Hints on the Management of Hawks and Practical Falconry

James Edmund Harting

Description

This vintage book contains a comprehensive and practical handbook on falconry, with information on training, care and management, common ailments, equipment and equipping, feeding, and much more. Written in clear, plain language and full of simple instructions and invaluable hints, this timeless volume is highly recommended for the modern falconer, and would make for a great addition to collections of allied literature. Contents include: “Choice of Hawk”, “The Perch”, “The Block”, “The Bath”, “Glove, Hood and Jesses”, “Sending a hawk by Rail”, “Treatment on Arrival”, “Hooding”, “Putting on the Jesses”, “Varvels”, “The Leash”, “The Brail”, “Feeding”, “Washed Meat”, “Range”, “Tiring”, “Castings”, “The Lure”, etcetera. Many antiquarian texts such as this, especially those dating back to the 1900s and before, are increasingly hard to come by and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern, high quality edition. It comes complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on falconry.

Sujets

• Sports
• Recreation
• Hunting

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 22 mars 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528765008
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 9 Mo

Extrait

HINTS ON THE
MANAGEMENT OF HAWKS PRACTICAL FALCONRY
Third Edition
James Edmund Harting
Copyright 2013 Read Books Ltd. This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Falconry
Falconry refers to the hunting of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon, and an austringer (a term of German origin) flies a hawk or an eagle. Falconry has a long and distinguished history, and it has been suggested that it began in Mesopotamia, with the earliest accounts dating to approximately 2000 BC. It was probably introduced to Europe around 400 AD however, when the Huns and the Alans invaded from the East. Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (a member of the Swabian dynasty in the High Middle Ages who possessed huge amounts of territory across Europe) is generally acknowledged as the most significant wellspring of traditional falconry knowledge. He is believed to have obtained firsthand knowledge of Arabic falconry during wars in the region in 1228 and 1229, in which he participated in his role as Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick is best known for his falconry treatise, De Arte Venandi Cum Avibus (The Art of Hunting with Birds); the first comprehensive book on falconry, as well as a substantial contribution to ornithology and zoology. Historically, falconry has always been a popular sport of the upper classes and nobility, largely due to the prerequisites of time, money and space. However, within some societies, such as the Bedouin, falconry was not practiced for recreation, but for purely practical reasons of supplementing a very limited diet. In the UK, falconry reached its zenith in the seventeenth century, but faded reasonably rapidly due to the introduction of firearms for hunting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It did witness a revival in the late nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries however, when several falconry books were published. Interestingly, in early English falconry literature, the word falcon referred to a female falcon only, while the word hawk referred to a female hawk. A male hawk or falcon was referred to as a tercel , as it was roughly one third less than the female in size. Whilst falconry is now practiced in many countries world wide, it is less common in areas such as Australasia. In Australia, although falconry is not specifically illegal, it is illegal to keep any type of bird of prey in captivity without the appropriate permits, and in New Zealand, falconry was legalised for one species only, the Swap/Australasian harrier, in 2011. There are currently only four practicing falconers in New Zealand. However, in countries such as the UK and US today, falconry is experiencing a boom. Its popularity, through lure flying displays at country houses and game fairs, has probably never been higher in the past 300 years. It has also been the subject of a popular book Falcon Fever , written by Tim Gallagher in 2008. Falconry is also used for practical purposes in the modern day, the birds are taught to control other pest birds and animals in urban areas, landfills, commercial buildings, and even airports.
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
I N acceding to a demand for a second edition of these Hints, the author has not merely revised the original text, but has made considerable additions to it, as well as to the illustrations. The reader is thereby carried further afield, and the descriptions which have been added, in the second part of the book, of flights at Rook, Lark, Partridge, Grouse, Woodcock, Snipe, Hare, and Rabbit, are but the natural sequel and practical outcome of attention to the Hints for training and management contained in the first part.
From an historical point of view, the chapters on Kite-hawking and Heron-hawking-no longer practicable in England-and on trained Eagles employed by Eastern falconers, will give an insight into little known phases of the sport.
The chapters which deal with Devices for taking Hawks, and the Law relating to Trained Hawks, will, it is hoped, have a practical value in the eyes of those who may seek for information on these subjects.
The author is prepared to learn that he has missed certain points on which he might have dilated with advantage, and that on certain other points better Hints might be given than those which he has advanced. For any correction in these matters he will be grateful. His only aim has been to revive public interest in a time-honoured English field sport, and to impart to others some share of the pleasure which he himself has derived from its practice.
J. E. H ARTING .
CONTENTS.

HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HAWKS.
C HOICE OF A H AWK
T HE P ERCH
T HE B LOCK
T HE B ATH
G LOVE , H OOD , AND J ESSES
S ENDING A H AWK BY R AIL
T REATMENT ON A RRIVAL
H OODING
P UTTING ON THE J ESSES
V ARVELS
T HE L EASH
T HE B RAIL
F EEDING
W ASHED M EAT
R ANGLE
T IRING
C ASTINGS
T HE L URE
B ELLS
T HE C ADGE
G ENERAL M ANAGEMENT
T O K EEP A H AWK IN H EALTH
T RAINING
T HE F IRST F LIGHT
T O S NARE A S HY H AWK
C OPING
I MPING
M OULTING
M EDICINES
M AXIMS FOR F ALCONERS
T HE S ECRET OF S UCCESS
T HE T RIUMPH OF A RT
PRACTICAL FALCONRY.
R OOK H AWKING
P ARTRIDGE H AWKING
G ROUSE H AWKING
T RAINING THE M ERLIN
L ARK H AWKING WITH M ERLINS
T HE H OBBY AND B ARBARY F ALCON
T RAINING THE S PARROWHAWK
T RAINING THE G OSHAWK
S NIPE H AWKING
W OODCOCK H AWKING
H ERON H AWKING
K ITE H AWKING
T RAINED E AGLES
T HE E AGLES USED BY R USSIAN F ALCONERS
T HE B ERKUTE OE T URKESTAN
R EMARKABLE F LIGHTS BY F ALCONS
T HE D IETING OF T RAINED H AWKS
L OST H AWKS
D EVICES FOR T AKING H AWKS
I NDIAN S NARES FOR H AWKS
T HE L AW AS TO T RAINED H AWKS
A PPENDIXES
L AW ON H AWKS AND F ALCONRY
S OURCES OF A DVICE AND E QUIPMENT
ILLUSTRATIONS.

FULL PAGE.
1.- PEREGRINE FALCON
2.-S ETTING D OWN A H AWK ON THE B LOCK
3.-G OSHAWK ON B OW - PERCH
4.-O LD F EMALE G OSHAWK .
5.-H ERON H AWKING .
6.-T HE F ORKED - TAIL K ITE , OR G LEAD
7.-K ITE H AWKING WITH J ERFALCONS
8.-T HE O SPREY
9.-T RAINED B ONELLI S E AGLE ON B LOCK
10.-B ONELLI S E AGLE AND R ABBIT
11.-G OLDEN E AGLE AND R OEDEER
IN THE TEXT.
1.-T HE K ESTREL
2.-A N E YESS P EREGRINE
3.-T HE P ERCH
4.-T HE B LOCK
5.-A S IMPLER F ORM OF B LOCK
6.-S TUDLEY S P ATENT B LOCK
7.-A R USTER H OOD
8.-T HE H OOD P ROPER
9.-J ESSES , S WIVEL , AND L EASH
10.-T HE F ALCONER S K NOT
11.-A H OODED H AWK
12.-F ALSE J ESSES
13.-F ALSE J ESSES
14.-L URE FOR A P EREGRINE
15.-L URE FOR A M ERLIN
16.-T HE B ELL
17.-T HE C ADGE
18.-A G OOD R OOK H AWK
19.-A G OOD S PANIEL
20.-T HE M ERLIN
21.-T HE H OBBY
22.-T HE S PARROWHAWK
23.-T HE S PARROWHAWK IN F LIGHT
24.-G OSHAWK AND R ABBIT
25.-M ALE G OSHAWK ON B OW - PERCH
26.-S HADOW OF D EATH
27.-A W OUNDED S NIPE
28.-H ERON IN F LIGHT
29.-A D EAD H ERON
30.-A J ERFALCON
31.-B ERKUTE AND S TAG
32.-F ALCON IN F LIGHT
33.-I N THE M EWS
34.-S NARE FOR M ERLIN OR S PARROWHAWK
35.-T HE S AME , H AWK C AUGHT
36.-S NARE FOR H AWK AT H ACK
37.-S PARROW AND L IMED T WIG
38.-S NARES C ARRIED BY D ECOY H AWK
39.-H AWK N ET
40.-P EG FOR N ET
41.-P LAN OF U MBRELLA S NARE
42.-C ATGUT N OOSES
HINTS
ON THE
MANAGEMENT OF HAWKS.

F OR some years past I have been in the habit of receiving from various parts of the country a great many letters asking for information about the management of hawks, from which it may be inferred that an interest in the old sport is being revived, and that there are many who would be glad to take it up, did they know exactly how to set about it. In replying to these inquiries, I have generally referred the readers to the recognised text-books on the subject-Salvin and Brodrick s Falconry in the British Islands, published by Van Voorst; Freeman and Salvin s Falconry: its Claims, History, and Practice, published by Longmans; and Practical Falconry, by Peregrine, published at the Field Office. * To judge by the nature of the questions asked, it would seem that the inquirers experience certain difficulties at starting which the works referred to do not enable them satisfactorily to overcome; not always because the books do not contain the information needed, but because the method of teaching adopted by the authors does not begin at the beginning, and assume no previous knowledge of the subject on the part of the reader.
Many persons who take up falconry for the first time make the mistake of sending for a hawk before they have made any preparations for keeping it properly, and on its arrival are puzzled to know how to handle it, where to keep it, and how and when to feed it.
Such questions as the following are often asked: What sort of a cage ought I to keep it in? Should the cage be indoors? How many times a day ought I to feed the bird? and Is it necessary always to give it sparrows or other small birds?
In replying to these and other que