The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-08

Chicago Record Herald.
 So little has been written regarding pheasants that few persons realize the pleasure and profit derived from them. Yet they are the most interesting, beau tiful and profitable of birds. The pheas- ant family Is of ancient origin, found in China, Japan and India. There are twenty-eight distinct varieties, all rich in color. beauty and grace.
 One advantage of these birds is that they may be kept in the most limited space in a small garden. They require far less care and room than chickens. The amount of grain required for one chicken will feed three phcasants.
 The golden pheasant !G my favorite, and I have some beautiful ones which are as playful and tame a1 kittens. The brilliant plumage is beyond description. and must be seen to be appreciated. The hens are a quiet rich brown beautifully penciled with black. the breast having a slightly yellow tinge. The legs are a bright yellow. The cock has a long crest of bright straw color. The tippet or collar is of deep orange, each feather edged with blue-black. The breast is a rich dazzling red, the tail brown with black spots. and having a few stiff red feathers on each side.
 Except during the molting period they are very lively. On pleasant days the cock dances to and fro in the cage from morning until night, displaying his tlppet first on one side. then on the other. Sometimes he will stand on his perch, drop his wings and spread the rich gold feathers on his back. displaying the exquisite steel blue wing coverts. green shoulders and dazzling red breast, whbstling a clear. sweet song as he turns from side to side. Or he will spread his tail. which as a rule is twent:'-six or twenty-seven inches long. sweeping 1t gracefully as he walks to and fro.
 Feathers Are Valuable.
 Nearly all the cock feathers are val uable. The crest comes first. then the tip pet, next the red breast. saddle and cen ter tail feathers. All are used in fly making. The golden pheasant is a na- tive of India, yet these birds will stand the coldest of weather. They have no combs to freeze and much prefer roost- ing out in the snow or rain.
 The eggs are pure white, smaller than bantam egg and they hatch in twenty three days. The cochin bantam makes an ideal foster mother, as the pheasants rarely sit in captivity As soon as the ltt;e ones leave the shell they are as lively crickets and are q beautiful sight. The stripes of yellow and brown resemble those of the gopher. When they feather out they look like young part ridges. The male and female can be dis tinguished only by the eye. the female having brown eyes, while those of the male are white.
 From the time they come from the shell until they attain their full plum age the second year they are a constant surprise and source of delight. They are extremely neat and fastidioU,s in their habits
 The English ringneck is q cross between the Chinese ringneck and English pheas- ant. When the Romans invaded Eng land they brought pheasants from their native country. which in time came to be called English pheasants They be- came very numerous but as the country became thickly settled they were in time confined chiefly in game preserves. Tho close inbreeding caused them to dimin- ish in size and in strength. and to save them. the Chinese ringneck was intro duced. and the present English ringneck is the cross between the two.
 The plumage of the male is heautiful the Colors rich and changeable. the breast shading from deep red to violet green and bronze. The head is a dark green blue and violet, with a white ring around the neck. The red wattles on each side of the head are very bright during the breeding season and the bird when ex- cited will expand them until they meet over the head. forming two bright red fans. He also erects the tufts of teath- CTS which resemble horns on each side of his head.
 English Ringneck Hardy.
 The English rtngneck Is very hardy and the flesh Is a great treat The feath- CTS oring good price for millinery pur- poses the breast alone making a band several inches wide and twenty-four inches long. The colors are not so bril- liant as those of the golden pheasant but rich and beautiful. The hens are a somber brown. Their eggs are a green ish gray almost round and larger than the golden eggs. It costs much less to feed a hen, as they consume quantities of green food. clover, lettuce and onion tons being their favorites.