ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE 103 



Whether this be an advantage to the orchardist or not depends upon conditions. Thus 

 Judd"^ cites one case of an apple tree pruned severely two years in succession, yet produc- 

 ing "barrels of apples, all nearly perfect and fair, just the result of a vigorous trimming." 

 On the other hand, Bartlett'^, described an orchard planted on fertile land and well cared 

 for throughout, one side of which adjoined inhabited grouse cover. The production record 

 for both portions was about the same until the birds discovered the apple buds in the block 

 closest to their covert. The result is described in these words: 



"In the spring the broken ends of limbs and white spots where buds had been taken 

 were so numerous that the trees looked white as you approached this section of the 

 orchard. As you came nearer casual observation would almost make you believe that 

 no fruit would set. and that very few leaves would appear. At blossom time, flowers 

 were few and scattered. At fruit picking time, these trees had apples of very good quality, 

 but not 50 per cent of the amount of fruit in bushels borne by the other sections of the 

 orchard which had not been budded. The owner set the shortage of fruit at 200 barrels." 



One must bear in mind, however, that the latter represents the exception rather than the 

 rule, considering grouse range in general. And today, throughout the Northeast, one finds 

 abandoned many farms from which damage complaints once originated. Then. too. hunters 

 in increasing numbers, dissatisfied with the slower ring-necked pheasant, are again turning 

 their attention to grouse. One has but to advertise a concentration of birds sufficient to 

 cause damage, to interest local sportsmen in assisting in their control. 



Grouse as a Game Crop 



With the outlawing of market hunting, the shooting of grouse became a sport to be indulged 

 in primarily for recreation. Furthermore, the harvesting of the crop each year has con- 

 tributed in many ways to the revenue of many states and the income of their citizens. 



Tt has been estimated that the justly famous red grouse moors of Scotland and England 

 I>rought in about 1,300,000 pounds ($6..'500.000) in gross rent per year before World War TI. 

 In Scotland the "glorious 12th" (August) which commences the shooting season is a sporting 

 and social event of the first rank. The railroads run special "grouse trains" and the day is 

 celebrated in song and story. On these moors was provided shooting of a kind largely un- 

 known in this country, since it was not unusual for a relatively few shooters to kill in excess 

 of 6000 birds in a good year on a sinp;le properly managed moor. Over here, ducks, pheasants 

 and Hungarian partridges occasionally reach concentrations which miciht permit bags of simi- 

 lar size, though largely on private shooting preserves. But the ruffed grouse is not particu- 

 larly gregarious and though it has been known to reach fall concentrations as high as one 

 bird per two and a half acres, in individual coverts, efforts to maintain such abundance have 

 not been successful. Yet. for its sporting attributes, the bird is particularly esteemed among 

 a large group of sportsmen who glory in the difficulties of the hunt. It is widely distributed 

 and occupies for the most part land on which no hunting restrictions have been placed. These 

 factors combine in New York alone to put tenfold more nimrods in the field in its pursuit 

 than take gun to himt the red grouse throughout the entire British Isles. 



No figures as to the number of grouse actually killed in any one of the several states are 

 available today nor is the number of hunters seeking the species accurately known. In fact, 

 but twelve states have even set up the machinery to gather aught save the most general of 

 estimates on their game take. Even in New York, where the law requires such records of 

 every licensee and all are tabulated each year, the actual number of grouse taken is substan- 

 tially in excess of that reported. In a normal year, when sportsmen's license returns indicate 



