I oo Trails to Woods and Waters 



steel and with a sudden motion sprang full in 

 the midst of the sleeping bevy. 



Click, click, click, went his jaws, snapping 

 like lightning in every direction. 



There was the sudden whirr of many wings 

 and a chorus of squeaks, peeps, and squawks 

 from a dozen birds and in three seconds' time 

 the bevy were gone with the exception of two 

 wounded birds who fluttered feebly in the 

 grass. But a bite apiece from Mr. Raccoon 

 soon stopped their fluttering. Then the 

 hunter lay down where, a few minutes before, 

 the quail family had slept and made his sup- 

 per of quail, without toast. 



August and September came and went and 

 the quail family grew plump upon grain and 

 weed-seed but the loss of grain to the farmer 

 was more than offset by the weed-seed they 

 destroyed.* 



October with its corn in the shock and 

 golden pumpkins and harvested grain and 

 fruit was with us when another hunter came 



*It has been estimated by the agricultural department of 

 the United States that the quail in Maryland and Virginia 

 annually destroy two hundred and fifty tons of weed-seed. 



