146 GAME PRESERVERS AND BIRD PRESERVERS. 



We know that the Enghsh climate suits 

 these birds, and that they can hold their own 

 against their natural enemies as well as the 

 partridges, for they live through the winter in 

 the Highlands without the least help from man. 

 There is but one reason, and an all-sufficient 

 one, why they have nearly disappeared. Because 

 men shoot them down before they are much 

 more than half grown whenever they meet with 

 them. Mr. Knox strongly advocated their in- 

 troduction into Ireland some years ago. We 

 never heard if this had been done, but there 

 cannot be any great difficulty in doing so, as 

 they are more easily reared tame than pheasants, 

 being much less susceptible to cold and damp, 

 and thriving on exactly the same food, particu- 

 larly ants' eggs. As they are polygamous they 

 ought to lay in confinement, but we cannot state 

 if they will do this, having three years in suc- 

 cession been unfortunate with ours. In the first 

 season rats carried off eight when they were about 

 six weeks old. The next year we reared nine- 



