SHOOTING THE PHEASANT 



sible keep rabbits from them, as in a hard winter they 

 will destroy the greater portion of even the older plants. 



There are, however, many plants, which rabbits 

 will not eat unless absolutely famine-stricken, to be 

 used in filling these spaces ; among these privet, 

 berberis (Mahonia Aquifoliuni), and the common 

 bramble,' easily propagated by pegging in suckers, 

 may be suggested with others -which you will find 

 detailed, with hints for their protection, in the latest 

 works on forestry. 



The two principles here advocated — the cutting 

 out of open spaces, and the ■ addition of broom 

 coverts alongside of old woods — I have seen tried 

 and proved to improve the stock as well as the quality 

 of the shooting. I suggested them some years ago to 

 Sir Edward Lawson, who at that time found great 

 difficulty in keeping the required stock of pheasants 

 on his estate at Hall Barn in Buckinghamshire, the 

 woods being old, hollow, and largely composed of 

 worthless beech. The result has been so satisfactory 

 that it is now for its size one of the best shooting 



' Rhododendron, though rabbits do not eat it, is not really 

 good covert for pheasants. They dislike going into it when 

 driven, probably because it is difficult for them to rise out of, 

 though it is certainly valuable in certain places, as shelter from 

 rough weather. It should never be planted for the purpose of 

 flushing birds out of it. 



