4 PROPAGATION OF WILD BIRDS 



to remain. It is notorious that various kinds of such birds, 

 Hberated by proper methods in a locahty, raise broods, but 

 in the autumn leave with their young for parts unknown. 

 This has repeatedly occurred in America with the Messina 

 quail of Europe, the gray or "Hungarian" partridge, and 

 with bob-whites from the South. These southern quails, 

 for instance, have been shipped North and liberated in 

 great numbers. They breed, and then usually disappear. 

 As I have often seen them winter safely in the Northern 

 States in open enclosures, I do not think that those liberated 

 die off, but that they migrate. But if we take the eggs and 

 rear the young artificially, they know no other home and 

 remain in the locality of their birth. In my experiment on 

 the William Rockefeller estate, described farther on, we 

 reared bob-whites from Mexican stock, and these and their 

 offspring are believed to have established themselves in per- 

 manent residence. Had Mr. Rockefeller liberated the original 

 shipment instead of breeding them artificially, there would 

 doubtless have been no result. Likewise there would be 

 far more probability of establishing the gray partridge in 

 America by this method than by liberating adult birds. 



Natural Method. The natural method applies equally to 

 all species which are found upon the land. Protection from 

 enemies and food supply are the chief factors involved. If 

 the tract of land is not of considerable size, the birds will 

 not stay on it all the time, and will be subject to outside 

 dangers. 



Protection from Shooting. Perhaps the first need will 

 be to secure protection from shooting. The first step gen- 

 erally is to post the land. Unfortunately this is not always 

 effective. It sometimes comes to an issue of respect or con- 

 tempt for law, and whether or not a man has property rights 

 in his land as well as in his house. I knew personally of a 



