THE PHEASANT 271 



moved daily, and the same field should never be used 

 for rearing two years in succession. 



The keepers' duties in relation to the pheasant differ 

 enormously. They may be connected with a shooting 

 in which the pheasant is only regarded as part of a mixed 

 bag, or they may be concerned with rearing and " show- 

 ing " on an elaborate scale. It is in the latter case that 

 the keeper's knowledge of the literature of the subject 

 will be of importance. In the former case, where he is 

 only possibly concerned with a few head of wild birds, 

 he will have little to learn, and there will be small need 

 of elaborate studies in rearing and ' ' showing. " In these 

 cases his beating will be simpler than the beating of 

 partridges, and he will only have to bear in mind the 

 general rule affecting flanks and stops. But it is alto- 

 gether a different matter when covert shooting is con- 

 ducted on a scale of great elaboration. 



Pheasant- Rearing 



Bearing in mind what we have already said as to the 

 impossibility of dealing with the question at any length, 

 let us take a view of the main points that have to be 

 taken into consideration. 



(i) There are several ways advocated of dealing 

 with the question of the proper supply of eggs for the 

 next year's sport: (a) In some estates the procedure 

 is simply to attract the hens that are left after the shoot- 

 ing is over, by a little judicious feeding, and to allow 

 breeding to take place in a semi-wild condition, and then 



