Vo l. 11, No. 4 
Page 2 
recently concluded an agreement for experimental management of vegetation on road¬ 
sides along Illinois Highway 47 in Ford and Livingston counties. Three, 1-mile 
segments of roadsides along both sides of highway 47 between Gibson City and 
Strawn will be seeded with brome ( Bromus spp.) and alfalfa ( Medicaqo sativa ) 
from the ditch to the right-of-way line. Treated segments in this phase of the 
experiment are to be separated by at least 1 mile of unseeded (control) roadsides. 
Seedings are scheduled for the last week of April. 
On a 4^-mile segment of roadside along highway 47, north of Strawn in 
Livingston County, there will be six replications of each of three fertilizer 
applications from the ditch to the right-of-way line: nitrogen only, phosphorus 
only, nitrogen and phosphorus combined. Control plots will receive no applications 
of fertilizer (six replications). Half of the fertilized and half of the control 
plots will be treated with a herbicide to control broad-leafed weeds. 
Treated segments of roadsides (seeded and fertilized portions and contrcs 
associated with fertilizer experiments) will not be mowed; mowing of ditches and 
shoulders will be done as usual along the treated segments, as will mowing of 
the entire control roadsides separated by seedings. 
The highway will be driven at frequent intervals during the spring and summer 
to compare the frequencies of pheasant roadkills along seeded and fertilized plots 
and associated controls. 
3. Factors Influencing Distribution and Abundance of Pheas a nts W. L. Anderson 
It seems likely that the factors dictating the distribution and abundance 
of pheasants in Illinois would manifest themselves within the physiological 
mechanisms carrying on life processes of individual birds. Hence, pheasants from 
poor pheasant range might be expected to differ physiologically from birds from 
good range. To pursue this line of reasoning, 10 juvenile hens each were collect¬ 
ed from poor range (Neoga Release Area in Cumberland County) and from good range 
(Ford and Livingston counties), during February 1968, and were dissected to 
determine weights of muscle groups, of fat deposits, and of internal organs. The 
"average" hen from poor range differed from the "average" hen from good range in 
having heavier body weight (901:865 g) , heavier sternal muscles (253: 237 g)> 
and smaller adrenal glands (70: 89 mg). These differences were significant at 
the 95 percent level of confidence; all other differences were not statistically 
significant. 
These findings prompted a reexamination of data obtained from hen pheasants 
collected in poor range and in good range in previous years. It soon became 
apparent that juvenile hens from poor range had, on the average, significantly 
smaller adrenals than juvenile hens from good range (mean weights of adrenals from 
juveniles collected during October 1966 and January 1967 were 70: 78 mg and 65: 
89 mg, respectively). Differences were not evident among adrenals from adult 
hens. If size of the adrenal is a reliable indicator of stress, the available 
data indicate that juvenile hens In poor pheasant range are subjected to less 
stress than those in good range. This is contrary to what might be expected. 
