106 ON THE WING. 



Quail withholding their Scent 



It is an established fact, well known to the experi- 

 enced hunter, that the quail and some other game-birds 

 have the power of withholding their scent, — a power 

 which they especially use in times of apparent danger. 

 When making their last movements at evening to pre- 

 pare for their roost, the quails fly to their roosting- 

 places, and remain through the night without running 

 about to leave a scent for foxes, weasels, and other 

 hostile night animals. And this fact clearly shows that 

 they know they have a scent, and that they can with- 

 hold it when safety requires. Every sportsman who 

 has frequently hunted quail has had proof of this 

 assertion, and has wondered why, even with a good 

 pointer or setter, he could not find or flush the birds 

 which he so recently saw alight on the very ground 

 over which he has hunted. I have often observed, 

 that not only quail, but woodcock, instead of running 

 a short distance, as usual, will at times alight and lie 

 up, as it is called ; and the dog will work within a 

 few feet of them without scenting them. 



In this connection I will add an interesting state- 

 ment, which will corroborate the foregoing, taken from 

 Lewis's " American Sportsman," and written by Samuel 

 B. Smith, M. D. Dr. Smith says : — 



" How long has it been observed, and with regret, 

 by sportsmen, that the best dogs could not discover 

 certain birds of value, such as partridges (quail), in 

 places where they were seen to settle themselves. 

 And yet years have rolled away without a single in- 



