The booke of falconrie or havvking for the onely delight and pleasure of all noblemen and gentlemen : collected out of the best authors, aswell Italians as Frenchmen, and some English practises withall concerning falconrie / heretofore published by George Turbervile, Gentleman.

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 sun∣dry 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, & fea∣ring this conspiracy (as it were) betwixt the dogs and hawkes, for their vndoing and confusion, dare in no wise commit them∣selues 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 pro∣per 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 Em∣perour 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 pa∣stime, 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 na∣ture 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.

Notes

• Addition.