of spéech which in euery Art a man shal be assured to find Let it suffice if I giue the Reader to vnderstand the nature of euery Hawke now a dayes in vse and withall according to my promise and meaning doe let him know the meane to flie with them both the field and brooke as also to giue him to witte how to Mew Ympe and cure them being diseased These are the speciall points and such as deserue thankes from me and commendation from him I will procéede in the description of the nature of this Hawke according to the opinion of the Italian The Italians opinion of the Hobbie THe Hobbies are more large then the Merlyns for beak eyes plume foot they very much resemble the Falcon. They will lie vpon their wings reasonablie wel following mē and Spaniels fleeing vpon them many times to the end that when any Partridge or Quaile is sprung they may the better stoupe from their wings and so seaze on the fowle which sundry times they doe These kind of Hawkes are vsed of such as go with nets and spaniels The order of which game is this The doggs they range the field to spring the fowle and the Hobbies they accustome to flée alost ouer them soaring in the ayre whome the silly birdes espying at that aduantage fearing this conspiracy as it were betwixt the dogs and hawkes for their vndoing and confusion dare in no wise commit themselues to their wings but do lie as close and flat on the ground as they possible may do so are taken in the nets which with vs in England is called Daring a sport of all other most proper to the Hobbie Some Gentlemē haue made report for truth assured me that the Emperour Ferdinando of famous memorie did giue his Falconers in charge to kéepe reclaime sundry Hobbies And his Maiestie diuers times for recreation would take his Horse and into the fields with a Hobbie on his fist holding in his right hand a long slender pole or réed seuen foot in length on the toppe whereof there was conueighed by sleight a strong line with a sliding knotte And when happily his Maiestie had espied a larke on the ground he would forthwith holde vp and aduance his Hobbie to the view of the silly birde whome as soone as the Larke saw he would in no wise dare to spring but lie as still as a stone flat vpon the earth so fearful they are of the Hobbie in cheif of all other Hawks then would the Emperour at his good leasure and great pleasure with his longe pole and the sliding line take the sillye fowle and draw her vp vnto him and truely tooke no small delight in this kinde of pastime and would cause his Falconers to doe likewise who by this deuise tooke many birdes and in this sorte woulde they Hawke frō the beginning of September to the end of October This practise did somewhat resemble and draw to the nature of our deuise in daring of larkes which we vse at these dayes but in my Iudgement nothing so ready and fit as our pastime and ginne which we haue which is a very good sporte and full of delight to sée the fearefull nature of the silly Larke with the great awe and subiection that the Hobbie hath her in by the law of kind for assuredly there is no other Hawke no not the hugest whome the Larke doth so much feare as the Hobbie which may manifestly appeare by this that I haue written as also by dayly experience and practise in that behalf Of the Goshawke after the opinion of William Tardiffe a Frenchman A Generall division of Goshawkes whome the French men call Autour THere are saith he fiue kinds of Authors or Goshawkes ' speaking of the Goshawke in the largest name nature comprised in that word Autour The first and most noble kinde is the female Goshawke which is with vs most ordinarily in vse The second is named a demy Author or Goshawke as it were a kind betwixt two other sorts and that is a spare slender hawke and of little regarding respect of any good she will doe The third is the Tyercell which is the male or cocke to the Goshawke who doth flay the Partridge is not of sufficient force to kill the Crane He is termed a Tyercelet for that there are most commonly disclosed three birds in one selfe eyrée two Hawkes and one Tiercell The fourth kinde of Autour is the Sparrowhawke whose nature is to kill all kind of prey that the Goshawke doth saue onely the larger sort of fowles The fift kind is called Sabech whome the Egiptians term Baydach which doth very much resemble the Sparrowhauk but is lesse then the Sparowhawke and hath a very blew eye There are sundry sorts of Goshawkes and those brought and conueyed out of sundry forraine parts and regions but among them all that Goshawke that is bred eyred in Armenia Persia is the principall best hawke then next to her in goodnesse the hawke of Gréece and lastly that of Affricke The Hawke of Armenia hath her eyes gréen but the best of y e kind is she that hath black eyes black plumes on her backe The hawke of Persia is large well plumed cleare and déepe eyed with hanging and pendand eye-lids and browes The hawke of Gréece hath a great head well seasoned a strong necke and is reasonable well plumed The Goshawke of Affricke hath blacke eyes in her soarage but being a mewed hawke her eyes become reddish and fiery At what times Hawkes begin to fall to liking which is at Eawking time all birds of prey do assemble themselues with the Goshawke and do flocke together As namely the Falcon the Sacre and such other that liue on prey and rauine And hereof it procéedeth that the Goshawkes become so diuers in goodnesse force and hardinesse according to the diuersity of their choyce and cawking The best Goshawke ought to be waighty and a heauie bird as those of great Armenia be In Syria they make choice of their hawkes by the Massines poyse of them and do estéem the most weighty hawke for the best as for the male conditions they doe litle regard or prize The blancke Goshawke is the largest the fayrest most apt and easie to bee reclaymed and withall the strongest of all Hawkes of that sort for shée can kill the Crane And by reason she is eyréed in a very hie and lofty place can best endure the cold which is most rife in the middle region of the ayre therefore is shée good to flée all fowles of that sort and condition The Goshawke that doth encline and tend to a black mayle and that hath superfluous plumes on her head reaching down her front or forehead like a peruque or borrowed hayre that is a very fayre Hawke for beauty but nothing strong But truely there is no Goshawke more excellent then that which is bread in Ireland in the north parts as
as those old it hapneth many times that when they are made to the fist and brought euen to the point to flée if you let them flée at a Partridge they take a trée and will not flée at all To redresse that you shall goe into a plaine fielde where are no trées with a quicke Partridge the which you shall giue to some of your company your selfe shall ride vp and down half an houre with your Hawke vpon your fist vnhooded then drawing near to your companion which hath the Partridge when you come within ten or twelue paces of him let him priuily cast out the Partridge and let your Hawke flée at it which done reward and féed her wel thereupon If peraduenture your Goshawke haue néed of more such trains then you may continue it thrée or foure times vntil shée be well in blood with such flights But surely such Hawkes are not greatly to be regarded The same that is said of Goshawkes is to be vnderstood also of Tercels And alwayes remember that the dext day after you haue rewarded and fed your Hawke vpon the fowle or bird that she killeth féed her the next day with a shéeps heart or hens legs betimes in the morning to bring her in order againe to flée To make a Goshawke flee quickly SOare Goshawkes especially Niasses are commonly very fond of the man and therfore should bée flowne with a little more ramage and before they be throughly reclaymed for else oftentimes within two or thrée strokes with theyr wings they will giue ouer the fowle that they flée return straight againe to their Kéeper Therefore remember to flee with them as soone as you can and that vntill they be perfectly nousled and in blood They must also be set in places where they sée not many folke for feare they become very fond of the man But when they haue flowne and haue killed twice or thrice then set them where people and dogges frequent the which shall bée necessary to preuent the inconueniences which might happen when they are at marke neare to a house or vpon a high way if then they should bée discouraged with sodaine sight of any person that went by And yet by this aduertisement of fléeing quickly with a Soare Goshawke or a Nyasse I might make some Falconer learne a worse mischiefe if by fléeing ouer-soone with his Hawke hee should pull her downe or make her poore the which would cause her to become fearefull and cowardly and to giue ouer a Partridge as I haue séene diuerse that although they were at the first very towarde Hawkes yet after they haue béene once pulled downe they haue lost theyr courage and goodnesse And therefore by what meanes soeuer a Goshawke or Tercell shall become poore it shall bée the Falconers parte first to sette her vppe againe before he flée with her vnlesse it be some Goshawke whereof there are but few which will not flée when she is hie in good plight Then the Falconer may somewhat bate her flesh and pinch her with scouring washt meat and such like deuises But let him alwayes rather kéep his Hawke in such wise that she may flée when she is lustie therewithall let him set her abroad when it is not ouer cold betimes in the morning for one howre or twaine For being so weathered when she hath flowne a Partridge to the marke shée will not away vntill it be retriued by the Spaniels That a Goshawke being a good Partridger bee not flowne with to the Feasant IF your Goshawke be once a good Partridger beware that you let her not flée the Pout or the Feasant for the feasant fléeth not so long a flight as the Partridge doth And therfore the Goshawke being naturally more rauenous and desirous of prey than any other Hawke would more delight to flée a short flight to the Feazant and will care lesse to hold out at a Partridge True it is that some are good for both but those are very rare And therefore you must haue consideration thereof as also to kéepe them in good order with fléeing bathing weathering tyring pluming and diuerse other points of Falconrie the which do serue also for tercels aswel as for goshawks How to vse a Haggart Goshawke THe traynes which you vse to giue soare Goshawkes and Nyasses are not so requisite for a haggart For the Soarehawkes and Nyasses when they are made to the fist to seaze a pullet vpon the ground wil then abide neuer soare away and may immediatly be flown withall at a Partridge so that you beare a liue traine Partridge with you to serue her if néed be as hath been heretofore declared in entring of other hawks And the principal point of consideration is that you encourage any hawke well at the first In fléeing with a Goshawke it hapneth oftentimes that fléeing in the snow and killing their prey vpon the ground they fill their belles with snow so that the Falconer canot tell where to finde them At such times then fasten a bell vpon the two couert feathers of your Hawkes Stearne or Trayne and that aloft neare to her rumpe For so doe the Falconers of Dalmatia vse at all times of the yeare to flée with their Hawkes And it is a good meane to know at all times where and what is become of your Hawke To flee with a Goshawke to the Riuer NOw I haue in mine owne iudgement set downe as much as is necessarie to make a Goshawke perfect in killing of a Partridge or any other field flight I will also declare how you may flée to the Riuer with a Goshawke and how you may kill great Fowles with her A Goshawke but no Tercell may flée to the riuer at Mallarde Ducke Goose Hearon and such like whether it be because the proueth not to the field or for any other delight that she or her kéeper hath to the Riuer And you shal hold this order in making her the which doubtles shall bring her to perfection for Goshawkes do more willingly flée such flights than at any other And yet is there great difference seene in the proofe of them for some of them proue much hardier better than some other doe Well the Falconer shall first make his Goshawke to the fist in such sort as I haue prescribed when I taught to flée them vnto the field Then must he carrie her into the field without bels with a liue Ducke giuen vnto one of his companions And the Falconer must haue with him a little drum or taberd fastned to the pommel of his saddle together with the sinew of an oxe leg dried which shal serue him to strike vpon his drumslet or taberd and causing his companion to hide himselfe in a ditch or pitte with the Ducke tyed to a Cryance his Hawke being vnhooded vpon his fist he shall draw towards his companion which standeth so hid in couert And when hée is neare him within two or three paces or little more hée
Agaricke to rid those euill and noysome humors which doe offend your hawke and after that another scowring of Incense beaten into powder to recomfort her The mewte that is not perfectly digested tending to redde and that is full of small wormes like vnto flesh not perfectly digested and endewed giues manifest proofe eyther that the hawke is not well in her gorge or else that shée hath béene fed with ill and corrupt meates cold and stincking and vnholesome for a hawke This euill may be cured helped with good warme meats and besides that with scowrings of wormeséede enwrapped and conueyed into Cotton or Lynte And it shal not be amisse to giue her a scowring of powder of Cloues Nutmegs and Ginger which doth maruailously strengthen and set the gorge in tune The darke sanguine mewte with a blacke in it is the most deadly signe of all other I do not remember that euer I saw hawke make that kind of mewt but shee died Yet neuerthelesse a man ought not therefore in that case to giue ouer his hawk and to dispaire of hir but rather to allow her of that receite and medicine which earst Iherom Cornerus that noble man and cunning Falconer made or else that which was deuised by Signior Manolus the Gréeke which I haue manie times experimented in Falcons not without good successe and great commendation And therefore hereafter I will lay it down for your better knowledge and practise as the excellent deuises of most skilfull men in Falconrie And yet for all this it may be that a hawke doth make the like mewte that I wrote of by meane of tyring on a fowle taking the blood of it and of the rayns and guts which if it do happen it is a matter not to be regarded I haue sundry times séene the mewte of a Hawke grey like milke when it is turned and waxen sowre which truelie is a deadly token and signe of great danger Yet it shall not be amisse to vse the receite which I lately spake of deuised by those Gentlemen Falconers aforesaid By this which I haue spoken as touching the mewtes of Hawkes it may be gathered how greatly it doth import and how behoouefull it is for a Falconer or Ostreger for the better cure of his hawkes to peruse euery morning with greate care the mewte of his hawkes For that it doth greatly concerne the good health and state of them to finde out at the first their indisposition and diseases before they bée too déepely rooted and confirmed in them when truely it will proue a very hard and difficult matter to remoue the euill But now I count it high time to procéede and descend to the knowledge and particular cure of the ordinary euils and diseases which doe plague and pester hawkes In which discourse to obserue some methode and order I will speake generally of all infirmities and ill accidents hapning to the bodies of Hawkes as namely of the feuer and so consequently of euery speciall disease that belongeth to each particular member of a Hawke aswell those that are within the body as with out And besides all these of the gorge guttes and lyuer of the stripes and bruses that happen to hawkes and lastly of their feathers and other euils Laying downe to your viewe in the latter part hereof such instruments and tooles as Falconers doe vse to cauterize their Hawkes withall with such other ordinarie remedies as they doe commonly bestow vpon their diseased and sicke Hawkes Or the Fever or Ague wherewith Hawkes are wont to bee molested and troubled I Haue noted and obserued that the Feuer happeneth vnto Hawkes by reason of some small colde and heat ensuing the same And verely in myne opinion it doth much resemble the Tertian wherewith we our selues are dayly vexed You may easily gesse this griefe when you sée your hawke shake tremble and presently after hold hir wings close vnder hir train stouping down with hir head to the ground-warde And besides all these tokens you haue one more which is y t your hawke will haue hir barbe feathers vnder hir beake staring and out of order and somtimes eake she will refuse hir meate And if happely you touche hir with youre hande you shall féele sensible the extremytie of heate that doth surcharge hir All or the moste part of these signes do euidently argue your hawke to bée troubled with a Feuer a very daungerous griefe but not altogether deadly for that I haue séene many hawkes recured of this disease Wherefore all your care must bée to coole and refreshe hir because in déede the Feuer is nothing else but aninordinate heate In this case hir féeding must be eyther the leg of a chicken or a young pigeon or some other small fowle but Sparowes last of all for they are not to be allowed in the beginning of the disease for their great heate And you must remember to wash her meâ—â— in the water of Buglosse or Endiue or in a mucillage of Psillium in the iuyce of Cowcombers or Mellons and afterwards drie it in a cloth so giue it her to féedeon Moreouer you must if you do well bath the perch and also her legs in the Sommer with Plantaine water or for want of the water w t the very iuyce of it w t Lettice water or Nightshade water and sometimes among with the iuyce of Henbane Lettice water Nenuphar Howsléeke and such other cooling deuises to delay her inordinate heat inflammation setting her in some out place where the ayr is fresh but not where she may take the ayr too much for that may breed a further inconuenience If your sick hawk be very low brought in state you must allow her a gorge twice a day but with discretion and iudgement not giuing her ouermuch at one time And if so the Feuer cease not by these practises aforesaid it shall be well done to giue your Falcon of excellent good Rubarbe finely beaten to pouder two scrouples in a Cotton casting to purge scower her choler which is the very originall ground of her Feuer There are some that do wil prescribe that you must let your Falcon blood in the thigh which albert I haue not experimented yet doth it stand with reason that it may doe good if you can finely doe it but it were much better in mine opinion to open the vaine vnder her right wing because that would chiefely refrigerate coole the lyuer out of hand so by a consequent y e whole body throughout This order aforesaid is to be vsed if the feuer be a hoate feauer wherewith your hawke is molested But if it happen to bée a colde feauer which you shall perceiue by that your hawk will be extreame cold if you touch her Her eyes looke not of their wonted hew and besides all this shée seldome mewteth and that with great paine Then you must set her in some warme place after her fitte of cold is past shée
set them vppon some pearch or bayle of wood that they may by that meanes the better kéepe their feathers vnbroken and eschue the dragging of their traines vpon the ground for so shall they bée the better sunned Michelin sayth further that to kéepe Eyesse hawks from that inconuenience specially when they be taken ouer little they must be kept in a drie and cleane place yée must strew euery where vnder them the hearbe that in French is called Yeble which hath a seede like Elder This hearbe is of nature hote and good against the gowte and the disease of the reines which might befall them Wherefore if ye will kéepe hawkes well that are new taken from out of the nest if yée take them in the morning yée must let them stand empty till noon and if yée take them in the euening yée must not féede them till the next morrow And when yée féed them giue them tender flesh and after that let them not stand empty any more too long for hindering their feathers and tainting them Of Hawkes that haue lice mites or other vermine IF yée will know whether your hawkes haue lice or mites set her in the warme Sunne out of the wind and by and by yée shall easily perceyue it for they will crall out vpon her feathers and swarme there For remedy hereof take a quantity of Orpiment beaten into very fine powder and hauing mingled it with halfe as much powder of Pepper let your Hawke bée cast handsomly that shée breake not her feathers then powder first the one wing and so the other gently and finally all the whole carkasse of her after which set her vpon your fiste againe bespowt her and squirt a little Water on her with your mouth and set her by a fire or in the Sunne til she be throughly wethered Afterward when yée intend to féed her wash her beake to take away the sauor of the Orpiment and beware that your Hawke be not poore when you intend to vse Orpiment Hauing thus done you shall sée that al the mites and lice will discouer themselues vpon ker feathers and die either the Orpiment alone or the Pepper alone are as good as both of them together to spoyle the mites But here is the oddes the Pepper maketh the mites to shew themselues and then the Orpiment murdreth them When ye vse the Pepper alone put thereto a thirde part lesse of Ashes to abate the force of the Pepper and so shall your Hawke bée rid of those vermine And assure your selfe that no hawke which hath the mites be she neuer so good is able to do her duty and play her part by reason of the annoyance which shée féeleth in her feathers by them And if yée would ridde her of the mites without washing her then my Authour bids you take a very olde Mauis or blacke bird hauing taken out all the grease that yée can find in her anoint your Hawkes feet and the pearch whereon yée set her therewith for all the vermine will repaire down to it therfore shift her out of her place twice or thrice in the night that shée may bée no more troubled therewith But your best medicine of al is to wash her in a warme bath made with water blacke Sope Stauesacre pepper and Orpiment hauing care to keepe it out of her mouth eyes and nares Of the Hawke that holdeth not her wings vp so well as she should do but lolleth them IF a Hawke that is newly taken be set straightwayes vpon a pearch or vpon the fist of one that hath no skill to vse her shée ouerheates herselfe with bating and afterward catcheth such cold vpon it as she cannot recouer or trusse her winges close to her again nor bée able to flée well Mallopin saith that to remedie this mischiefe you must take of the best vinegar y t is to bée gotten with your mouth spirt it vpon and betwixt her feathe as till she be throughly wet taking good héede that none of it come in her nares and afterward set her by the fire or in the Sun seruing her so two or thrée dayes together And if shée recouer do nothing else to her but if shée recouer not let her bath eyther of pleasure or of force and shée will trusse vp her wings to her by meane of striuing with herselfe Then let her be set very warme by a fire or in the Sunne for if shee should chill vpon it shée woulb become worse than before Of the Crampgout MArtin sayth yée shall discerne the Crampgowt by your Hawkes holding of her one foot vpon the other and by her often knibbing and iobbing of her foot with her beake For remedie whereof yée must east her handsomely let her bloud on the veine that is betwéene the foot and the legge and afterward annoint the veyne with Capons grease or with oyle of Roses To keepe a Hawke from all maner of Gowtes the French mans opinion is this BY Martins aduise if yée doubt that your hawke shal haue the Gowt you must feare her and cauterize her as hereafter followeth Take a small yron with a round button at the end as big as a peaze heate it red hote and feare her therewith first aboue the eyes then vpon the toppe of her head and thirdly vpon the bals of her feet And this violent kind of dealing with her is the next and assuredst way to do good in such desperate diseases if any help bée to bée had But my Italian Author Sforzine giueth ouer a Hawke that is troubled with the Gowt and thinketh there is small credite to be gotten by the cure because of the impossibility For the biting of a venomous beast or worme IF your hawke be bitten or stung of a venomous beast or worme make her to receiue a little Triacle and powder of Pepper and afterward feed her with hote meate two dayes and beware that shée touch no water for twenty dayes after Or else burne a Frogge and beat her into powder and put thereof vpon Cats flesh and yiue it your Hawke These are strange remedies and rare and of the French deuise Giue your iudgement of them and by triall you shall know what they will doe I find them in my Author and therefore doe set them down and not for any experience I haue had of them For the wound or biting of any beast IF your hawke be hurt by any mischance and the mouth of the wound very small rippe it larger and scowre it with white wine laying thereon a playster of white Frankinsence and Masticke and annoini it round about with butter oyle of Roses or oyle Oliue A Treatise and briefe discourse of the cure of Spaniels when they be any way ouer-heat deuised written by M. Francesco Sforzino Vicentino the Italian Gentleman Falconer HOw necessary a thing a Spaniell is to Falconrie for those that vse that pastime keeping hawks for their pleasure and recreation I déem no man doubteth