IN THE FIELD 219 



fields afford them a never-failing supply of food, and that 

 their natural enemies, such as foxes, weasels, minks, skunks, 

 hawks, and owls are much reduced in number by man. 



WJiy it is not brutal to hunt these birds in the shooting sea- 

 son. If it is not in itself wrong to eat domestic animals, 

 it cannot be wrong to eat wild animals. But a true sports- 

 man does not kill the old birds at a time when the death of 

 one of them would cause a dozen helpless little ones to 

 starve or be chilled to death, because it would not only 

 be cruel but also a wanton destruction of game ; nor does 

 he hunt the young before they can fly well and know how to 

 avoid danger, for to hunt them before that time would be 

 mere butchery, and would also soon exterminate them. 



Nature has also, in regard to game and fish, provided for 

 this country so bountifully that there will be plenty of 

 good, healthy recreation for all lovers of the gun and the 

 rod for generations to come, if we only have sense enough 

 not to destroy either without foresight. 



Range of the two birds. The quail is a common bird from 

 the Atlantic coast to the great plains ; it prefers districts 

 with some timber ^ the prairie hen is chiefly found in the 

 prairie states ; in the woods its place is taken by the Ruffled 

 Grouse, or Partridge. 



Mammals in the Field 



In all regions of the earth which are under cultivation 

 by man, large mammals have been exterminated, because 

 many of them would do much injury to crops, if present in 

 great numbers. These large animals cannot easily conceal 

 themselves, and as they are always hunted by men and 

 molested by dogs, they retire to the wilderness. This 

 explains why they are absent from many regions of our 

 country where they would do little or no harm and would 

 find an abundance of food. Only such small animals as 



