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 distillation and swelling of a Hawkes head, and also of her eyes and na••es.

HAwkes are accustomed to haue a certaine distillation or Catarre in their heads, because when they ard hard sléen withall, & set in great heates, by long and painful flights, they easily take cold vpon the same, eyther through some vnhap∣py stormes of weather, or great windes, or by reason of the extreame cold of winter, & chiefly when they are full of grosse and naughty humors.

Of this Catarre or distillation, sundry times there grow a thousand mischiefes to those poore birdes, and specially the swelling of the head, with a kind of dropping humor, which is the cause many times, that the hawkes eyes become lesse, and are contracted in a manner together. Beside which in∣conuenience, the nares also become to bée stuft and stopped with excessiue excrement that descendeth from the braine. All which euill accidents doe require, and stand néedfull of seue∣rall cures before they can bée remoued, and the hawkes enioy their accustomed health.

Wherefore first of all, it shall bée necessary to scowre your Hawke being thus affected and diseased, with Butter prepa∣ed in manner aforesaide, or with Oyle Oliue prepared af∣ter that fashion, as I shall instruct yon in the Chapter of the Pantas.

I haue in the Catarre of Falcons, (as also of other hawkes) diuerse times vsed with great good fortune and suc∣cesse, to giue them of Agaricke two scruples, of Cyna∣mon finely beaten, of the iuyce of Liquorish, of eyther one scruple, béeing make also into powder, and with a quanti∣ty of hony of Roses, to make all those thinges aforesaid into a pyll, as bigge as a Beane, for the largest sort of hawks, and for other lesse hawkes, halfe as bigge. And this was I accustomed to giue my Falcon, and other Hawkes in

the morning, hauing nothing aboue in their gorges, holding my hawkeon the fist, vntill such time the medicine beganne to worke, because shée should not cast the scowring, (which then would doe her no pleasure at all,) and after three houres then to féed her with some meat. You must remember, and note this very well, that if your Hawke to whom you giue this scowring bée greasie, and ful of flesh, you may boldly giue it her two or thrée mornings. But if shée bée poore, and low, then once or twice to allow this scowring, will very well suffice her. For there is euer respect to bée had of the state of a hawke, when any vpward or downeward scowring is giuen them, for otherwise it will doe them greater mischiefe than pleasure.

But when you perceiue your hawks head to swell, and her eyes to be full of dropping humors, and to waxe lesse than na∣turally they were accustomed to be, by meane of the swelling of her head: It shall bée good, hauing giuen her this general scowring, that I haue spoken of, to scowre the head alone, and purge it with some deuise, to force her snite and snifle, as men doe accustom to sneze: and to force her therunto, you may take Pepper, Cloues, & mustard séede, of each one a like quantitie, making them all into very fine powder, as is possible, & then with a whistle of siluer, or other like mettell, (yea though it bée but a quill, it will serue the turne) being applyed vppon hernares, to blow it into hernares as strongly as you may, to make it pierce the furtherin. And besides that, you may rub and frot the pallate of your Hawke with the said powder, and not féed her after it, vntill such time shée hath left sniting, and snifling. If you continue this practise thrée or foure dayes, your hawke shall recouer assuredly.

To discharge the head of a Hawke, that is stuft with ill humor, Stauesaker which the Apothecaries do sel in the win∣ter, I haue found a very excellent thing, and of great force, giuing of it the biggenesse of a Beane vnto my Hawke,

being emptie, and hauing nothing aboue. And withall I was accustomed to rubbe the pallate of her mouth, forcing also some parte of the powder to ascend vppe into the head, by the hole that goeth to the braine: and after I had so done, would cast my hawke to the pearch, vnhooding her. Which was no sooner done, but you should sée her cast a worlde of slimy filth and moist humour, and snyse at her nares as fast.

But if it be so, that the aboundance of humors in the head, by none of these aforesaid remedies will be remoued, applying them neuer so often, nor the mischiefe cease to vexe your hawk which you shall easily discerne by her slimy castings, and the aboundance of filth that will issue at her nares: then must you of force be driuen ventrously to flée to the actuall cauterie, & with an yron button heat in the fire, to cauterize her vpon the head, vsing no lesse iudgement and discretion therein, than the daintinesse of the place requires, regarding the bone of the Hawkes head, which is not very strong, or hard. And before you doe vse the cauterie, it is necessary to cutte away those feathers, that are growing about the place where you meane to bestow your fire.

If with this monstrous moystnesse of your hawkes head, there be ioyned a swelling, or the dropping of her eyes: in that case I doe thinke it best to bestow your button vpon her head, iust betwixt her eyes, obseruing the same order that I haue alreadie prescribed you.

When the nares of your hawke are stuft with filth, and surcharged with such distillation from the head, as I haue spoken of: after a conuenient scowring, then shall it bée good to take Pepper and Mustard séed beaten into fine powder, and putting it into a cleane linnen cloth, to stype it a space in the strongest vinegar you can gette: and that done, to bestow some few droppes thereof vpon her nares, so as they may enter and pierce her nares. For truely this de∣uise

will so scowre and drie vp the humor, as it will do great pleasure. But if so with these remedies and meanes you cannot resolue it, then must you be faine to vse the cauterie, not aloft vpon the head, but round about the nares, giuing her a little touch with the fire, somewhat below the nares, to make them more large, alwayes vsing the matter so carefully as you touch not the root or (or poret) of her nares. When you haue in this manner bestowed your fire, and actuall cauterie, vntill such time the paine doe cease, and the escarre fall away, (which is nothing else but the crust that is growne there, by meane of the fire,) you must annoint the place with fresh but∣ter, and after that you haue so done, then procéede to the cure of it with the powder of Masticke, or Olibanum.

This is a very good remedy for the swelling in the head of a Hawke. Take Stauesacre, a quantity of Pepper, and a little Aloes Epaticke, beat these said things into fine powder, and put them into the water of rew, where when it hath béen stéeped a space in the said liquor, with a little bombast or lint, bath your Hawkes nares twice a day, and you shall find it ease your hawke greatly, and ridde a great part of the filthie matter that bréedeth the stoppage in her head. If all these remedies which I haue alleadged generally, nor any one spe∣ciall medicine will preuaile, as I said before: then must you re∣pose your chiefest trust in the cauterie, which must bée done eyther on the head with a cauterizing button, or about the nares with a néedle, or sharp yron, fire hote, or some golden or siluer Instrument, of purpose made; applying after the fire, for the remouing of the Escarre, and the cure of the same, the remedies aforesaid.