,PHEASANTS: IN PEACE IIg 
same. Probably the employer’s point of view— 
apart from the expense of more birds—is that 
the rearing of only a couple of ‘hundred or so 
will allow the keeper ample time to look after 
the rest of the game on his beat. This is all 
very fine in theory. But the fewer his birds, 
the less the keeper can afford to lose any from 
preventable causes, which are sure to occur if he 
rushes round the coops, throws down the food, 
and tears off to get to where his presence may 
be useful by about the time when he must turn 
back for another feed. In the intervals between 
feeds the birds are left to the mercy of chance, 
It is better not to rear birds at all if the keeper 
cannot give them his best attention. 
Most people 'who have had anything to do with 
the hatching of eggs, especially game eggs, know 
that eggs containing live chicks sometimes will 
refuse to hatch in circumstances which are giving 
the best results with other eggs of the same sort, 
The shell in pieces peels off the membrane, which 
shrivels and holds the chicks a fast prisoner. The 
cause of the trouble usually is put down to the 
dryness of the shells. This is so to a certain 
extent, but not, I believe, in the way most people 
suppose. Seldom, if ever, are peeled eggs seen 
in the nest of a partridge or pheasant, or among 
game eggs that have been sat upon from first 
to last by fowls. But they often are seen in 
