THE COMMON PHEASANT. 79 



cover it with a common glass cap, and place it in the sun. The 

 flesh soon gets fly-blown, and speedily creates quantities of mag- 

 gots, and with a long-handled spoon, I have them thrown to the 

 young birds. They should not get more than one feed of those 

 in the day. The more varied their food, and the more frequently 

 renewed, the better. Fresh and fresh, and a little at a time. The 

 green leaves of barley are excellent. At three months old, feed 

 them on barley, with a little wheat, boiled carrots, or potatoes, 

 mixed with bread crumbs. Give a small portion of boiled rice 

 during the moult. If they should get the roup, give them fresh 

 curd every day. To make alum curd, take new milk, as much 

 as your young birds require, and boil it with a lump of alum, so 

 as not to make the curd hard and tough, but custard-like. A 

 little of this curd and ant's eggs, should be given to them twice a 

 day, in addition to their other food. Keep their vessels clean ; and 

 if the disease still continue, give them, every second day, a small 

 dose of garlic in a little fresh butter. They are subject to be 

 vent-bound, which, if not attended to, will kill them. The re- 

 medy is, with a sharp scissors cut close the down or feathers 

 about the vent, and anoint it with sweet oil, and be attentive 

 that it be kept clean, otherwise you cannot rear them ; but in 

 handling them, be particularly cautious that you do it with the 

 greatest delicacy, as the least rough handling will kill them. If 

 they have a scouring, the alum curd will check it. 



There is no difficulty in breeding the common pheasant in a 

 wild state ; but to keep them in an aviary, you will have to get a 

 wire trellis in front, sufficiently close to prevent the sparrows 

 and other birds robbing them of their food. The saving of the 

 food, will very soon compensate you, for the wire- work, and in- 

 sure your pheasants being fed. At the top, I would prefer close 

 net-work, of moderate-sized cord, well painted. The reason is, 

 if the birds get fluttered, they fly straight up, and by a dash 

 against a hard substance, they frequently fall dead, but by coming 

 in contact with the net, they receive no injury. Part of the 

 aviary should be sheded, to protect them from the inclemency of 

 the weather; and I would recommend a retiring-place for the 

 hen to lay in, and perches of about one inch diameter. I would 

 advise the retiring -place to be laid down with clean straw, but 

 would prefer fine sand for their walking-place. Wheat and barley 

 are their best food, with occasionally vegetable matter, lettuce, 

 turnip-tops, cabbages, &c. One cock is sufficient for three or 

 four hens. 



The pheasant may be said to have been originally restricted to 



