QUALITIES OF A GOOD FALCONER.
Professor Schneider, in a Latin volume published at Leipsic, in 1788,[46] thus enumerates the qualities of a good falconer: “Sit mediocris staturæ; sit perfecti ingenii; bonæ memoriæ; levis auditu; acuti visûs; homo magnæ vocis; sit agilis et promptus; sciat natare,” &c. &c.
Each falconer had his own particular call, but it was generally somewhat like—
“Hillo, ho, ho, boy! come, bird, come!”
Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 5.
THE LURE AND ITS USE.
The “lure” was of various shapes, and consisted merely of a piece of iron or wood, generally in the shape of a heart or horseshoe, to which were attached the wings of some bird, with a piece of raw meat fixed between them. A strong leathern strap, about three feet long, fastened to it with a swivel, enabled the falconer to swing it round his head, or throw it to a distance. With high-flying hawks,
however, it was often found necessary to use a live pigeon, secured to a string by soft leather jesses, in order to recall them.[47]
The long-winged hawks were always brought to the lure, the short-winged ones to the hand:—
“As falcon to the lure, away she flies.”