In a Kitchen Garden. 131 



them water till they are seven or eight weeks old, at which 

 age they begin to eat barley and corn, and require water to 

 assist digestion. He says that pheasants in their wild state 

 take the dew in the mornings, and only in very dry weather 

 do the old hens take their broods to water. In very dry 

 weather, when there is little or no dew, he sprinkles water 

 twice a day on the grass, but never puts any down for them 

 until the time before stated, and when he waters the hens 

 he does not allow the pheasants to drink." The writer of the 

 following letter holds the balance very fairly between the 

 opposing views : " Much depends on the nature of the food 

 upon which the chicks are fed as to whether they should have 

 water or not ; if they are fed on dry food, and the weather 

 is warm and dry, they will require v/ater, but it must be very 

 clean, and given only once a day, and must not remain before 

 them longer than to allow each bird to have a little. If the 

 birds are fed on moist scalded food, they will not require any 

 water unless the weather is very hot, when a little may be given 

 as before stated. Birds reared on heavy clay land will require 

 less water than those reared on sandy gravel soil ; atten- 

 tion must also be paid to the amount of dew which falls, 

 supposing the birds are set at liberty before the dew has time 

 to evaporate. Those who argue that nature should be the 

 guide on this point must recollect that the rearing of pheasants 

 by hand is altogether an artificial process, and that therefore 

 nature cannot be strictly followed with regard to water any 

 more than with regard to food." A well-known game preserver 

 -writes on the subject as follows : " My keeper is a very successful 

 breeder and rearer of pheasants. It seems to me (for I watched 

 his proceedings verj^ closely) that he gives the birds the very 

 smallest supply of water. He carries a bottle in his pocket 

 when he feeds, and puts about a wineglassful into each hen's 

 ■saucer. The hens seem thirsty enough, and leave but little 

 for the young birds. He feeds very sparingly, but frequently, 

 throwing the food wide. He has brought up a great many 

 pheasants and birds for me. One year, strange to say, out 



K 2 



