VOI..  XXXIV.  Ko.  10. 
WIIOl.E  No.  13!H.  » 
NEW  YORK  C!T¥^  OCT.  1 U876^ _ 
rKntored  iiccordinK  to  Act  of  Con«ro8s,  in  the  year  1.471!,  by  the  Uaral  VubllahlnK  Company.  »  .  the  offloo  of  the  T,lbrarlan  of  OonKroas  at  WashinKton.i 
1*KI(;K  SI3C  OKNTS 
TKIt  VKAIt. 
®|JC 
“ABOUT  PHEASANTS.” 
Can  you  1*11  us  anything  about  what  aro 
in  Eui  iipft  naJltiil  PhoaHants,  csja'ciully  the  breed 
termed  llohcinian  Piioiisaiits  'i  Can  those  breeds 
bo  crossed  or  hybridized  with  other  breeds  or 
fllK-cles  of  fowls'?  IJv  .'inswenng  tho  above  you 
will  much  obligo  W.  Stockman,  Huron  Vo,, 
Mich. 
Tho  term  Pheasant  Is  applied  to  various  sptj- 
ciea  of  birds,  M<irne  closely  allied  and  others 
somewhat  distantly  related.  Tho  term  ITioasant 
belongs  to  the  restrit;tcil  genu.s  Phasiarntu,  and 
tho  l)irdH  are  remaikablo  for  tho  facility  with 
which  they  interbreed  and  tho  circumstance  that 
tho  cro.sR-bred  progeny  arc  perfectly  fertile. 
To  more  clearly  show  the  appearance  of  some 
of  those  birds,  we  reproiluoe  an  illustration 
(which  we  hud  ougravetl  for  tho  RtniAL  in  bSTd) 
of  Bohemian  and  Hybrid  lieeves  Pheasants  va¬ 
rieties  which  have  attracted  considerable  atten¬ 
tion  in  Europe,  (.if  the  two  figures  represented 
in  onr  engraving,  one,  tho  Bohemian,  would  on 
all  hand.')  ho  regarded  as  a  more  variety  which, 
like  all  varintions,  may  at  any  time  recur  with¬ 
out  any  known  or  api>arcnt  cause.  It  was  un¬ 
doubtedly  deriviid  from  tho  common  species, 
whicli  it  resembles  in  all  respects  except  color, 
i  The  feathers  of  tho  sides  and  lower  part  of  tho 
nock  have  a  deep  margin  of  a  blackish  blue ; 
those  on  the  back  of  tho  neck  a  narrow,  dark 
edge,  with  a  central  spot  of  black,  Tho  mark¬ 
ings  on  tho  back  and  other  parts  are  the  same  as 
tho  common  Pheasant.  Tho  size  of  the  Bohe¬ 
mian  Pheasant  varies  considerably,  but  tho  ex¬ 
treme  length  from  bill  to  tail  of  an  ordinarily 
good  specimen  is  about  35  inches,  of  which  tho 
tail  is  about  20.  Tho  length  of  tho  female  is 
aViout  10  inches  less  than  tho  malo. 
Tho  ni)pcr  figure  in  our  illustration  represents 
a  hybrid  between  the  Bcoves  or  Barred  -  tail 
Pheasant  and  a  Boliomian  hen.  In  size  tho 
bird  is  Larger  than  the  common  species,  but  the 
markings  are  somewhat  dllTiwent.  In  ladoration 
the  beauty  of  the  Reeves  is  almost  lost ;  the  gen¬ 
eral  tint  of  tho  body  is  a  bright,  rich  chestnut. 
Wo  think  it  might  ho  a  prolltahlo  opeviition 
for  our  iKUiltry  faucici's  to  iiuiwrt  some  of  thoso 
Pheasunts  and  let  them  loose  uimn  tliO  high 
table  lauds  of  North  ('arolina  and  Virginia, 
where  they  woukl  probably  multiply  rapidly  and 
in  a  few  years  becomo  abundant,  Kuch  things 
have  been  done  in  Europe  and  might  bo  done 
here  j  and  tlioro  is  certainly  room  for  an  entor- 
fwising  man  to  experiment  in  this  direction  to 
almost  any  extent,  but  we  cannot  give  him  much 
encouragement  to  expect  great  ])rotits. 
POULTRY  IN  LARGE  FLOCKS. 
In  answer  to  “(^uestiona  about  Poultry,”  page 
I  would  say : 
It  has  been  proved  over  and  over  again  Hint 
poultry  do  not  snc*ccd  when  kofit  in  largo  nnm- 
bors  in  conliiK-d  space,  and  in  every  instance 
imbllshed  to  tho  contrary  it  has  upon  investiga¬ 
tion  turned  out  to  bo  misstated,  and  in  one  or 
two  noted  cases  tho  statements  were  complete 
fabrications,  without  the  slightest  foundation  in 
truth, 
I  have  had  oxperioneo  on  an  extensive  scale 
for  50  years.  I'Votn  IH'25  to  bSilo  my  mother 
kept  fowls  at  three  liomesteatls  in  England— the 
Rectory  farm,  tho  old  barns  and  yard  in  tho  vil¬ 
lage  of  Bourton,  and  at  tlie  Dunstalo  farm.  Her 
profits  from  tho  throe  flocks  were  on  an  average 
about  t‘30  (if  150)  each.  I  was  her  i-ighbhand 
man  all  through  my  boyhood.  During  this  pc- 
