83 Pheasants. 



season, when it is very undesirable that the birds should be 

 congregated at certain points in the coverts instead of 

 being spread over the whole of them ; but once shooting is 

 at an end, then the practice of feeding indiscriminately 

 upon the ground should be discontinued as far as possible. 

 True, there is a certain merit in being able to " feed your 

 birds all over the place "; but the arrangement does not 

 work out well in other directions the loss or waste of 

 food is tremendous, and it is almost impossible to place 

 any proper check upon the way in which the food is dealt 

 with. 



Endeavour should be made to feed with a view to the 

 least loss of food possible, and with the further aim that 

 what is used is as equally divided as possible amongst the 

 birds to be fed. Whatever may be their actual needs, or 

 however hard, in reason, hunger may press, there are sure 

 to be a large number of very shy feeders amongst the 

 birds, which will hang back to such a degree that they will 

 miss their share. This is one point which will have to be 

 considered when distributing the food, whilst the other is 

 that it should not prove, by the mode of its offering, a bait 

 to the birds to entice them from one cover to another 

 unless specially so directed or cause them to concentrate 

 upon that portion or those portions of the covert only 

 where the food is set down for them. More or less open 

 spaces, where the surface is even and dry, should be 

 chosen. These may be either upon any paths or rides 

 intersecting the coverts, or, as is frequently the case, there 

 may be small clearings or expanses void of undergrowth 

 which will serve the purpose. 



It is customary with most keepers to employ a whistle 

 to call their birds together for feeding, and, although the 

 practice works well enough, it has its disadvantages when 

 unduly extended. A far better plan is to let the food and 



G 2 



