CHAPTER III. PHEASANTS. 



MAINTENANCE AND INCREASE OF STOCK. 



IN the foregoing chapter we treated solely of the intro- 

 duction of pheasants upon an estate where previously 

 there were none. In the present we shall consider the 

 means by which a stock of pheasants once obtained is to 

 be kept up, and increased if necessary. 



Preserves which contain a fair sprinkling of pheasants, 

 sufficient to give, say, a month of that delightful " rough 

 shooting" over which the enemies of the battue go into 

 raptures, will, unless the ground be extremely unfavourable, 

 generally make up in natural increase any numerical diminu- 

 tion which the gun of the sportsman may cause; consequently 

 the only aids which would be necessary or advisable, were 

 it not desired to raise the head of birds above a certain 

 limit, would take the shape of an introduction of fresh blood, 

 either by birds exchanged from a distance, or by the 

 obtaining of eggs from distantly situated localities, and 

 hatching them out under coops, while in those years when 

 no fresh strain is desirable, one could profit by the fact of 

 )heasants laying many more eggs than they rear young 



