2o8 " CROWING " A SUBCONSCIOUS ACT 

 parties at a safe distance from one another, 

 which is exactly nature's intent. 



The " crowing " is a subconscious act ; 

 metaphorically, a small but important " cog- 

 wheel " in nature's machinery which ensures 

 the proper working of the system. The 

 movement might be described as a recipro- 

 cating arrangement. In plain words, the 

 cock pheasant is so "strung" as to "go off" 

 instantly on the impact of the sonorous vi- 

 brations set up by the " drumming " of his 

 rivals, in the same way as a sounding note 

 causes another of the same quality to rever- 

 berate in sympathy. 



It is no stretch of the imagination, there- 

 fore, to believe that the distant booming of 

 cannon, thunder and such-like sounds, have 

 precisely the same effect on the birds, always 

 accepting the premise, viz., that the said 

 " drumming " is an automatic manifestation. 



This view of the matter, to my mind, is con- 

 firmed by the fact that the pheasant (or 

 turkey) ejaculates quicker than a human being 

 can exclaim after hearing a sound. In the 

 bird's case there is no after, the ejaculation is 

 coincident with the sound. A general clamour 

 continues for some time afterwards, but that 

 is due to the cocks answering one another, 

 independently. 



