40 Distribution. 



In spite, however, of these initial failures, efforts to 

 acdimatise the pheasant continued to be made and finally 

 succeeded ; so much so, that in recent years breeding has been 

 extensively pursued in the United States, until it eventually 

 assumed the dimensions of a new industry, the experiments 

 ranging from a few pairs to undertakings in whicli thousands 

 of birds are kept, and the united efforts of private individuals, 

 associations, and State game officials led to a very large 

 increase in the stock of pheasants. 



The severity of the winters in some of the States may 

 account for many of the failures. In others the climate and 

 conditions are more favourable, and this would appear to be 

 specially the case in Oregon, where excellent results have 

 been achieved. In 1880 and 1881 consignments of ring-neck 

 pheasants from Shanghai were made by the Hon. 0. X. Denny, 

 the U.S.A. consul there. These were liberated in Oregon, 

 where their increase was so remarkably rapid that on the 

 opening day of the shooting season in 1892 50,000 

 were reported to have been bagged. It was from the 

 Oregon pheasantries that many other States obtained their 

 stocks. 



Massachusetts, after encountering many difficulties, has now 

 a fair number of birds in its preserves. Similar efforts were 

 made in Ohio, but, though successful for a time, the impres- 

 sion has gained ground that the climate is unsuitable, and 

 they have been relinquished. An outbreak of " cholera," 

 probably identical with our enteritis, which occurred in 

 July, 1901, conduced to this. A similar epidemic broke out 

 in 1906 in Massachusetts, but 3,000 birds were shot in the 

 succeeding open season of one month. 



In New York State rearing has not been verj- successful, 

 but a State game preserve has been estabhshed where breeding 

 will be resumed. In Indiana it is estimated that the stock of 

 pheasants numbers from 6,000 to 8,000. In Ilhnois experi- 

 ments have been conducted on a large scale, 20,000 eggs 

 being distributed, in addition to 15,000 hatched on the game 



