PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY 



his feeds so that they take the right way naturally. Then 

 when the time comes to be forced or driven, they will go 

 more readily. 



" Now, to get the birds to rise and fly high is not nearly 

 so difficult as a good many imagine. But of course there 

 are exceptions to every rule, and the man in charge must 

 use a certain amount of discretion according to the situation 

 he is placed in, and the hundred and one obstacles he has 

 to meet. Stretch wire netting about 3 feet to 3 feet 6 inches 

 high right across your beat in any direction in which 

 you want to corner the birds, with at least 50 yards at 

 each side, so that the birds don't run past the sides. The 

 netting must be set well inside of the covert, so that the 

 birds cannot see the guns when driven up to the wire, and 

 it must be at least 50 yards from wire to gun. Where 

 there are a good many birds in one beat, it will be an 

 advantage to put a second lot of wire about 25 yards 

 further back from the other, setting it in a half-circle 

 or half-moon shape, taking care to leave about 20 yards 

 at each side open, so that a certaiii amount of the birds will 

 pass. The rise should have abundance of under-cover, and 

 the trees should be well thinned out to allow the birds to 

 rise clean and easily. At the end of the drive at the outside 

 of the covert there should be two or three men with white 

 flags at even distances apart. Special care must be taken 

 with these men so that the birds, when driven up, cannot 

 see them or their flags ; this can be easily done by making 

 some sort of butt — for instance, a couple of stack bars woven 

 with spruce, etc., will answer well. The guns should always 

 be placed where the man in charge wants them, as two 

 ideas, no matter how good they are, very seldom work out 

 to the satisfaction of either party. Now drive the birds. 

 Drive in the ordinary way until you get within 50 or 



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