20 NATURAL HISTORY OF THH PHEASANTS. 
“In a survey of the possessions of the Abbey of Glastonbury made in 
1539, mention is made of a ‘game’ of sixteen pheasants in the woods at Meare, 
a manor near Glastonbury belonging to the Abbey. 
“The value set upon pheasants and partridges at various periods, as shown by 
the laws fixing penalties for their destruction, seems to have fluctuated considerably. 
“By a statute passed in the eleventh year of the reign of Henry VII. it 
was forbidden ‘to take pheasants or partridges with engines in another’s ground 
without licence in pain of ten pound, to be divided between the owner of the 
ground and the prosecutor. By 23 Hliz. c. 10, ‘None should kill or take 
pheasants or partridges by night in pain of 20s. a pheasant, and 10s. a partridge, 
or one month’s imprisonment, and bound with sureties not to offend again in the 
like kind.” By 1 Jac. I. c. 27, ‘No person should kill or take any pheasant, 
partridge, (&c.), or take or destroy the eggs of pheasants, partridges, (&c.), in 
pain of 20s., or imprisonment for every fowl or egg, and to find sureties in £20 
not to offend in the like kind.’ Under the same statute, no person was permitted 
‘to buy or sell any pheasant or partridge, upon pain or forfeit of 20s. for every 
pheasant, and 10s. for every partridge.’ By 7 Jac. I. ec. 11, ‘every person having 
hawked at or destroyed any pheasant or partridge between the Ist of July and 
last of August, forfeited 40s. for every time so hawking, and 20s. for every 
pheasant or partridge so destroyed or taken.’ Lords of manors and their servants . 
might take pheasants or partridges in their own grounds or precincts in the day- 
time between Michaelmas and Christmas. But every person of a mean condition” 
having killed or taken any pheasant or partridge, forfeited 20s. for each one so 
killed, and had to find surety in £20 not to offend so again.” 
In Ireland, writes Mr. W. Thompson, in his natural history of that country, 
“The period of its introduction is unknown to me, but’ in the year 1589 it was 
remarked to be common.’ Fynes Moryson, who was in Ireland from 1599 to 
1603, observes that there are “such plenty of pheasants as I have known sixty 
served up at one feast, and abound much more with rails, but partridges are 
somewhat scarce.” 
In Scotland the pheasant does not appear to have been preserved at a very 
early period. Mr. R. Gray, in his work on “The Birds of the West of Scotland,” 
says: “The first mention of the pheasant in old Scots Acts is in one dated 8th 
June, 1594, in which year a keen sportsman occupied the Scottish throne. He 
might almost have been called ‘James the protector’ of all kinds of game. In 
the aforesaid year he ‘ ordained that quhatsumever person or persones at ony time \ 
hereafter sall happen to slay deir, harts, phesants, foulls, partricks, or uther wyld \ 
foule quhatsumever, ather with gun, croce bow, dogges, halks, or girnes, or be 
uther ingine quhatsumever, or that beis found schutting with ony gun therein,’ &c., 
&c., shall pay the usual ‘hundreth punds,’ &c.” 
