1 8 Practical Game Preserving. 



birds, and obtain from the preserves a necessary complement 

 of such and hand rear from them. It would also be just as 

 satisfactory to raise the necessary fresh stock in a covert pen 

 after the nature of that described in the last chapter. For 

 this we should need to give no further instructions, as any 

 modifications would suggest themselves to the preserver 

 when necessary. 



The most practical, and at the same time the most 

 satisfactory, manner of maintaining the same quantity of 

 pheasants annually, is to obtain eggs from the preserves 

 in the spring, hatch them under fowls, hand-rear, and turn 

 them out in the summer. In order to supply a sufficiency 

 of eggs, the preserver must, immediately laying time comes 

 round, carefully search all his coverts for nests, looking 

 thoroughly over them, and noting with exactitude the precise 

 situation of every nid discovered. According to what he 

 learns from such examination as to whether the birds are 

 laying freely or not, so is he able to determine to what 

 extent the nests may be deprived of eggs. If these are being 

 regularly deposited, and things appear to be going on briskly, 

 there can be no harm in taking from each nest day by day 

 up to six or seven eggs. If irregularity in laying be 

 observable, then four or five are sufficient to obtain 

 per nest. In any case, the eggs are collected daily and 

 carefully transported to a place of safety till a large enough 

 number is obtained to set the first batch of hens on. If 

 necessary, a further quantity is procured for other hens which 

 may be available, but we expect the difficulty is more often 

 to obtain a sufficient number of broody hens rather than the 

 eggs. In addition, or sometimes in place of this manner 



