58 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



dom try to fly until they are well 

 grown^ when they learn the way back 

 anrl forth, getting range and natural 

 food outside, but returning to the en- 

 closure at feeding time. When fully 

 fledged they can be caught readily in 

 traps and disposed of as desired. 



(Quails are managed in the same gi'U- 

 ('i"il way as pheasants, with modifica- 

 tions due to the fact that the species is 

 monogamous. The common bobwhite 

 breeds best Avhen separated arbitrarily 

 into pairs, a1)out the first of April, and 

 each pair placed in a small, separate 

 enclosure about eight by four feet in 

 size, with a thick brush liea|) at each 

 end and a little l)oard shelter for 

 storms. Each hen usually lays from 

 twenty to forty eggs a season, some- 

 times more. She will seldom incubate 

 her own eggs in captivity, and it is best 

 to rear The young with bantams. The 

 eggs ai'e so small and fragile that large 

 hens would surely crush them. For the 

 first week after the hatching treat the 

 young quails like pheasants, then re- 

 lease the hen and let bei- roam with the 

 brood, as they are by that time strong 

 enough to follow. 



Other kinds of (|uail which can be 

 raised are the California, Gambel's, 

 scaled or "blue." and mountain species. 

 All l)ut the last are southern forms. Init 

 all ean stand cold under restraint, cer- 

 tainly when fed and sheltered froin 

 storms, and ])robably. with some care. 

 could be aecliiiiated U) conditions of 

 medium severity, as scaled quails from 

 ^Mexico ha\e been bred and wintered 

 free in northern Connecticut, by United 

 States Senator (icorge 1'. ^rclA'an.— 

 altlioiii^li one storm took lieavv toll of 



M,ill;inl .•--sl):iti-liini.'at('l(.vt- Villi, ■v( 'lull, im-.iv Vi-i-l>;iiik. Xeu V(irk 



them. Of the scaled and mountain 

 quails the sexes resemble each other 

 and cannot with certainty be segre- 

 gated, but fortunately all these four 

 species breed when put together, each 

 kind by itself, in a larger enclosure. 



The common partridge or ruffed 

 grouse, which is very hardy and might 

 be supposed to be one of the easiest to 

 breed, is in reality one of the most dif- 

 ficult, owing to peculiar traits, espe- 

 cially the pugnacity of the male, "^riiey 

 are raised in confinement in small num- 

 bers, but it requires a separate large 

 wire enclosure for each pair, making 

 the cost prohibitive as a business propo- 

 sition. Experiments, however, are un- 

 der way, and some solution may yet be 

 found. There are other kinds of grouse 

 yet to be made sid)jects of careful study, 

 notably the "prairie chickens" of the 

 West. Likewise there is an extensivi- 

 field with many foreign species of galli- 

 naceous birds. 



Our native wild turkey is beginning 

 to be bred successfully under restraint. 

 This undertaking requires a consider- 

 al)le tract of field and woodland en- 

 closed with high wire fencing. Like 

 the domestic variety, the wild form is 

 sensitive to diseases of captivity, and 

 the young have to be managed very 

 carefully. ^lost of the stock sold as 

 "wild"" turkeys are only domestic ones 

 or crosses. 'i'lie domestic bird has a 

 white or light buft'y tip to the tail and 

 the same light edging to the feathers 

 of the rump, whereas these correspond- 

 ing feathers of the true eastern form 

 WW dark' rustv In'ownand reddish Itrown 

 or maroon i-es])ectively. 



TJie l)ree(ling of wild waterfowl is a 

 most fascinating ])ui'suit. 

 esi)ecially the breeding of 

 wild ducks, and also of 

 some geese and swans. 

 The main re(iuisite is a 

 small ]iond. ])ref!'ral)ly 

 marshy. An acre or two 

 is an ideal size, although 

 for fewer birds one mucli 



