QUAIL. 143 



Quail, as every sportsman is aware, are formed into coveys, and 

 in some parts of the country, are large enough to shoot early in 

 October, but most of the States have, by legislative enactment, 

 prohibited the shooting of them until the first of November. They 

 are to be found in almost every State of the Union, but are most 

 eagerly sought after in the Middle and Southern States, especially 

 in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, where immense numbers of 

 them are killed every year. 



Quail are almost everywhere protected by law at certain seasons, 

 but there is a wide difference in the dates at which the close seasons 

 begin and end in the various States of the Union. We can have 

 no better law in regard to the quail than the present one of Penn- 

 sylvania, which protects them from January ist until November; 

 but in Kent county, Delaware, quail shooting is tolerated until Feb- 

 ruary 15th, and certainly nothing could be more damaging to the 

 increase and preservation of the bird, especially if deep snows cover 

 the ground after the first of the year, and shooting continues. All 

 persecution at this time should cease, and the quail be allowed to 

 seek what little food there is for them during such periods. In 

 Maryland October 20th is given as the opening day for the sports- 

 man, which is almost two weeks sooner than it should be. 



In fair weather, the favorite feeding ground of the Quail is on 

 the wheat stubble, especially if it be grown up with " rag weed," 

 and generally not far from a brook or slough, if there be one in the 

 field. During the middle of the day he will be found along the 

 fences of the stubble fields, if there be blackberry or other bushes 

 for cover ; also on newly cleared land that has never been cultivated. 

 In rainy weather they take to the bushes and remain there all day, 

 and if possible elude pursuit by running. Frequently the sports- 

 man has to follow a covey for a quarter of a mile before he can get 

 near enough to flush them. Also, in snowy weather they go to the 

 timber, but in a day or two after the storm come back to the fields 

 again. After there has been sunshine sufficient to melt the snow 

 from the northern banks of the brooks, if the weather turn cold and 

 clear, every covey that rises in that vicinity will be found sunning 

 themselves on the banks which are bare of snow. We recently 

 found four large coveys within as many hundred yards along a 

 small brook, when on ordinary occasions that would be considered 



