Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-08-28
QDbl0i Statesr1ar1.
NnpoIeon,s7 s7Pheaan nt 7Preserye.

- The Imperial ipheasantryI covers eight
hundred and forty-two acres of the forest
of FOntainbleau. 1t is managed by ten
men !; four keepers, two pheasant men, two
Servants and two egg-hdhteTs. There are,
besides, eight night1watchmen who shoot
hawks, owls, and other birds and beasts
which destroy game At the season of the
yeRr'when the hen pheasauts begin to lay
eggs, they are each of them inclosed in
circular wired coop. All these coops are
placed in field set apart torithis purpose.
AS fast as the hen pheasanUs lay eggs; the
latter are taken and placed under hen chick
ems, who hatch them, so the henipheasants
continue TO lay eggs during the whole sea-
son without Interruption June is the
month when most OF these eggs are hatch
ed.5 AS the pheasants are hatched, they are
| placed in great baskets, wadded at the bot
| tom and sides with loose wool, where they
cluster and move and get on each other like
cray fish in a iishermah's basket. AS fast
as possible they are placed in long white
| boxes, divided into two unequal portions.
The small portion is occupied by the hen
chicken, and it is divided from the larger
portion by wide bars which allow the
| pbeasants to come and 60 at will, but keeps
the brooding hen from their food, which is
placed at the furtherend of thebOx. This
4
/ Fontainbleau, 1t cannot belobtained in sui
ficient quantities. 1t is ants eggs Every
morning before daybreak, the two egg
hunters go. in light carts to ant-hills inthe
| forest and open them with a trowel. They
I take all the eggs they find in them, and sift
\ them on their return home. Once every
\ fortnight the same ant-hills will afford q
| supply of eggs, but as each egg
hunter is expected to bring home daily two
hundred quarts of eggs, a great many anti
hills are necessarily visited every morning.
This hunt is extremely annoying. The
ants, whose castle Is invaded and sacked,
4 sally forth In numbers and sting the hun
! tiers, pouring into the puncture 1Ormie acid
| Chat acid more corrosive than vitrQl, and
4 which the modern chemists can make
with sugar. which irritates the cpl
4 dermis In painful manner. "a The
| young Ipheasants require in q addi-
| tlon to the four hundred quarts of ants
| eggs brought by the egg-hunters, one lIun-
dred quarts of porridge, which is made Of
hardboiled eggs, meal, and some other in-
gradients, all chopped-fine. The imperial
| lheasantry at Fontainbleau annually pro-
| duces 6,000 pheasants, l,500 gray partTidges,
and 600 Chinese partTidges, California coli
! ihs, silver and golden pheasaIts. While
the pheasants are under the care OF, the
| brood hen they are subject to a dysentery,
which is fatal to a great many of them.
/ No specific for this disease has been discov-
ered.I When the pheasants leave the brood
hen, they are placed under coops in shady
| places to gain strength; here they remain
for a fortnight, and then they are let loose
| in The underground of the preserve. This
| underground consists of young oaks, plant
| ed close together and Topped breast high.
| This looping causes them to throw out a
| great many thick-leaved lateral branches,
i which give the phests;lnts the shade and
| humidity they like. They are now free,
and if they are wise, they fly off into the
1 forest where they are secure from gun,
and take the hardships With the security OF
| liberty. Few; perhaps none Of them. are 81
sagaciOus3 or so strong-willed as to, resist
the pleasure of being fed daily with regn-
lhrity and abundance. Every evening at
! four O'clock mashed boiledpOtatoes are dis
1 tributed to them. At the appointed hour
4 the whole lawn of the preserve is, covered
4 with silver, golden, red, ordinary and Chi
! 1ese pheasants, partridges, collins, present.
4 ing most animated and interesting spec
taCle. But this feeding by hand and this
/ food sdomesticates the bird and destroys
bis game flavor, and makes, shooting such
| Wild fowl as tame as barnyard massacre.
| -LetteT from Parts. ii lH ingdi hrg'tYI M