THE GROUSE FAMILY 61 



able cover. Now and then the chicks went to the hen to 

 brood, but a good deal of the time they were scattered all 

 over the place hunting for bugs. It was not safe to step 

 anywhere without caution. The grass would move by one's 

 foot, and there would be a little yellow and brown striped 

 fellow, very intent on entomological researches, away in 

 underneath. They are very deliberate in their movements, 

 and steal along with slow, measured gait, like some old man. 

 The sight of a luscious bug, however, puts ginger into them, 

 and induces a sudden dash, which is usually brief. Old and 

 young act in about the same way. 



Their Food. The keeper fed them on grated hard-boiled 

 egg and cracker crumbs, presently a little chick-grain, wild 

 strawberries, and especially insects, which he and his boy 

 caught with a net. In the pen they also got a good deal of 

 insect food, and plenty of " browse " of leaves and shoots. I 

 had sent the keeper commercial ants' eggs, which he did 

 not use for the grouse, as he had plenty of insects. The 

 feeding was intended to be about the same as for quails or 

 pheasants. 



A Crisis Passed. All went well until they were twelve 

 days old, when one day the whole eight became sick and 

 drooped their wings. The weather was good and we could 

 not ascertain what the trouble was. Possibly they got 

 chilled during the night. The keeper, Amos E. George, is 

 a resourceful man. He put the chicks in a basket of cotton 

 on the shelf over the kitchen stove. For over a day he kept 

 them warm there, taking them out at frequent intervals, 

 and feeding them by hand. Two of them died, but the 

 other six pulled through, though one had become so weak it 

 could not stand up. That the six grew to maturity is due 

 to his resourceful meeting of this crisis. Another time, I 

 should see that they also had an occasional feed of sour milk 



