PRESERVATION 115 



The natural food of the chick is the 

 egg of the yellow meadow ant, but this 

 should not be given from the start unless 

 a continued supply be assured, for the 

 young birds quickly acquire a taste for 

 ant's eggs, and are then apt to refuse 

 any other kind of food. Where ant's 

 eggs in sufficient quantity are not avail- 

 able, the partridge meal supplied by 

 any reliable manufacturer of game foods, 

 mixed with custard and green food, will be 

 found to answer the purpose fairly well. 



The young chicks require to be fed 

 five times a day for the first week or so, 

 four times a day for the next fortnight, 

 and three times a day thereafter. When 

 the young partridges are half grown and 

 about six weeks old, the coops should be 

 moved to the edge of some oat-field, and 

 placed in dry spots far enough from each 

 other to prevent the various coveys 

 collecting in a pack. After a few days 

 of liberty the young birds will leave their 

 foster-mother altogether, and then require 

 little further attention. 



