138 Cost of Rearing. 



of view : the coverts consist of a very large wood with a few outlying 

 hollow spinneys ; the wood is not only a favourite meet of a fashionable 

 pack of hovmds, but hounds are also continually through it ; it held at 

 least three litters of cubs, and rabbits had to be kept down ; there adjoins 

 the wood a more attractive covert going with another shooting where only 

 a very few birds were reared ; the lateness of the fall of the leaf necessarily 

 caused the first time through the wood to be unduly delayed ; in arranging 

 the shooting days meets of the hounds had to be considered, and on these 

 days stops were often unobtainable. A few hundred pheasants were 

 reared in 1920 — there being very few wild birds left at the beginning of 

 that season — and owing to the great cost of each one of these shot the 

 question arose as to whether any rearing should take place in 1921. Owing 

 to the probable drop in the cost of hard food, and the probability that the 

 value of the pheasant for the larder would be fairly well maintained, it 

 was decided to catch up enough birds to provide some eggs for sale, 

 and about 1000 for rearing. Eight hundred birds were eventually turned- 

 out in the big wood, and 554 shot. The accounts cover the twelve months 

 from Feb. 2, 1921, to Feb. 1, 1922. 



PAYMENTS. £ s. d. 



Rearing food, &c., and hard corn 136 12 



Broody hens 8 8 



Rearing field and 4 acres of buckwheat 28 10 



£173 10 



RECEIPTS. 



Pheasants' eggs sold 58 



Hen „ „ 5 10 



Hens sold 12 



Pheasants sold 74 10 



„ taken by guns (value) 43 7 



£193 7 

 It will be noted that the account is not debited with the value of the 

 pheasants caught up for penning, and I may add that such of the hens 

 bought in 1920 as did not fall victims to foxes were utilised when they 

 became broody. 



The above balance-sheet shows that on the system adopted not only 

 did the rearing put the guns to no extra expense but resulted in a small 

 profit. It will be noted that — apart from the buckwheat which was 

 spoilt by the drought — the cost of food works out at about 4s. 4d. per head 

 of pheasants reared as against the 7s. 6d. of your correspondent rearing 

 in what would appear to be a somewhat similar country. 



Another correspondent, writing from a hunting country in 

 the north of England, gives figures which are interesting as 

 showing the accounts of a shooting run as a syndicate. The 

 season is that of 1921-22. 



