THE JAPANESE PHEASANT. 101 



At other moments again, when the sun broke forth for a short time, all stretched 

 themselves in the golden rays, and rolling in the sand shook the morning dew from 

 their fine plumage. It was a beautiful sight, and I looked upon it with exceeding 

 pleasure ; so much, indeed, that I could not find the heart to destroy this little scene 

 of domestic happiness by a leaden shower from my fowling piece. Suddenly the 

 birds showed signs of uneasiness, and I soon discovered the cause in a Japanese 

 root-digger coming from the opposite direction. I therefore took up my gun, and 

 standing on my feet, raised the birds also, and as they flew towards the next hiU, 

 I had the good fortune to bring down the cock with one barrel of my gun, and 

 one of the hens with the other. 



" The Japanese, who came up after I had loaded my gun and secured my 

 game, looked with some astonishment at the stranger, for I was certainly the first 

 foreigner who had been in pursuit of game on the hunting grounds of Niphon. He 

 evidently asked me several questions, which I was not, of course, able to understand, 

 but from his signs, and the frequent repetition of the word " statzoo " (two), 1 inferred 

 that he inquired whether I had fired twice in such quick succession with one gun. 

 I nodded and explained to him as well as I could the nature of my double 

 barrelled gun, and the use of percussion caps, which seemed to astonish and delight 

 him very much. A pipe of tobacco which I offered was gladly accepted ; and in 

 answer to a question that he appeared to understand, he gave me the name of the 

 pheasant as Ki-zhi. Later in the day more people came to the hUls, some for the 

 purpose of digging roots, others to look after their cattle, which appeared to be 

 turned out to graze on the hUls. The birds had taken to the bushes, where I could 

 not follow them, and so obtained no more specimens on that occasion. 



" A few days after. Lieutenants Bent and Nicholson, and myself, made another 

 shooting excursion to the hiUs, but although we saw many pheasants, but a single 

 specimen was shot, and the birds appeared to be very shy. We observed several 

 Japanese with matchlocks about the hills, firing away at a great rate. As we 

 did not see either of them with game, and as the game laws of Japan are very 

 severe, so much so, indeed, that their observance has been made a special article 

 of the treaty with the United States, I concluded that the firing was only for the 

 purpose of driving away the pheasants to places where they would be more secure 

 from the strangers." 



These three species of pheasants — the Versicolor, Torquatus, and Colchicus 



readily breed with each other, and the mixed progeny, from- whatever parentage, 

 are perfectly fertile. The effect of this introduction of foreign blood in our common 

 breed has been amazing, producing an increase of size and vigour, and beautiful 

 variations in the plumage, dependent on the species whose bipod predominates in 

 the cross. 



Nothing can be more interesting than the production of these beautiful 



