124 PHEASANTS FOR COVERTS AND AVIARIES. 



of giving gentles to young birds; there is great danger in 

 these ; and I merely mention them, without recommending 

 their use ; for, unless the person who gives them will take the 

 trouble to keep them for some time in moist sand or damp 

 earth until they have become thoroughly cleansed, they are 

 apt to cause purging. Many valuable birds have been lost 

 by the incautious use of gentles freshly taken from the 

 carcase of some dead animal ; but if well cleansed by 

 keeping ten or twelve days after being removed frotn the 

 flesh, a few, a very few, may be given in case no better kind of 

 insect food is at hand. The treatment of the young birds, 

 such as change of food, &c., must greatly depend upon the 

 judgment and skill of the person who has charge of them. 

 Much also depends upon the locality, the state of the atmo- 

 sphere, the temperature, the dryness or wetness of the season, 

 the abundance or scarcity of insect food, and other con- 

 siderations which must serve to guide those in whose care 

 the chicks are placed/' 



The mode of management pursued by the late Mr. Douglas 

 is somewhat different. He truly remarks : " Although food 

 has a great deal to do in the rearing of pheasants, attention 

 has almost an equal share ; and without the attention required 

 being given, food would be of little avail. I will commence 

 with the hatching. Never remove your hens until the 

 chicks are well nested, guarding the nest to keep any that 

 may be hatched before the last chick is strong enough to 

 leave the nest. Never take the first hatched from the hen 

 it is wrong; nothing is so beneficial in strengthening a 

 chick as the heat of the hen's body. Let feeding alone for 

 the first twenty-four hours after the first chick is hatched ; 

 the large quantity of yolk that is drawn into the chick within 

 the last twenty-four hours of its confinement in the shell is 

 sufficient for its wants during the time specified. Next, have 

 your coops set on dry turf two or three days previous to 

 your pheasants being hatched ; it will save a little hurry 

 when wanted ; also ic will keep the spot dry, that being so 



