32 



Points on Care and Breeding of Pheasants, etc. 



For Sportsmen Nothing Exceeds Pheasant Shooting 



There is no sport in Great Britain to compare with pheasant shooting. This is the gen- 

 eral opinion of the English sportsman, and as the pheasant has many natural enemies 

 besides man, it is more preserved and protected than other game. 



Pheasants are bred in large numbers in Europe and thousands are shot yearly on the 

 preserves and many are sold in the open market like poultry, and in my opinion this policy 

 should be followed in this country. 



Many successful gamekeepers do not give water at all, others only in a very small quan- 

 tities One of my correspondents writes: "I know a keeper who rears a great number of 

 pheasants each year and he does not give them water until they are seven or eight weeks old, 

 at which age they begin to eat grain and require water to aid digestion. He claims that 

 pheasants in their wild state take the dew in the morning, and only in very dry weather 

 do the old hens take their brood to water. In very dry weather when there is little or no 

 dew, he sprinkles water twice a day on the grass. However, when he waters the hens, he 

 does not allow the poults to drink." I endorse the great value of lettuce as food for pheasants. 



A MORNING PHEASANT SHOOT IN OREGON 



Pheasants as Insect Destroyers 



The pheasant in its wild state, is a friend to the farmer as its food consists largely of 

 insects and their larvae, worms, grasshoppers, etc.. as well as the roots of many weeds. As 

 an insect destroyer they are unsurpassed. They are the inveterate foe of the very vermin 

 which causes so much loss to the horticulturist and grain grower. They feed on caterpillars, 

 field mice and scores of other pests infesting orchards, cotton, sugar-beet fields, etc. 



