26 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 



size, and have not the outlay in feeding or care of 

 supervising the birds to nearly the same extent as if 

 they were penned. 



It is true that a hundred hen pheasants in an 

 aviary will produce many more eggs than you can 

 ever hope to gather from a hundred hens running 

 wild in the woods. But in the former case you will 

 have a higher percentage of bad eggs, more expense 

 and trouble, a larger number of weakly chicks, and, 

 of course, more birds lost in the rearing field as a 

 result, besides many backward li?ns that will not 

 breed till their second season. I would any day prefer 

 twelve wild-laid eggs to sixteen from pens. 



In a fair season, with proper attention and 

 favourable conditions of soil and weather, you should 

 turn into the woods an average of 60 to 65 strong 

 birds for every 100 wild-laid eggs; but if you turn 

 down 45 to 50 birds per 100 eggs from dealers, or 

 50 to 55 from a 100 eggs laid in your own pens, you 

 are lucky at least, this is my experience, as well as 

 that of many friends as well. 



The birds that lay wild obtain their natural food, 

 which, do what you will, you cannot supply them 

 with in an aviary any more than you can give them 

 the exercise of searching for it, which exercise is so 

 beneficial to their health. Nearly all estates on which 

 a fine healthy head of pheasants exist are chiefly 



