54 THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 16:3-Mar., I9lo 



covey of young bobwhites. Then, too, we have the exquisite 

 gathering call of the flock at evening and the cheerful whistle, 

 and, at closer range, no end of small talk by both old and 

 young birds all day long. With this one species our world 

 would not be devoid of pleasing bird music. Again, to hold 

 the insects in check and to destroy the weed seeds we need, 

 as we shall see later, to have our gardens, fields, pastures and 

 roadsides literally alive with these most useful birds. 



And finally, the birds are delicious eating and very pro- 

 lific and furnish, many claim, the finest field sport of any game 

 hird. After the country is fully stocked, the enormous surplus, 

 -which would have to be killed every fall would put beef trusts 

 to confusion. How can nature-study and the work of our 

 l)oys and girls put this bird, properly appreciated, into every 

 garden, field and corner in America? 



The first thing we can do is to unite upon an appropriate 

 name, and this has now been practically decided upon. In the 

 southern states it has been called the '^partridge" and in the 

 north the "quail". Both names really belong to quite different 

 European birds; so North and South can not do better than 

 to unite upon a good American name, "Bobwhite,'' the name 

 he whistles to his mate. 



The range of the bobwhite extends from the Gulf states 

 and Florida to southern Maine, westward to central South Da- 

 kota and south to eastern Texas, thus including almost the 

 entire eastern and central United States. The bird is pushing 

 its range westward with the home-makers, and we could help 

 it much farther north by a little attention to winter feeding 

 and protection, particularly during ice and sleet storms. At 

 such times the coveys become imprisoned under the crust and 

 starve before they can escape. With plenty of weed seed 

 within reach, the hardy little fellows would doubtless with- 

 stand almost any degree of cold. A few piles of weeds, millet 

 or buckwheat disposed about the farm in sheltered, sunny 

 places might thus extend the range of the bobwhite far to the 

 north. 



We can supply both food and shelter and also protection 

 from enemies by combining brush and weeds in the same 

 piles — a device which the writer has used successfully for three 

 years past. Cut weeds of any and all kinds, especially wild millet 

 and pigeon grass, as soon as the seeds ripen and before they 



