12 Practical Game Preserving. 



which to pinion. It must first be carefully cut all round 

 and then wrenched off; salt and water being applied 

 afterwards. 



Cutting the wings of pheasants is a less hurtful operation, 

 but entails more trouble, as it requires repeating every three 

 weeks, but this is not a very terrible matter, and if the 

 catching of the birds be carefully performed, causing them 

 either little fear or disturbance, the objections to it are slight, 

 while it has the advantage already named. In the case of 

 small enclosures, such as we now have under consideration, 

 the birds are best and most easily caught at dusk or dark, 

 and a couple of persons with a lantern can soon catch and 

 cut the wings of the pheasants, without causing them much 

 anxiety of mind or body. Of course, later on, when some 

 of the birds are sitting, there is no advantage gained by 

 disturbing them. The hens placed in this enclosure must be 

 fed regularly and carefully, and it is important that a proper 

 system of feeding be decided on and carried out. The birds 

 naturally find a certain amount of food in an enclosure of the 

 kind advocated, but still their semi-domesticated state will 

 require a large amount of attention to be bestowed on them. 

 We consider that feeding time should be but twice a day 

 first thing in the morning, and about two or three hours 

 before sunset. One great fact about pheasant feeding seems 

 often to be overlooked, that is, that because they are wild 

 birds brought into a half domesticated and restrained state, 

 an artificial one, so to speak, it is necessary not only to 

 change the character of the bird's existence, but its food 

 as well. This is erroneous and unpractical, and we feel 

 convinced that if more desire were manifested to imitate 



