FEEDING IN COVEBTS. i\\ 



or had uiiythiiii;' to do with in my time. I will exphiiii what 

 I iiicaa by (jatchpools : Choose aii}^ little sl<")pe or valley in 

 lii^'li and dry eoverts where some eommand mav he had of 

 the surrounding;' surface water after raiu ; scoop out a hole in 

 the earth's surla'je in tic shape of a. s]ioou or bowl, slopint;- 

 t^Tadually all round to the centre and deepest ])art, which 

 need not be deeper than from eitJ'hteen inches to three feet, 

 according to width and length ; the edges, to admit the 

 water running into it freely, nuist be kept a, little nndrr the 

 earth's natural surface. Then puddle the whole of its face 

 with sis luclu'S of well-wroiiglit chiy, jiaving Id with Ijricks 

 laid Hat, and giving it a,ll over a littK; coat of Portland 

 cement. 'Jdiiis you have a. lirst-class and lasting c;itch pit to 

 luihl water most of the _year, indeed the wIkjIc seas(.iu. 

 i'heasauts are expected to remain in covert for food and 

 safety from September t(j February, and then there is 

 cei-taiuly always plenty of water. After Feljiaiary the 

 ])liea.sant likes to go further away, and, soon after tlie gun is 

 withdrawn, is jtretty sure to get distributed about in soarch 

 of insects and various root. Pheasants rove about (piietlv 

 during their breeding' season, but little is seen cu- heard of 

 them after April till corn harvest, as they lu'e a ipiiet, 

 secluded life through summer. I have maile catchpools by 

 casing them only with puddled clay. One disadvantage of 

 this IS, in a h-Uig dry time the water gets low, and the clay 

 sides becoming exposed, contract, crack, and allow the water 

 to run to waste if they are not looked to when rain does 

 come. There is also another way in which J have had catch- 

 pools made where natural gravel abounds, namely, to make it 

 into concrete, and case the bottom and sides with this only. 

 It answers well, and saves the labour and expense of getting 

 bricks from a distance. I'lvery feeder knows that dry barley 

 and buckwheat in sheaf, and stacked in the vicinity (if the 

 })reserves, and some pulled lait and shaken about oeca--ionally, 

 with a change of maize, \vill keep the ijheasants in go(jd 

 ciuiditiou; but it does not occur t(j everyone that a good 



