1 88 A Bit of Grouse Hunter's Lore. 



almost all berries that are accessible in 

 any given locality, but sumac and cedar 

 berries are not usually eaten until winter. 

 The grouse eat beechnuts, acorns, chest- 

 nuts, mushrooms, vetch pods and seeds, 

 witch-hazel flowers, and many succulent 

 leaves. They rarely touch wheat, maize, 

 oats, or barley, but of buckwheat they are 

 inordinately fond, and early in the season 

 they strip off the flowers and immature 

 grains, and continue to glean in the buck- 

 wheat fields until the stubble is deeply 

 covered with snow. 



Hunters who are familiar with the birds' 

 habits beat the fences and deep-furrowed, 

 plowed ground all about the buckwheat 

 fields that are not too far removed from 

 the woods, and find there many birds that 

 the sportsman in the brush knows nothing 

 about. Grouse are fond of tearing the 

 fleshy fruit of the skunk cabbage to pieces 

 in order to get at the seeds and pulp. 

 They devour the fruit of all of the species 

 of wild grapes with avidity, and a covey 

 of grouse feeding among the tangled fes- 

 toons of grape-vines furnishes an inspirit- 



