v. P HE AS A XT RE A KING (PART //") 73 



warmth of the sun has a rcry beneficial effect on the 

 health of young pheasants ; it encourages insect life, 

 dries up the dew and rain, assists the growth of a 

 young bird's feathers, and gives him the chance of 

 drying his skin and plumage when wet.* 



A clean, sweet, close-growing dry old pasture is a 

 very satisfactory field, as a rule, for rearing pheasants 

 in. A freshly laid down or maiden seed field is always 

 an unfavourable one, as the birds fill their crops on 

 the rich young shoots to an extent that is most injuri- 

 ous to their health. I have known hundreds of young 

 pheasants die of diarrhoea from this cause alone. 



The second year of a seed field, and the birds will 

 generally flourish on it. 



Avoid a cold clay soil, or any damp ground ; both 

 are fatal to young pheasants ; and bear in mind steep- 

 sided ditches round a field are pitfalls for the chicks 

 to end their career in, unless bundles of grass or 

 sticks are arranged at intervals to assist them to 

 climb out on falling in. 



I' /// dry land, consisting of flint, chalk, or sand, 

 with thin herbage, is unsuitable for the rearing field, 

 as on such soil insect food will not exist in plenty, and 

 after heavy rain the water will remain on the surface 

 long enough to flood it. 



* A field that has been formerly drained on the old ridge and 

 furrow system is always a good one for wet weather, as the coops can 

 be placed along the tops of the ridges, where the soil quickly dries 

 after rain. 



