148 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



The time at wliicli the young are large enough to 

 afford sport varies greatly, being regulated, of course, by 

 the period at which their parents mated. They are 

 occasionally large enough by the first of September, 

 frequently so at the beginning of October, but I think 

 that probably none should be shot until November 1st, 

 for while I, on one occasion, saw a covey of young birds 

 on April 1st which were quite large and able to fly well, I 

 have, on the other hand, seen many broods late in October 

 of which I doubted the ability to survive the loss of their 

 parents. The opening of the season should be postponed 

 until all, or nearly all, are not only large enough to take 

 care of themselves, but have sufficient strength of wing to 

 test the marksman's skill, and a sufficient accumulation of 

 flesh to tempt the epicure. Nothing is more detestable 

 than going out early in the season to butcher fluttering 

 " cheepers," and thereby gratify the miserable desire to 

 make a big bag. Anybody can do this if he is willing to 

 make his dog suffer from the heat, and degrade his own 

 manhood; it is no test of sportsmanship. 



The food of Bob Whites depends largely upon the 

 locality which they frequent and the season of the year. 

 In the North, buckwheat seems to be their favorite food; 

 in the South, the corn-field pea. All small grains are 

 eagerly sought for Indian corn, the seed of sorghum, and 

 of many weeds. The small varieties of mast they swal- 

 low whole, and I have found in the crops of many birds 

 parts of large acorns, which they had either broken up 

 themselves or found broken by hogs or other agency. 

 They are largely insectivorous. In the South, sometimes, 

 in the early fall, they feed upon the cotton-worm, when 

 those pests are abundant, to such an extent as to give an 

 unpleasant flavor to the flesh. There is no bird which 

 does the farmer less harm and more good than the Bob 

 White. Whatever grain he takes, it is not missed, while 



