plan to sow both rye and buckwheat in numerous small patches 

 throughout the sanctuary, and let these grains mature and stand 

 unreaped as a food supply. 



The Chinese or Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus torquatus) 

 has become firmly established throughout a large section of Mass- 

 achusetts. While this bird has been very unfavorably commented 

 upon from the standpoint of our sportsmen as a gamebird, 

 from the fact that its habits are such that it cannot be pursued 

 with the same success that attends our native Grouse and Quail 

 when hunted with either pointer or setter, yet it will thrive and 

 increase in sections where the last named species have entirely 

 disappeared or where the environment is not congenial to them. 



No conclusive evidence has been produced to show that the 

 Pheasant is antagonistic to our Grouse and Quail or that it de- 

 stroys their nests or even the birds themselves, statements that 

 have foolishly been made by certain individuals. The Pheasant 

 being the larger bird, might during a time of scarcity of food, 

 drive away other birds, when it was a question of self-preservation, 

 and a survival of the fittest. This danger could be easily overcome 

 by putting out food in abundance for all. 



The Pheasant in spite of the antipathy shown it by sportsmen 

 and others, has many redeeming traits. It destroys large quantities 

 of insects of many species injurious to the farmer, even though it 

 may at times help itself to fruit and vegetables. It is valuable as a 

 tablebird, for the flesh of the Pheasant is excellent in flavor, and 

 the bird surpasses any of our native species of gamebirds in both 

 size and weight. It furnishes an incentive for healthful outdoor 

 exercise to those who are fond of legitimate shooting, and value 

 " a sound mind in a sound body." Last but not least the Pheasant 

 by reason of its size and showy plumage, and its adaptability to 

 urban conditions, adds much to the attractiveness of the landscape 

 about metropolitan estates, where owing to the abundance of thick 

 shrubbery and other suitable cover for nesting, it takes up its abode. 



The Pheasant like the Quail is not a " budder," and when the 

 ground is snow-covered must be fed under shelters in the same 

 manner and with the same sort of food as the Quail. 



Throughout Southern New England and many of the Atlantic 

 [56] 



