150 BIRDS OF THE PASTURE AND FOREST. 



mation of " More wet " from some adjoining fence. Not 

 that the few that remain are no longer prophets, but they 

 have become timid from the persecutions they have suf- 

 fered, and have ceased to prophesy in the vicinity of the 

 farm. Neither does the Quail any longer make known 

 his presence to his mate by saying in musical tones, 

 " Here 's Bob White." He knows too well that this would 

 lead to his discovery and death. Man, too short-sighted 

 to understand his own selfish advantage in protecting the 

 bird, and too avaricious to let pass the opportunity of buy- 

 ing a feast with a few cheap charges of powder and shot, 

 will give him no peace. 



A female Quail, leading her little brood under the shel- 

 ter of pines to escape the notice of those who have intruded 

 into her presence, is one of the most interesting sights in 

 animated nature. The rapidity with which the young 

 make their escape to some hiding-place in the grass or 

 among the bushes, and the anxiety displayed by the moth- 

 er, cannot fail to awaken our sympathy. If we sit still 

 in ambush and watch for them, the mother, no longer 

 aware of our presence, gives her cheerful call-note, when 

 they all suddenly reappear and follow her, as chickens 

 follow the hen. Their timidity and their expertness in 

 wending their way through the thicket and then out on 

 the open land, and their nimble motions as they forage in 

 the pasture for grubs and insects, are an ample reward to 

 any sympathetic observer for long and patient watching. 



The destruction of this useful and interesting species 

 by our winter snows is a public calamity ; and nothing, 

 it seems to me, can mitigate the evil save the building of 

 artificial shelters, strewing around them some sort of grain 

 to prevent their wandering far away from them. Our 

 farmers have not sufficiently considered the advantages 

 they might derive from this semi-domestication of the 

 Quail and some other species that winter with us. Even 



