The Heath Hen in New Jersey 



51 



killed one the others would stay and fight it, and you could keep on 

 shooting until you killed as many as you liked. If you missed the first 

 shot they would fly away. This kind of gunning went on until about 

 thirty years ago. There were lots of them left, plenty of deer and other 

 game, until the gunners from the cities heard of it. They gunned in all 

 seasons, and soon killed them off. Since that time there has not been 

 a Grouse killed on our Plains. I have seen five deer in one look, and 

 now there is not one left in Burlington or Ocean county. These 

 Plains I speak of are twelve miles west of Barnegat. There are several 

 hundred acres in each and they are about three miles apart, with swamps 

 and woods between them. The Plains are covered with small pines about 

 three feet high. All through them there is a little vine that bears red 

 berries about the size of a cranberry and keeps sound and good the year 

 round. It is called the grouse berry. This berry the Grouse lived on 

 in winter. In summer they lived on tea-berry and others. 



Yours respectfully, 



George H. Van Note. 



HEATH. HEN 

 From u mounted specimen in the American Museum of Natural Histor 



