PHEASANTS: IN PEACE 119 



same. Probably the employer's point of view 

 apart from the expense of more birds is that 

 the rearing of only a couple of hundred or so 

 will allow the keeper ample time to look after 

 the rest of the game on his beat. This is all 

 very fine in theory. But the fewer his birds, 

 the less the keeper can afford to lose any from 

 preventable causes, which are sure to occur if he 

 rushes round the coops, throws down the food, 

 and tears off to get to where his presence may 

 be useful by about the time when he must turn 

 back for another feed. In the intervals between 

 feeds the birds are left to the mercy of chance. 

 It is better not to rear birds at all if the keeper 

 cannot give them his best attention. 



Most people who have had anything to do with 

 the hatching of eggs, especially game eggs, know 

 that eggs containing live chicks sometimes will 

 refuse to hatch in circumstances which are giving 

 the best results with other eggs of the same sort. 

 The shell in pieces peels off the membrane, which 

 shrivels and holds the chicks a fast prisoner. The 

 cause of the trouble usually is put down to the 

 dryness of the shells. This is so to a certain 

 extent, but not, I believe, in the way most people 

 suppose. Seldom, if ever, are peeled eggs seen 

 in the nest of a partridge or pheasant, or among 

 game eggs that have been sat upon from first 

 to last by fowls. But they often are seen in 



