1()G PHEASANTS FOR rOYEETS AND AVIARIES. 



And there h Avuascl is w;itching, popping his head at intei'vals 

 ont of (lift'ercnt lioles in the neigliljom'iiig haulc, nndeterreil 

 liy the fate of se\'eral ol' his family, avIio liave ah'eady been 

 trapped there and giblji_'ted. ]jut nmre dangerous than hawk 

 or weasel are the iack(h"iws. For, as these vneiferous birds 

 bear comparatiA-ely i'i'>]iectal)le cliaraeters, tliey are more 

 likely to lie iudidgx'd with a, licence they abuse. AV'e know 

 them to be hurnnls we cannot deny the family tendency to 

 klcptiimania,. Jjut we are in the way of Ijebeving cliattering 

 t(j br tlie sign iif a, fi'auk, shallow^ nature, ami we are apt to 

 conddue the thel'ts that are pei-petrated with no view to 

 ]n'otit. In reality, the jackda.w is a deep hypocrite — a robber 

 and a, bloody-beaked murderer, lie chatters his way fn.m 

 Ijranch to brancli above the coops with the most unc(.incerne(i 

 air in the world — just as a human thief walks, whistling, 

 with his hands in liis ]ii)ckets, towards the prey he nu'an^ tc> 

 uiaki.' a snatch at. Then, ^vhen he sees himself unnoticed, 

 the jax'kdaw stills his (diatter and makes his stealthy swijoji ; 

 and 111 this way, watching "while your watcher's back is 

 turne(l, he massacres a, whole family of your innocents, and 

 the hawks and weasels get the credit of the crime. Hut, 

 alter all, .a gun kept' upon the spot generally insjjires a 

 salutary dread. 



"Many of your young birds sui'viye the pei'ils of tlii_'ir 

 clieejierhood ; then tlio long grass in the neighbouring Ijits 

 of covert be('omes ali\'e "with them, and once in that stage 

 they ai-e C(im[)ara,ti\-ely safe. 'ITienceforward till the autumn 

 they feed and tliri\"e, strengtheu and fatten. And, sp("irt, sale, 

 and the autumn game course out of the (piestion, what can Ije 

 ]ileasanter or jirettier iu tlie way of sounds or siy'lUs than 

 the young Ijirds learning to cro\v in _your coverts as ^■ou 

 saunter out before brea.kfast, or scattered about vour lawn as 

 you dine, with ojien wnidows, (jf a summer evening'^ " 



The most successful modi; of rearing pheasants is to adu]it, 

 in those situations wlu'i'e the conditicurs ai'e faAoni-able, what 

 may lie termed the more natural system, such as has been 



