PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY 



point is that grit must accompany bone-meal. Older birds will 

 see that they obtain sufficient grit to keep their gizzards right, 

 but young birds cannot do this, so we must supply them with it. 



" Another thing I always like to see is that Pheasants are 

 well supplied with plenty of fresh greens ; watercress is the 

 finest of all, for it contains iron in the best form for assimila- 

 tion, besides being slightly pungent, as all cresses are. How- 

 ever, cabbage, lettuce, mustard and cress, and any other 

 oreen salads and tender vegetable leaves, are all good, and 

 they may always be obtained from the kitchen gardens 

 belonging to the hall on the estate. 



" I have mentioned the point of giving each coop just 

 sufficient for the appetites of the birds it contains. This 

 needs care and close observation, for the birds, it must be 

 remembered, are wild, but it will repay the trouble. I believe 

 many failures may be traced to the over-supplying of food, for 

 if food is over-supplied some of it of course will be uneaten, 

 and will lie in the hot sunshine and ferment ; then it will 

 perhaps be eaten in a sour state by the birds if they become 

 huno-ry before next feeding-time, thus causing trouble by 

 developing putrescent fermentation. In point of fact, I have 

 occasionally noticed in connection with this statement some 

 froth around birds' beaks, as if the poor things had eaten 

 yeast. Dr Joseph Wallace asserts that 'fermentation is the 

 primary cause of disease.' 



" Another thing, I always like to see food prepared ready 



to give the birds before the coops are opened to release them, 



so that they may not pick up all sorts of over-night foods which 



are certain then to be very sour, if there should be any on the 



ground, to satisfy their hunger before you have time to supply 



the sweet, fresh morning food. Of course, I might mention 



that in non-fox-hunting countries it is not needful to coop up 



Pheasants at all at night. 



176 



