16 PRACTICAL PHEASANT REARING. 



But it is far better, if possible, to keep your own 

 stock of hens ; a lot of valuable time at the most 

 important season of the year is wasted by scouring 

 the country in a cart. They can be kept in batches 

 at the under-keepers' houses, and brought down to 

 the hatching place as they become broody. For a 

 thousand eggs you will require to be provided with 

 at least one hundred and twenty hens for calcu- 

 lations as to the period at which hens will condescend 

 to sit are almost as unreliable as systems for winning 

 at roulette though much may be done by careful 

 feeding, as will presently be explained. Remember 

 that unhealthy hens mean gapes in the young 

 pheasants ; so never use any but what are in good 

 condition, and, if infested with vermin, dust in a lot 

 of Keating's insect powder by rubbing the feathers 

 the wrong way with one hand and sprinkling the 

 powder in with the other ; and a little of the powder 

 sprinkled over the eggs occasionally also does good. 



Several Correspondents have, since this piece of 

 advice appeared in the columns of the Field, written to 

 cavil at the same, saying that they feared the powder, 

 which, as most people know, is principally composed 

 of Pyrethrum roseum, might prove pernicious to 

 young poults. But I can assure my readers that this 

 is not so, and, even if it were, it is difficult to see how 

 young chickens are likely to come into contact with 

 the sitting fowls. 



The best sort of hens for your purpose are a cross 



