24 N. Taka-Tsukasa — Quail Breeding in Japan


folk. His third season finds him calling and listening up and down the

long green aisles, ever seeking his kindred spirit that shall walk and

work with him through the ever changing seasons. Should he find a

mate some preparation is made for the coming season, but usually

it is the fourth season before domestic duties are taken up in earnest.


And now, though my wanderings in the Mallee have come to an

end, and much of the Mallee is a waste of shifting sand, yet the solemn

booming wh-whoo-oome, whoo-oome of the Mallee cock still falls upon

my ear ; in the silence of evening and early morn it is heard, and the

sound recalls the days of my wanderings.


I do not now need to hunt the lonely bush-lands for this beautiful

creature and its wonderful mounds, for. within 30 yards of where I sit

and write there are two complete mounds, one of which has been

producing chicks for the past six years. The other belongs to a young

pair, and is their first attempt. The birds are content, and would not

leave, but because of the foxes they have to be enclosed in netted yards r

which include plenty of shady bush-cover. Here, with our shyest of

wild creatures, I have proved that we can save from utter destruction

Australia's valuable fauna. I have had good success with other species,

but I am proudest of the fact that I have won the confidence of this

most shy and retiring of Nature's children of the bush, and done what

was said to be an impossibility — bred these birds in captivity. Eggs

that I have weighed averaged two to the pound. They are of good

flavour, and are frequently hunted by the settlers for food.


The laws of nature are wise laws. The representatives of wild life,

native to each land and sea, we know, hold an important place in

nature, seemingly fitting into their places like bits of mosaic, each

important to all, all to each ; and subject to certain modifications, due

to civilization, the fauna of each country is best fitted to control the

balance of that country.



QUAIL BREEDING IN JAPAN


By N. Taka-Tsukasa, Tokyo, Japan

For many years the Japanese have kept Quails in captivity for the

sake of their song. Hence the song of the domesticated Quail has



