556 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



Fig. 8. Bobwhite. 



the barn lot and feed with the poultry. A short time since a flock 

 of these birds frequented our garden and lawn. The call of "bob- 

 white" would greet us at the break of day, and the birds would 



whistle from the garden, 

 fence or the top of the 

 hencoop at all hours of 

 the day. We came to 

 feel a great affection 

 for the busy little fel- 

 lows, so that it was a 

 great personal loss 

 when they fell before 

 some hunter's gun or 

 met some other un- 

 timely end and returned 

 no more. These semi- 

 domesticated quail have 

 little chance of escape 

 from the gunner, as 

 they have learned to 

 trust mankind and have lost the sense of fear. 



A quail will eat from 500 to 1,000 weed seed in the course of 

 a few hours. It is difficult to estimate what a service a flock of the 

 useful little friends will perform during a summer on the ordinary 

 farm. Besides weed seeds, they are known to eat Colorado potato 

 beetles, striped squash beetles, boll weevils, chinch bugs, grass- 

 hoppers, cutworms and many other injurious insects. A pair of 

 quail are worth at least five dollars to a farmer as destroyers of 

 insects and weed seeds. The dead bodies are worth perhaps fifty 

 or seventy-five cents for food. Personally I had as soon a gunner 

 would shoot my poultry as to shoot quail on my premises. 



The number of these birds has been decreasing very rapidly 

 of late, especially within the past two years. Unless landowners 

 take the matter in hand and prohibit shooting on their premises, 

 we can look for no other end than the ultimate extermination of 

 the bobwhite, which is one of the finest birds still fairly plentiful 

 in most sections of the middle west. It is hard to understand why 

 farmers, who would resent any attack on their poultry yards, will 

 permit strangers to kill the last quail on the place and to shoot 

 every other wild bird as well. Too many buy guns, also, for their 

 own boys to aid in the destruction. 



