94 PHEASANTS FOR roVEBTS AND AVIARIES. 



From earliest youth, tliereforc, tlie l)ir(ls are jiiore or less 

 inured to the ever-cliaugiug sights and sounds incidental to 

 ordinary traitlc. Tlieir thus seeing and hearing all going on 

 around gradually iniables tlieui to acquire such an amount of 

 courage that curiosity usurps tlie place of fright, the cocks 

 crowing joyously yet defiantly, while the hens ]ieer inquisi- 

 tively, yet fearlessl^r^ through the lattice <jf their harems. 

 The pens shoukl he sufficiently shiehh'd by trees, so as to 

 insure in very sunny weather a grateful shade ; ne\'ertlieless, 

 too much leafy shelter is a.])t to prov(^ provocative of damp 

 and cold. They should also, while enjoying a southern 

 aspect, 1)0 well protected from the east wind. Thus jilaced, 

 the birds ai'e Ix'tter left without any well meant but fanciful 

 attem])ts at further increasing their comfort. The little 

 matters above enumerated excepted, the more they are 

 exposed to the elements and permitted to rough it, the 

 liealtliier and more robust they will beccjme. 



"As in our present case here, so it frequently occurs 

 that iusufhcieut s|)ace militates against that annual shifting 

 of aviaries on to new ground, so often reconnnended, and 

 upon which, so far as my experience sei'ves me, where the 

 utmost attention to scrupulous cleanliness has been observed, 

 unnecessa,ry stress is laid. 



"After the laying season, when nur birds ha\"e availed 

 themselves of the lii)erty accorded them, the pens are com- 

 pletely denuded of then- contents. The ground is ti'enchcd 

 spade deep, thickly sown with unslacke<l lime, then covered 

 with from two to three inches (jf fresh, clean, dry loam, and 

 finally IVcely moistened with water thi-ough an ordinarv 

 garden-i-osed watering-pot, when any lloating lime dust is 

 ett'ectually disposed of, and the young birds rnay with safetv 

 be introduced. 



"Our aviary, in its entirety, measures in width about 

 27ft., and length 108ft., there being, however, three transverse 

 divisions, fmir s(puire comjiai'tments are tluis formed. A 

 small trench, one foot in depth, is dug around the whole 



