POULTRY 5 



pheasant and does not stick it up as the tame 

 ones do. However, before his enemy could 

 meet him and come to blows the warrior was 

 frightened off by one of Mr. Hume's dogs, 

 which had got loose and tracked his master, 

 and arrived just in time to spoil the fun. 



The natives catch these wild cocks in a 

 very simple but clever way. They peg out a 

 tame cock with a string to his leg, and all 

 round they set nooses ; the decoy bird is sure 

 to start crowing before long, and when a wild 

 cock comes to fight him, of course he gets 

 caught in these nooses before the fight has 

 gone very far. 



The sort of country you find jungle-fowl in 

 is very much like what suits pheasants here ; 

 there must be woods for them to hide amongst 

 and roost in, and water must be not far off, 

 so that they can easily get a drink. They 

 particularly like wooded islands in a river, 

 as these make the safest roosting-places. If 

 there are cornfields near, it is all the better 

 from the wild fowls' point of view, for they 

 like corn just as much as tame ones do, though 

 hundreds and thousands of them live all their 

 lives without ever tasting any, and feed entirely 



