198 GUN", KOD, AND SADDLE. 



to one species could scarcely be expected to be so to 

 all. On the 12th of August, if the grouse fail, you 

 have no. shooting. On the 1st of September, if the 

 weather has been too dry and the heat more than 

 usually protracted, the partridges are so wild that in- 

 different sport can only be obtained. Now if the 

 ruffed grouse and American partridge were intro- 

 duced, if you could not fill your bags with one de- 

 scription you would with another, better far than 

 returning empty-handed, disappointed, and probably 

 out of temper. 



The reasons that induce me to select these Ameri- 

 can birds are that I believe they are in no way infe- 

 rior to our own, that they are extremely hardy, with- 

 standing with impunity the intense heat of the South- 

 ern States' summer, or the protracted winters of New 

 England. Many I know have objected to them, be- 

 cause in the wildest portions of that continent, where 

 man is seldom seen, when flushed they will occasion- 

 ally perch on trees, but this is not the case in the set- 

 tled parts, where they have become acquainted with 

 dogs and guns. In the Alleghany Mountains, New 

 York, and Pennsylvania, I never remember such an 

 incident taking place. Again, some assert that our 

 country is too highly cultivated, which I deny, for 



