OF NEW ENGLAND. 395 



our uncouth language as "Bob White." The male is not now 

 constrained by fear, and, instead of any false pride, he has a 

 proper sense of his onn comely appearance. He knows that 

 he is attending adequately to his department in the great busi- 

 ness of nature, and is. entirely willing that any one should see 

 him. He has no fear of man, but he keeps an eye to the 

 hawks, cats, and those other predatory enemies, who respect 

 neither time, place, nor season. He is willing to take any 

 amount of the family responsibility ; Nature cannot ask too 

 much of him ; he will whistle to two or three wives if necessary ; 

 and lie will even accept the law of Moses, and assume the part 

 of husband towards his brother's widow. Should his wife pro- 

 pose a family of fifteen instead of nine, he does not complain ; 

 and, moreover, having escorted his young family about for a 

 short time, he is ready to go through this once or even twice 

 more. In fact, he carries his amiability and industry so far as 

 often to introduce a half-grown family to the rigors of winter, 

 so that it is not uncommon to find a covey of these little 

 "cheepers," when hardly able to fly, even in November. A 

 successful pair of Quail often turn out twenty-five young in a 

 season. During the period of incubation, the Quail often ap- 

 pear on our lawns, or on the walls and fences by the roadside. 

 Though their bills are especially adapted to crushing, and their 

 crops to dissolving small grains and seeds, they are also fond 

 of grubs, worms, and other insects, and are thus useful in de-- 

 stroying the farmer's pests. 



When the armistice granted by law and custom is over, the 

 male, with his family, seeks securer spots, becoming restless 

 and active. From this time forward, he seeks safety in con- 

 cealment and silence, and only betrays his presence by the 

 plaintive call which his "social instincts compel him to utter 

 when separated from his companions, or b}^ the treacherous 

 scent of his body, which he cannot retain. Besides being very 

 uncertain in his daily wanderings, especially to those who are 

 unfamiliar with the locality', he is to a certain extent migratory ; 

 but his migrations, unlike those of the true Quail of Europe, are 

 always performed on foot, so far as possible. We believe that 



