Practical Game-Preserving. 132 



otherwise. It is a very good plan, whenever any of these 

 sports occur, to employ them in the direction named, 

 instead of keeping them as show birds, as is usually done. 



In the same way, a few cock-birds of other than the 

 ordinary breeds, utilised as sentinel birds in this manner, 

 always serve a useful purpose. 



Food-Losses through Wood-Pigeons, &c. Most of the 

 loss of food fed to pheasants on the open ground is due 

 to its consumption by Wood-pigeons and Stock-doves 

 (where the latter exist in any quantities). It is a difficult 

 matter to deal with, but I have found that neither of these 

 birds will go in under wire-netting when it is stretched 

 horizontally about ift. above the ground. It need be 

 fixed only high enough to permit the game-birds to go in 

 and feed underneath it, and should be laced together in 

 pieces from 4yds. to 5yds. square and be stretched upon 

 short, thick stakes, driven in the ground, or from tree to 

 tree. The mesh may be determined by the size of the 

 birds it is necessary to keep away from the corn or other 

 food put down. They will feed under netting the mesh of 

 which they can go through, but will not do so otherwise. 



Condiments for Pheasants. It will have been noticed 

 that in the chapter on Feeding scarcely any reference 

 is made to the use of condiments or stimulating foods for 

 pheasants. Personally, I am of opinion that a great deal 

 too much resort is made to the employment of highly-spiced 

 feeding materials, many of which, possessing a temporarily 

 strongly stimulating effect upon birds, produce a corre- 

 sponding reaction, with attendant deleterious effects. At 

 the same time circumstances certainly arise occasionally 

 when judicious employment of something of the kind 

 may serve to combat and overcome the influences of long 

 spells of bad weather, sudden and unseasonable changes, 

 and the like, which set up a more or less debilitated state 



