Pheasants and Hungarians 101 



plantings should be attempted there. Such a conclusion must be qualified, how- 

 ever, by two additional facts. 



First, pheasants thrive under wire in the southern as well as the northern 

 part. 



Second, southern plantings of both species often thrive for several years, 

 but later disappear. 



Why should southern plantings thrive under wire, or for short periods in the 

 wild, but fail to thrive in the long run? What is the "cause" for success in the 

 North, and failure in the South? Why does not that "cause" operate at once in 

 southern plantings? Why does it not affect confined, as well as wild, birds? Can 

 the "cause" be discovered, and can the southern ranges be modified so as to con- 

 vert failure into success? Would the discovery of the cause make possible the 

 modification of the northern range to make it even more successful than at 

 present? These questions collectively constitute one of the major enigmas of 

 American game management. 



Does the establishment of exotics injure the productivity of native game 

 species? Which species? Where? How? Under what conditions? These are 

 likewise unanswered questions and collectively constitute one of the major issues 

 in American game policy. 



History of Pheasant Plantings. The history of plantings in so far as 

 traced by the -survey, is shown in Table 21 and Map 10. 



Isolated private pheasant plantings began as early as 1900 in Iowa, when 

 a private pheasantry blew down in a windstorm and released 1,000 birds. This 

 accidental planting was probably the source of the present Iowa establishment, 

 and is the earliest plant traced by the survey. Private pheasant plantings began 

 in Missouri in 1904, and in Wisconsin in 1910. 



State pheasant plantings began in Indiana in 1907, and in Missouri and 

 Illinois in 1910. This marked the beginning of the first "wave" of State game 

 farms, which later receded in some of the States (for instance, Missouri) until 

 the earlier lack of success had been forgotten. A new "wave" began about 1920. 

 Wisconsin was the last State to join in the now universal program of pheasant 

 planting. All of the States, regardless of previous results or the lack of them, 

 are now planting pheasants at an average rate of 6,568 birds per State per year. 



State pheasant plantings of both waves usually consisted both of grown 

 birds, and eggs distributed to farmers for incubation, rearing, and release. In 

 Table 21, farmer-eggs are arbitrarily converted into birds released by multiplying 

 the number of eggs by one-fourth. This is about the usual success-ratio to date. 

 Wisconsin released birds representing 32 per cent of some 1600 eggs distributed 

 to farmers in 1930. This is the highest reliable figure found during the survey. 



The table is not complete, because the average game department does not 

 keep permanent records. A thorough search of libraries would doubtless reveal 

 additional old reports which were, not available in departmental offices and not 

 found during the survey. 



