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VOLUME XXXIX.-No. 3. NEW YORK, MARCH, 1880. NEW SERIES—No. 398. 
THE RINGED PHEASANT (Phasianus torquatos). —Drawn by Edwin Forbes. —Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
The strict preservation of game in England has 
its advantages, though a large share of the people 
think it a hardship. Still only in that, and other 
countries, where every one can not go about shoot¬ 
ing everything that flies, is it possible to have such 
birds as are shown in the engraving—not only have 
them, but in great abundance. The Pheasant oc- 
■ cupies a place midway between poultry and game. 
It can only be domesticated with considerable diffi¬ 
culty, and even when confined in an aviary, will 
destroy its beauty in its efforts to escape ; yet it is 
kept in its present plenty by the aid of the poultry 
keeper, great numbers of pheasant’s eggs being an¬ 
nually hatched by common hen6, and the young, 
when large enough, allowed to run wild. Though 
we speak of the English Pheasant, the bird is not a 
native of England, but comes from the ancient 
Asiatic province of Colchis, now known as Cauca¬ 
sus, having been brought to England so long ago 
that the tradition is lost. Besides the common 
Pheasant, with its rich colors of brown, green, pur¬ 
ple, and blue, there is the Ringed Pheasant from 
India and China, and chiefly distinguished from the 
other by a white ring that almost completely encir¬ 
cles the neck. This species is now almost as abun¬ 
dant in the English game preserves as the common 
one. Besides these two, there is the Bohemian 
Pheasant, of a silver-gray color throughout. These 
three species of Pheasant make up the immense 
flocks which stock the coverts on the large estates, 
and of which thousands are killed at the annual 
battue. We read accounts of the participation of 
royal personages and noblemen in pheasant shoot¬ 
ing, and those who do not know, may think it very 
noble sport for these great people to be engaged in, 
while in reality they deserve no more credit than if 
they should go into a barn-yard and shoot at the 
chickens. Those who are to shoot are given favor¬ 
able places, where they may sit if they please, while 
the game-keepers with dogs and much noise drive 
up the birds to be shot, and the slaughter goes on 
until the shooters—we can not regard them as 
sportsmen—are tired. Those who engage in such 
shooting, in which half-tame birds are knocked 
over, without a chance for their lives, apologize for 
its cruelty, by asserting that it is necessary for the 
good of the birds themselves. But for this, the 
natural increase would be so great that the birds 
would suffer by starvation, as the land would 
not naturally produce sufficient food for the 
immense numbers. Even now, large plantations 
of berry-bearing shrubs are made to support them. 
The Golden Pheasant of China is one of the 
most gorgeously-colored of birds, no description 
can give any idea of the richness of its plumage. 
It is said that the experiments made in the nat¬ 
uralization of this in England promise success. 
Copyright, 1880, bt Orange Judd Company. 
Entered at the Post Oppioe at New York, N. Y. p as Second Class Matter. 
