NEST-MULES FOOD BREEDING. 137 



in confinement she will sometimes properly dispose. 

 The cock is bold, voracious, and cruel; and one 

 which I had many years ago, caught a canary bird 

 which had accidentally escaped, and was observed 

 with it beneath his talons, in the proper attitude of 

 the hawk, tearing it to pieces and devouring it. 

 Pheasants have been seen preying upon a dead car- 

 case, in company with carrion crows, and it has been 

 said that they will fall upon a diseased and weak 

 companion of their own species, and devour it. 

 They feed upon all kinds of insects and vermin, 

 like the peacock, and are said to be particularly 

 greedy of toads, provided they be not too large 

 to swallow; whereas, according to report, they 

 will not touch the frog, of which ducks are so 

 fond. A pheasant was shot by T. Day, Esq. of 

 Herts, the crop of which contained more than half 

 a pint of that destructive insect the wire-worm, 

 and the number of 1606 grains of barley were 

 taken from the crop of a pheasant at Bury in Suf- 

 folk, in 1727. 



The progeny between the pheasant and the com- 

 mon fowl, are necessarily MULES, as proceeding 

 from different species, although of the same genus. 

 They may be obtained, with some little difficulty, 

 which they scarcely repay, as being neither an im- 

 provement in form nor goodness of the flesh. It is 

 recommended, as the best method, to confine a 

 cock-pheasant half grown with two pullets of the 

 same age, either game, bantam, or common, as may 

 be desired : or make a house for common hens 

 in a pheasant preserve near home, where they will 



