THE POULTRY KIND. 151 



Ah ! what avail his glossy, varying dyes, 

 His purpled crest and scarlet-circled eyes, 

 The vivid green his shining plumes unfold, 

 His painted wings, and breast that flames with gold ? 



POPE. 



When these birds are taken young into keep- 

 ing, they become as familiar as chickens ; and 

 when they are designed for breeding, they are 

 put together in a yard, five hens to a cock ; for 

 this bird, like all of the poultry kind, is very 

 salacious. In her natural state the female makes 

 her nest of dry grass and leaves ; the same must 

 be laid for her in the pheasantry, and she herself 

 will sometimes properly dispose them. If she 

 refuses to hatch her eggs, then a common hen 

 must be got to supply her place, which task she 

 will perform with perseverance and success. The 

 young ones are very difficult to be reared ; and 

 they must be supplied with ants' eggs, which is 

 the food the old one leads them to gather when 

 wild in the woods. To make these go the farther, 

 they are to be chopped up with curds or other 

 meat; and the young ones are to be fed with 

 great exactness, both as to the quantity and the 

 time of their supply. This food is sometimes 

 also to be varied ; and wood lice, ear-wigs, and 

 other insects, are to make a variety. The place 

 where they are reared must be kept extremely 

 clean ; their water must be changed twice or 

 thrice a-day ; they must not be exposed till the 

 dew is off the ground in the morning ; and they 

 should always be taken in before sun-set. When 

 they become adult, they very well can shift for 



