The Golden Pheasant. 175 



and tails, as soon as they make their appearance, in order 

 to eat them: and this can only be prevented by separating 

 the birds until they are fully fledged, which is rather a 

 nuisance, if there are many of them, but better than allowing 

 them to eat each other, which is what they would do if they 

 were left together. 



It will be readily gathered from the above that the pos- 

 session of a covey (I suppose I may use the expression in 

 this connection) of Golden Pheasants is not an unmixed blessing. 

 It was one of the dreams of my boyhood to possess a pair 

 of these beautiful birds: but when, at length, my desire was 

 gratified, I must admit that they scarcely realized my ex- 

 pectations. 



A cock and hen were advertised in the Ba%aar newspaper, 

 and as the price asked seemed reasonable, I invested, and in 

 due season received the birds. The cock was minus his tail, 

 which he had, evidently, lost en route, for the feathers were 

 in the box in which the pair had travelled. It was a much 

 more serious case wi^h the hen, she — both birds were ex- 

 ceedingly wild — came out of the box with her scalp hanging 

 down over one side of her face. 



Truly a sorry plight! the tail would grow, that did not 

 ■matter much: but the scalp? I replaced the skin as well as 

 I could, but feared that it was too late, as it was already 

 nearly dry; and my fears were realized, union did not take 

 place, and the poor thing remained to her dying day with a 

 portion of it hanging on one cheek. However, it did not 

 seem to cause her much inconvenience, she ate well, and 

 seemed lively, and after a while both she and her husband 

 became very much tamer than they had been at first. 



They had a good house and a good run, and when the fine 

 weather set in, I gave them a flat basket containing some 

 hay, which I placed behind some boards in a corner of their 

 house on the ground, and was pleased to see shortly after- 

 wards that it had been occupied. Several days passed, but 



