THE PHEASANT 277 



the eggs are put under the game-hens, whose nests 

 should consist of a square of dry sod or turf. On no 

 account must the ground have been used the previous 

 year. Ground for coops should be changed every season. 

 Lime, gravel, and sand should be freely scattered about, 

 and a liberal supply of cover in the shape of fir branches 

 be placed at intervals, to afford temporary shelter to the 

 chicks from the inroads of their enemies. The presence 

 of the " cuckoo-spittle " should be noted. It contains 

 an insect which is deadly poison to the young chick. 

 One acre is sufficient for a hundred birds. The sitting 

 hen should not be confined to the coop. This method 

 of confinement, being a severe tax upon the nature of 

 the bird, is unnecessarily cruel. Not only is this so, 

 but the method deprives the chicks of their natural pro- 

 tector, and prevents the hen from cleaning and dusting 

 itself, with the result that it becomes infested with vermin, 

 which are conveyed to the chicks. It should be tethered 

 with a cord about a yard and a half long. This allows 

 sufficient room for the hen to move about and to perch 

 on the top of the coop. When vermin approach, the 

 hen is able to warn the chicks by her cackle, and they 

 have a chance of running under her wings for protec- 

 tion. The hen must, of course, be shut into the coop 

 at night time. When an incubator is used, the eggs are 

 removed from the game-hen as soon as they begin to 

 chip and are placed in the incubator, and when hatched 

 the chicks are removed to the tray above. All the eggs 

 must never be removed from the nests at the same 



