THE FARMER'S FRIEND. 165 



incipient domestication. They are, however, said 

 to be in great request with the poachers, and some 

 doubt exists among gamekeepers as to the ex- 

 pediency of preserving or destroying them. Those 

 who advocate the former alternative, regard the 

 simple fact of their surviving the season as a proof 

 that their beat has escaped the attentions of the 

 nightly marauder; while the supporters of the latter 

 assert that the mere knowledge of their where- 

 abouts must always prove a dangerous attraction. 

 For my own part, if I thought that a compromise 

 could be safely entered into with those slippery 

 sportsmen, to whom knocking birds off their roost 

 can afford 



delight 



On a shiny night, 



In the season of the year," 



I should like to see them have a day all to them- 

 selves for the express purpose of exterminating 

 these poultry -looking pheasants. 



What a mistake it is to suppose that the pheasant 

 is an enemy to the farmer ! True, he may deal 

 rather unceremoniously with newly sown wheat- 

 fields, and occasionally retard or frustrate the 

 labour of the bean-dibbler. He may, without due 

 regard to conventional usages, even venture to an- 

 ticipate the work of the sickle, and commence his 



