1S() PHEASANTS FOR COVERTS AND AVIARIES 



the use o\ percussi(jn caps, which sceined to astouisli and 

 delig'lit iuin very much. A pipe of toljacco which I offered 

 was iJ'h'idl}' accepted ; and, in answer to a cpiestion that he 

 appeared to understand, he gave ine the name of tlie pheasant 

 as Ki-7>hi. Later in the day more peo])k' came to the hills, 

 some for the jiurjiose of digging roots, others to look after 

 tlieir cattle, which appeared t(.) bo turned out to graze on the 

 hills. The birds had taken t(j the l)ushcs, where I cimld not 

 follow them, a,nd so obtained no more s])ecimeus im that 

 occasion. 



" A lew (hiys after, Lieutenants Jjent and Nicliolson and 

 myself made amitlicr shooting excursion to the liills, 1)ut 

 although we saw many ]>heasa.nts, hnt a single specimen was 

 shot, and the Ijii'ds ap])ea.red to be verv shy A\^e oljser\"ed 

 several Japanese with matcldocks about the hdls, firing away 

 at a grea,t rato. jVs we did nut see either of fliem with L;'ame, 

 aii(f as tho gamc-laws of -lapan are very severe, so much so, 

 indeed, that their observanci:' has been made a. special article 

 of the treaty with the United States, 1 conclnded that the 

 firing was only f(jr the ].iurpose of di-iving away tlie jdieasants 

 to places where they ^\"onld be more secui'e from the 

 si rangers." 



The threr species oi' jihcasants — the V reiwiculi/r, 

 tm-ijiKif ii.-^', and i-uli-liiciis — readily interbreed, and the mi.xed 

 ]]i-o.jrny. From wdiatever parentage, aro perlertlv fertile. 

 The elTect of this introduction of foi'eigu blood into 

 I'lngbsh Coverts has Ijeen amazing, ])r(_)ducing an increase 

 (jE si/.e and vigour, and bcaul iful va riations in the ]ibimage, 

 depeiKh'iit on the s[)ecH's whose blood predominates in the 

 cross. 



Xolhing can lie more interesting than the jiroilnction of 

 the-c beautiful mongrels, ^vhich increase so i-ajiidb" that 

 ( iould stated his ojiinion that in twenty years' tiuje it W(juhl be 

 (lifHiadt to find a true s|iecies in this eountrv. This, howe\-ei' 

 he regarded as ot little najment, as fresh birds can alwaNs be 

 obtained fi-om their native countries, Asia Alinoi', China, ami 



