PHEASANT COVERTS 



usual because of the dry, heating nature of acorns, and few 

 coverts contain a too plentiful supply of water. If these two 

 necessaries are provided for the birds there will be far less 

 wandering, and for that reason I commend these re- 

 marks to all brother keepers who reside where the Oak 

 flourishes." 



The only objection to the planting of Oaks for covert 

 purposes is their slow growth. The seeds of the Sycamore 

 are ready for consumption in the spring, and where these 

 trees are abundant, it is stated that eggs are obtained earlier 

 than in coverts without such. The leaves of the Oak and 

 the Beech decay very slowly when on the ground, and heaps 

 of such leaves are most favourable to the production of insect 

 life, in search of which Pheasants are not slow to take advan- 

 tage of, especially during hard weather. Pheasants are very 

 much more likely to stray during cold weather than warm, 

 especially if the snow on the ground is soft ; therefore, in feed- 

 ing the birds under such conditions, it is better to scatter the 

 food freely about, otherwise if they are able to fill their crops 

 at once they are liable to begin to wander. 



In the formation of a covert, it is indispensable to attend 

 to what may be termed the "fundamental" principles of 

 its construction, which may be summarised as follows : — 



(a) Select a sight in which the sun will shine the greater part of the day, 



and if possible having a south or south-west aspect. 



(b) Never plant a covert on a boundary, but in the centre of the manor, 



with the smaller plantations surrounding the main one. 



(c) Select, if possible, a sight where there is a free supply of water, such 



as a stream or a pond, as the absence of water favours the straying 

 of birds. 



(d) Avoid the formation of coverts too large, a number of smaller ones 



being preferable to a single large one. 



(e) Plant a sufficiency of low-growing shrubs, such as the Barberry, the 



B 17 



