«2 



THE OOLOGIS'l. 



of success or failure has attended the 

 experiment, letters were written to 

 those who had received birds, inquiring 

 a,s to what had been the outcome. 

 Some answers to these letters are here- 

 with repi'oduced, both for information 

 as to the experiment itself and for the 

 purpose of guiding such persons as may 

 in the future feel inclined to assist in 

 the introduction of the bird. 



Ring-necked Pheasants have been dis- 

 tributed to counties as follows: Atlan- 

 tic 6, Bergen 37, Burlington 63, Cam- 

 den 6, Cape May 12, Cumberland 98. 

 Essex 0, Gloucester 24, Hudson 0, Hun- 

 terdon 12, Mercer 18, Middlesex 18, 

 Monmouth 24, Morris 42, Ocean 24, Pas- 

 saic 18, Salem 54, Somerset 0, Sussex 6, 

 Union 6, Warren 6; total 464. 



From George W. Dunham, fish and 

 game warden, Flemington, Aug. i25, 

 1898: In April, 1897, you sent me 

 twelve Pheasants— three cocks and nine 

 hens. They were turned out in differ- 

 ent localities, between Flemington and 

 the Delaware River, a distance of about 

 ten miles. Wherever they were placed 

 the farmers promised to protect them 

 and prohibit gunning that year. This 

 was done, and so far as I can learn but 

 four birds were shot. Three of the 

 hens, however, were killed by mowing 

 machines, leaving but six to hatch. 

 Last December, after careful investiga- 

 tion, I found that there were at least 

 sixty birds in the vicinity where they 

 were released. 



I have visited these farms recently 

 and find the result most satisfactory, 

 the farmers having taken pride in pro- 

 tecting the birds and feeding them dur- 

 ing the winter. Many of them fed with 

 their fowls all winter. S'^v -lal have 

 been killed by mowing m luhines this 

 summer, as they nest in the tall grass 

 near the underbi'u.sh, and cannot be 

 seen. 1 attach hereto the names of 

 some of the farmers upon whose lands 

 they have hatched, and do not hesitate 

 to say there are at least 300 birds in the 



immediate vicinity where they were 

 first I'eleased. 



There is exceptionally tine cover for 

 them in that locality. This, together 

 with the protection affoi'ded them, ac- 

 counts for the increase. A few of the 

 young birds scattered, but I do not 

 learn of any nesting far away, and the 

 old ones are still on the ground where 

 ihey were turned out. Other broods 

 are reported, but I am unable at this 

 writing to say positively that the in- 

 formation is true; these farms are situ- 

 ated in three adjoining townships. The 

 old pheasants on them number at least 

 100, and quail are abundant throughout 

 that section. The report is made upon 

 personal examination, and the numbers 

 are not exaggerated. 



From Mr. M. L. Hoagland, secretary 

 of the White Meadow Club, Rockaway, 

 Aug. 27, 1898. In addition to the three 

 cocks and six hens received from you, 

 we purchased six hens, making twelve 

 hens and three cocks in all; these were 

 put in coops separately, with one cock 

 and four hens to a coop; they began lay- 

 ing on April 16, and averaged nine eggs 

 per day till they had laid in all 308 eggs 

 up to about the latter part of July, and 

 then they stopped. The eggs we 

 hatched under hens and found that 

 bantam hens are far superior to any 

 other kind; in fact nearly all we lost 

 were with large hens, so there is no 

 question but that bantam hens are the 

 best to mother the chicks. We also 

 found the first eggs were by far the best, 

 producing stronger chicks and a larger 

 percentage than those laid later in the 

 summer. Out of the 300 and odd eggs 

 received we hatched about 280 chicks; 

 these we kept in runs made of 1 inch 

 mess wire, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long, 

 with a tight coop in one end for the 

 mother hen. All the birds we hatched 

 out at first died from diffei'ent causes, 

 but I think the most fatal of all was the 

 lice, which seem sure death to little 

 pheasants; it was not till we had lost by 



