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 way to know in what tune hawks are by their mewting.

WIth that helpe and light that I haue already giuen you by the hawkes casting, if you diligently obserue

the mewte,* 1.1 you shall easily prognosticate and so; esee her euil, and any such disease as your Hawke is infected with. For if the mewte be white, and not ouer thicke, nor ouercleare, and besides not hauing any blacke spotte in it, or at the least but little, it is an euident proofe that the hawke is excellently in tune, and not diseased. But if it be white, and very thicke in the middest, well it may importhealth, but it argueth the hawke to bee ouer grosse, and too full of grease. And therefore it shall bee needfull to cure that mischiefe, by giuing her liquide and moist meat, as the heart of a Calfe, Lambe, or such like. And for one or two mornings, to allow her (being empty and hauing nothing aboue to put ouer) a quantity of Sugar Can∣dy which will scowre her, and make her slise, or else a gut of a chicken well washt, of a conuenient length and size, ful of good oyle oliue, well clarified in water, in such sort as hereafter I shall instruct you.

It is easily sound, when a hawke is euer greasie, and not enseamed, by her mewte, when it is white with some blacke in it, which euil is easily remoued by giuing her hot Sparows, and young Pygeons.

* 1.2But if her mewte be white, entermedled with red, yellow, grey, or such like colour, it is a signe that the hawke is very ill and diseased, & moreouer that she standeth néedfull of a scow∣ring, as of mummy purified & beaten to pouder, wrapping it in cotton, or some such like matter, to set the gorge & stomacke of your hawke in tune againe, and other inward partes, as hereafter I shall make further shew of in a place méet for that spéech and discourse. Assuredly, when you sée your hawkes mewte so full of diuerse colours, it is very necessary for you to respect her cure, and to endeauour your selfe to remedy that mischiefe, or otherwise she must néeds perish vnder your hand, for that those are very deadly signes, and proofes of the ill state of your Hawke.* 1.3

The white mewt, hauing a greater part of yellow in it, thā of any other colour, doth euidently make shew, that the

hawke is surcharged with chollericke humours, caused and engendred by ouer-great flightes, when you flee with your hawke in the heate of the day, as also of ouermuch bating. Which euill you may prouide for and eschue, by giuing your hawkesmeat washt in cold waters, as Buglosse, Endiue, Borrage, and such like holesome cold waters, very medicina∣ble for that mischief, alwayes remembring to strain the hawks meat, and wring it in a linnen cloth, after you haue washt it in the waters aforesaid.

And if this fall not out in proofe to your contentment, then if you can giue your hawke a quantity of Agaricke in a scow∣ring, for the space of one morning or two, not suffering her to flee, or doe any thing, but doe set her downe. There is no que∣stion, but by the care and diligence of such a kéeper, your hawk shall quickly recouer.

The mewt of a hawke which is very blacke, declareth her liuer to bée infected, and is the most deadly signe of all others.* 1.4 For if it continue thrée or foure dayes, most assuredly the hawke will pecke ouer the pearch and die. But if it bee so but once, and no more, it greatly skils not. For then may it pro∣céede of one of these two causes: eyther for that the hawke in pluming and tyring on the fowle, hath taken of the blood or guts of the prey, which is a matter of nothing: or else becaus shée hath beene gored with filthy meate. In this case it be∣hooues you to respect her, and to allow her good warm flesh, and a cotton casting, with Mummey or the powder of Cloues and Nutmegs, with a smal quantity of Ginger, to set her stomack in tune againe.

A gréene méewt is also a signe of an infected and corrupt Lyuer, and happily of some Apostume,* 1.5 vnlesse shée make that kind of mewte vpon this occasion, that shee hath béene gorged with some wilde and rammage meate, or her selfe be a rammage hawke: for then this rule doth not holde. You must looke to this euill as soone and with as great spéede as you possible may, féeding her with meate all powdered with

Mummy prepared, if shée will take it with her flesh, as diuers hawkes will doe of themselues: but if not, then must it be gi∣uen her in a casting, or some frowring, continuing it in this manner, sometimes after one fashion, sometimes after ano∣ther, vntill you finde the mewte to be changed from the badde colour to the better. But when this mischiefe doth procéed, and continue long space, then shall you be fame to bestow on her a scowring of Agaricke, to rid those euill and noysome humors which doe offend your hawke, and after that another scow∣ring of Incense beaten into powder, to recomfort her.

* 1.6The 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 vnhole∣some 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.

* 1.7The 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 neuerthe∣lesse 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 re∣ceite 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,* 1.8 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 bet∣ter cure of his hawkes, to peruse euery morning with greate care the mewte of his hawkes. For that it doth greatly con∣cerne the good health and state of them, to finde out at the first their indisposition and diseases, before they bée too déepely roo∣ted 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 dis∣course, to obserue some methode and order, I will speake ge∣nerally of all infirmities and ill accidents hapning to the bo∣dies of Hawkes, as namely of the feuer, and so consequently of euery speciall disease that belongeth to each particular mem∣ber 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 Falco∣ners doe vse to cauterize their Hawkes withall, with such o∣ther ordinarie remedies, as they doe commonly bestow vpon their diseased and sicke Hawkes.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The good mewt.
• * 1.2

  The euil mewte.
• * 1.3

  The white and yellow mewte.
• * 1.4

  The blacke mewte.
• * 1.5

  The greene mewte.
• * 1.6

  The mewte that is vn∣disgested, & tending to redde.
• * 1.7

  Of the dark sanguine mewte.
• * 1.8

  The grey mewte.