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 own 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 he 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 ina 
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 dissglving 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 by 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 
