The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-03-18
Pheasant-B Breeding in the United States.


netting with two-inch meshes, and from
the surface I'm which it is securely en-
bedded, il rises TO height OF ten feet.
In the summer time one can hear the mu-
steal "pccping" Of the little fedglings,
and 1.-THE answering "clucking" OF the
mother hen, with an occasional cry from
the cocks in the breeding pens as some
thing startles them. The noise they make
sounds like the first tentative efforts Of
"A young rooster, except that whereas
the latter flaps his wings and crows after
wards. the former drums" and then
sounds his note In drumming they
move their wings so rapidly that they
seem like gauze.
The laying season begins about the mid
die OF April, and before that time all
the birds that are wanted for this pur-
pose are caught from the open field,
where they have run all winter and put
ina huge pens. These are eighteen feet
square or whereabouts, and are arranged
in one large rectangle. with alleys be-
tween each alien ate double row, so that
access can be had 10 them through doors
or gates left in the wire meshing for
that purpose. The corr ers are daTkened
with waterproof hoods smeared with a
dislnfectng mixture, as indeed is every
thing about the place. These retreats are
for the birds 20 lay under. The pens be-
ing in an apple orchard. the leaves afford
shade. and worms and larvae also, for the
Unsuitable crops beneath. Clumps OF
grass are left TO grow about in spots, the
rest Of the ground being ioosened 70 en-
courage bathing" and scratching. Five
hens are put in with one cock, and unless
they do not get along well together, the
family is not disintegrated until the end
of nd "A
kept in one field. Birds one year old are
preferred for laying the older ones being
sold off TO preserves where they viii be
less confined. TWO or three years in such
small quarters make u difference in their
powers Of propagation, but they recuper-
ate rapidly in the woods. Great care
is exercised in choosing healthy birds,
but II a weak one should be discovered
and they are rare-his neck is wrung
on the spot for Mr.. De Guise has no
hospital for contagious diseases. Sick
ness, 10 reiterate. is not frequent enough
to require one The manner Of catching
the birds to put in the pens is simple.
They are driven into q large box, com
modious enough to allow two attendants
to get inside comfortably, with the top
and sides covered with bagging to prevent
injury to the captives in their efforts to
escape. Wide wings" Of wire netting
extend out into the field from the en-
trance 10 the box, and when a man is
sent 10 walk slowly towards the birds all
within the radious Of the wings run wild
ly 10 their fate They do not try to fly
unless startled, but their legs carry them
along very fast. once inside they are
handed out one at time TO have a wing
clipped Even in this condition they
make strenuous attempts to fly when
..r.. fYfer Ind
sOmeIsaults in the air. only TO come down
unceremoniously and try again.
The average hen will Jay about forty
eggs in the interval from the beginning of
the season TO the middle Of July, when
it is practically over During this period
the birds are fed twice a day-in the fore
noon on a mixture of cracked dog-biscuit,
meal, and pulverized oyster-shells. soften
ed with milk, and in the afternoon the
diet is changed TO grain. With the APP
pearance of the first eggs attendants begin
10 go around in the late afternoon, near
sunset. with fiat-bottomed baskets in
which to collect them. This is done every
day, as regular as clock-work, for the
Matching is not done by the pheasants.
but by common barn-yard hens.
Several weeks before the first eggs are
laid the farmers I'm the neighborhood are
notified that sitting hens will be needed
at the pleasantly. and soon after ALI
Fools day they begin to bring in all their
surplus stock. These are purchased at
market prices and confined in ventilated
boxes arranged in tiers inside the barn.
the hens being satisfied TO sit on p0rce-
lain eggs until needed for actual utility.
When the pheasants have supplied enough
eggs. the work Of putting the latter down
Is begun. Back of the barn. on a gentle
slope. are long rows Of oblong coops
each one consisting Of a closed box with
a removable lid for the nest. and dimin-
utive yard few square feet in area for
the hen to exercise in. This is enclosed
by wire netting and provided with a
sci arate drinkingpan Of earthen-ware.
From fifteen to eighteen eggs are set in
each nest. the number depending upon
the size of the hen, which may be ban
tam or a Plymouth Rock. When she is
very large she may take twenty, for they
are smaller than her own, light green in
color and so rich that only their eXpen-
s.Veness precludes their coming into gene
raj use for salads and mayonnaises. Each
one is tested to see that il is not cracked
and the date of the setting is marked on
the top of the nest box. The period Of in
cubaton is twenty-four days, and should,
In the daily inspection. any hen show a
disposition TO shirk her duties. she is
promptly disqualified, and another is sub
sututed. But generally they are assidu-
GUS. and remain at their posts till the
end.
When the young birds begin to appear,
before the 1st. Of June, the constantly
increasing duties Of the attendants reach
their maximum. Every evening the coops
are examined 70 collect the little peppers,
from whence they are transferred In bas-
kets TO one Of the enclosed fields, in
which light wooden coops are set down in
regular rows in the grass. Around each
OF them IS a little space fenced In with
boards. and while the foster-mother is
secured inside. the chicks can run out be-
tween the Stats into this yard. BY the
time they have become strong enough TO
lean the low walls Of their prison, they
have also learned TO know the "cluck'
NJ their protector, and where TO come
hack at nightfall. Six times a day they
are fed on a sort Of custard, made or
tracked pheasant eggs and milk from
which the whey has been expressed
when two months old they are trapped
and removed 70 another field, having no
fm ther need for the shelter Of their moth
rs wirgs. The number Of feelings ~
reduced In the mean time TO
tbree q day and the food becomes more
substantial by the addition Of grain. They
srow wilder every day, and II is dlincuit
10 get more than a momentary glimpse |
n them as they dart through The grass |
ruetling the blades like summer breeze.
nv October. the early birds have attained !
IN fun growth. passing the winter undls-
prhed and with need for little care. The |
,nlv discomfort they undergo is In the |