52 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



Being a bird that lives on the ground, bobwhite can- 

 not survive in a country of deep snows. Along the 

 northern border of its range it has often been almost ex- 

 terminated in certain regions, because a heavy snowfall 

 during the night has covered up the roosting birds, and 

 then a change in the weather melting the surface of the 

 snow has been followed by another change to freezing, 

 forming a hard crust through which the quail cannot 

 break, resulting in starvation and death. There are 

 many records of bevies being found after the snow of 

 some severe storm has melted, close huddled together 

 precisely as they roosted. Long continued periods of 

 severe weather, when the ground is covered with snow 

 and ice, sometimes make food exceedingly hard to ob- 

 tain and at the same time render the birds more visible 

 to their many enemies. 



At the present time the quail may be said to be almost 

 extinct in Massachusetts, Connecticut and much of New 

 York State, and in many sections they seem to be con- 

 stantly growing fewer in numbers. This is due largely 

 to over-shooting, but partly also to the destruction of 

 the covers which once afforded them so much more pro- 

 tection than at present. The reduction in their numbers 

 is a misfortune not merely to the sportsman, but to the 

 whole country, for investigations have shown the quail 

 to be a valuable ally to the farmer, destroying multi- 

 tudes of harmful insects, and also devouring vast quan- 

 tities of noxious weed seeds. The value of the services 

 which it performs is now coming to be understood by 

 the public at large, and it is reported that in certain 



