318 
TETRAO UMBELLUS. 
The pheasant generally springs within a few yards, 
with a loud whirring noise, and flies with great vigour 
through the woods, beyond reach of view, before it 
alights. With a good dog, however, they are easily 
found ; and at some times exhibit a singular degree of 
infatuation, by looking down from the branches where 
they sit, on the dog below, who, the more noise he 
keeps up, seems the more to confuse and stupify them, 
so that they may be shot down, one by one, till the 
whole are killed, without attempting to fly off. In such 
cases those on the lower limbs must be taken first ; for, 
should the upper ones be first killed, in their fall they 
alarm those below, who immediately fly off. In deep 
snows they are usually taken in traps, commonly dead 
traps, supported by a figure 4 trigger. At this season, 
when suddenly alarmed, they frequently dive into the 
snow, particularly when it has newly fallen, and, coming 
out at a considerable distance, again take wing. They 
are pretty hard to kill, and will often carry off a large load 
to the distance of two hundred yards, and drop down 
dead. Sometimes, in the depth of winter, they approach 
the farm house, and lurk near the barn, or about the 
garden. They have also been often taken young, and 
tamed, so as to associate with the fowls ; and their 
eggs have frequently been hatched under the common 
hen; but these rarely survive until full grown. They 
are exceedingly fond of the seeds of grapes; occa- 
sionally eat ants, chestnuts, blackberries, and various 
vegetables. Formerly they were numerous in the 
immediate vicinity of Philadelphia ; but, as the woods 
were cleared and population increased, they retreated 
to the interior. At present there are very few to be 
found within several miles of the city, and those only 
singly, in the most solitary and retired woody recesses. 
The pheasant is in best order for the table in Sep- 
tember and October. At this season they feed chiefly 
on whortleberries, and the little red aromatic partridge- 
berries; the last of which give their flesh a peculiar 
delicate flavour. With the former our mountains are 
literally covered from August to November; and these 
