146 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



nearly always the English; some few prefer the Irish, 

 and two or three the black -and- tan, or so-called Gordon. 

 One hundred and thirty-eight believe that Bob Whites 

 are decreasing, sixty-seven say increasing, and twenty 

 believe that he is just holding his own in numbers. The 

 average gun and charge is a twelve-gauge, weighing seven 

 and one-half pounds, with thirty-inch barrels, either 

 cylinder or slightly choked, loaded with three and one- 

 half drams of powder, and one and one-eighth ounces 

 of shot. The average number of coveys found in a day 

 by an average brace of dogs is nine, out of which an 

 average shot bags twenty birds, killing 53 per cent, of 

 his shots. 



The time when Bob Whites disband their coveys, and 

 separate into pairs, depends largely on the weather. If 

 it has been mild and pleasant, they of course mate much 

 earlier than when it is cold and inclement. I have on 

 several occasions seen coveys break into pairs, and then, 

 upon the weather becoming cold and stormy, reassemble 

 into coveys. I am of the opinion that they select their 

 mates sometime before they separate from the covey. 

 May 1st appears to be about the usual time for pairing 

 in the North, and the 20th of April in the extreme 

 South. This year (1889) we had a remarkably early 

 spring. I have watched the birds carefully, and as a 

 rule they paired about April 15th, some remaining in 

 coveys a fortnight later. 



The Bob Whites build their nests on the ground, in 

 some slight depression, among weeds, grass, or stubble, 

 avoiding bare ground on the one hand, and dense and 

 heavy undergrowth and cover on the other. The nest is 

 meagrely lined, if at all, and therein the hens lay from ten 

 to eighteen eggs the smaller number being probably laid 

 by birds in their first season, or by those of advanced years 

 and decreasing fecundity. There are occasions when 



