WILD BIRDS SUSCEPTIBLE OF DOMESTICATION. 



207 



As early as 1299 it is mentioned as worth four- 

 pence, and two hundred of them made part of 

 the great feast of the Archbishop of Neville, 

 ahout the middle of the fifteenth century. 



Of the habits of these birds in a state of na- 

 ture we know little, and yet have no reason to 

 doubt their similarity to those exhibited in their 

 present half domesticated state in Europe and 

 this country. 



They are now found in preserves, woods with 

 a thick undergrowth of brush, brambles, long 

 grass, etc., interspersed with open glades, which 

 some little stream refreshes and the sun enliv- 

 ens, and which are their delight during the day, 

 and from which they run, morning and evening, 

 to the open skirts, where some favorite food 

 abounds. It is in their way to such feeding- 

 grounds that they are so easily secured by un- 

 scrupulous persons ; for, never taking flight un- 

 less disturbed, they run and thread their way 

 through these tangled brakes, and leave pas- 

 sages which are easily distinguished by the prac- 

 ticed eye of the poacher. During the winter 

 the pheasant goes regularly to roost; but in 

 the summer, and when moulting, they do not 

 tree, but squat among the long grass, offering 

 themselves in this way an easy prey to another 

 class of enemies, as polecats, foxes, etc. 



The males, in general, associate among them- 

 selves during the winter, and separate from the 

 females. They come together again about the 

 first of March, when the male assumes an al- 

 tered appearance ; the scarlet of his cheeks, and 

 around his eyes, acquires additional depth of 

 color; he walks with a more measured step, 

 with his wings let down, and with his tail car- 

 ried in a more erect position. Being polyga- 

 mous, he now takes possession of a certain beat, 

 from which he drives away every male intruder, 

 and commences his crowing, attended with a 

 peculiar clapping of the wings, which answers 

 as the note of invitation to the other sex, as 

 well as of defiance to his own. 



We quote the following from Mr. Nolan, a 

 writer in the Poultry Chronicle: "The pheasant 

 is not only beautiful to the eye, but most deli- 

 cate when served to the table. Its flesh is con- 

 sidered the greatest dainty. No matter with 

 what care they have been bred or propagated, 



they disdain the protection of man ; and shelter 

 in the thickest coverts and remotest forests. 

 All others of the domestic fowl submit to the 

 protection of man, but the pheasant never has, 

 preferring the scanty produce of acorns and 

 berries to the abundant supply of a farm-yard. 

 The hen pheasant, in a wild state, hatches and 

 brings up her brood with patience, vigilance, 

 and courage ; but when kept tame she never 

 sits well. A substitute must be found in the 

 clean, smooth-legged Bantam, the larger fowl 

 being too heavy for the chicks. Her time of 

 laying is about the middle of April, and, if in an 

 aviary, the eggs should be immediately removed, 

 and placed in dry bran or chaff, until you wish 

 to set them. They are about twenty-four days 

 coming out. After the young ones appear, they 

 are not to be fed for twenty-four hours, after 

 which give them hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, 

 and mixed with oatmeal, ant-mould, cheese, 

 curd, lettuce cut fine, with flour wetted with 

 milk, bread-crumbs, bread and milk, with very 

 limited drink. Be particular to preserve them 

 from cold and moisture. You have to confine 

 the hen, so as to prevent her from eating their 

 food ; and you will have to provide them with 

 maggots. 



"In the neighborhood of Paris, where they 

 rear large quantities of fowls for the market, 

 they prepare what they call a vermineer, by dig- 

 ging a hole in a dry, sandy spot, in which they 

 place a piece of flesh, which soon gets into 

 maggots, with which they feed the young birds. 

 My own vermineer is of much simpler and eco- 

 nomic construction. I have an earthen pan, 

 about two feet deep, and one foot in diameter, 

 into which I put some bran ; on this I place u 

 piece of liver or carrion. I cover it with a com- 

 mon glass cap, and place it in the sun. The 

 flesh soon gets fly-blown, and speedily creates 

 quantities of maggots, and, with a long-handled 

 spoon, I have thrown them to the young birds. 

 They should not get more than one feed of 

 these in the day. The more varied their food, 

 and the more frequently renewed, the better. 

 A little at a time, and fresh. The green leaves 

 of barley are excellent. At three months old, 

 feed them on barley with a little wheat, boiled 

 carrots, or potatoes, mixed with bread-crumbs. 



