268 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



birds are worth $800 a pair. Healthy birds will 

 live fifty or sixty years. Such a farm, Shan, is 

 impossible here. Successful ostrich-raising is 

 only possible in a warm, dry country. It would be 

 useless to try and raise Ostriches in the swampy 

 lands of eastern North Carolina. Southern Cali- 

 fornia and Arizona are the preferred states. 



''Pheasants have been domesticated here with 

 some success. The English Pheasant, crossed 

 with the Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant and later 

 with a Japanese breed, was brought over here 

 some years ago and has become locally established 

 in Massachusetts, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New 

 Jersey, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Kansas, a 

 wide range, as you see. The Eing-necked Pheas- 

 ant has become acclimatized in Oregon and 

 Washington. The Hungarian Partridge has been 

 imported, but has not taken a firm hold. I am 

 carrying out some experiments in breeding rare 

 species, such as the Argus and the Golden Pheas- 

 ant and they take up more of my time than I wish 

 to spend away from my books. If I teach you 

 what I want done, you might be able to take a part 

 of that work off my hands. I can pay you fifteen 

 dollars a month and you can have dinner and 

 supper here. Do you wish to do it?" 



