70 The Partridge Family 



cold. This is not infrequent, and the first sign 

 of it is enough to give a sportsman a dose of the 

 dismals. The birds know when the snow is 

 coming and they creep under the brush, intend- 

 ing to remain there until the weather has cleared. 

 They know nothing about the peril, as they 

 calmly submit to being covered by a foot or more 

 of snow, which for the time only helps to make 

 the quarters more comfortable. Then the rain 

 comes and wets the surface all about, then the 

 sleet stiffens it, and by its drumming warns the 

 birds below not to stir for a while ; lastly, the wind 

 suddenly shifts to the north, the cold becomes 

 intense, and every foot of damp snow promptly 

 hardens into solid ice, perhaps capable of sus- 

 taining a man's weight. The quail are now im- 

 prisoned beneath a dome of crystal, which may 

 endure for days. If it does, the mournful sports- 

 man scouting after the snow has gone overturns a 

 heap and finds that which makes him curse the 

 elements thoroughly and bitterly, for right well he 

 knows how long it may take to repair the damage. 

 The quail which actually are frozen, victims of 

 extreme cold alone, are comparatively few. So 

 long as they can obtain a proper amount of food, 

 they are very hardy. " A quail with a full crop 

 never freezes," is an old saying with a deal of 

 truth in it. The last severe spell of a winter is apt 

 to be the most deadly, because then the birds are 



