INTBODUf'TION INTO SCOTLAND. 



all parts of the kingdom where there is congenial shelter and 

 suine slight attempt at preservation and protection, without 

 which it would soon Lc extirputed Ijy poachers and its 

 numerous natural enemies. 



It is abnndant even in the most populous counties, and is 

 not at all uncommon in the immediate neighbourhood of the 

 metropolis; hnt it is in the well-W(.)oded and highly preserved 

 districts of England that these birds most abound, and where 

 they are excessively numerous. " The pheasant," writes Mr. 

 Sterland, in his "Ijirds of Sherwood Forest," abounds on all 

 the estates in the forest district, and to such an extent that 

 few would credit the immense numbers. They are almost as 

 tame as barndoor fowls, and may be seen on the skirts of the 

 various plantations. Carefully tended and fed, and all their 

 natural enemies destroyed, they become so aecust(jmed to the 

 presence of man that iu many parts they will liardly take the 

 trouble to get out of the way, and are scarcely entitled to the 

 appellatiou uf wdd. Under circumstances so favourable^ they 

 multiplv rapidly, but a n;itural linnt seems to be set to their 

 increase, and frequently, where they are most abundant, large 

 numbers are found dead without apparent cause; these are 

 always exceedingly fat and their plumage in the glossiest 

 condition; they seem to drop down and die without a struggle. 

 1 have had them brought to me in this state, and have found 

 their flesh plump and of good c<_ilonr, and every feather 

 smooth and perfect." I should rather incline to attribute 

 the death m these cases to a]ioplexy, arising from over-feed- 

 ing on maize and stimulating artificial food, than to any 

 epidemic disease arising from overcrowding, as this attacks 

 the young and destroys them long Ijefore they arrive at 

 mattirity. 



"In Norfolk," writes Mr. Stevenson, in his admirable 

 work on the birds of that county, ''there are many porti(jns 

 where the pheasant exists in a perfectly ^\ild state, and 

 thrives well under the protection of the game laws, bnth soil 

 and climate being alike fa\'ouvable. It is in such districts, 



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