90 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS GROUSE 



tion, which will be understood by fishermen at 

 least, the ruffed-grouse is to the prairie-hen as the wily 

 black bass to a school of yellow perch. The ruffed- 

 grouse is often found solitary or in a group of two 

 or three during the shooting season. He will often 

 slip away from the dog and rise out of range or lie 

 very close until the sportsman has passed, and then 

 burst forth with a roar of wings in the evident hope 

 of scaring him to death. 



This grouse builds its nest on the ground, and there 

 are usually ten or twelve eggs. By September ist the 

 young birds are strong on the wing. I have urged 

 September I5th as the opening day of the season for 

 these birds. In most of the States the season opens 

 much later. The objection to an early date is that 

 men going out for grouse are tempted to shoot at all 

 game, and the partridges are not old enough to shoot 

 in September. Sportsmen, however, are to-day more 

 inclined to regard the game laws, and the market gun- 

 ners should everywhere be kept out of the woods. 



Before the ruffed-grouse have been much pursued 

 they are quite tame, and often fly to the branches of 

 trees quite within range. There are few places to-day 

 where the grouse are so uneducated. In some remote 

 places in Idaho or other parts of the Rocky Mountain 

 region and in unfrequented places in the Maine woods 

 or elsewhere where shooters do not go, they are no 

 doubt as tame as they once were everywhere. 



When the grouse are not too wild they are hunted 

 with a small dog, which drives them to the branches of 

 the trees and attracts their attention, while the gunner 

 (the reader will observe I do not say sportsman) ap- 



