Feb. 1A friend remarked to mo the other Jday that he had seen a great many pheasants in the course of a walk, and that they were all, or nearly all, cock birds—at the same time asking me if T could explain this preponderance fof male birds: 1 had no explanation to give, but in the course of a subsequent walk I looked particularly for pheasants and counted heads to see how my figures would turn out. I was greatly helped by a hard frost which enabled me to walk practically straight across country, using frozen dams in crossing creeks Instead of bridges, and thus keeping well off the beaten track: in this way T put up many pheasants at close quarters and, in the course of an hour, counted fifteen hens and four cocks 'a result requiring some reconciliation with statement of my friend. And I think the following is the explanation. Owing to my method of procedure, walking alone, away from the beaten paths, I got much nearer to the birds and could not make any error: whereas when the birds are seen from a dis~ tance skimming low over the crops, females might easily be mistaken by an inexperienced observer for males. Also, the male Is for more nervous than the female: many times, if the birds are not closely "walked uj" the cocks will rise alone leaving the hens still in hiding swith the result that the cock birds may be far" more frequently seen by the casual observer. It may, in fact, be said that nature has made the cock pheasant much more con spicuous in every way than the hen:—the latter are far more important in carrying on the breed, since the males are polygamous and can easily be spared: hence our game laws (uch as they are) and the prohibition against selling hen pheasants, or even plucked birds, in the market....a curious. thought, Indeed, that it Is outside the law to shoot a hen pheasant while men are shooting one another daily, anywhere from Shanghai to Addis Ababa rs.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.