Show it A P M A an algerian falconer prepared by tie national society Waa hington ay U C T WILL surprise to learn IT alint the art of falconry or hawk lug ing goes back to the remote and unwritten past wo we have ninny proofs of tills this in III the frescoes slid and sculptures of jhc thc tl early eaily EgYPt egyptians latI ciul IC and in all tho the tit time that hat has passed since that early day there liaa has never been a total lapse of tile the art falconry has in ili every ago age been carried on in III some part of the world material Is found in books not only of Eti england gland rolland holland france linly und mid spain but of china japan bald Itus russia sla while tile the sport has been followed from immemorial time in III india find northern africa tin tile indent greeks apparently know knew nothing of falconry but the bombards lombards Lom Loin bards settling in north italy about know knew of the art and by 87 it had biad become it a generally known practice throughout we western europe and saxon england front from that time it thrived filling tin in important place in the life of the times A vast impetus was given to falconry by the returning crusaders wh who had become fa familiar millar with the nie methods thoas of tile orient and had brought with them both falcons and trainers iners war lords never left their courts without their fa fal loners coners awl a cadge of hawks to le be blown tit nt liny anything thin g that might be deemed worth worthy y the gun of course delivered a serious blow to tile alio art as it provided a luick zure sure anti and inexpensive way or oc getting ment meat still the real devotees w were ere never greatly affected by this device find and through the centuries up to tile rebellion in ili Bai england gland ind later through the alie french ne on the continent falconry survived survive the difficulties imposed by the introduction of fir earnis the lie breaking up tip of the country into small holdings the reclaiming of largo large areas of wild land find other inevitable changes incident to a multiplying and advancing population As AB a general practice however falconry co nry in europe ceased after the great bodal upheavals mentioned its main its is a sport since then Is attributable table in it large measure to half a dozen hawking clubs among which are arc the falconers falconero Fal coners club tile high ash club and the loo club in holland there were probably thirty or forty private establishments in england in 1014 but no doubt the world war has hag made a henvy heavy toll on oil both the personnel and the support of the sport trying it in america within the last I 1 enty years there hild been a great sconce of amateur falc falconry enry among tile english and sonic some rather successful attempts have been made tit in america particularly in the genesee valley now new york the great expense of maintaining the birds due to the scarcity of experienced perien perlen ced trainers and catchers and tile the ill of 0 forwarding so BO rangy a sport in ili the settled conditions or of I 1 most of our eastern country hove hilve it Ini impossible possIble however to achieve any real success in Ani america erlea find the growing sentiment bentli nent against hilling any but a few ew pec lj of game gaine birds wilt will probably act us as a further deterrent still there aro are sc he eral comi common tion birds which are arc recognized as game that would make maka admirable quarry for the peregrine notably the quail of our atlantic santes find and tile the sharp tailed grouse of the northern prairies the native wild goshawk Is already the chief problem of till nil the grouse of our northern wooded see section it Is true that in training hawks to hunt bunt us as in fit all other animal training advantage Is taken luken of the natural proclivities of the creature in hand nevertheless it seems fit at first glance gli itice that these vigorous and id blida are taught to go almost directly fig ninsi their instincts first of all being nn among ong the wildest wildcat find and shy est eat of creatures they must be that man instead of being their worst enemy ciu la Is really their best friend then the rest becomes comparatively easy it if no nili mistakes takes are made bilut I 1 ut any one of hundreds of possible errors may undo weeks of patient and successful labor then too since different kinds of game must inest be hunted at different times of thi year find in different kinds of cover i her the samo fame hawk roust must be trained first for one type of work and later inter for something entirely different or different kinds of must most be used of the hundreds of kinds of hawks only certain ones possess the lie bombina of qualities necessary nece seary for tilla i beautiful find and romantic sport A hawk inua mu be at once kind and nerce it must bo be able to stand the changes of climate of its owners coti country it i must be strong enough and nil swift I 1 enough to overtake and strike down its quarry and intelligent enough t to be able to unlearn much of its native knowledge these qualities are possessed by only about a dozen species belonging to two groups or genera the true falcons of the genus falco or long winged hawks and the short winged group of forest hawks known as Acci only two of tile latter are used the goshawk and the european sparrow hawk the bird known in america its as sparrow hawk Is a small falcon which feeds principally on insects find Is useless for hunting peregrine a cosmopolite the peregrine Is the only falcon proper found all over the world thero there la Is no other bird with such a cosmopolitan range it Is found on both sides of the equator throughout the entire world nearly to the arctic and antarctic circles it Is natural then that this sit I 1 be the falcon of falcons and known to all ages of man mail as a tractable find and capable help in his search for food for falconry was at first a very practical anti and even sordid pursuit only later much later inter becoming the sport of the privileged classes A peculiar set of traditions and fin an equally picturesque language have become inseparably attached to the art of falconry and it Is only fair to tile the scotch who in ili their conservatism have been responsible for the colorful language of golf to give thein credit for preserving the romantic terminology of falconry it was in scotland that the art was waa perpetuated after it had bad languished over most of europe ancient history Is eloquent with the influence of the noble sport of hawking the history of medieval H europe drope Is richly colored with it sixteenth und anti seventeenth century literature fairly abounds in passages concerning it and the language of the day was so tinctured with the jargon of the hawkers hawker 4 that it Is fair to conclude that before men had knowledge of gunpowder aal tile the fowling piece hawking was such a general practice as to be the principal menns of obtaining wild game falcons are brought into subjection to mans will either by being taken from the nest just bet before ore they fire are able to fly or by being wild after they are fully grown anti and self supporting those taken from the 4 neat s t byess eyes hawks are the ones usually trained over most of europe ordinarily they tire are much gentler fin aud more easily trained hut but lack the dash ond of the wild caught birds known as laggards hag ling gards in india anti and africa however the dyess Is virtually unknown na as the hawks are always trapped the market in the heyday of if the sport emissaries from the courts of each little duchy and principality gathered at after the trapping and bought for their masters the product of the sen seasons catch what a picturesque and lively scene these medieval auctions must have been with knight bidding against knight for the beautiful birds that had been won out of the air find and brought into tile thra lidola of biant man the old cult of falcon catching ent ching and training has never completely inn finished at anti and the family of motions has for many genor gener actions led in III the industry indeed wherever falconry Is practiced ea the nrc aro known na its the most skill kill ful rod and expert trappers and trainers find ninny many of ohp most moat famous falcons falcon in the lie history of the sport hay have come from their able hands handa the peregrine falcon of falcons Is 19 not as large or ns as strong na as either cither tho the gers or tile the sacre but combines with a hardihood unknown to tile the exotica exotics nil nl the qualities ties that mat go to make a good hawk gentleness teach ability courage dash willingness to wait on oil at a great height and most important of nil all availability for an lins has been vaid the peregrine has it a worldwide world wide ri r ge find Is therefore obtainable tai in almost any country where men want to use it in a wild state were it a common bird anywhere it would be n very undesirable neighbor for or it preys almost exclusively of on birds find Is capable of anh taking ing such swift and resourceful game as plover snipe salpe find and wild fowl its common name tn in Ain america erlen the duck hawk Is well given the reference being to wild ducks and not the lame bird |