THE PHEASANT. 
99 
fails to show itself on the sudden and abrupt ap- 
pearance of an object. I spent some months in trying 
to overcome this timorous propensity in the pheasant; 
but I failed completely in the attempt. The young 
birds, which had been hatched under a domestic 
hen, soon became very tame, and would even receive 
fpod from the hand, when it was offered cautiously 
to them. They would fly up to the window, and 
would feed in company with the common poultry. 
But, if any body approached them unawares, off 
they went to the nearest cover with surprising ve- 
locity. They remained in it till all was quiet, and 
then returned with their usual confidence. Two of 
them lost their lives in the water by the unexpected 
appearance of a pointer, while the barn-door fowls 
seemed scarcely to notice the presence of the in- 
truder. The rest took finally to the woods at the 
commencement of the breeding season. This par- 
ticular kind of timidity^ which does not appear in 
our domestic fowls, seems to me to oppose the only, 
though at the same time an insurmountable, bar to 
our final triumph over the pheasant. After attentive 
observation, I can perceive nothing else in the habits 
of the bird, to serve as a clue by which we may be 
enabled to trace the cause of failure in the many 
attempts which have been made to invite it to breed 
in our yards, and retire to rest with the barn-door 
fowl and turkey. 
Though a preserve of pheasants is an unpopular 
thing, still I am satisfied in my own mind that the 
bird cannot exist in this country without one ; at 
the same time, I am aware that a preserve may be 
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