ii. PHEASANT REARING (PART I) 25 



hedgerow by some pothunter lying in wait across your 

 boundary fence.' 



If the pheasant was in danger of extinction in 

 England, what an outcry there would be ! for surely, 

 with all the trouble he gives us, he is a noble bird, 

 and one we could not do without. The man who 

 first introduced the pheasant to our shores deserves a 

 statue to his memory as a public benefactor, if ever 

 man did. 



HOW TO PROCURE A SUPPLY OF PHEASANT EGGS 



As we must produce our pheasants before we can 

 shoot them, the first matter to consider is, how to 

 obtain the eggs ? There are three methods of doing 

 this : 



(1st) Gathering the eggs in your own woods and 

 fields from the nests of the wild hens. 



(2nd) Purchasing from dealers, who keep the 

 pheasants in aviaries for the purpose of selling their 

 eggs to game preservers. 



(3rd) Penning pheasants in an aviary on your 

 own estate, and collecting the eggs as they are laid. 



If you are able to maintain an adequate stock of 

 hen pheasants in your coverts to supply your wants 

 in regard to eggs, there is no plan so satisfactory as 

 gathering the latter as laid by the birds in a wild 

 state ; you possess, in fact, an aviary of unlimited 



