194 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 
tember), No. 7 shot will be found heavy enough to do ef- 
fective work, but later on, when cold nights, accompanied 
by rain and wind, have taken place, No. 5 should be used. 
The first pheasant I killed in China I thought the noblest 
game bird that ever I had pulled a trigger upon, and truly 
he was a beauty; the plumage was in the most perfect 
state —the neck of the greenest emerald, the ring of the 
purest white, the tail the longest, and the different shades 
and tints of wings and body the very brightest I-had ever 
seen in one of the species; moreover, he weighed nearly 
one-half more than any of the same family I had killed at 
home, and, to add additional appreciation, the shot that 
brought him to the ground was a difficult one, and at long 
range. For years the pheasant of the southern portion of 
China reigned paramount in my opinion; but a change has 
come over my ideas, and now, superlative before all others, 
I place two descriptions of American game birds, and this 
species is one of them. What days of pleasure have I had 
in the pursuit of pinnated grouse! What splendid bags 
have I made, and on such ground as gave my darling com- 
panion setters the very best opportunities of showing their 
sagacity and careful education to the greatest advantage ! 
In alluding to the ruffed grouse, I have stated that I do 
not believe this bird (the pinnated grouse) so worthy of ac- 
climatization ; and why? he disregards distance in his late 
autumnal flights; and, therefore, where shooting ranges are 
limited by bounds, unless the proprietors on every side 
would mutually agree for their protection, I fear that the 
labors of the introducer in the cause of acclimatization 
would be fraught with dissatisfaction. But for all that, the 
pinnated grouse is deserving of attention; for he is truly a 
most noble bird, and affords the best of sport, till the cold 
winds preceding winter cause them to pack, in the same 
manner as our red and black game; when their weariness 
