HIGH PHEASANTS 
67 
to shooting at the birds I tested some of the cartridges I was 
about to use, and found that at Petitts's pads they showed 
excellent penetration at 40 yds. horizontal. 
The pheasants were attached, one at a time as required, 
to a small framework of cane. Their wings, heads, and 
bodies were fastened to the framework by wire, in an 
extended position as if they were flying, so that each 
bird, when suspended to the kite-string, offered the usual 
target presented by a high pheasant passing directly above 
the shooter. 
The three heights, 40, 50, 60 yds., were represented by 
three lengths of cord, accurately measured to correspond. 
For instance, if a bird was to be suspended at a height of 
40 yds., then it had the 40 yds. length of cord attached 
to its legs, and was sent aloft till the cord was stretched tight 
to the hand of the person who held its lower end, and who 
stood beneath the bird, and close to the shooter. 
The birds suspended at the higher elevations were treated 
in the same way, the longer cords being, of course, employed 
to determine their altitudes. 
During the trials, the wind was slight, and the birds hung 
so steadily that they would, to all appearance, have been 
easy to hit with a rook-rifle. With a gun it seemed impossible 
to avoid ' plastering ' them all over, especially as, in order to 
make certain of placing plenty of pellets in them for the 
test, so many carefully aimed shots were fired at each bird 
without lowering it to the ground. The details of what 
happened are given on the next page. 
F2 
