Practical Game-Preserving. 68 



What I have said here must be regarded as instructions 

 necessary of observance throughout the whole course of 

 the rearing period. If the preventive means be relaxed or 

 neglected at any period, then blame for the outbreak of 

 disease and loss of chicks is entirely due to the faults of 

 the preserver or his keeper. 



We will now pass to the second stage of pheasant chicken- 

 hood as before determined. Throughout this period the 

 custard must remain the basis of the food given, but the 

 feeding times may be reduced to four per diem and gradu- 

 ally lessened to only three. Instead of the plain oatmeal 

 hitherto mixed with the custard, one or other of the 

 specially prepared meals supplied by the manufacturers 

 must be substituted for it up to the end of the first fort- 

 night of the chicks' existence. If, however, the preserver 

 should prefer to make up his own meal instead of 

 purchasing it, here is a suitable formula to work to : 



(i) Medium oatmeal 24 parts. 



Finely ground rice 16 ,, 



Maize meal 16 ,, 



Bruised hempseed 3 ,, 



Linseed meal i ,, 



Prepared desiccated meat 4 ,, 



64 parts.* 



This and other meals must be made up with boiling 

 water stirred in with them. There is, however, a right 

 and a wrong way of doing this, and to be effective the 

 boiling water must be gradually poured over the meal so 

 that all of it is in turn submitted to the effect of the 



* The formulae for pheasant foods are made up on the basis of two 

 bushels, so that one part represents one quart. 



