foote with meate tyed vpon the backe of it and go so neare it that the Hawke maye see it and when she seeth it let hir seaze therevpon and foote the fowle and kill it Or you may thus do better Take a Cryance and tye the fowle which hath the meate tyed on hir backe by the beake and cause one to stande close which maye holde the same Cryance Then vnhoode your Hawke and stande a farre off and let him drawe the fowle and stirre it with his Cryance vntill your Hawke may see it styrre And if she foote it then may you afterwards make hir this other kinde of traine Take a quick fowle which can flee and when you haue half seeled it and cast it out let your hawke flee to it and if she kil it reward and feed hir vp well vpon it ∴ To keepe and make Sparhawkes IF you would know howe to feed and man Sparrowhawkes that be taken tender penned out of their eyree it is meete that you keepe them in a freshe and sweete place and giue them as much as they will eate of small byrdes as Sparrowes Martlets and such like And also you may giue them other flesh but see that it be sweet cleane and good shred into small pellets vpon a cleane trencher When they beginne to waxe full somed giue them Sparrowes and other small birdes whole that they may learne to plume foote and tyre and set them a Bason of cleane water in a heape of sande that they may bathe therein and proine and picke their feathers They that be thus dealt withall do not know how to pray and therfore you must enter them by traynes in this maner Take a yong chickē which is of colour and plume like a Feasant or Partrich cast it out before your Sparhawke But if she flee not vnto it nor do foote it then strip the skin vpon the head of the chicken vntil it bleed and
in nothing more than in Hawking How to keepe a Hawke high fleeing WHen a Hawke is well made to the riuer you shoulde not flee with hir aboue two flights in a morning but feede hir vp although she kill not but if she bee a stately high fleeing Hawke you should not in any wise flee hir aboue one flight in a Forenoone for it will bring hir downe and make hir fall off hir stately pitche by often fleeing and becomming greedy and hote of the quarrey When a good high fleeing Hawke beeing whistled or cast off the fiste dothe gather vpwards to a great gate you must haue regard to continue hir therein fleeing with hir vpon broade waters and open Riuers eschuing little brookes and gullets and such places as lie neare vnder couert where there be trees shrubbes and bushes in suche sort that it will be very hard to land a fowle hansomly from them at least not without help of dogges and great clapping and a do Yea sometimes eake you must of force alight from off your Horse all which things are able to marre a high fleeing Hawke For asmuche as crying clapping of hands noyse bawling of dogges and alighting on foote and furthermore when a Hawke cannot see the water vnder hir al these things do teache hir to forget hir kindly fleeing and to play the Kite houering and winding as the Kite doth in the ayre without any shew of state and in twice or thrice doing so she abateth hir gate and marreth hir fleing Therefore let the Falconer take good heede to that consideration and keepe his Hawke alwayes as high fleeing as he can suffering hir but seldome to kill and not to stoupe beyond twice or thrice at the most and euen when she is at the highest let him take hir downe with the lewre where when she hath plumed and broken the fowle alittle let him feede hir vp by that meanes he shall mayntayne his Falcon high fleeing and inward and very fond of the lewre Here I will not denie but that if shee kill euery day although she stoupe from a very high gate yet if she be not rebuked or hurt therewith she will doubtlesse become euery day higher fleeing thā other mary therwithall she will so much forget the lewre as the more you shew it hir the more she will bend from it and flee out on head from hir keeper and oftentimes will teach you hot poasting iourneys Wherefore aboue all things the high fleeing Hawke should be made inwards and as we tearme it fond of the lewre bycause it is no lesse prayse worthy in a high fleeing Falcon to make in and turne head at the second or third tosse of the lewre and when she powreth downe like a stone vpon it than if she had killed nay rather suche are more esteemed than the other And so is the Falconer more prayse worthy which doth winne his Hawke therevnto For to come vnto the lewre is a thyng taught by art and industrie but to kill a fowle is the naturall propertie of a Hawke To make a high fleeing Hawke vpwards IT hapneth oftentimes that a Hawke although she bee naturally high fleeing will yet be long before she be made vpwards but will fishe and play the slugge for when she should get vp to couer the fowle she will stoupe before the fowle bee put out the which may proceede through two causes Firste it maye be that shee is too sharpe sette and the seconde cause may be that she is flowen withall out of time eyther too soone or too late So that when you see a Falcon vse those euill tatches without apparant cause you shall do well to cast hir out a dead fowle or a dead Pullet for a dead quarrey as Falconers tearme it and to hood hir vp without any rewarde to the end she may take none encouragemēt to vse those vile tricks for there is no greater spoyle to an high fleeing Hawke than when she killeth a fowle from a base and lowe pitche and so much the greater is the losse of hir by how much the more she doth vse those vile buzardly parts Therefore by my best experience I prayse that order to throwe hir out a dead quarrey and hood hir vp then afterwardes within halfe an houre call hir to the lewre and feede hir and do this as often as she vseth to fishe or to play the base slugge on that fashion and to find whether it proceede of being too sharpe sette or of fleeing out of time the Falconer shall doe well with all diligence to note the naturall disposition of his Hawkes as whiche will flee beeing high and in good plight and whiche best when she is kepte lowe whiche will flee best when she is set most sharpe and eager and whyche contrary and whiche in a meane betweene both whiche earely at Sunnerising and whiche when the Sunne is two houres high or more whyche sooner and whiche later in an euening For the natures of Falcons are very diuers and sundrie in suche sorte as to flee with a hawke at hir best houre and time and to flee with hir out of that time is a thing which will shew as great difference as betweene an excellent good Hawke and a Kight Therefore let the Falconer haue especiall regarde therevnto setting hys Hawkes to flee according to their natures and dispositions and keeping them always in good order And here it is to be noted that all Hawkes aswell Sorehawkes as mewed hawkes and haggards should be set out in the euening two or three houres some more and some lesse hauing cōuenient regard to their nature as it is stronger or weaker and in the morning also accordingly as they cast hooding them first then setting them abroade a weathering vntill you get vp an Horsebacke to go to field and so your Hawkes will always be well weathered and in good order These bee the best meanes and obseruations which I can set downe for Riuer Hawkes whiche if it succeede wel to you then shall you stande assured of your sport and I of my desire To make a Falcon to the Hearon NOw to teach you to make a flight at the Hearon although it be the most noblest and stately flight that is and pleasant to behold yet is there no suche art or industrie therein as in the other flights For the Hawke fleeth the Hearon moued by nature as against hir proper foe but to the riuer she fleeth as taught by the industrie and diligēce of the Falconer Then must it needes follow that suche Falconers as haue flowen at the Riuer when the end of the month of February or the beginning of Marche is come a time when Hearnes begin to make their passage if you will make those Falcons to that flight you must cease fleeing at the Riuer with them any lōger but you must pull them downe and make them light the which you shall do by feeding them with no wild meates but the harts and flesh of Lambes Calues and
payne do ceasse and the escarre fall away whiche is nothing else but the crust that is growen there by meane of the fire you must anoynt the place with fresh butter and after that you haue so done then proceede to the cure of it with the powder of Masticke or Olibanum This is a very good remedie for the swelling in the head of a Hawke Take Stauesacre a quantitie of Pepper and a little Aloes Epaticke beate these sayd thinges into fine powder and put them into the water of Rew where when it hath bin steeped a space in the said licoure with a little bombast or lint bath your Hawkes nares twice a day and you shall finde it ease your Hawke greatly and ridde a greate parte of the filthie matter that breadeth the stoppage in hir head If all these remedies which I haue alleaged generally nor any one speciall medicine will preuayle as I sayde before then muste you repose your chiefe trust in the cauterie which must be done either on the head with a cauterizing button or about the nares with a nedle or sharpe yron fyre hotte or some golden or siluer instrument of purpose made applying after the fire for the remouing of the Escare and the cure of the same the remedies aforesaid Of the giddinesse and shaking of a Hawkes head THere doth diuers times happen vnto Falcons and other Hawkes a mischeefe whose nature is to cause the Hawke to shake hir head continually so as at no time she can hold it still or steadie but is euer mouing it to one side or other holding hir eyes close shut withall This disease is called Soda which in english we may tearme the Megrim or a kind of Palsie by meane the head is in continuall mouing This euill may proceede eyther by the fowlenesse of the panell or of a corrupt and naughtie liuer The remedie for it is this whichu I hae found very good and wherewith I haue cured my hawke in times past You must giue your sick hauke a casting of cotton in whiche you shall enwrappe of Aloes Epaticke one scruple of Cloues two graynes making these into powder before you giue it then two houres after the taking of this skowring feede your Hawke with a yong Pigeon or a hote Pullets legge vsing this selfe same order three or foure mornings one after another One other remedie for it is this Take as much vnwasht Larde as the toppe of youre little finger with a quantitie of Peper and a little Aloes Epaticke beate these two last into powder and conuey them into the Larde whiche done thrust them into your haukes throte holding hir on your fiste a space after it then tie hir on the pearch in the sunne and ther let hir stay til she cast both the skowring and the slimie matter which is in hir gorge And this medicine may you vse euery thirde day once feeding your Hawke with hote meates as Pigeōs and yong Sparowes euery time you giue hir this skowring conuey into hir a little Aloes which is an excellent thing to skowre hir and quitte hir of this disease If these receytes and skowrings yeelde no remedie then must you to the actual cauterie shearing away the plumes about that part of the head where you will applie youre fire euer respecting the bone and burning nothing but the very skinne to let the mischiefe breath remouing the escare and doing the cure after the escare remoued as is before said Let this suffice for this monstrous mischiefe whiche killes many Hawkes yet haue I cured my Hawkes twice by these remedies in my time Of the Cataract in the eyes of a Hawke BEsides those other euils ther is a Cataract which doth light vpon the eyes of a Hawke whome we may tearme a suffusion a mischiefe not easely remoued and diuers times impossible to be recured as namely whē it is growen too thicke and ouerlong hath bin suffered in the eye without seeking remedie for it but if it be not confirmed then may it well be remedied and I my selfe haue cured sundrie Hawkes affected with this euill This euill accident dothe happen by meane of grosse humors in the head whiche are wont to dimme and darken the sight and sometimes cleane to put out the Hawkes eye without redemption It maye bee that the hood is the cause and grounde of this disease for I neuer in my life remember that I sawe any other byrd or fowle troubled with it but only the Falcon and perhaps it lights on hir in chiefe for that of all other shee is moste vsed to the hoode and to be almost at no tyme vnhooded You must therefore haue an eye and especiall regarde to this inconuenience at the first by giuing one or two mornings a skowring of Aloes or of Agaricke to skowre your Hawke withall bycause if you shoulde aduenture vppon any sharpe or hard painefull medicine applying it to the eye of youre Hawke it woulde perhaps cause a greate repaire of euill humors and accidents to the place diseased When you haue giuen thys skowring of Aloes or Agaricke to remoue the matter from the eye you must vse a powder made of washt Aloes finely beaten one scruple and of Suger candye two scruples blowing of this powder into your Hawkes eyes three or foure times in a daye with the Pipe or quill aforesayd Thys is the gentlest and moste soueraine medicine that you can applie to the eye in thys case and whilest you do minister this receyte it shall be good sometimes to bath the eye with the vrine of a little boy If by these medicines aforesayd the webbe of the eye wyll not be remoued we must be driuen to vse a stronger receyte which is this Take a newe layde egge and rost him so long vntill the white of him become like milke When you haue so done put it into a fine white linnen cloth and strayne it so much and so long vntill you see issue through your strayner a cleare greene water wherof you shall now and then infuse a droppe or two into the hurt eye vsing it so three or foure times in the day at the least vntill you see your Hawke amend of hir mischeefe and waxe sound Last of all if these things auayle not to the cure I do commend and allow aboue all the rest that you take the iuyce of Celendyne rootes making them cleane from the earthe that doth vse to hang to the moores then scrape away the outmost rynde and pill of the roote and vse the iuyce to your Hawke Truly I haue found this to be of singular force and vertue in the like accident It shall not be amisse in this and suche like affections and ill passions of the eye of a Hawke to bath hir eyes often with rose water wherin haue bene boyled the seads of Fenygreke But you must remember that this water or colirie be somewhat warme when you vse it bycause the eye is so noble and so sensible a member as
to destroy these woormes eyther with a skowring of washt Aloes Epaticke Mustard sede and Agaricke of each one egal portions vsing to giue it as I haue taught you before Or else by ministring the pouder of the Gall of a Bore pygg◠〈◊〉 in the smoke or if these fayle to gyue the pouder of Harts horne being dryed White Dittander Hiera pigra minore for there are sundry kindes of it of eache two draÌ„mes Aloes Epaticke well washt three drammes Agaricke Saffron of each one dramme being all incorporate with Hoonie of Roses is an excellent remedie agaynst the woormes You muste keepe it well and giue Falcons Goshawkes suche like the bygnesse of a beane but to Sparowhawkes and the lesser sort of hawkes as muche as a pease in form of a pill thrusting it down your hawkes throte keping hir after it a space on the fist till she haue slised mewted hir medcine feding hir afterward with good meat after your woÌ„ted maner And this shall recouer hir and kill the worms For the same disease it is very good to giue a skowring of white Dittander Aloes Epaticke well washt Cubebes foure or fiue a fewe flakes of Saffron enwrapped in a morsell of fleshe to cause the hawke the better to take it This receyte no doubt will bothe make the hawke to slyse and mewte and withall recouer hir For it is an approoued remedie againste the woormes and specially when the hawke doth wrythe and wrest hir trayne Againe take Rheuponticum Suger Candy filings of yron of eache like quantitie of these with iuyce of Woormewood frame pilles and coÌ„ueying them into the skinne of a chicken giue your hawke one pill at a time it shall do hir pleasure Of the Filanders NOw I am entred in speche of wormes I thinke it good to write somwhat of the Filanders to giue both knowledge cure of them Albeit these wormes doe not all depende of the gorge for their naturall place being is neare the raynes of a hawke where they be enwrapped in a certaine thinne nette or skinne seueral by themselues apart from either gut or gorge These Filanders as the very name doth import are smal as threedes one quarter of an ynche long aâ—â— more proper and peculiar to Falcons than to any other hawke or fowle And this makes me to thinke the they are naturally allowed the Falcon bicause in deede they do not at al times vexe trouble the hawkes but now then specially when the hawke is poore low of flesh But if she be hie lustie then by reson of the abundance of nourishment foode that they receiue from the hawke they molest hir not at all but rather do hir good and my reason is this I cannot be induced to thinke that nature who doth vse to make nothing but to some ende and purpose hath produced placed those Filanders in that part of the FalcoÌ„ for naught or to hurt the hawke But how and in what sort they pleasure or profit the hawke I coulde neuer yet reache by coniecture When they are troubled and grieued with the Filanders you shall firste discerne it by the pouertie of the hawkes by ruffling their traynes and by certayne twytches and startes that they wyll make strayning the fiste or pearche with their pownce and lastly by their crooking in the nyght time which kinde of noyse they vtter when the Filanders pricke and gripe them within For when they wante their sustenance whiche they can by no meanes haue when the hawkes are lowe and poore then do they endeuour to rende and breake that slender nette wherein they are naturally inclosed to yssewe oute to seeke their vittayles some other where And manye tymes it happeneth that not seeing to it in tyme and at the firste they passe through their webbe and crall vp as hyghe as the verie hearte and other principall partes of the Hawke whereof it muste needes consequently followe that shee perisheth without redemption I haue sometimes seene this pestilent woorme by piercing and breaking the bed wherein nature hath layde them ascend vp so highe as they came foorth and appeared at the Hawkes beake and mouth Wherefore it shall be necessarie to respect the cure of these Fylanders not by killing them as you woulde doe other woormes for then happely beeyng deade and rotting in that place from whence they can not passe awaye with the Hawkes mewte they woulde there corrupte and breede a filthie Apostume in hir but the waye that you muste take is by making theÌ„ droncke with some medicine to entertayne them in such sort as they may not offend or grype the hawke The beste remedie that can bee deuised for it is to take a Garlicke head pysling from the cloues thereof the vtmoste finde whiche doone you shall with some small yron toole or bookine hette in the fyre pierce the cloues and make certayne holes in them And afterwards steeping them in Oyle at leaste three dayes gyue your Falcon one of them downe hir throte for the cloue of Garlicke vsed in this manner as I tell you will so inrage astonne the Filanders that for thirtie or forty dayes after they wil not at al molest your hawke Wherevpon some Falconers when their Falcons be low and poore once in a moneth do of ordinarie gyue them a Cloue of Garlicke for feare of the Filanders to preuent the woorste and truely to good effecte And for that verie purpose and cause are seldom or neuer without Garlicke stieped in Oyle where that loÌ„ger they lye the better more medicinable they are Thus must you deale with those Filanders that lye in the raynes But there is one other kind of Filanders lying in the guts or pannell of a hawke which are long small and white worms as though they had dropt out of the raines of the hawke If you will destroy those Filanders you must take Aloes Epaticke fylings of yron Nutmegges so much Honie as wil serue to frame a pyll which pyll you shall giue your hawke in the morning as soone as she hath easte holding hir on the fiste for the space of an houre after Then cast hir on the perche when you gesse hir to haue slysed hir pill and mewted it cleane then feede hir with good hotte meate There are besides these yet one other sorte of Filanders in the guttes of a hawke also whiche cause a hawke to caste hir gorge as soone as she hath fedde and do make hir strong breathed for them prouide this remedie Take Aloes Epaticke Wormwood made into very small pouder temper the pouder with Oyle of bitter Almondes and that done annoynte therewith the flanckes and sides of your hawke And if you like not the Oyle for gresing your FalcoÌ„s feathers plumes compounde those sayde pouders with Vineger at the fire but it is certaine that the Oyle is the better farre of both and more proper to this disease If you can giue your hawke Oyle of bitter Almonds