206 PHEASANTS 



to west; its width is generous, while a 

 central open space gives the pheasant a 

 sheltered spot where they may sun them- 

 selves. A narrow foot-path runs north 

 and south across the wood. Small clumps 

 of spruce are dotted about here and there 

 for roosting-trees, while two large patches 

 of Japanese larch give some hopes of 

 profitable forestry, providing at the same 

 time covert that pheasants love for the 

 next fifteen or twenty years, at which 

 age they may be renewed or replaced by 

 something else. 



The natural growth of birch, bramble 

 and bracken is allowed to remain in 

 patches, but is generally supplanted by 

 numerous clumps of berry-bearing shrubs, 

 with willows along the banks of the 

 stream, and what we hope will be a 

 notable avenue of Japanese rose, along 

 either side of the main ride. 



Even in our soft western climate, 

 where trees and shrubs grow apace, ten 

 years must elapse before we may hope to 

 see the full reward of our labours, but the 



