pheasants were introduced 

 "in England centuries ago 

 (the date is uncertain) and their prop- 

 agation has been carried on exten- 

 sively by commercial game farms as well as 

 by sportsmen, and although there was not a pheasant in America 

 until the year 1881, when a few birds were sent from China to 

 Oregon by Judge Denny, I firmly believe that in five or ten 

 years, at most, there will be more pheasants in the United 

 States than there are in any country in the world. 



Partridges and the migratory quail of Europe have also 

 been introduced in the United States and Canada in con- 

 siderable numbers, but the last named vanished absolutely and 

 experiments with this bird have been abandoned. A few 

 capercailzie, black-cock and other birds have been imported, but 

 only in small numbers, and the experiments with these birds 

 are unimportant. 



A foolish idea had prevailed that the foreign birds are better 

 than our own because of their abundance abroad, but the truth 

 of the matter is, our grouse partridges or quails and turkeys 

 are by far the best game birds in the world, and if properly 

 handled they can be kept as abundant and as cheap as the 

 foreign birds are. 



The pheasants which have been introduced have multiplied 

 rapidly and it has been proven that they will thrive almost any- 

 where in the United States and in Canada, provided they be prop- 

 erly protected. They disappeared as "state" birds from Kansas, 



54 



