NON DOMESTICrTY—DISTBIBUTION. 



the young returning home at night with a regularity tliat 

 lias given rise to the proverlual saying that " Curses, like 

 chickens, come home to roost." 



Examples of the tameness of individual pheasants are not 

 rare ; to the fearless nature of a sitting hen I have already 

 alluded. Tlie males liecome even more familiar, and at 

 times aggressive ; one of the most amusing examples was 

 recorded some time since by a correspondent, who wrote as 

 follows : " Having recently been on a visit to a friend nf mine 

 living in Kent, I had an oppcu-tunity of there witnessing the 

 effect of an extraordinary anti])athy t<> crinoline exemplified 

 in a fine cock pheasant which inhabited, oi- rather infested, 

 tlie gr(jnnds and shrubbery'. He had been originally, I believe, 

 reared on the premises, but had become as wild as any of his 

 fellows, antl, after having lieen lord of a hai'ern of some seven 

 or eight ladies last spring, who had all reared their families 

 and gone off with them, had been left in loneliness, with his 

 temper soured against the female sex at large. His l)eat was 

 for about a quarter of a mile l:ietweeu tlu' house and the 

 entrance-gate, and on the approach (jf anything in the shajie 

 of crinoline his temper was roused to such a degree that he 

 attacked it with all his might and main, flying up at the 

 unnatural appendage, pecking fiercoly with his bill, and 

 striking out at it with his spurs like any game-ci.ick. I 

 witnessed all this with my own eves, and was not surprised 

 at the terror he had created among the females, Ijy whom he 

 was positively dreaded, and not without reason. One lady had 

 promised to protect herself l»y taking a terrier as her 

 guardian, which at first offered fight in hei- defence, but was 

 soon compelled to show the white feather, and at the very 

 sight of his antagonist ran off with his tail lietween his legs. 

 At length, however, he met with his master in the slia])e of a 

 ipsy-woman, who, being of course uncrinolined, and there- 

 fore considering herself unjnstlj' attacked, set upon him, and 

 not only pulled out his tail, luit crushed him with her foot, 

 and left hnn on his back apparently in the agonies of death. 



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