THE PHEASANT—ITS HABITS AND ITS ENEMIES.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 482, 21 June 1890, Page 2

THE PHEASANT—ITS HABITS AND ITS ENEMIES.

[To The Editor]

Bold and combative, when full grown it is a match for most of its foeß, but the chick is the prey of the hawk, cat, weazle and stoat. One of the latter will kill more birds than twenty guns in the hands of the worst pot hunters ; therefore I fear that in the districts into which the two last named prowling vermint have been introduced the noble bird will soon be extinct. What is this bird to the farmer? Not altogether a foe. It is very hard on young corn and potatoes, but in return it preys on pests far. worse to the farmer. It is a great fseder on crickets, beetles, and other noxious insects, as can be easily proved by examining the contents of its crop. This makes it,,a very valuable assistant to the t'ller of the soil, more especially to the grazier. Is it then a bird worthy of protection ? Yes, to my mind in another way, as shown by a report in a recentissue of your valuable paper, namely, as a valuable addition to our exports. Now that we have eo few products that show a respectable return over cost, suroly

if such a price as was stated in the repoit leferred to (i.e., 15s a brace) could be got for pheasants exported from Auckland to Melbourne, it might be worth the while of some of our sporting gentlemen to rent some "poor farm (on which there were sufficient shelter trees, which could be money-making items, such as wattle, gum, etc.), feed the young birds,kill and freeze them and export them to grace the tables of the rich epicures of large cities abroad ; and thereby kill more than the proverbial “two birds with one shot,” and have the sport raised to a valuable addition to our money making exports. There would also be a health giving pastime in connection with the raising of the young birds and planting shelter tree u , which would add to the beauty of the landscape of our province. It struck your humble servant as a little selfish on the part of pur Auckland ' spotts ’ to wish to stop the freezing of game when we have so few payable products. I do not wish to defend the pot. hunter who goes on other peoples land and kills wholesale the birds fed by another ; but were some such suggestion as mine adopted,and by encouraging the destruction of hawks and other such vermin our acclimitising friends could increase the number of birds for.the true sportsman, and have more birds than Aucklanders care to pay for. Besides if such a price as that referred to in your paper can be obtained why not encourage the rearing of such a handsome y plumed bird by our heavily taxed and too poorly remunerated farmer. The Sports would have pleasure in killing the birds in the proper season, and the Colonies export bill would be swelled, for, at such a price as that already referred to, pheasant rearing would pay better than breeding sheep, without rendering it necessary to reduce the latter in number. As I have shown, by its habits the pheasant might improve the grass and eat up some of our valueless corn, the consumption of which would improve the land by turning it into the most valuable manure, instead of as now, sending it away at a loss both to our pockets and tho lasting detriment to the soil. True the pheasant lias a destructive propensity l to pull up young clover seeds, maize, etc., but with proper care this danger could be reduced by deeper sowing This would be far better than legislating with a view of restricting the shooting and eating of this valuable tab'e bird to a favoured few. Such a proceeding would be sure to create class j alousy, and make the farmer the most obstinate foe of bitli the bird and the sportsman. I once lived on a farm of my father’s where six game keepers were employed to raise game, partridges in particular. The landlord was a nobleman who constantly complained that the keeper was the only one who really paid, so few birds were reared as compared with the costs. After a time another landlord reigned in tho place of the one I hav e just referred to, who said that any farmer who submitted to be over urn with ground vermin, hares, rabbits, etc., was very foolish, all lie re qaired was a good days partridge shotting, and if he could have tint, his tenants might do as they liked with the rest, and he would constitute them his only game keepers, and so both parties would share in the 6port; of course after he (the landlord) was satisfied. The result was an abundrnce of birds, no expense, and good will toward all parties. We do not require game laws in this beautiful land. The intio luetion of hares and rabbits have been baneful enough already, and I fear the introduction of their natural enemies, the stoat, polecat, and wenzle, etc,, will be as destructive as the evil. They are intended to remove poultry, and pheasants will be a scarcity wherever they’abound. Now Mr Editor, hoping this scribble will prove of interest to some of your readers, 1 remain, etc.,

Country BuMKin,