64 Practical Game Preserving. 



is the most desirable from many points of view ; and we 

 shall take it into consideration first. The best way of feeding 

 on this plan is to form a sufficiency of small huts or food 

 shelters about the coverts. They may take the form either 

 of a fairly large shelter, or of a mere roof, over some bundles 

 of unthrashed grain. If one has a large stock of birds, and 

 small opportunity for providing a large number of feeding 

 places, the best way is to put up four posts about 4ft. high, 

 forming an oblong from gft. to I2ft long, and half its length 

 wide. On the top of these nail some flattened pieces to form 

 what is termed the rafter-plate, cross-wise on these fix the 

 rafters, after which the roof must be put on. If heather be 

 at hand in sufficient quantity, then that is the best roof- 

 thatch, for if properly put up it will last for years ; but in 

 the absence of heather, then furze or broom and faggots, or 

 whatever can be got. On to three sides, leaving an end 

 open, nail two small poles about one foot apart, and draw 

 in between them so as to form a half open and half sheltering 

 side, branches of willow bush, their ends to be about one foot 

 at least from the ground. Inside the hut a low framework 

 to support the unthrashed grain is put up, from i8in. to 2ft. 

 from the ground. A hut like this will be a sufficiently large 

 feeding place for 100 pheasants. It should be put up in 

 some dry warm spot in the covert, where it would be well 

 hidden from birds flying over, and protected from the 

 roughness of the weather, and yet the surrounding wood be 

 open beneath the trees, so that the pheasants may easily find, 

 and come to it. The food given in a hut of this kind may 

 be sufficient to last the number of birds feeding there, which 

 can easily be observed, two or three days to a week. It 



