PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY 



it costs to rear young Pheasants. One point is clear to all 

 intelligent minds, that is, no hard-and-fast line can be laid 

 down as to what Pheasants should be fed upon during the 

 four seasons of the year. From my experience I find that 

 the cost in some seasons may not be above half what it is in 

 the same seasons in different years. Take, for instance, the 

 year 1907, when we had such a poor partridge season. 

 People seemed positive in affirming that it was a disease 

 among the partridges, but the conclusion I came to after 

 hearing different statements and observing for myself was, 

 that the partridges and wild Pheasants were simply starving 

 for lack of insect life. Those, especially keepers, who 

 remember that particular season sufficiently well to recall the 

 state of affairs then, will no doubt be able to call to mind 

 that fact that, until September set in, there was a marked 

 deficiency in insect life, and then we were simply inundated 

 with swarms of the insectivorae, so much so, that it was 

 remarked how the engines of railway trains were covered 

 with swarms of flies. Therefore, I may confidently affirm 

 that during the absence of insect life that year, the Pheasants 

 obtained nothing of a substantial flesh-forming and vitality- 

 producing nature except that which chanced to be given 

 them by those who endeavoured to keep alive as many as 

 they could. Scientists tell us that without a certain amount 

 of proteid or albuminous food no animal life is able to exist 

 for any length of time. Professor Gawgee, in his lectures on 

 human food, said confidently, 'Without proteid we die.' 

 He had shown what constituted real nourishment, for 

 starchy, sugary, gummy, and fatty foods alone will not 

 sustain the life of either man, beast or bird. We may note 

 the harmful results to those of our own kind, and there are 

 many persons whose chief foods are white bread, butter, fat 

 bacon, potatoes, pastry, suet dumplings and tea. The only 



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