Mac Vicar's work was taken up after his second year by Duncan Dunn 

 and Adam Scott who, for twenty-three years, made the Stuyvesant and 

 Rutherfurd estates, which adjoined, the nucleus of pheasant breeding in 

 the United States. 



So much for the history of the pheasant's introduction. 



The first step in pheasant breeding is to procure a hcense. At least 

 this applies in the more progressive game breeding states, all of which 

 require the breeder of game to take such action. In New York it is pro- 

 vided (Section 372, page 109 of the Conservation Law) that the applica- 

 tion for a license shall be addressed to the Conservation Commission at 

 Albany, accompanied with a fee of $5. The license carries with it author- 

 ity not only to breed but to sell birds whether alive or dead, but certain 

 restrictions surround the latter case, which will be mentioned in the 

 chapter on the marketing of pheasants. New Jersey charges $5 for a 

 license also, but the Connecticut charge is only $2. 



LOCATION. — The question of location comes next for consideration. 

 Well drained soil of sufficient fertility to grow good cover crops is essen- 

 tial. In the wild state, pheasants frequent country characterized by both 

 open fields and good cover. The fields they feed in must always be close to 

 some place of safe retreat such as a thicket, woodland with heavy under- 

 growth or swale afford. They are particularly fond of the last named and 

 will always resort to such a place some time during the day when it is 

 available. Particularly do damp, semi-moist places appeal during the 

 heat of a summer day. A well watered place is almost a necessity, though 

 frequent streams through a farm usually mean that rearing fields filled with 

 young birds may be flooded following unusually heavy rains. Some 

 breeders prefer a farm with a single stream and pipe the water in whatever 

 direction it is needed, running the pipes above ground. The winter pens 

 at the New Jersey State Farm are supplied with running water which is 

 sent through V-shaped troughs raised a foot or more from the ground. 

 Good drainage, water and fair soil fertility are, then, the prime requisites 

 in choosing a site for pheasant breeding. These matters will be discussed 

 more in detail later. 



SECURING BREEDING STOCK.— With the license obtained and 

 the site selected, the next step is to secure the birds themselves or their 

 equivalent in eggs. It is preferable to make a start with the birds, and 

 they should be purchased in the fall or early winter, one cock to four or 

 five hens. This will admit of their becoming thoroughly settled before 

 the breeding season the following spring. Hens shipped in February or 

 March are not as likely to lay well as birds shipped earlier, 



START WITH BIRDS RATHER THAN EGGS.— That birds are to 

 be preferred to eggs to make a start with is easily seen when one considers 



