CHAPTER XXX 



Pheasant-farming 



That Pheasant-farming can be made a lucrative form of 

 rural husbandry may be fairly assumed, when one comes 

 to consider what a number of game farms there are in 

 various parts of the United Kingdom, though many of 

 such farming operations are not confined to Pheasants 

 only, but to various other game birds, such as partridges, 

 more especially Hungarian partridges, the wild duck, etc. 



Doubtless many readers will say that game-farming, 

 like the majority of other industrial pursuits, is becoming 

 overdone, whilst it has one striking disadvantage over the 

 ordinary commercial occupation, and that is that it is a 

 very speculative undertaking, as a single season of bad 

 luck is followed by serious losses. It is a pleasurable form 

 of occupation, and one that, with a reasonable amount of 

 capital, the acquirement of suitable premises, along with 

 the possession of sound judgment in the selecting and 

 mating of the stock birds, combined with a reasonable 

 measure of success, can be made fairly profitable. 



Game-farmers do not, as a rule, become millionaires 

 or even moderately wealthy men — in fact, it is only those 

 possessed of capital and a special aptitude for following 

 such a pursuit that ought to undertake the management of 

 a game farm. Most of the game farms are situated in 

 the south or south-east of England, comparatively few in 

 Scotland, Ireland and Wales. On some of these farms 

 Pheasants for covert purposes only are kept, whereas others 

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