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.

Of the Apostumes of the head.

FAlcons, Goshawkes, and other birds of prey, are wont to be much cumbred and molested with the swelling of the head, and the Apostume thereof, a very grieuous euill, occasio∣ned by aboundance of euill humors, & the heat of the head. It is discerned by the swelling of the hawks eyes, by the moistur which sundry times issueth and distilleth from the eares, and often eake by euill Sauour, and smell of the Apostume. Also it may be perceyued by the small desire the hawke hath to mooue or aduance her selfe by the wresting of her heade, and the little regarde shée hath to tyre and pull the flesh that shée feedeth on, as though indéede tyring were verie painefull to her, and by that shée is scarce able

to open her clappe, and beake, after her accustomed manner.

Against this most perillous euill, it shall be very necessary first of all to skowre your Hawke throughly, and after that the head in chiefe.

As touching the generall skowring. I can commend and allow you to giue her thrée or foure morninges, when shée hath no meate to put ouer, a pyll as bygge as a nutte of but∣ter washt seuen or eight times in fresh water, and stéeped well in Rose water, mingling it afterward with Honie of Roses, & very good sugar, holding your Hawke on the fist, till shée make one or two mewtes. Which being done, to disburdē and skowre the head, it shall be excellent well done to take of Rewe séede foure drammes, Aloes Epatick twoo drammes, Saffron one scruple, reducing and forcing all these to fine powder, and with a quantitie conuenient of honie of Roses to make a pyll of that bignesse and syze, as may well be cōueyed into the hawks beake, by which her brayne may bée purged and skowred, thrusting the pyll so déepe into her throte, as you may well sée, holding her a space after it vppon the fist. And that doone, setting her downe on the pearch, in a conue∣nient place, fit for the time, and two hours after, to féede her at her accustomed time with good hotte meate.

But if happily there bee any of the corruption and filth in the Hawkes eare, it shall be very necessary, carefully with an instrument of siluer, or other good mettall for the nones, that the one ende bée sharpe poynted and edged, of purpose to ap∣ply lynt, and on the other ende hollow, and fashioned like vnto the eare of a Hawke, to clense and remoue the filth that furreth the hawkes eare. And with that ende, whereon the lynte or bumbast is, to skowre it very daintily, and pre∣sently vppon the same, to infuse and droppe in a quantity of Oyle of swéete Almondes, fresh and luke warme, and after the same to conuey into the eare a little lynt or bombast, to kéepe in the Oyle, till such time she bée dressed againe, to the ende the Oyle, may supplie and mollifie the filth, so as

it may easily bée remoued and clensed. And this order must you obserue and continue, vntill the Apostume be resolued & throughly ripe. But if it so fall out, that the Aposthume wil not come to maturation, or ripe, in sorte as it may growe to suppuration, and be mundified in manner aforesaid, but wil rest at one stay in the head of the hawke: then must you bée fayne to come to cauterize the head aloft, and bestow a but∣ton there, to cause the humor to breath, and to bring the cor∣rupt matter thither, remembring after this fire and cauterie to remoue the escarre, by bestowing on it for the space of eight or nine dayes, butter, by which you shall easily remoue the crust or escarre, which is made by the fire.

You must not forget, if it be so, as your hawke bée so weake as shée is vnable, or so froward as shée will not féede and tyre vpon her meate which you giue her, then to cut it in smal pel∣lets, and so giue it her, eyther by fayre meanes or fowle, not leauing to vse it so, if it be possible, as shée may receyue it willingly, and féede her selfe, because it may the better nourish her. For this is one vndoubted rule, that when a Hawke doth refuse to féede and tyre, shée is very vnlusty, and diseased, and not one among a hūdreth of them, that doth recouer. And for mine owne part, in all my time, I haue recouered but one Falcon being so diseased, and that by the meane and cure a∣foresaid, and by vsing this cauterie.

Let this suffice, as touching this monstrous accident, for I meane to referre you to another place for the cauterie and fire, which you shall vse to hawkes where I will speake specially thereof. Only giuing you this caueat before you goe, that this euill of the head, is infectious, and will passe from one hawke to another, as the maungie doth among Spaniels, or any such contagious disease. Wherfore it shall be very good to seque∣ster and sunder the hawke that is thus affected, from your o∣ther hawkes, for auoiding of the same euill.