THE QUAIL. 



" Sweet now at morn and eve the quail 

 Repeats its plaintive, whistling note, 

 And softly fall the answering cries 

 That over wood and corn-field float." 



The common quail, diversely known in 

 various sections as Bob White, Virginia part- 

 ridge, and colin, is probably the most widely 

 distributed of upland game birds in the countr\-. 

 Unlike most other species the quail dwells closed ^ 

 to the farmer's home, and the whistle of " Bob 

 White" is often heard around the bam and 

 the stacks of grain, when the bevies are 

 unmolested. 



Manv keen sportsmen regard the quail 

 as the best representative game bird of Amer- 

 ica, and the various field trials — held annually 

 to decide the merits of setters and pointers, in 

 competition — are almost invariably conducted 

 in localities where Bob White is the only 

 game pursued to test the staunchness, nose, 

 pace, style, and other working qualities of 

 the dogs. The pltimed quails of the Pacific 

 coast — ^the valley quail and the moimtain 

 quail — are the most beautiful members of 

 the happy family. 



THE WOODCOCK. 



Where scarce the sun-spears, quivering bright, 

 Mav pierce the foliage with their light. 

 Ah I there so shadowy sleeps the wood 

 Where hermit woodcock seek their food." 



.V species of long bill that is honored on sight is the 

 woodcock, boring in the moist meadows and dark forest 

 grounds for his daily food, but never becoming a bore 

 to the lover of field sports. In midsummer the first, the 

 best, in fact the onlv game bird that may be legally killed 

 is the woodcock. His flight from among the ferns or 

 thickets is swift, almost ixoiseless, and J. Cypress, Jr., was 

 correct in asserting that " to stop a woodcock in a thick 

 brake, where you can see him only with the eye of 

 faith, * ♦ requires an eye, and a hand, and a 

 heart, which science cannot manufacture." 



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