The food habits of the prairie grouse are well known. They 

 eat many insects, especially grasshoppers, from May to October, 

 and are valuable aids to the farmer for this reason. In the fall 

 and winter the food of the prairie grouse is mainly vegetable; 

 fruit, leaves, flowers, shoots, seeds and grain. Dr. Judd says: 

 "Like the bob-white and the ruffed grouse, the prairie grouse 

 is fond of rose hips and the abundant roses of the prairie yield 

 11.01 per cent of its food." In Kansas and many other states 

 the wild sunflowers, goldenrod and other natural foods were 

 tremendously abundant, but throughout most of the range of 

 the grouse these foods have been destroyed absolutely. It 

 would pay to restore some prairie grass, wild roses, sunflowers 

 and other covers and foods which are essential to the birds' 

 existence. No farmer or sportsman can be expected to give the 

 land, time, labor, and money needed to save the grouse simply 

 as a bait for trespassers. This grouse is fond of the stubble 

 as a feeding ground and it can be made profitably abundant 

 on many farms, but it must have winter foods and covers, and it 

 must be protected from its enemies if any shooting is to be done; 

 otherwise it will become extinct. 



Dr. Judd says this grouse yields readily to domestication 

 and says preserves for domesticated birds should be established. 

 He relies on Audubon's statement, that "the pinnated grouse 

 is easily tamed." The recent experiments which have come to 

 my notice have been failures; and since the birds now are 

 very valuable, it seems peculiar that there are no published 

 reports of successful hand-rearing. It is certain, however, 

 that the birds can be made very abundant as the red grouse 

 have been on the moors of Scotland. Practically all of the 

 grouse bred in Scotland are wild birds. Few experiments in 

 hand-rearing have been made and they are not necessary or 





* Few brier Patches Mere Would Dake Good Grouse- Shoot:! 



36 



