892 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 
wherever the birds are not suspicious of man, they often take 
to a tree, if pursued by a yelping cur or spaniel, and, appa- 
rently in a state of stupid wonder, allow the sportsman to walk 
up and shoot them. Except in the wilderness, however, it has 
never been my good fortune to have a covey wait, while, be- 
ginning with the lowest on the tree, I might shoot them one by 
one. This undoubtedly is and can be done, if the birds are 
wholly unsophisticated, but I caution young sportsmen against 
too firm a belief and too high hopes founded on such reports. 
Even with the very best of dogs, the newest kind of breech- 
loader, the very acme of skill, and an abundance of birds, it 
is very rarely the case that a good bag is made. The birds 
seldom lie well to a dog, but steal away so rapidly on foot, that, 
if the dog is slow and staunch, they get away altogether, or, if 
the dog follows at an equal pace, it is generally impossible, 
owing to the thickness of the cover, for you to follow at the 
same rate. Again, half of the birds, when startled, get into a 
tree, and one can see them neither in the tree nor when they 
leave it. So on with one vexation after another throughout 
the early season. As the leaves drop, the birds become more 
shy and wary, getting up, often silently, instead of with their 
usual whirr, at long distances, and often flying with immense 
rapidity. Yet it is a pleasure to kill them. They fall with a 
satisfactory thud, they fill up one’s bag, and are a very good 
addition to the larder. A few lucky chances at these seduc- 
tive birds often inveigle the old and sagacious sportsman into 
trying them once more, though they all declare that the ‘* Par- 
tridges” ought not to be ranked among game-birds. Sometimes, 
after a fall of light snow, the sportsman may pursue them suc- 
cessfully without a dog. He may also occasionally have good 
luck with a dog, on an exceptionally cold autumn morning, 
when the birds are more sluggish than usual. 
The Ruffed Grouse feed throughout the summer on various 
small fruits and berries, and upon such insects as come in their 
way. They eat also small acorns, blackberries, grapes, and 
beech-nuts. On the arrival of snow, they begin to feed on the 
buds of various trees and shrubs; among others upon one or 
