“ Gentles . . . Perchance you Wonder ?” 373


lesions in certain portions of the liver. The small intestines and

other organs appear normal.


Stained sections show large numbers of amoebae in both the

lesions of the liver and those of the coeca. Diag. : amoebiasis with

peritonitis.”


The male bird, which died shortly after the female, showed

much the same conditions. The disease must have been acate, as

there was no emaciation in either individual.


Wenham, Mass., U.S.A.



“GENTLES! . ; .

PERCHANCE YOU WONDER?”


By C. Barnby Smith.


I use the above words in a widely different sense to that in

which they were used by the sorely tried Peter Quince, but it is a

fact that the use of various artificial foods for rearing game birds

has become so common that the value of gentles seems in danger of

being overlooked; in some cases, I think, to the detriment of the

would-be rearer.


A few years since, Mr. St. Quintin (than whom few people have

wider experience of game birds) wrote to the Magazine asking for

those who had tried the use of gentles to record the result. This

season I determined to give them a good trial, not only on young

birds, but also on some old Tree Partridges with a view of bringing

them into breeding condition. I have on more than one occasion

written to the Magazine about Tree Partridges, and pointed out how

they can easily be kept on grain alone in a run devoted to Tragopans

or other pheasants ; indeed, under such conditions, I have found

them thrive with practically no attention, though, of course, they

could not be expected to nest successfully. This Spring I put a pair

of common Tree Partridges ( Torqueola ) in an enclosure by them¬

selves, and my other pair of these birds in an enclosure with two

hen Rufous-throated Tree Partridges (Bufigularis ). I fed all the

birds freely on gentles in addition to grain, and the result was, I am



