Many modern falconers, abandoning all attempts to fully moult their hawks in time for the game season, fly them irrespectively of the condition in which their feathers may be. That is to say, instead of shutting up their hawk, as the old falconers commonly did, when she drops the first feather, and keeping her inactive in the mews until the last new one has come down, they simply go on giving her her daily exercise just as if nothing had happened, and almost, if not quite, ignore the moult. It is wonderful how well some hawks acquit themselves under such disadvantageous conditions, and how little difference to a really fast and clever flyer is made by the loss of even two of the biggest feathers in each wing. On the other hand, a slow hawk, especially if she is not over-gifted with brains, so as to be able to make her head save her wings, is apt to cut rather a poor figure when flown in the middle of the moult at grouse. One of the chief drawbacks incident to this plan--especially with peregrines--is that when flying hard they often moult so badly. Full feeding--or rather overfeeding--is necessary to many trained hawks if they are to moult fast and well; and, of course, when expected to fly in the field they cannot exactly be overfed. Well fed, even to the verge of excessive generosity, they must be, or the new feathers will come down narrow and weak, or even the moult may cease. But to overfeed a passage hawk before putting her up to wait on, is to court the loss of her. Consequently the falconer who flies grouse with a falcon in the moult is confronted with an awkward dilemma. If he keeps his hawk sharp-set he is quite likely to see her leave off moulting, at least for a time, beginning again perhaps later on, and thus protracting the moulting season to an unconscionable length. If, on the other hand, he attempts to keep her fat, he may be pretty sure that she will be disobedient and slow at coming to the lure, and he will be tormented by a constant fear that she will despise it altogether and choose her own place in which to moult at liberty.