PHEASANTS. 



REEVES'S (or barbed-tailed PHEASANTS). 



We have thoroughly acclimatized the common pheasant 

 from Western Asia, the ring-necked pheasant from Southern 

 China, the green-breasted pheasant from Japan, then why 

 not the Reeves's pheasant from North China ? It is cer- 

 tainly the largest, finest, and most beautiful of all the true 

 pheasants, and would be a most desirable and magnificent 

 addition to our game preserves. 



Domestication and acclimatization are two very different 

 states. Animals may be acclimatized without, in the least, 

 becoming domesticated, and the animals already domesti- 

 cated may be acclimatized, that is to say, we may trans- 

 port the domesticated animals to a new country, and, with 

 proper attention to their wants, we may succeed in estab- 

 lishing them, and they are in time adapted to the changed 

 condition and thrive ; instances of this kind are common 

 enough, viz. sheep, cattle, pigs, and poultry in Australia ; 

 horses, cattle, and pigs in America and elsewhere. The 

 introduction of animals from one country to another is 

 very common, and the success attending such introduction 

 well known. But when the question is asked, Have any 

 wild species that have been introduced into a country 

 become domesticated within the time of recorded events ? 

 an answer in the negative must be given ; on the other 

 side, we have no end of instances of domestic animals being 

 introduced to new countries, where, for want of care and 



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