554 MODERN FARRIER. 



when properly supplied with it, they seldom fail of 

 arriving at maturity. 



The cock partridge weighs about fourteen ounces, 

 and the hen twelve : while young, and their plu- 

 mage not complete, they may be distinguished from 

 the old ones by tlie first feather of the wing, which 

 terminates in a point like a lancet ; but in those 

 which are not of the last brood, this feather is round 

 in the extremity. The bill of the young bird is 

 also brown, while that of the old one is a blueish 

 white ; and the legs of the young are yellow and of 

 the old one grey. When they become (game, or 

 according to the sporting term, black tails) the cock 

 in general may be distinguished by the bay feathers 

 on his breast forming a sort of horse-shoe ; but this 

 is not a certain rule : the males, after the first or 

 second year, can only be distinguished by a superior 

 brightness of colour about the head. 



Partridges are not equally abundant every year, 

 as their number depends much upon the v/eather. 

 The eggs are frequently chilled ; and even when the 

 young ones leave the shell, they are often killed by 

 the severity of the weather. If the months of June 

 and July are fine, these birds are generally abundant. 



While the corn is standing, partridges have a 

 ready and safe retreat from most of their numerous 

 enemies, and M^hen they happen to be surprised, will 

 exhibit wonderful instances of instinct in their at- 

 tachment to their young, and of courage and skill 

 in their defence. If danger approaches their young 

 brood before they are able to fly, both the parents 

 immediately take wing, and the young ones cower 

 down under the nearest shelter, where they remain 

 perfectly motionless ; the hen, after having flown 

 two or three hundred yards, lights on the ground, 

 and immediately running along the furrows, soon 

 arrives at the place whence she set out, collects her 

 little family, and withdraws them to a place of 

 safety ; the cock, in the mean time, endeavours to 



