Is Game of any Valae to the Farmer? 



»i 



These valuable and interesting game birds, when in 

 great abundance, took refuge m the bam yards through- 

 out the country during the severe storms of winter, and 

 were slaughtered and netted. Railway extension in 1860 

 to 1880 opened up a market for them. They were con- 

 verted into money, and in most places exterminated. 



Quail, grouse, commonly called partridge, and prairie 

 fowl, are the non-migratory game birds of Canada, all ex- 

 cellent for sporting purposes and the table, and have a 

 market value so high that no domestic birds compare in 

 price. The quail is so prolific that th'^y would with or- 

 dinary care again abound in all the cultivated fields. 



Grouse are not so prolific, but hardier ; they rank with 

 the highest class of game birds. The fearlessness of these 

 birds when nesting and in charge of their young causes 

 them to fall an easy prey to foxes, hawks, and other ver- 

 min. Lowlands and cedar swamps — the natural habitat 

 of the larvae of the army worm, cut worm and other 

 insects — are much frequented by grouse in search of such 

 food. Their value to the agriculturist can hardly be esti- 

 mated as insect destroyers, and with ordinary care they 

 would soon re-stock the forests. 



The capercaillie, now abundant in Scotland, became ex- 

 tinct in 1827. The capercaillie is the largest of the grouse 

 species and inhabits northern Europe. It is of the size of 

 a turkey cock, of a dark grey, and red about the eyes, 

 and weighs from 8 to 12 pounds. He is tender and de- 

 licious. He lives in bushy fir trees and is very shy, and, 

 like all grouse, very partial to insects injurious to pin- 

 timber. The particulars of the restoration of this value 

 able bird into Scotland will be found in the work of J. 

 A. Harvey-Brown, F.Z.S., Edinburgh. 



In 1836, Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton undertook its re- 

 storation into Scotland by importation of a few birds from 

 Sweden. It is now plentiful in the forests northwards 

 from Stirling, and the markets of the United Kingdom 

 are supplied with it. 



