62 PHEASANTS FOR COVERTS AND AVIARIES. 



supplv 111' '.vater iioai- their feeiliug a'romid has a cniisiclerahle 

 influeuce on tlieir lialiits. After feeJing lieartilj' (,>ti dry 

 food, tliey will stra\' fur watei' if there he none Inindy, and 

 will stay away afterwa,rds till hnugry aga,in, thus j-unning' the 

 risk of being shot during theii' wanderings. To keep 

 phea'-ants in their (jwn covert'^, take niea,us of making thern 

 fond of them, even though there be no water near I have 

 found Jerusalem artieh'.)kes the best means of attraction. 

 They are so fond of these tuliers that they will hunt them In- 

 sight or smell from any obscure corner. (jive them also 

 pot;itoes (small and large), mangold wui-tzel, carrots, wliite- 

 hea.rted cnhbage, and savoys, all of which they wdl readily 

 eat, and which not only ]irevent their sti-aving fijr water, but 

 afford a change of food that is genial and natural to their 

 taste and ^vell-(loing, liesides econrimising their drv eurn foijd. 

 Wliere the coverts abound with acorns, beechmast, Spanish 

 chesnuts, and groundnuts, the pheasant requires but little 

 feeding till tlu^ middle of December." 



The rainfall may be utilised with advantage for re- 

 plenishing the receptacles empl(_)\ed for watering pheas.ants 

 in coverts, liy the use of sheets of corrugated iron, painted an 

 ineons])iciious colour. These may be erected in the form of 

 roofing to a shed of a, few feet high, which will also provide 

 shelter and diy scratching ground for the birds, the rain- 

 water being ran ijff into the drinking trou^'hs. 



I'he ])lanting of .ierusa.lem artichokes on waste spots and 

 coverts win be found to be an exceedingly advautao-eous ninde 

 of fetMling pheasants a.nd ])reventiug Iheir straying ti-oni their 

 own coverts. When once established, these plants readilv 

 veproduco themselves and afford a, large amount of food 

 for the birds. For ])reventing pheasants straying, the use of 

 raisins scattered in the coverts is particularly advantageous. 

 They will attract liirds even from distant coverts to so cn-eat 

 an extent that the owners of these latter mav have to emplov 

 them in their own defence. 80 attractive are raisins to 

 pheasants that the birds are not iufreipientlv captured by 



