Bob white 59 



until greens and insect food become available. Weighing trapped birds would 

 answer this question. 



The weights of quail caught by predators would throw important light on 

 the alleged elimination of weaklings. Sometimes hawks are caught in the very 

 act of striking down a quail. Such specimens should be weighed in comparison 

 with other birds of the same sex and age from the same covey. 



There is reason to believe that weights of quail bagged may present a means 

 of differentiating the young from the old birds, and thus of determining the suc- 

 cess of that year's crop. 



FOOD AND COVERTS 



Present Changes. It has already been shown how both the distribution 

 and abundance of quail responded to past changes in their food and coverts. The 

 present question is: What changes are now under way, and are they favorable or 

 unfavorable? 



Five unfavorable changes are now under way, all more or less interrelated. 

 They are: 



(1) De-brushing of woodlots and drainage channels by grazing. 



(2) Decreasing use of wood for fuel and fenceposts on farms. 



(3) Cleaning up of cover on account of insect pests. 



(4) Removal of osage orange hedges. 



(5) Siloing of corn. 



These changes collectively are rapidly shrinking the habitable range, and the 

 abundance of quail within it, throughout the agricultural belt. 

 At the same time three favorable changes are taking place: 



(1) Introduction of leguminous food plants. 



(2) Feeding grain where it grows in the field. 



(3) Gravelling of roads. 



The first and third of these favorable changes are operative almost through- 

 out the region, but their collective effect is of small consequence compared with 

 any one of the unfavorable ones. 



Grazing vs. Forestry in Farm Woodlots. The whole trend of farm- 

 ing is to convert plant crops into meat or dairy products instead of marketing 

 them directly. This requires acreage for pasture and feed lots. Naturally die 

 least valuable plowland is used for these purposes. The least valuable plowland 

 is almost invariably coextensive with the remaining timber or brush land. The 

 grazing or feeding of stock in this timber or brush land removes the reproduction 

 and undergrowth used by quail as winter cover, and when the removal is suffi- 

 ciently complete the farm ceases to be habitable for quail. The same is true for 

 all other game requiring brush cover. 



The disappearance of brush cover through grazing is so gradual that even 

 conservationists often do not realize it is taking place, nor do they realize that the 



