Vol. XXVIII. 

 igii 



1 Keartl.\nd, The Alteration of the Quail Season. 91 



opening day would l^e the 14th February. I visited several 

 paddocks on the previous Saturday to try and locate a few 

 birds, but nearly every adult quail found was accompanied by 

 a brood of little ones. I then received an invitation to a farm, 

 where, I was assured, there were some good birds. I went 

 there on the opening day, and found some three-parts-grown 

 chickens, probably a month old, scattered about the stubble, 

 but nearly every adult bird had its brood of little ones or was 

 sitting on eggs. I saw about a dozen broods with only wing 

 feathers, all the rest of the body and head being covered with 

 down. When flushed they all went in one direction — towards 

 the top of the hill. Passing on to a grass flat some distance 

 off, I shot a few brace of birds, which went off wildly when 

 disturbed, showing by their mode of flight that they had 

 nothing to detain them. On my return in the evening I was 

 disgusted to see four shooters, with their dogs, beating just 

 where the young ones had gone in the morning. They must 

 have fired over one hundred cartridges in a very short time, 

 six or seven shots being fired as fast as they could load. One of 

 the sportsmen could not find his bird, and, as I was going to pass 

 near where it fell, I set my dog to work, and she soon pointed 

 the victim. It proved to be a chicken, not larger than the end 

 of my thumb, and was lying in a hole made by a cow's hoof. 

 As its leg and wing were broken, I killed it. On showing it to 

 some shooters they assured me "There were plenty like that 

 shot to-day. They all count." They explained that the craze 

 for big scores was responsible for their conduct. All the adult 

 hen birds I shot were full of eggs. 



On i8th Feliruary I went with a friend to another farm, 

 where I found three clutches of eggs, from which the birds had 

 been shot earlier in the morning. There were eleven, nine, and 

 seven eggs respectively in the nests. In another paddock my 

 dog " ])ointed " at a tussock, which I kicked, thinking it con- 

 cealed a rabbit. As the dog would not leave the spot, I laid 

 down my gun and parted the grass, and soon captured a female 

 quail, uninjured. My friend took it home alive, and placed it 

 in an aviary by itself. Next morning he found that it had laid 

 an egg. I have not been out since, as the few old birds have 

 been shot, and there are no young ones coming on. 



The best proof of the absurdity of the last alteration of the 

 opening day of the season is to be gained by a perusal of the 

 Fish Market reports in the daily press. During May, quail 

 realized up to 2s. per brace by auction. What the consumers 

 had to pay my hearers may be able to. guess. On inquiry at 

 our leading game-sellers' shop I was informed that " quail are 

 very scarce — in fact, there are none coming into the market.'' 

 Is it any wonder that quail are scarce when they have only been 



