176 SHOOTING THE PHEASANT 



CHAPTER IV 



WILD-BRED AND HAND-REARED 



The foregoing two chapters have been written 

 exclusively with reference to the shooting of woods 

 by organised parties, and without regard to the 

 origin, artificial or otherwise, of the birds to be dealt 

 with. 



But while we speak of pheasant shooting, in its 

 most prevalent and best known form, we must not 

 neglect mention of the wild-bred bird ; little as he 

 may count in the calculations of the large breeder or 

 habitual sharer in the making of heavy bags of hand- 

 reared birds. Still less must we ignore the existence of 

 the occasional or unexpected pheasant which, hatched 

 and reared in the edges of detached and remote coverts, 

 or possibly on the fringe of a prolific grouse moor, 

 affords to so many a welcome surprise, a hot pursuit, 

 a difficult shot, and an infrequent delicacy. 



The significance of the term 'the First,' applied, as 

 it is, exclusively to the month of September and to the 



