32 
HIGH PHEASANTS : 
lower edge of the ornament of the chimney, from the top of 
the latter, is 20 yds., though it looks, owing to its height 
above ground, far less than a score yards. An overhead 
pheasant merely the length of this part of the chimney 
above a shooter could not be called a very low bird ! 
The solidity of the chimney referred to takes away from its 
real height and deceives the eye, which is no doubt the reason 
why it is often said not to be higher than the height at which a 
pheasant could be killed. The chimney near Lord's is 14 yds. 
higher than the Monument to the Fire of London, the total 
height of which is 67 yds., and if you stand near the base of 
the latter you would never for a moment imagine a pheasant 
could be killed at its summit ! Nelson's Column, including the 
statue, is 54 yds., and the Duke of York's is 46 yds., with the 
figure. Both these columns are good examples of heights 
in relation to high pheasants.^ 
Again, if you go into the inclosure round the north side of 
St. Paul's Cathedral, and look up at the pigeons fluttering 
about the cornice of the main building, it would seem as if 
they could not be killed with a game-gxm ; and yet this cornice 
is only 100 ft. above ground. This gives a good idea of the 
distance at which a bird 33 yds. overhead appears, compared 
to what it does when seen horizontally. A pheasant could easily 
be killed at the cornice of St. Paul's, and perhaps, by a rare 
chance, at the top of the Duke of York's Column ; but not 
at the top of Nelson's Column, and most certainly not at the 
top of the Monument. 
It may be noted that the capital of the Duke of York's 
Column (in which the railings are fixed) is only 36 yds. above 
1 All books of reference differ as to the heights of these monuments, but the 
details given above may be taken as correct. 
