PHEASANT REARING 
some of the grain on the top of the rotten straw at the bottom of the straw 
stacks — of which there should be one or two in each covert — and then 
turn all over with a fork, burying the grain lightly beneath the straw. 
The pheasants will then spend much time, and find much occupation, in 
scratching for the hidden grain, instead of wandering about the fields. 
Self-acting feeders are often of use, particularly in places which cannot 
be visited conveniently every day, as a hungry bird can thus obtain a 
meal when the scattered grain has been all picked up. If pheasants should 
attack newly-sown corn sprouting in the fields, a sure way of checking 
them is to soak similar grain in a decoction of quassia, and scatter it 
thinly over the top of the ground which they are frequenting. They dis- 
like the taste so much they will very soon cease to trouble that field, and 
in a few days the young plants will have passed the attractive stage for 
the pheasants. 
R. F. MEYSEY-THOMPSON. 
133 
