86 PROPAGATION OF WILD BIRDS 



of the soil, and a scientific analysis would be of interest. 

 Mr. Evans is fortunate in having a considerable number of 

 fenced fields for these changes or for alternation. Having 

 the flight impeded, it is easy to catch the birds when desired 

 by getting them into covered pens, either by feeding them 

 there or by driving. Strips of wire netting, temporarily 

 placed, help to steer them into the enclosure. 



Pinioning. In the case of the ornamental or aviary 

 species, which are not intended to keep in the wild state, he 

 pinions all his stock when two or three weeks old. This he 

 does by snipping off with scissors the last joint of one wing. 

 A thread for ligature is tied just above the cut, to be re- 

 moved a few days later. At this early stage there is almost 

 no loss of blood. Pinioning adult birds is a more 

 serious matter, and one had better see it done by a more 

 experienced person before attempting it. The main artery, 

 which is protected between the bones, should be tightly 

 bound. 



Fancy Kinds. The aviary species are kept in fenced 

 tracts which contain groves of trees. This Mr. Evans finds 

 is sufficient shelter for them in winter. Ordinarily, it is 

 desirable to have open-front sheds or coops. 



Laying Out Coops. In laying out coops in a rearing-field, 

 he has them 80 feet apart in the rows, and each row 100 feet 

 apart, the coops being set in a mowed swathe. Some others 

 set them nearer, about half the distance, but some hens kill 

 chicks that come to them from other coops. 



The Clark System. At the Clove Valley Club, near 

 Poughkeepsie, New York, Neil Clark, in charge of game 

 breeding, raises large numbers of ring-necked pheasants. 



Breeding. The breeding-stock he keeps in good-sized 

 yards, with plenty of shrubbery and brush-heaps. The 

 hens average about thirty-five eggs each season. He admits 



