140 



RECREATION. 



ber of arms, and machinery for their manu- 

 facture was set up at Harper's Ferry, Va. 

 When the civil war began Morse employed 

 that machinery in the interests of the Con- 

 federates. Adhering to the Confederacy, 

 he registered and patented his inventions at 

 Richmond. 



MONGOLIAN PHEASANTS. 



London, Ont. 

 Editor Recreation. 



I can sympathize with your Tacoma friends 

 in their attempts to raise Mongolian pheas- 

 ants. I was there some years ago, and found 

 them the hardest birds to raise I had ever 

 seen or heard of. My first year I only raised 

 four; the next, 10; third year, 40 out of 45 

 eggs, except one or two that met with acci- 

 dents, and now I can safely count on raising 

 90 per cent, of all that hatch out. 



Mr. Eberts must have had daisies to lay, 

 if three hens laid 300 eggs. He ought to keep 

 that strain, as I think from 50 to 60 eggs is 

 the most I ever heard of being laid by one 

 hen. But then the air of Washington may 

 be good for large strings of eggs, and such. 

 Mr. T. Ailing has a herd of pheasants I 

 should like much to see, or to have some of 

 them, i. e., the copper kind. I have heard of 

 many, and know there are many, but copper 

 ones beat the books. Could he-send us a few 

 copper feathers ? 



I would suggest to any breeder of pheas- 

 ants to send to Upcatt Gile, Strand, London, 

 England, for a book entitled, " Pheasants for 

 Amateurs," by Horn, and he will find the 

 best of instruction. Meantime, I will tell your 

 readers of my method. 



Always choose light-weight, quiet hens for 

 mothers. The eggs should be hatched in a 

 box at least six inches high all around, so that 

 the young birds cannot get away from the 

 mother, as they will get up and run as soon 

 as they are out of the shell, and if there is 

 any place as 'big as a mousehole that they 

 can get into they will hide. If they get cold 

 they die. I leave thern in this nest for 24 

 hours, then I place them -with the hen in a 

 coop, about three feet by two feet, with one 

 side wire netting, one-half inch mesh. Then 

 they have no chance to stray away from the 

 nest or their mother. I feed the hen with 

 plenty of corn, and give the young birds 

 some custard, which I make in the following 

 way : Say for 12 chicks, take 2 eggs and 2 

 tablespoonfuls of milk ; bring the milk to a 

 boiling point ; then add the eggs, well beaten 

 up, and boil till the whole is quite dry. Be 

 careful not to allow it to burn. When this is 

 cool, I give about a teaspoonful at a time till 

 the young birds begin to know the call of the 

 mother ; for if you give more, the old hen, 

 when no attention is paid to her call, will eat 

 the food herself. By giving a small quantity 

 every hour or so, for the first two days, the 

 little fellows will begin to feed. I also place 

 in the coop a short clover sod, which they 

 will pick over. I feed in this way for two or 

 three days ; then add a little of Spratt's 

 game meal, with fine chopped lettuce, and 



so on — more meal and less custard. 



I give seeds, as crushed hemp, millet, 

 canary seed, wheat about the second week, 

 and gradually leave off the soft feed, except 

 that two or three times a week I give the 

 Spratt's meal and cristle. Till they are four 

 or five weeks old, after the first week, I give 

 some of Spratt's cristle, or, if not that, I cul- 

 tivate maggots from beef-heads, etc., which I 

 keep in bran for 24 hours before feeding. 

 Be careful and not give too many, as they 

 may scare the young birds. As soon as the 

 chicks know the mother's call, I take them 

 out of the coop and place them in a small 

 open pen, on a freshly cut grass plot. This 

 pen is made about two feet by three feet, 

 with ten-inch band for three sides, the top of 

 half-inch mesh wire netting. The open 

 end fits on a small covered box, where they 

 can be closed up at night or in wet weather. 

 It is necessary that till the birds are four 

 weeks old they shall not be exposed to rain 

 or damp. After being in this enclosure a 

 day or two, I draw the box back about 1 % 

 inches, so that the young birds may get out ; 

 but the hen is kept shut up. They can then 

 get on the grass and pick up flies and insects, 

 of which they are very fond. 



When about two months old it w ; ll be 

 necessary to either put. the birds in large 

 pens or cut their wings, for they will want, as 

 soon as evening comes, to fly up to roost in 

 trees, where they are in danger from cats. 

 Always close up pheasants about 5 P. m., or 

 they will take to trees or roofs of houses for 

 roosting-places. 



I would advise placing the young birds 

 with the mother in the coverts when about 

 six weeks old, as they will stay with the hen 

 and it will be possible to feed them all the 

 season till they are strong enough to* take 

 care of themselves. 



The English authorities are divided on the 

 subject of watering the young birds. Some 

 say, "give;" and some, "don't give." I 

 have tried both plans and have been success- 

 ful, so I think it is much more humane to 

 give them the water, which I do in shallow 

 dishes with small screens over them to keep 

 the birds from getting wet. If there was 

 nothing in the dish but water, the little things 

 would sit down in it and get chilled. 



Dr. J. S. Niven. 



Mr. S. L. Crosby, taxidermist, Bangor, 

 Me., gives the following instructions for 

 skinning and cleaning big game heads: 



Start at the back of the neck and. keeping the point 

 of the knife under the skin, edge up, divide it in a cir- 

 cle all around the neck, being careful to keep well 

 down to where the neck joins the shoulders. 



Never split the skin on the under side. Open it on 

 a straight line along the back of the neck to a point 

 between the ears. Then make a V-bhaped cut to the 

 base of each antler. Cut off the ears close to the head 

 and pry the skin away from the base of each antler. 

 Skin down on each side and over the forehead until 

 you reach the eye. Be careful in skinning the eye 

 not to cut the lid, and be sure to get to the bottom 

 of the eye-pit and sever the skin from the bone. 

 Continue on down over the nose and detach the 

 skin from it. Now pare off all the flesh you can 

 from the base of the ears and end of the nose, and 

 your skin is ready for a liberal dose of fine salt; 



