HYBRIDS AND HYBRIDISATION 



and the author does not believe that anyone engaged in 

 raising Pheasants for the covert are any longer desirous of 

 using the Japanese Pheasant for such purposes. The beauty 

 of its plumage was, in a measure, responsible for the limited 

 popularity it enjoyed. Proof has been established, beyond 

 all question of doubt, that the vigorous nature of the 

 Mongolian Pheasant renders it unrivalled for establishing a 

 hardy and prolific sort of Pheasant for sport, and the more 

 widely its utility becomes known, the more eagerly it will be 

 sought after. Mongolian hybrids are as fertile, in fact more 

 so, than the common ring-necked birds, and it will be a 

 difficult matter to mention any material facts adverse to the 

 laudatory terms applicable to Mongolian Pheasants, either in 

 their pure or mixed states. 



The production of hybrids is not, as a rule, a matter of 

 much difficulty, but two factors of paramount importance 

 have to be considered, and not only must they be considered 

 theoretically, but established by practical demonstration. It 

 is upon the demonstration of such facts that the true value of 

 hybridisation depends. 



Fertility of the hybrid is an indispensable feature, it being 

 well known, in fact, part of the general law that sterility 

 frequently accompanies the production of the hybrid, either 

 of the first or succeeding generations, therefore it is useless 

 to utilise a cross that establishes this condition of affairs, and 

 it would be a difficult matter to find an instance where such 

 prejudicial effects could be more pronounced than in the 

 preservation of game. 



None the less important is prolificacy and early maturity. 

 The production of eggs, either in or out of covert, or for that 

 matter in the aviary, constitutes one of the most valuable 

 assets in game-farming operations. There are many other 

 factors that have to be considered by the Pheasant-rearer, 



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