PHEASANT. 9 



thousand-headed cabbage; the seed sown in April, and the young plants transplanted in 

 June, two feet asunder. These afford very excellent food for the birds durino- the late 

 autumn and winter, and are particularly useful when the ground is deeply covered with 

 snow. This alone, however, is not a sufficient provision for the winter, and it becomes 

 necessary, in order to prevent them from straying abroad in search of food, to supply 

 them with it in the coverts. Beans and boiled potatoes are strongly recommended by 

 Mr. ATaterton as being far cheaper than oats or barley, much of which is devoured by 

 Sparrows and other small birds. The food should be placed under yew trees, holly bushes, 

 or the spruce fir, and it will then escape the Ring Dove and Rook. 



Mr. Tarrell suggests that it is a good plan "to sow in summer beans, peas, and buck- 

 wheat mixed together, leaving the whole crop standing on the ground; the strong and 

 tall stalks of the beans carry up, sustain, and support the other two, and all three afford 

 together, for a long time, both food and cover." 



Like other gallinaceous birds, the Pheasant always swallows a number of small stones, 

 which are serviceable by enabling the gizzard to grind up the food, of whatever kind, 

 into a uniform pulpy mass, which is then readily digested. 



The pleasure which a sportsman will derive from the pursuit of any kind of game, 

 cannot fail to be greatly increased by a knowledge of its habits. This knowledge is 

 essentially necessary to a successful day's sport; and indeed all the customary rules for 

 his guidance in the field are based on this knowledge, and, although a man may learn 

 these rules by heart, without inquiring into the habits of the game which dictated them, 

 he will doubtless be thus deprived of a very great additional pleasure, and could never, 

 we imagine, be considered a true sportsman. 



In sporting phraseology the terms applied to Pheasants are the following: — Two Pheasants 

 are a 'brace;" three a 'leash.' The brood is called a 'ni,' 'nid,' or 'nide,' from the 

 Latin 'nidus,' a nest. In putting Pheasants up you are said to 'push' or 'spring' them. 

 The time for Pheasant shooting is fixed by law to commence on the first of October, 

 but it very frequently happens that the birds are then scarcely sufficiently grown, and 

 this has induced many preservers of game to keep their preserves closed till a later day, 

 sometimes even till the first of November. By this forbearance they not only secure 

 finer birds, but also much more agreeable shooting, for by that time many of the trees 

 will have lost much of their leafy covering, and consequently there will be less obstruction 

 to the use of the gun. The shooting ends on the first of February. 



During the day, particularly early in the season, Pheasants lie very close, and will 

 almost allow you to walk over them; it is therefore absolutely necessary to beat every 

 inch of the cover. This is usually done by spaniels, which for this purpose should be 

 slow short-legged animals, which do their work quietly, and keep within reach of you. 

 Many experienced sportsmen, however, prefer trusting the disturbance of the Pheasants 



