126 FACT AGAINST FICTION. 



from the rays of the sun, and for cover for the 

 young birds to run into when the keeper feeds 

 at the coop. They will be content to remain 

 under the boughs till they see the feed put 

 down, and till the consequent call of the lien 

 lures them back. 



Su23posing that, instead of this, the coops are 

 put by the side of mowing grass, as before alluded 

 to, young pheasants at their earliest period may 

 run into it, and get lost; that accident is com- 

 pletely avoided by having the ground completely 

 under supervision. I know an instance of a keeper 

 losing every day some of his very young birds, 

 and being totally unable to account for it. They 

 were by the side of mowing grass, and he searched 

 every bit of it over Avhen near that particular 

 cooj), but could find nothing to clear up the 

 mystery. He was a painstaking man, so he cut 

 a considerable square patch of grass around the 

 coop, and saw nothing more than what he might 

 have seen anywhere every day, and that was, an 

 open mole's run, or a small orifice in the sujoer- 

 ficial run which moles often make just beneath 

 the surface. He left tlie cooj), and before his re- 

 turn another little bird was missing; so he sat 



