PHEASANT. 213 



bird between the common pheasant and the barn door 

 fowl, partaking of the shape and habits of the former, 

 with the colour and taste of the latter. What led me 

 to think so was, that these birds appeared without any 

 one having originally imported the breed, or even any 

 variety, but where the common pheasants were often 

 seen among the white barn door fowls. In a small 

 covert of my own I had one nide of twelve, in which 

 were hatched nine common and three wMte pheasants. 

 But, since the foregoing surmise appeared in a former 

 edition, 1 was favoured with observations from a su- 

 perior ornithologist, which I am sure will be far more 

 worthy the attention of naturalists than any thing I can 

 insert of my own. I shall, therefore, take the liberty of 

 subjoining his communication : 



" In the second edition of the ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen* 

 by Major Hawker, the author, in speaking of the different kinds of 

 pheasants, says " 



Here he quotes from my second edition at consider- 

 able length. He then continues 



" The f Instructions to Young Sportsmen* are evidently the work 

 of a sportsman, who is a master of the subject on which he writes, 

 and under a very moderate title contain a great deal of original and 

 interesting information ; information new, not only to the young 

 sportsman, but capable of instructing the old. It is with great de- 

 ference, therefore, that the writer of the following observations ven- 

 tures to give a different opinion on the cause of white pheasants, or 

 at least to submit that there should be assigned another cause for 

 their production than that of their being mule birds, between the 

 fowl and hen pheasant. He will speak of these two subjects in their 

 order: and, 



" First, on the probable cause of white pheasants. 



" On reading the ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen/ the writer 

 of the following remarks was struck with tlie observation, that 



