"THE PARTRIDGES" OF MUSKOKA 219 



This he did almost as fast as the son and I could 

 throw them, and the partridges remained stolidly 

 on their perches till two of their number had 

 been brought down by these primitive weapons. 

 Their favourite haunts are in swamp-land, and 

 along the banks of lakes and rivers. At certain 

 periods of the year their food consists entirely 

 of the buds and leaves of the spruce and fir. The 

 flesh then both tastes and smells strongly of these 

 trees, and is not good to eat ; but in the fall of 

 the year the flavour is better. 



Mr. Leith Adams, referring to the " partridge 

 dog," writes : 



c< Some of these mongrel dogs display re- 

 markably good training. Their tuition is accom- 

 plished in this way. A cord attached to the leg 

 of a dead partridge is passed over the branch 

 of a tree, and as the dog draws on the bird 

 it is gradually pulled along the ground and 

 then suddenly swung up to the branch. I am 

 told that an intelligent mongrel will become 

 proficient after a few lessons. On one occasion," 

 he adds, a a very degenerate and diminutive 

 representative of the genus raised a covey of 

 partridges in thick cover, but when we came to 

 inspect the trees not a bird was to be seen, and 



