28 MA2TAGEMENT OF PHEASANTS IN PEBSBRVES. 



plenty of room to the best and most tliriving amongst them, whose side branches 

 will then gradually become more or less pendulous, and so will afford far more shelter 

 than could be obtained from a larger number of trees standing too thick. Pheasants 

 in a covert like this, need no great quantity of shelter upon the ground, for they 

 sit, even during the daytime, chiefly in the tree-tops. They bask there, on the south 

 side of the summit of a spruce or pine, in the sun's rays, with great delight; and 

 in heavy snow-storms whole days will often pass when they never descend to feed, 

 but prefer to sit quiet, eating the green spines of these resinous trees (in the manner of 

 the black grouse and capercailzie) when crispened by the frost, and depending upon 

 snow by way of beverage. I have strongly advocated the spruce and silver firs as 

 affording the most tempting perch to the birds at nightfall ; stiU, be it understood, that 

 the Scotch pine, pinaster, "Weymouth pine (P. laricio) and others are aU excellent. AU 

 that is needed is a little generalship and foresight in pheasant preservers, and a deter- 

 mination to confide in these resources, rather than in thes expensive, dangerous, and 

 inefficient practice of employing night watchers." 



Commenting on these suggestions, another correspondent writes, "I am not 

 aware that the practical advantages and excellence of the plan of planting large 

 clumps or squares of spruce, either alone or blended with silver firs, and mixing, or 

 not, a few deciduous trees with them, for the special purpose of forming pheasant 

 roosts, have ever been so fully and perspicuously set forth as explained in the 

 previous article. I could quote an instance of extensive coverts having been planted 

 on a similar principle, save that oaks were planted in lieu of birch, with the 

 ultimate .view of affording these birds the opportunity of preening their plumes 

 whilst perched on the topmost boughs, and enjoying themselves in this secluded 

 retreat during bright weather, to which luxury, under such circumstances, they are 

 very partial. In these cases the Spanish chesnut tree might sometimes perhaps be 

 found an eligible substitute for either the birch or the oak. The larch undoubtedly 

 is a favourite roosting tree with the pheasant, so much so indeed that I have seen 

 odd ones roosting in larches growing within a few yards only of the impenetrable 

 spruce grove. Besides being horizontal, the branches of the larch are rough, 

 affording good foothold, and when the tree is properly grown are but at short 

 distances one above the other, whilst, the collaterals being numerous, the tree in 

 reality affords far more shelter than it appears capable of yielding, though, of 

 course, far too little to conceal the bird from the prying eye of the night poacher. 

 Pheasants are remarkably fond of ' hips ; ' and if the wild rose tree which pro- 

 duces them be kept low by a proper attention to pruning, not only can the birds 

 reach the fruit easily, but the branches stool out and afford admirable covert. Cock 

 pheasants are naturally of a vagrant turn, and at times will ' leave their beans and 

 barley,' in order to indulge in this their favourite propensity to rove in search of 

 their natural wild food in the woodlands, hedgerows, &c. Early in December last 



