FORMATION OF PENS AND AVIARIES. 55 



freshly-cut turves, with abundance of young grass and plenty of clover, should be 

 furnished daily. 



Instead of placing a cock and three to five hens in a pen, as recommended, 

 some persons advocate putting cut-winged hens only in enclosures open at the 

 top, so that they may be visited by the wUd males. Of necessity, this method 

 can only be followed in the immediate vicinity of coverts well stocked with 

 pheasants, and even under these conditions it is not always successful, the eggs 

 frequently not being fertilized. " It is sometimes recommended to put pheasant hens 

 into small enclosures open at the top, so that the wild cocks might get to them. I 

 suppose generally that plan is successful, but in my own case it has failed entirely. 

 I had plenty of eggs, but no chickens. My keeper gathered the eggs regularly and 

 carefully, and they were duly set under common hens ; but not one single egg came 

 off. I know the wild cocks came close to the enclosure, but I never actually found 

 one inside. I followed Baily's instructions implicitly; my own impression was, I 

 must say, that the wild cocks had not visited the hens." 



On the other hand, a second authority states : — " On an estate with which I 

 am well acquainted, the whole of the young birds, some 400, were reared from 

 eggs produced by hens whose mates were wild birds. The pheasantry was 

 constructed with an open top, and the wild cock birds regularly visited it. The 

 tameness of these birds was remarkable, and I have frequently seen six or eight 

 cock birds walking fearlessly about within a few yards of me whilst inspecting the 

 birds. As an instance of the audacity of the wild bird, I may mention that a few 

 years ago I kept five hen pheasants and one cock in a temporary covered pheasantry, 

 the lower part being covered up to the height of two or three feet, and the upper 

 part being constructed of wire stretched on poles. I noticed shortly after the birds 

 had been put in that the wire was bulged inwards in several places, and could 

 not imagine how it had been done. On watching, however, I found a wild cock 

 pheasant was in the habit of regularly fighting with the confined male bird by 

 flying up against the wire, the bird inside being by no means loath to accept the 

 challenge. One morning, however, the wild bird was found inside, a nail having 

 given way in one of his flights against the wire netting, being the cause of his 

 unexpected capture. When discovered he had nearly killed the imprisoned cock 

 bird, who was removed, and his adversary substituted. I may remark that those 

 who have tried breeding from wild cock birds will hardly, I fancy, return to the 

 old system of keeping the cocks in confinement, as I have found that the birds 

 bred from wild cocks are invariably stronger, and consequently easier to rear than 

 those bred in the ordinary way." 



There is no absolute necessity, however, for having recourse to the use 

 of open pens, as the eggs of cut-winged birds, kept in pheasantries of sufficient 

 size, well fed, with a good variety of fresh vegetable food, and supplied daily with 



