BRINGING PHEASANTS TO THE GUNS 297 



can satisfy our own critical sense, we desire no other apprecia- 

 tion. But we like to appreciate others and to criticise mentally 

 their performances, therefore we want to see them. The 

 author, however, has pleased himself more by success in killing 

 pheasants between tall trees that he could not see through than 

 by any other kind of shooting. However, he would not say 

 that this is really the more difficult in practice, although in theory 

 it looks to be infinitely the more taxing. The author has missed 

 more easy game than any others, he supposes by mere laziness. 

 If there is anything special to be done, one is never late for 

 breakfast ; but on a day off one often is late, and it seems to be 

 the same in shooting. If there is only just time, then the 

 nerves are alive to take the smallest chance, whereas, given 

 ample time, the author at any rate can often take just too 

 long. 



In bringing pheasants to the guns, it is often necessary 

 to discriminate between the wild and tame bred. The former 

 are much more upon the alert than the latter, and it is often 

 impossible to drive them out of a cover, for the very simple 

 reason that they cannot be got to go into and remain in it long 

 enough to be driven out. Then pheasant driving becomes 

 beating a country, very much like grouse or partridge driving. 

 Wild birds are also much more apt to take wing before they are 

 wanted to, and to fly out at the flanks of the beats over the 

 heads of the stops. But provided the wild birds can be kept 

 upon their legs, they will answer to the control of the wood- 

 craftsman just as well as tame bred pheasants. Probably there 

 is no difference in the speed at which tame and wild pheasants 

 travel, and one is as easy to shoot as the other when brought 

 to the gun, but the wild bred bird is not as easy to bring there 

 as the other. If he cannot fly faster and the author agrees with 

 the Marquis of Granby that he does not he can at least fly 

 farther, and probably he is more likely in hill country, where he 

 is mostly in evidence, to take an up-hill course. Both of these 

 characteristics are apt to carry him well out of range of guns 

 that are posted as experience of hand-bred pheasants suggests 

 to be best. 



