and the Maritime Provinces. 103 



The quail has numerous enemies, and it is only by the exercise of the 

 greatest vigilance that it is not exterminated. The skunk, that odious 

 nocturnal marauder, often finds the eggs, and, of course, sucks them without 

 any hesitation. The sharp-shinned hawk is another active foe ; in fact, 

 every prowling animal and bird is ever on the alert to capture it, and after 

 it has run the gauntlet of all these, man, with his improved breech-loader 

 and trained dog, takes up the cue, and the chances are good for its destruc- 

 tion ere it passes the second year of its existence. 



" In my boyhood days," said the Judge, " a great many quails were 

 trapped : a large coop or cage was made of laths, which was set in a 

 stubble field with a figure-of-4 trigger. The birds were baited with Indian 

 corn or oats, and frequently a whole covey was captured. The practice 

 was then permitted, but in most of the States it is now forbidden by law." 



" Yes, and rightly, too," exclaimed the Doctor, " the trapping of all 

 birds is outrageous." 



" I think my best sport with the gun," continued the Judge, " has been 

 in autumn cock shooting ; to my mind there is no bird in this country that 

 can compare with a ' flight woodcock,' and on the table he is incomparable." 



The Judge was not alone in his opinion, for in the magnificent list of 

 game, both furred and feathered, that this country affords, a list which in 

 variety and abundance is unexcelled in the markets of any other nation, the 

 woodcock, in the opinion of most bon vivants, occupies almost the highest 

 position. It is regarded by them as a delicacy of the choicest kind, and, 

 although the supply is still fairly abundant, it always falls far below the 

 demand. 



It is not among epicures alone, however, that this bird is deservedly 

 popular, for it is regarded by sportsmen as one of the most desirable of 

 our game birds, and it is sought for by them with the most enthusiastic 

 ardor from the beginning of the open season to the close of the autumn 

 migration. 



The woodcock is pretty generally distributed throughout eastern 

 North America, being found in the greatest numbers in localities which 

 have considerable growths of swamp and swale lands. It begins its north- 

 ern migration quite early in the spring, and arrives in New England as 

 soon as the ice and snow have disappeared ; in fact, I have found it in 

 warm places in swamps, where springs had melted the snow, as early as the 

 last week in February, and have found the female sitting on her nest of 

 four eggs when the ground around her was covered with its winter's man- 

 tle. 



Generally, however, the birds are not mated and the eggs laid until 

 sometime in March, even early in April, if the season is a late one. 



The young birds leave the nest and follow the mother around in a 

 short time after they are hatched. They are curious looking little chicks, 



