100 With Rod and Gitn in New England 



quail as one of our most valuable game birds, and it is about the only 

 species that can be brought into New England for the purpose of replenish- 

 ing our stock from other localities. 



" I have always loved to follow the quail with a good dog, but some- 

 how I always feel a sort of regretful pang when I pick up one that I have 

 shot, and after stroking its beautiful feathers, consign it to my pocket. 

 Perhaps it is because I always associate the bird with its cheery call of 

 'Bob White,' 'Old Bob White,' in the summer meadows, where perched 

 on a stake or fence-rail he utters his whistle, which to his setting mate has 

 all the melody of the greatest of songsters." 



" You wax poetical," said the Judge. 



"Yes," I replied, "but I am not the only one who becomes poetical 

 on Bob White." 



The Virginia quail, Ortyx Vlrginianus, is not a true quail, although it 

 is called so in the north ; neither is it a true partridge, as its southern name 

 would seem to indicate. 



The Ortyginae, of which it is a member, includes many species indige- 

 nous to America, of which the California quail and Gambel's partridge are 

 exceedingly beautiful. They are not, to any great extent, migratory, and 

 each is confined to its particular locality, while the true quail of the eastern 

 hemisphere is celebrated for its annual migration across the Mediterranean 

 sea. The Ortyx Virginianus is found almost everywhere in the United 

 States, east of the great plains, beyond the Mississippi. 



While our other game birds as a rule shun the society of man, the 

 quail often seeks it, and is always most numerous in localities which are 

 brought under cultivation. It has been domesticated in some degree, and 

 I believe that if proper care were given it, the species might be as familiar 

 about our farm-yards as common chickens.* 



* My old friend, D. Darwin Hughes, who has given considerable study 

 to this bird, writes of the possibilities of its domestication as follows. — 

 E. A. S. 



"Eight pairs were confined in a cage, and at once became very tame, 

 confiding and unsuspicious; but toward spring, probably from being con- 

 fined in such numbers to so limited a space, several of them died. To save 

 the lives of the remainder they were liberated, and it was supposed they 

 would at once return to their wild state and be seen no more, but the next 

 day they were found trying to get back into the cage, and food being 

 thrown to them they came running up to eat, as tame in all respects as 

 ordinary domestic fowls. They found a roosting-place in the woodshed, 

 and remained about the premises for a month, always running out from 

 some nook or shelter when food was thrown to them, and often while feed- 

 ing coming within reach of the hand. As the breeding season approached 

 they began to wander; their visits became less and less frequent, and then 

 in gradually reduced numbers until they disappeared altogether. It is not 

 remarkable, but on the contrary would be expected that at the season of 



