CHAPTER XII. 



PHEASANTS : Miscellaneous Matters. 



IN connection with the preservation of nearly all game 

 there crop up from time to time a number of matters of 

 minor or side importance which cannot be ignored in a 

 work of this kind, but which it is considered best to deal 

 with in a general chapter rather than interrupt the main 

 issues by interpolating details likely to confuse. 



Ants' Eggs. Young pheasants ought to be provided 

 with a supply of ants' eggs (so-called) if possible. There 

 are many substitutes ; but the real article is very much ap- 

 preciated, and beneficial to boot. As a rule, a fair supply 

 of them may be provided in most countries if pains be taken 

 to do so. They will keep for a long time, and as the 

 chief supply is available from the ant-heaps when the 

 demand is largest, it is possible to secure an adequate 

 supply. Where nothing of the kind is available locally, 

 sufficient quantities may be obtained from tradesmen who 

 make a speciality of the article. A substitute which I 

 have employed with success is found in broken wheat 

 which, after being soaked in chamber- lye for two or three 

 days, is then dried off over a stove. A small quantity, 

 say i part added to each 64 parts of chick-feed, given 

 occasionally, meets the necessity of the case. 



Insect Food. The provision of a suitable substitute 

 for insect food when absent is not wholly met by the 



