OF NORTH AMERICA. QT 
There is no game bird more universally 
known and admired, for to the sportsman he 
affords a tempting mark as he flushes before 
the dogs, and whirrs off through the sharp 
air of autumn, his little body blending closely 
with the gray-brown of the fading fohage, 
to drop, after a short flight, in the first con- 
venient covert, where he is soon located by the 
keen scent of the dog, to fall perhaps, at the 
gun’s report. The bobwhite frequents the 
semi-open fields and pastures which afford 
him cover in the short brush and food in the 
open. At night, clustered together, the flock 
passes the sleeping hours, and during bad 
weather, in these same covers, and often in 
severe storms of sleet, they are frozen under 
by the accumulation of the frozen snow, to mis- 
erably perish. I know of none of our game 
birds whose very existence is so constantly in 
danger; a prey to the prowling fox by night, 
and chased and harassed by birds of prey by 
day , added to the other evils of destruction. It 
is a wise provision of Providence that they 
are so prolific, a single hen bringing up each 
year two litters of ten to fourteen chicks. 
They feed upon insects and the seeds of 
weeds, and no better ally can the farmer have 
for the protection of his crops than a few 
coveys of quail in his fields. 
