280 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [9:9— Dec, 1913 



The plan was to make house-to-house interviews with fanners 

 living in the prairie regions of the counties named. It was taken 

 for granted that the fanners who had lived in any given locality for 

 eight years would know most about the status of prairie chickens 

 of that region, as to whether there had been any increase in num- 

 bers and the approximate number of them on his fann at the time 

 of the interview. True to expectations they did know both things. 

 Here are some verbatim remarks: ** There are twenty-seven 

 chickens that keep on my farm." "There are sixty-three in the 

 flock on my farm, I have counted them many times." *T have 

 four flocks, three of them have about twenty-five chickens in each 

 and the big one about forty." "There are only six flocks in this 

 whole community." The data was recorded during the interview. 

 If the flock of chickens was reported to have fed on more than one 

 farm, a proportionate number was recorded for the farm in ques- 

 tion. A summary of the tabulation is as follows : 



County- 



Coles . . . . 



Moultrie . 

 Douglas . . 

 Effingham . 

 Jasper . . . . 

 Clinton . . . 



Clay 



Fayette . , 

 Marion . . , 

 Richland , 



It is thus seen that in the clay prairie counties the chickens 

 averaged one to each four and one-half acres while in the three black 

 prairie counties the average was one to each twenty-six and two- 

 thirds acres. An analysis of the farming conditions and practices 

 will throw some light on the matter. 



In the three "black" counties land is worth from one hundred, 

 fifty to three hundred dollars per acre. This high price stimulates 

 intensive farming and the elimination of waste land. The border 

 of a cultivated field is often less than two feet in width. Barely 

 enough hay is raised to supply the needs of the farms. Hence, 

 about the only place in which a nest might pass the incubating 

 season successfully is the narrow border mentioned above. The 

 only nest reported in the three counties which was actually known 

 to have eggs which hatched was in such a location. 



