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PARTRIDGE, GROUSE, LARK. 



IO09 



7556. The partridge ( 7etrao P6rdrix, Jig. 949.) is a native of all the temperate r< giohs 

 of Europe, but unable to sustain rigorous cold or iutense 

 heat. 



y-*y 



7557. Partridges arc highly valued as food on most parts of the Con. 

 tinent, and as a table luxury in England. In the Ukraine both partridges 

 and pheasants are more abundant than any where else in Kurope : they 

 were formerly so common in France, that Rozier informs us that the cul. 

 tivators were obliged to sow threeor four times the corn that was necessary 

 to raise a crop, and that even this had often to be done three or four time's 

 in a season. The bird feeds like the pheasant on insects and seeds, and is par- 

 ticularly fond of those of the wild mustard. It has not been domesticated, 

 but may be hatched and reared in the same manner as the pheasant. 



7558. The quail ( Tetrao Coturnix, Jig. 950.) is a native of the East, and abounds in 

 Egypt, as appears from the supplies the Israelites obtained 

 while in the wilderness, and also in the islands of the Archi- 

 pelago, and in Italy. They migrate from warmer to colder 

 regions. They are naturalised and breed in England, chang- 

 ing their residence within it on the approach of winter, from 

 the more exposed to the more temperate districts. They are 

 very abundant in France, and are caught in snares and nets 

 (described by Rozier , and sent both to the Paris and London markets. The bird was 

 951 proverbial among the Romans as captious and quarrel- 



some, and is employed among the Chinese for the 

 same amusement as game cocks are in England. Here 

 it is not domesticated, but may be reared and preserved 

 in the same manner as the pheasant and partridge, 

 and its food is nearly the same as that of the latter 

 bird. 



7559. The red grouse, or moor cock, ( Tetrao scoticus, 

 ' fig. 951.) is an esteemed variety of Gallinacea, pursued 

 with avidity by sportsmen in the mountainous districts 

 of England, Wales, and Scotland, in which latter it abounds, there feeding in plenty 



among the heather, its favourite food. Its beautiful 

 plumage, and its exquisite flavour, render it an object 

 of considerable interest. 



7560. The black grouse, or black cock ( Tetrao Tetrix, 

 Jig. 952.), is less common than the red grouse, and is 

 therefore more highly prized. It is also larger, weighing 

 nearly four pounds. Its plumage is a rich mixture of 

 black with blue, relieved by marking of white. Its 

 legs are also covered with very fine minute feathers ; 

 and it draws a peculiar characteristic from the curvi- 

 linear form of the tail, which branches out at the end 

 into two crooked expansions. In wet seasons a great mortality is frequently observed 

 among the grouse from intestinal worms. 



7561. The wood grouse, or cock of the wood (Tetrao Urogallus,^g. 953.), is, after the 



bustard, the largest bird among those we call game ; it 

 being little less than a turkey. It was originally com- 

 mon in the mountainous parts of Britain ; but is now 

 nearly if not wholly extinct with us; though still com- 

 mon in the northern parts of Europe, where it lives in 

 pine forests, on the cones of which it is supposed to sub- 

 sist, and which at some seasons gives its flesh a terebin- 

 thinated taste : at other times it is delicious eating, and 

 is often sent to England frozen. Like the other grouse, 

 he has the scarlet patch on his head, his legs are defended 

 in the same manner by a feathered covering, and his 

 whole markings are equally varied and beautiful. From 

 the richness of the plumage in all the varieties of the 

 Tetrao, and from the extreme delicacy of their flesh as 



an article of food, it is to be lamented that attempts are not made to domesticate them in 

 addition to our other poultry. It is thought by observant sportsmen and scientific 

 naturalists, that this might be' attended with less difficulty than the domesticating the 

 partridge and pheasant; and the attempt is recommended to the patriotic amateur. 



7562. The lark (^laiida arvensis L.) and other birds were reared and fatted by the 

 Romans for the table. The lark is caught by nets and other means in some of the open 

 districts of England, as about Dunstable, Cambridge, &c, and brought to market for 

 the table, as are various other birds by a particular class of men known as bird-catchers. 

 It is an idle uncertain kind of life not to be recommended. 



