PRESERVATION 121 



trusted to be healthy and prolific in a wild 

 state ; the safety of the nests is ensured 

 during the whole period of incubation, 

 and the young birds can be to some extent 

 safeguarded in wet and windy weather by 

 turning them down in dry and sheltered 

 spots. From a pen holding 50 brace, at 

 least 500 young birds should be, under 

 skilful management, annually produced 

 and turned down. 



On the other side, it must be admitted 

 that there have been many complaints 

 from people who state that the system 

 has been given a fair trial with them and 

 found wanting, or at least uncertain in its 

 results, in some years not more than half 

 of the birds pairing in the pens, and all 

 the rest having to be turned out, probably 

 too late in the season to find mates and 

 breed in a wild state. 



But one must judge by results, and the 

 uniform success achieved by many who 

 have followed this system for a number 

 of years would seem to point, in the case 

 of failure, to the fault lying, not with the 



