The Ruffed Grouse 117 



branches, she covers them as a domestic hen 

 covers her chicks. Young grouse, hke young 

 turkeys, cannot stand a wetting ; this the mother 

 knows, and she is careful not to lead them through 

 wet cover. At the first sign of rain she calls them 

 up, never herself heeding a liberal spattering so 

 long as the chicks are dry under her. Up to a 

 certain age young grouse are the most delicate of 

 all game, and, could the figures be obtained, it is 

 extremely likely they would show a loss of at 

 least one-third of the young before they had 

 attained the size of quail. This, of course, tak- 

 ing the average for a number of seasons. Five 

 consecutive favorable seasons, i.e. dry from the 

 hatching time till the chicks are past the critical 

 stage, would mean a grand lot of birds. The 

 conditions reversed would surely mean a marked 

 scarcity. There is a species of tick which plays 

 the mischief; and I suspect that a disease closely 

 akin to the roup which occasionally prevails 

 among young poultry is accountable for a deal 

 of the losses. As is true of many other birds, 

 when once the grouse has run the gauntlet of 

 infantile disorders, it becomes as hardy and 

 rugged a bird as can be found. The food con- 

 sists of " mast," many sorts of wild berries, wild 

 grapes, the foliage of wintergreen, buttercups, 

 partridge-berry, clover, and other growths, grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, and, no doubt, other insects. 



